SASOD's
annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) film festival, dubbed
“Painting the Spectrum” opens this Sunday, June 1, with an exciting programme
of films. In its 10th year, the film festival will be staged at a new venue,
Dutch Bottle Cafe on 10 North Road (between Light and Cummings Streets),
Bourda, in Georgetown.
“Painting
the Spectrum 10” promises ten nights of films through the month from June 1 to
29 with screenings every Tuesday and Thursday, in addition to the first and
last Sunday. The dates to remember are June 1, 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26 and
29.
'Spectrum
10' will open with two documentaries, the first - Jessica’s Journey - a local
documentary produced by SASOD, chronicles experiences of discrimination,
violence and her struggle for acceptance from family, peers and society for a
Guyanese transgender advocate. The second documentary – The New Black – was
donated to SASOD by the director of the film, Yoruba Richen. The New Black
tells the story of how the African-American community is struggling with the
gay rights issue in light of the recent gay marriage movement and the fight
over civil rights.
In
addition to three local documentaries produced by SASOD, documentaries, short
and feature films from Argentina, Belgium, India, France, Jamaica and the
United States of America will be shown during the festival. The highlight of
the festival will be the world premiere of Guyanese-American Gavin Ramotar's
film, “Antiman” which is set in Guyana. Ramotar is a recent graduate with a
Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television Production from New York University
where he produced the highly-anticipated narrative short drama as his thesis
film. “Antiman” will screen on June 26, alongside “Spectrum Night.” Expressions
through poetry, dance, song, music and fashion are encouraged on the
penultimate night, “Spectrum Night,” which will be held on Thursday, June 26.
The
film festival’s goal is edutainment: educating while entertaining audiences and
the wider public, by stimulating discussion and debate about LGBT issues.
The
festival concludes with the customary ‘painting the spectrum,’ where
participants on the last night will be encouraged to leave their marks of
support, messages of hope and inspiration for a society which is more embracing
of sexual and gender diversity.
The
films slated to be shown over the 10 nights highlight homophobic and
transphobic discrimination and violence, struggles for equality and acceptance,
mental health issues, influences of societal and cultural forces, resilience
and resistance.
Painting
the Spectrum 10 will take viewers on an astonishing passage into the world of
sexual and gender diversities. It will also seek to arouse in all their true
humanity by taking viewers into the lives of persons who struggle daily to be
accepted in a world which is still rife with inequalities, especially for LGBT
people and other minorities.
The
film festival is absolutely FREE and open to all. All firms are intended for
mature audiences. Person must be 18 years and over to attend. SASOD sources its
films from the kind donations of individuals, producers and directors
worldwide.
SASOD's
annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) film festival, dubbed
“Painting the Spectrum” opens this Sunday, June 1, with an exciting programme
of films. In its 10th year, the film festival will be staged at a new venue,
Dutch Bottle Cafe on 10 North Road (between Light and Cummings Streets),
Bourda, in Georgetown.
“Painting
the Spectrum 10” promises ten nights of films through the month from June 1 to
29 with screenings every Tuesday and Thursday, in addition to the first and
last Sunday. The dates to remember are June 1, 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26 and
29.
'Spectrum
10' will open with two documentaries, the first - Jessica’s Journey - a local
documentary produced by SASOD, chronicles experiences of discrimination,
violence and her struggle for acceptance from family, peers and society for a
Guyanese transgender advocate. The second documentary – The New Black – was
donated to SASOD by the director of the film, Yoruba Richen. The New Black
tells the story of how the African-American community is struggling with the
gay rights issue in light of the recent gay marriage movement and the fight
over civil rights.
In
addition to three local documentaries produced by SASOD, documentaries, short
and feature films from Argentina, Belgium, India, France, Jamaica and the
United States of America will be shown during the festival. The highlight of
the festival will be the world premiere of Guyanese-American Gavin Ramotar's
film, “Antiman” which is set in Guyana. Ramotar is a recent graduate with a
Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television Production from New York University
where he produced the highly-anticipated narrative short drama as his thesis
film. “Antiman” will screen on June 26, alongside “Spectrum Night.” Expressions
through poetry, dance, song, music and fashion are encouraged on the
penultimate night, “Spectrum Night,” which will be held on Thursday, June 26.
The
film festival’s goal is edutainment: educating while entertaining audiences and
the wider public, by stimulating discussion and debate about LGBT issues.
The
festival concludes with the customary ‘painting the spectrum,’ where
participants on the last night will be encouraged to leave their marks of
support, messages of hope and inspiration for a society which is more embracing
of sexual and gender diversity.
The
films slated to be shown over the 10 nights highlight homophobic and
transphobic discrimination and violence, struggles for equality and acceptance,
mental health issues, influences of societal and cultural forces, resilience
and resistance.
Painting
the Spectrum 10 will take viewers on an astonishing passage into the world of
sexual and gender diversities. It will also seek to arouse in all their true
humanity by taking viewers into the lives of persons who struggle daily to be
accepted in a world which is still rife with inequalities, especially for LGBT
people and other minorities.
The
film festival is absolutely FREE and open to all. All firms are intended for
mature audiences. Person must be 18 years and over to attend. SASOD sources its
films from the kind donations of individuals, producers and directors
worldwide.
SASOD's
annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) film festival, dubbed
“Painting the Spectrum” opens this Sunday, June 1, with an exciting programme
of films. In its 10th year, the film festival will be staged at a new venue,
Dutch Bottle Cafe on 10 North Road (between Light and Cummings Streets),
Bourda, in Georgetown.
“Painting
the Spectrum 10” promises ten nights of films through the month from June 1 to
29 with screenings every Tuesday and Thursday, in addition to the first and
last Sunday. The dates to remember are June 1, 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26 and
29.
'Spectrum
10' will open with two documentaries, the first - Jessica’s Journey - a local
documentary produced by SASOD, chronicles experiences of discrimination,
violence and her struggle for acceptance from family, peers and society for a
Guyanese transgender advocate. The second documentary – The New Black – was
donated to SASOD by the director of the film, Yoruba Richen. The New Black
tells the story of how the African-American community is struggling with the
gay rights issue in light of the recent gay marriage movement and the fight
over civil rights.
In
addition to three local documentaries produced by SASOD, documentaries, short
and feature films from Argentina, Belgium, India, France, Jamaica and the
United States of America will be shown during the festival. The highlight of
the festival will be the world premiere of Guyanese-American Gavin Ramotar's
film, “Antiman” which is set in Guyana. Ramotar is a recent graduate with a
Master of Fine Arts in Film and Television Production from New York University
where he produced the highly-anticipated narrative short drama as his thesis
film. “Antiman” will screen on June 26, alongside “Spectrum Night.” Expressions
through poetry, dance, song, music and fashion are encouraged on the
penultimate night, “Spectrum Night,” which will be held on Thursday, June 26.
The
film festival’s goal is edutainment: educating while entertaining audiences and
the wider public, by stimulating discussion and debate about LGBT issues.
The
festival concludes with the customary ‘painting the spectrum,’ where
participants on the last night will be encouraged to leave their marks of
support, messages of hope and inspiration for a society which is more embracing
of sexual and gender diversity.
The
films slated to be shown over the 10 nights highlight homophobic and
transphobic discrimination and violence, struggles for equality and acceptance,
mental health issues, influences of societal and cultural forces, resilience
and resistance.
Painting
the Spectrum 10 will take viewers on an astonishing passage into the world of
sexual and gender diversities. It will also seek to arouse in all their true
humanity by taking viewers into the lives of persons who struggle daily to be
accepted in a world which is still rife with inequalities, especially for LGBT
people and other minorities.
The
film festival is absolutely FREE and open to all. All firms are intended for
mature audiences. Person must be 18 years and over to attend. SASOD sources its
films from the kind donations of individuals, producers and directors
worldwide.
Dates to Remember: June 1, 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26
and 29 (first and last Sundays and every Tuesday and Thursday in June)
From: 6 pm each night
Venue: Dutch Bottle Café, 10 North Road (between Light
and Cummings Streets), Bourda, Georgetown
Admission: FREE!!!
All films are
intended for mature audiences.
Persons must be 18 yrs
and older to attend.
Sunday,
June 1
Jessica’s Journey – Documentary
Origin: Guyana
Duration: 8 minutes
Jessica’s Journey highlights experiences of
discrimination, violence and the struggle for acceptance faced by a Guyanese
trans-woman.
The New Black – Documentary
Origin: USA
Duration: 80 minutes
The New Black is a documentary that tells the
story of how the African-American community is grappling with the gay rights
issue in light of the recent gay marriage movement and the fight over civil
rights. The film documents activists, families and clergy on both sides of the
campaign to legalize gay marriage and examines homophobia in the black
community’s institutional pillar—the black church and reveals the Christian
right wing’s strategy of exploiting this phenomenon in order to pursue an anti-gay
political agenda. The New Black takes viewers into the pews and onto the
streets and provides a seat at the kitchen table as it tells the story of the
historic fight to win marriage equality in Maryland and charts the evolution of
this divisive issue in the black community.
See trailer:
The New Black
Tuesday,
June 3
Electric Indigo
Origin: Belgium
Duration: 24mins
"Electric Indigo" is a short film
written and directed by Jean-Julien Collette and produced by Laurent Denis -
Cookies Films. It is sometimes complicated for a little girl
to face peer pressure and becoming aware of her own identity, especially that
she never knew her mother and that the only reference is the love of two
heterosexual fathers united by the bonds of a “non-carnal” marriage.
See trailer: Electric Indigo
Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement –
Documentary Origin: USA Duration: 61 minutes
In the closeted 1960s, two young women met
and fell in love — and so began the extraordi-nary tale of Edie and Thea, whose
engagement to each other would span more than forty years. This is a lovingly
crafted documentary in which Edia and Thea recount how their improbable romance
ignited a lifelong journey around the world and through history. Though touched
by events like the civil rights movement and the Stonewall riots, Edie and
Thea’s relationship transcends politics and is a shining example of love’s
ability to endure.
See trailer:
Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement
Thursday,
June 5
The String (French) –
Movie
Origin: France
Duration: 90 minutes
Class, cultural and
sexual differences are explored in this torridly romantic drama co-starring an
Italian superstar from the past: Claudia Cardinale. Set in arid Tunisia, tall,
quiet Malik (Antonin Stahly), a 30-year-old Parisian architect, returns to his
homeland after the death of his father. He's greeted warmly by his
over-bearing, petulant mother (Cardinale) and is immediately confronted with
her expectation that he stay and get married. This now strange world of his
youth, his mother's pressure and his barely hidden homosexuality set off
anxiety attacks in Malik, who finally finds relief when he meets the darkly
handsome handyman, Balil (Salim Kechiouche, Full Speed, Grande école, 3 Dancing
Slaves). They begin a tentative relationship, but Islamic mores, a still class
conscience society, and the ever-presence of his mother threaten their young
love. Le fil is a forbidden love story as well as a character study of people
lost in rapidly changing cultures. Don't miss this engaging, insightful and
undenia-bly sexy drama.
See trailer: The String
Tuesday,
June 10
Venus Boys – Documentary
Origin: Germany
Duration: 103 minutes
A FILM JOURNEY THROUGH A UNIVERSE OF FEMALE
MASCULINITY
A legendary Drag King Night in New York is
the point of departure for an odyssey to transgendered worlds, where women
become men - some for a night, others for their whole lives. What motivates
them? What changes take place? What do they dream of? The drag kings of New
York meet in clubs and change lustfully into their male alter egos, parodying
them and exploring male eroticism and power strategies. In London we see women
experiment with hormones to become new men and "cyborgs". Venue Boyz
- Masculinity and transformation as performance, subversion or existential
necessity; an intimate film about people who create intermediate sexual
identities.
Alex is not like other girls. She is a 15-year-old with a secret, one that no other can claim. Her parents keep her hidden away at a coastal town amongst the dunes of the shoreline, buying time before they must decide on a life-threatening operation. When old family friend and plastic surgeon Ramiro arrives with his teenage son Álvaro, Alex begins to realise that his visit could change her life forever. As the parents wrestle with the complications that will arise as Alex reaches adulthood, Alex and Alvaro become close, their relationship causing tensions amongst the locals. However, as the parents battle it out to instil a sense of open-mindedness amongst their society, it is the children who prove themselves to be flexible in understanding the sexual leanings and complexities of others.
See trailer: XXY
Tuesday,
June 17
And the Unclaimed – Documentary
Origin: India
Duration: 62 minutes
On February 21, 2011, two young girls
committed suicide together in Nandigram, one of the interior villages in West
Bengal. As the story unfolded we came to know of their love affair, and
non-acceptance of the village community as well as their families. To deal with
such ‘abnormality’, one of the girls was married off in a hurry, which perhaps
pushed them towards the end of the road – committing suicide. But their death
did not end societal non-acceptance, even after death their dead bodies lay
unclaimed in the police morgue for several days. Through the last letter by
one of the girls that survived them and tried to tell us the story of love and
loathing, asked their parents to cremate them together, which did not happen.
The unclaimed bodies were disposed of by the police, unattained, uncared for.
See trailer: And the Unclaimed
Thursday,
June 19
Selina’s Voice – Documentary
Origin: Guyana
Duration: 11 minutes
Selina’s Voice is a documentary recounting
Selina’s violent transphobic attack. Selina, an outreach officer was violently
attached at a hot spot one night by a group of random people. Selina received
multiple stab wounds but lived to share her story with others. She is now an
advocate for equal rights and justice for all members of the LGBT community.
Taboo Yardies – Documentary
Origin: Jamaica
Duration: 72 minutes
Taboo Yardies, is a film that captures the
violence against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender individuals in
Jamaica and the violation of one’s human rights; the socio-economics,
socio-political, mental health and the intergenerational trans-Atlantic
transmission of homophobia. Taboo Yardies will provide a unique visual
experience of how violence gets generated on one side of the Atlantic and
perpetrated, preserved and re-enacted on the other side (in the US).
See trailer:
Taboo Yardies
Tuesday,
June 24
Sade’s Story – Documentary
Origin: Guyana
Duration: 12 minutes
Sade, a fashion designer shares her story
about discrimination and injustice. She was denied many jobs because of who she
is, she was verbally and physically abused for expressing herself. Sade’s Story
is one about rising above discrimination and living your dreams.
The Abominable Crime – Documentary
Origin: Jamaica
Duration: 66 minutes
The Abominable Crime is a documentary that
explores the culture of homophobia in Jamaica through the eyes of gay Jamaicans
who are forced to choose between their homeland and their lives after their
sexual orientations are exposed.
This is a story about a mother's love for her
child and an activist's love for his country - and the stakes are life and
death. Simone, a young lesbian mother, survives being shot outside of her home
my anti-gay gunmen. She must choose between living in hiding with her daughter
in Jamaica or traveling alone to seek safety and asylum abroad. Maurice,
Jamaica's leaving gay-rights activist, is outed shortly after filing a lawsuit
to overturn Jamaica's anti-sodomy law. He escapes to Canada, but decides to
return to continue his activism.
See trailer:
The Abominable Crime
Thursday,
June 26 Jessica Journey - Documentary Origin: Guyana
Duration: 8 minutes
Jessica’s Journey highlights experiences of
discrimination, violence and the struggle for acceptance faced by a Guyanese
trans-woman.
Antiman – Narrative Short Film (Drama)
Origin: Guyana
Duration: 19 minutes
A young boy must prove his masculinity to his
father while he pines for a young man in the homophobic Guyanese countryside.
ANTIMAN is a film about self-discovery and masculinity in the Caribbean. Anil,
an introverted young boy who is pressured by his abusive father, Max, to become
a skillful cricket player the way he himself was years before.Although skilled in the game, Anil refuses to
play and takes refuge is his love for Dano, an older boy in the village.In order to attend the local masquerade and
see the boy he pines for, Anil must win the Cricket tournament.
Trailer: Antiman -coming soon.
Sunday,
June 29
Paris Is Burning – Documentary
Origin: USA
Duration: 76 minutes
The film explores the elaborately-structured
ball competitions in which contestants, adhering to a very specific category or
theme, must "walk" (much like a fashion model's runway) and
subsequently be judged on criteria including the "realness" of their
drag, the beauty of their clothing and their dancing ability.
See trailer:
Paris is Burning
The festival concludes with... PAINTING OF
THE SPECTRUM!
