PRIDE FILM FESTIVAL on May 8 to be “Celebrating Who We Are”

Pride Films and Plays’ eighth monthly festival of LGBTQ independent films will be screened on Tuesday, May 8, 2018. The theme for this 82-minute program of nine films is “Celebrating Who We Are.” The screening will be held in The Broadway, Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago, beginning at 7:30 pm.

Film titles and descriptions

2000 YEARS OF DRAG: A MUSICAL ODYSSEY – Directed by Dorian Electra & Imp Queen, USA, 4 min.

Dorian Electra is joined by drag queens Imp Queen, Lucy Stoole, Eva Young, The Vixen, and trans rapper, London Jade to take us through the history of drag to show how it has shaped the way we can redefine gender and create who we are.

ARTHUR TRESS: I AM A CAMERA – Directed by David Gilmore, USA, 20 min.

Born in 1940, Arthur Tress is considered one of the last living masters of old-school photography. The film finds the photographer discussing his mortality and the creative legacy he will leave behind. Tress looks back at his life overcoming oppression as a young gay man. His haunting and often eerie photographs served as a vehicle of expression for his inner darkness and resulted in his pioneering the photo surrealist movement. But as he’s aging, Tress’ works are taking on a new simplicity and silence that reflect the artist’s late-life peace of mind.

COMING OUT: THE LGBT CULTURAL REVOLUTION BEFORE STONEWALL – Directed by Orlando Bedolla, USA, 10 min.

An exploration at the LGBT rights movement in California before Stonewall. The birth of the movement is usually credited to Stonewall, but it actually started in LA with Harry Hay and The Mattachine society. During the 1940’s, his organization expanded all around the country, inspiring other LGBT activist groups like the Daughters of Billitis, The Tavern Guild, and Counsel of Religion and the Homosexual. The Documentary informs the viewer of the situation back in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s and how these groups fought to change the legal, medical, and religious view and treatment towards the LGBT community. The main purpose of this documentary is to highlight the important role that California has played in both the LGBT rights movement and the recorded creation of the LGBT History.

DICHOTOMY – Directed by Yannis Zafeiriou, USA, 11 min.

Jane struggles to embrace her femininity as a butch lesbian. She shaves her head, which propels her on a humorous and twisted journey of self-discovery. In the process, she has a debate with herself in the bathroom mirror as her demonic feminine side tries to suppress her innate masculinity. Eventually she finds peace and freedom in androgyny and discovers humanity is independent of sexual identity.

DRAGTIVISTS – Directed by Savannah Rodgers, USA, 7 min.

A short documentary about the intersection of activism and drag performance.

MEDULLA OBLONGATA – Directed by Roberto Nascimento, USA, 7 min.

Maldivian student Abraham Naim is better known as his alter ego: the powerful and sassy drag queen Medulla Oblongata, a notable figure in the Auckland LGBTQ scene. Medulla Oblongata explores where Abe is now and the life he left behind.

NEAR CHANGE – Directed by André Sogliuzzo, USA, 10 min.

Sometimes in life you find yourself at a crossroads between who you are, and the life you find yourself living. Dino and his best friend and associate Tony, are mid-level mafia foot soldiers. As they wait for breakfast in a diner, on an ordinary day like any other, Dino realizes he has reached his fork in the road. Unless “This” is all there is…something is going to have to change.

PRESERVING LGBT HISTORY – Directed by Orlando Bedolla, USA, 3 min.

An exploration about the history of the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries. The documentary explains how it was founded by Jim Kepner and how it merged with ONE Magazine, turning it into the largest LGBT Archives in the world.

SPOT – Directed by Jamie DiNicola, USA, 10 min.

A group of twenty-somethings circle around a stoop and share a joint when one of them gets lost in the mystery and beauty of the urban sidewalk – a mosaic of stories emerge. SPOT pushes the known boundaries of diversity and inclusion in indie filmmaking.

LISTING INFORMATION

MONTHLY PRIDE FILM FESTIVAL – MAY SCREENING
Tuesday May 8, 2018
7:30 pm
Reserved VIP seats $15.00, General Admission $10.00
Tickets available at www.pridefilmsandplays.com or by phone. Tickets available at www.pridefilmsandplays.com or by phone at 773 857 0222 or 866 811 4111.
The Broadway, Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago

ABOUT PRIDE FILMS AND PLAYS

Pride Films and Plays changes lives through the generation of diverse new work (or work that is new to Chicago) with LGBTQ+ characters or themes that is essential viewing for all audiences. We accomplish this mission through fully-staged productions, writing contests and staged readings, film screenings, and special events. We foster long term relationships with artists to create programming that is as diverse, unique, and complex as the community we represent. In 2015, Huffington Post called PFP “A powerful and empowering entity.” The company acquired its two performance spaces at 4139 and 4147 N. Broadway in July 2016, renaming the spaces the Pride Arts Center.

Pride Films and Plays is supported by The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at The Richard Driehaus Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council, City of Chicago’s City Arts Fund, the Elliott Fredland Charitable Trust, Proud to Run, the AmazonSmile Foundation, Arts and Business Foundation, Tap Root Foundation and Alphawood Foundation.

PFP is a member of the Smart Growth Program of the Chicago Community Trust. Pride Films and Plays is a member of the LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois and The League of Chicago Theatres.

For more information, visit www.pridefilmsandplays.com or call 1.800.737.0984.

ABOUT PRIDE ARTS CENTER

Pride Arts Center (PAC), operated by Pride Films and Plays, opened in 2016 and consists of two performance spaces: The Buena at 4147 N. Broadway which has 50 seats and The Broadway at 4139 N. Broadway which has 85 seats. PAC has become an important part of the arts environment in the Buena Park neighborhood and beyond by hosting events including After Orlando, Bechdel Fest, SheFest and the 525,600 Minutes Cabaret. Additional tenants in 2017 include Walkabout Theater, New American Folk Theater, Cor Productions, Underscore Music Theater, 20% Productions, About Face Youth Theater, Another Door Productions, and of course Pride Films and Plays.

For more information about space at Pride Arts Center, visit www.prideartscenter.com, or www.pridefilmsandplays.com.