amydentata:

amydentata:

ASSIGNED SEX: A DOCUMENTARY FILM

Five transgender individuals untie themselves from the stereotypes that American culture has regarding gender roles.

“Up until this point, we’ve funded this project completely out of our own pockets. We believe in this story that much. But, we’ve officially broken the bank. We need your help to raise the money necessary to keep the cameras rolling.”

Help them out if you can!

They’re HALFWAY there with 4 days to go! Most of the support came in the past few days, we can make them hit their goal!

ASSIGNED SEX: A DOCUMENTARY FILM by Shaun Dawson — Kickstarter

queerthanks:

biyuti:

Hey.

So this is a movie about transgender people, that has (from the images) at least 4/5 of the main people as TPoC (and 3/5 are Black).

Let’s boost the fuck out of this and see if we can’t get them the money for this doc.

trigger warning for needles in the videos

(via homoarigato)

Source: biyuti

Documentary Shows What It's Like to Be Young, Black, and Gay

A documentary from Director Amir Dixon is touring the country and raising the visibility of LGBT people of color.

BY NICK PACHELLI

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Amir Dixon in Friend of Essex .

Amir Dixon’s recently released documentary, Friend of Essex,explores the lives of young black gay men and the struggles they face.  Dixon, 23, packed the film with one-on-one and group interviews, and jarring narratives that probe the difficult questions surrounding masculinity, identity, sexuality, and race. Viewers get a closer look at the black LGBT church, notions of masculinity within gay culture, and most powerfully, the mask worn by many young black gay people.

Friend of Essex was inspired by the teachings of the black gay writer, poet, producer, and activist Essex Hemphill, who died in 1995 of AIDS-related complications. His work, which focused on homophobia, racism toward LGBT people, and community, set the stage for Dixon’s film.

“The film also pays homage to Marlon Riggs [writer and director of Tongues Untied], who displayed the experiences of black gay men in the late ’80s,” said Dixon.

The film has been screened at colleges, community centers, and other venues across the country since its release in January in Boston. But Dixon strives to push his film further — which is why he will be traveling to Uganda to screen it in late April. The Ugandan parliament is still considering the controversial “Kill the Gays” bill, and the country’s strict laws against homosexuality have forced Dixon’s screening to be held on a private, invite-only basis.

Dixon sees it as an honor to share his film with the LGBT people of Uganda.

“When I started production on my film I had met a young man from Uganda who had just moved to the states,” says Dixon. “He shared with me firsthand what was taking place in Uganda and the work that we as a community could do to support the LGBTQ community there.”

Dixon realizes the important nature of his work for LGBT people around the world, “because the struggles that our friends and family face in Uganda for LGBTQ equality is not just their struggle, but our struggle here in the States as well.” Ultimately, Dixon hopes his film will “empower the voiceless. I want that little kid that lives in Small Town, U.S.A., and doesn’t encounter anyone that looks like them to know that I do this for them. I fight every day for them.” Dixon wants to be the fearless voice of courage much like those who came before him, like his role models Audre Lorde, Essex Hemphill, Marlon Riggs, and Assotto Saint.

“Audre Lorde told us our silence won’t protect us, and I add to that, our silence is consent and affirmation,” says Dixon. “So I choose to use my voice, my work, and my words to face my oppressors head on.”

Click the header link to watch a trailer.

AIDS Documentary May Become ABC Miniseries

By BRIAN STELTER

The acclaimed documentary “How to Survive a Plague,” about the genesis of the AIDS epidemic, could become a television miniseries. The Hollywood Reporter said Thursday that ABC Studios, a production company owned by the Disney/ABC Television Group, had bought the rights to the documentary so it could develop a dramatic miniseries about HIV-positive young men who, as the title implies, beat the medical odds. 

David France, who co-wrote and directed the documentary, said,

“We’d like it to be an extended story that’s not just about AIDS and what AIDS wrought, but about this tremendous civil rights movement that grew from the ashes of AIDS and the dawn of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender movement.” He said that ABC Studios was a logical home for such a miniseries: “ABC is the network of ‘Roots.’”

“How to Survive a Plague” was nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature, but lost last Sunday to “Searching for Sugar Man.”

First Look: Official Poster for 'Continental' Documentary

BY DIEGO JAMES

‘Small Town Gay Bar’ filmmaker’s new film focuses on the gay baths of ’60s & ’70s Small Town Gay Bar filmmaker Malcolm Ingram’s new documentary, Continental, about the iconic bathhouses of the late 1960s and 70s, will debut at SXSW. And now we’ve seen that the sexy poster has been unveiled for what will feature The New York Dolls, Better Midler, and Barry Manilow (of course).

The official synopsis:

“Malcolm Ingram’s lively new documentary CONTINENTAL takes viewers back in time to the sexually charged New York of 1968, when the notorious Continental Baths opened its doors. This groundbreaking den of debauchery (advertised as a place “for sophisticated men only”) came to transcend sexual identity and became a cultural beacon to the hip, beautiful and infamous. Not only host to newly-empowered gay men of all shapes and sizes, eager to take full advantage of their sexual freedoms at a lavish venue, the Continental brought both high and low culture to the bathhouse’s stage week after week, becoming instrumental in the careers of ‘60s and ‘70s icons like Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, Patti LaBelle, Peter Allen, and countless others.”

Check out the poster below:



WATCH: Anderson Cooper's Oscar Pick is AIDS Documentary How to Survive a Plague

Cooper and AIDS activist Peter Staley say the film is an educational tool and inspirational model for young LGBT people who did not experience the worst of the AIDS epidemic first-hand.

BY SUNNIVIE BRYDUM

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On next Monday’s episode of Anderson Cooper’s daytime talk show, Anderson Live, the out CNN correspondent sits down with AIDS activist Peter Staley to discuss the Oscar-nominated AIDS documentary How to Survive a Plague. Cooper notes that Plague is his pick to win the Oscar for Best Documentary. 

Staley is a long-time gay rights activist who was pivotal in the fight to address the AIDS epidemic on a national scale, and is featured prominently in the documentary from director David France. Although the film is about early AIDS activism, Staley and Cooper contend it isn’t simply an AIDS documentary. Rather, Plague is a history lesson and inspirational call to action, directed especially at young LGBT people who did not live through the initial crisis with skyrocketing death tolls and heinous government negligence, according to Staley. 

myqueertestimony:

Testimony by SOUTH AFRICAN LESBIANS, South Africa

Film titled: “Road to Pride-Trailer”

Directors/Producers:Inger Smith & Lesedi Mogoatlhe

About:

This documentary is both a literal and symbolic journey on the “Road to Pride”, as the filmmakers embark on a quest to find out how South African lesbians are enjoying the fruits of a progressive constitution in the New South Africa. 2010.

View the full film here: http://buskfilms.com/films/road-to-pride/

James Franco Is Exploring Sexuality and He's OK if You Think He's Gay

Ever the gay activist, the auteur behind Interior. Leather Bar talks about sex at Sundance.

BY DIANE ANDERSON-MINSHALL

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James Franco is having fun exploring sexuality on screen, with two recent films — Kink and Interior. Leather Bar — and he tells MTV News’ Jocelyn Vena that he’s fine if that makes viewers think he’s gay. 

The handsome hunk told Vena that gay rumors about him started a long time ago: “In high school these girls got mad at me and so they spread this rumor that I was having a gay relationship with one of my closest friends. And they even made up a little dance they would do in the girl’s locker room about me being gay. I still don’t know what the dance was.”

And not much has changed. “It wasn’t like it was anything new,” he told Vena, talking about recent speculation about his sexual orientation. “And in fact, it wasn’t something that frightened me, like if people think that, it’s fine. I really don’t care.”

The actor-director is at Sundance Film Festival to promote the two films, Kink, a documentary that explores BDSM porn, and the much ballyhood Interior. Leather Bar, a modernization of the 1980 classic, Cruising. Franco told Vena that it was hard to put certain kinds of sex in film.

“Now, I could sort of understand that if it wasn’t so easy to put other kinds of things in film, like violence. Obviously, there’s some weird standard here that is just illogical. Sex and sexuality are such big parts of our lives — the ways that we define ourselves, the ways that we interact with each other. Everyone thinks about it. Everyone knows about it. Even if you insist on living an incredibly chaste life and you’re chaste in your thoughts, that’s a conscious and concerted effort to keep sex from your thoughts. So you’re still engaging with sex even if it’s in a negative capacity. … It’s a huge part of our lives. It’s part of being human.”

Click the header link above to watch the interview.

Hong Kong: Short film calls on citizens to break their silence on LGBT discrimination

by News Editor

As Hong Kong witnesses an intense tussle between groups for and against LGBTQ rights with a face-off last weekend that saw a 5000-strong anti-gay rally, the first in a series of short films has been launched to raise awareness and to inspire LGBT and LGBT-friendly citizens to speak up.

The following is a press statement issued by AD Media, the producers of the film:

“The Pantry” highlights workplace discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) employees in Hong Kong. The Pantry is based on true stories drawn from offices around Hong Kong. The film, which is the first in a series from AD Media, aims to raise awareness and hopes to inspire LGBT and LGBT-friendly citizens to break their silence and stand up for human rights.

Hong Kong continues to drag behind competition because the government chooses to ignore recent survey results* and bows before religious extremists instead, thereby denying equality rights to the very people whose taxes it relies on and, on the broader picture, ignoring calls from the United Nations Human Rights Commission to clean up its record.

Almost 80% of the surveyed Hong Kong working population think that LGBT individuals face discrimination or negative treatment. 

According to a University of Hong Kong survey that was commissioned by Cyd Ho, nearly 76 per cent of respondents agreed there was discrimination against LGBT people in Hong Kong. More than 60 per cent said there should be legislation in place to protect the rights of homosexuals.

Click the header link above to read the full article and watch the trailer.

Koch film’s ‘gay’ furor

By DAVID SEIFMAN

The new documentary about Ed Koch may have ruined his friendship with a prominent gay advocate, who suggests in the movie that the former mayor is gay. Throughout his career, and to this day, Koch has fervently refused to discuss his sexuality.

The issue comes up again in the film “Koch,” when lobbyist and longtime gay activist Ethan Geto recalls the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

“So many people, particularly in the gay community, thought Koch was gay and that because he was a closeted gay man he wouldn’t do anything on AIDS,” Geto says in the movie.

“It would have been so incredibly invaluable for a popular mayor of New York to declare he was gay.”

Koch told The Post he was taken aback by comments from someone he once considered a friend.

“I was shocked, frankly,” Koch told The Post. “Why would he do that?”

The 88-year-old former mayor said he won’t discuss his sexuality because that would “legitimize the question” and make it harder for anyone thinking of running for public office.

Documentary seeks to explore impact of 2012 amendment

by Matt Comer 

Producers Will Clegg & Lauren Schneider interview Diana Travis and MaryAnn Mueller in their Charlotte home.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two Charlotte natives are on a quest to record history and explore how last year’s anti-LGBT state constitutional campaign affected the lives of North Carolinians. Producers Lauren Schneider and Will Clegg have been traveling the state to interview individuals, couples and activists. They want to know how Amendment One affected daily life and how the campaign transformed Carolina politics.

“This is a post-campaign look at what happened, what people’s experiences were during the event and lead up to the actual vote,” says Schneider.

The film-making team, which is holding a fundraiser for their effort on Friday evening, say they want their film to tell all sides of the story.

“Our goal is to be as unbiased as we can be and to talk to as many people as we can to foster a healthy, civil conversation,” Schneider says. “After all the backlash, the media, the vote and during the campaign, there were some destructive conversations around these issues. We want to bring some healthy, positive conversation and do some bridge building between as many viewpoints as we can.”

Schneider and Clegg, who are joined in the effort by Christina Birkhead, have held dozens of interviews already. They’ve spoken to couples, activists, legislators and religious leaders. They’ve been sure to find people from both sides of the issue, though finding amendment supporters willing to speak on camera has been more difficult.

“It has been challenging to find those people,” says Schneider.

The film, still in production with more than $50,000 in successfully-raised fundingvia Kickstarter.com, will seek to show what Schneider says are “beautiful stories on both sides.” Schneider adds, “People are so much more tolerant and understanding that the media and political system would have us believe they are.”

MICHAEL LUCAS TO RELEASE GAY ISRAELI DOCUMENTARY

BY: DANIEL VILLARREAL

New York resident Michael Lucas is best known for his porn studio Lucas Entertainment, but he’s also known for his outspoken praise of Israel’s LGBT rights. Israel repealed sodomy laws and allowed gays into its military nearly 20 years before the U.S. did the same. Israel also allows same-sex adoptions and has increasingly ruled in favor of gay employment protections, two developments which have yet to occur nationwide in America.

And while gays can’t marry on Israeli soil, the country still recognizes gay couples married elsewhere. The country’s capital Tel Aviv also has a thriving gay nightlife and a government-funded gay pride parade. Lucas has helped highlight Israel’s gay side by shooting his 2009 porn film Men of Israel inside of the country and (more recently) by hosting LGBT tours to the Jewish homeland.

But now he will make his strongest case through the debut of his documentary Undressing Israel: Gay Men In The Promised Land at the 2013 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival on February 8, 2013.

In the film, Lucas interviews “a gay member of Israel’s parliament, a trainer who served openly in the army, a young Arab-Israeli journalist, and a pair of dads raising their kids;” he also attends a gay wedding in Israel. But while Israel is one of the most accepting Middle Eastern states, Lucas’ documentary will be worth watching especially in light of his documented anti-Islamic views and over claims of Israeli “pinkwashing” (that is, highlighting its LGBT rights record to downplay its role in the ongoing territorial disputes with Palestine).

The film will undoubtedly help solidify Lucas’ public role as an advocate for a Israeli LGBT culture, but the public response to the film — especially in LGBT blogs — will be worth watching too.

Click the header link above to watch the trailer and read the full article.

corpos-translucidos: Hey everyone! We’ve been watching A LOT of videos around the web, but we are missing mainly videos where the body is more expressive or the focus is not only on someone talking. Please reblog, we are looking forward to get to know everyone and make a kick ass documentary! Thanks a lot!
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corpos-translucidos:

Hey everyone! We’ve been watching A LOT of videos around the web, but we are missing mainly videos where the body is more expressive or the focus is not only on someone talking. Please reblog, we are looking forward to get to know everyone and make a kick ass documentary! Thanks a lot!