Home Town Pride
Introducing the inaugural Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
By Jeff Boam
After the 2001 Pennsylvania Film Festival was cancelled due to the events of 9/11, area filmgoers had few prospects on the horizon so far as film festivals were concerned. Milford’s Black Bear Film Festival and Tunkhannock’s bi-annual Dietrich Theater Film Festival afforded audiences some choice cinematic offerings, but Scranton and Wilkes-Barre residents still had no film festival to call their own. Then came last year’s Electric City Film Festival held at Hanlon’s Grove in Scranton’s Nay Aug Park. Though largely viewed as a success, future such incarnations had to be curtailed after the tent that had once covered this event’s venue (as well as the Scranton Jazz Festival) gave way under immense snow accumulation during 2007’s wicked Valentine’s Day.
And then, there were none … that is, of course, until not one but two separate film festivals were slated to debut this fall. The Rainbow Alliance, the largest organization serving the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender community in Northeastern Pennsylvania, will hold its inaugural Northeastern Pennsylvania Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre this Friday through Sunday. (The Northeastern Pennsylvania Jewish Film Festival, which ec/dc will cover in a future story, is set to launch on Oct. 20.)
A niche film festival stands to offer local filmgoers a great deal of diversity in terms of programming. “The art of film has always allowed everyone to have a voice no matter where the voice comes from,” said Paige Balitski, executive director of the Greater Scranton Film Office. “This is a great opportunity for these voices and talent to be seen and heard.”
For its part, this weekend’s Gay and Lesbian Film Festival will present short and feature-length gay-themed documentary and narrative films. “The project has been in development for the past years,” said John Dawe, executive director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Rainbow Alliance. “We have been polling the community for program ideas and suggestions for several years.”
In 2006, the Alliance premiered a short film as part of the entertainment for its annual dinner. The film, Trish Blaine’s Red/Blue, will be among the short films kicking off the festival on Friday at the offices of Semian & Gress Real Estate in Scranton. “It’s a gay-themed movie and … our organization provided a large number of the extras in the film,” said Dawe. “We saw there was a lot of interest, and things went from there.”
On Saturday, the festival will feature the local premieres of feature narratives Steam Cloud Rising and Rolling. Set on the eve of the Three Mile Island nuclear facility accident, Steam Cloud Rising, which was written and directed by Central Pa. filmmaker Eric Spaar, deals with a star high school athlete’s struggle to come out of the closet in 1979. Rolling, a faux documentary chronicling the dangers of the drug Ecstasy, will be followed by Q&A with the screenwriter, Scranton native Cody Parrish Thompson. Justice for ALL, a Human Rights Campaign-produced short documentary about fair and balanced judiciary, will screen in-between the features.
Sunday, however, will offer attendees a unique addendum to the typical film festival programming. Following a Welcoming and Affirming Ecumenical Worship Service & Lunch at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Wilkes-Barre, festival-goers will walk to the R/C Theatre’s Wilkes-Barre Movies 14 where Saint of 9/11 will be screened. “We have a Faith and Spirituality Committee as part of the organization. ‘Saint of 9/11′ is about a gay Franciscan priest and focuses on his life’s work,” said Dawe. “Doing the service and lunch at the church, and then walking down the street to the screening seemed like a perfect fit.”
This award-winning documentary, which is narrated by Sir Ian McKellen, chronicles the life and work of New York Fire Department chaplain Father Mychal Judge, who lost his life as a result of the World Trade Center collapse on September 11, 2001. “(He) was beloved by the broadest range of folks from literally Bill and Hillary Clinton who spoke eloquently about him at his funeral to literally the most marginalized homeless people in New York,” said Malcolm Lazin, who served as executive producer for both Saint of 9/11 and Friday’s short documentary offering, Gay Pioneers. “And the fact that there’s going to be this ecumenical service is just literally a blessing in his memory and for me personally.”
The PBS co-produced Gay Pioneers, on the other hand, chronicles the start of the organized gay and lesbian civil rights movement. “We think that at least through our documentary films and through the efforts of others,” said Lazin, “that it is having an important impact through film festivals in advancing our civil rights.”
But will this niche programming find an audience beyond the gay and lesbian community? “All the films scheduled easily appeal to any audience,” said Dawe. Balitski agreed: “I think that these festivals are very important not only as an art form but as teaching tool. You don’t have to be gay or lesbian to attend and appreciate the work.”
Lazin, who also serves as the executive director of Equality Forum, a national gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization, feels that this inaugural event is important in terms of promoting equality. “A film is just an incredible way of educating, entertaining, and energizing our community,” said Lazin. “It’s terrific to see what we’re doing.”
When all is said and done and the final film has screened, the Rainbow Alliance hopes that the consensus of filmgoers will walk away from the festival saying or feeling the same as Lazin. “This is the first time we’re attempting this festival and we have some hopes that people will have done the three things in our slogan … Learn, Grow, and Understand,” said Dawe. “All that, and movies too!”
Schedule:
Friday, September 28
Shorts in Scranton at Semian & Gress, 400 Spruce St., Scranton - 7 p.m. including After the 2001 Pennsylvania Film Festival was cancelled due to the events of 9/11, area filmgoers had few prospects on the horizon so far as film festivals were concerned. Milford’s Black Bear Film Festival and Tunkhannock’s bi-annual Dietrich Theater Film Festival afforded audiences some choice cinematic offerings, but Scranton and Wilkes-Barre residents still had no film festival to call their own. Then came last year’s Electric City Film Festival held at Hanlon’s Grove in Scranton’s Nay Aug Park. Though largely viewed as a success, future such incarnations had to be curtailed after the tent that had once covered this event’s venue (as well as the Scranton Jazz Festival) gave way under immense snow accumulation during 2007’s wicked Valentine’s Day.
And then, there were none … that is, of course, until not one but two separate film festivals were slated to debut this fall. The Rainbow Alliance, the largest organization serving the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender community in Northeastern Pennsylvania, will hold its inaugural Northeastern Pennsylvania Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre this Friday through Sunday. (The Northeastern Pennsylvania Jewish Film Festival, which ec/dc will cover in a future story, is set to launch on Oct. 20.)
A niche film festival stands to offer local filmgoers a great deal of diversity in terms of programming. “The art of film has always allowed everyone to have a voice no matter where the voice comes from,” said Paige Balitski, executive director of the Greater Scranton Film Office. “This is a great opportunity for these voices and talent to be seen and heard.”
For its part, this weekend’s Gay and Lesbian Film Festival will present short and feature-length gay-themed documentary and narrative films. “The project has been in development for the past years,” said John Dawe, executive director of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Rainbow Alliance. “We have been polling the community for program ideas and suggestions for several years.”
In 2006, the Alliance premiered a short film as part of the entertainment for its annual dinner. The film, Trish Blaine’s Red/Blue, will be among the short films kicking off the festival on Friday at the offices of Semian & Gress Real Estate in Scranton. “It’s a gay-themed movie and … our organization provided a large number of the extras in the film,” said Dawe. “We saw there was a lot of interest, and things went from there.”
On Saturday, the festival will feature the local premieres of feature narratives Steam Cloud Rising and Rolling. Set on the eve of the Three Mile Island nuclear facility accident, Steam Cloud Rising, which was written and directed by Central Pa. filmmaker Eric Spaar, deals with a star high school athlete’s struggle to come out of the closet in 1979. Rolling, a faux documentary chronicling the dangers of the drug Ecstasy, will be followed by Q&A with the screenwriter, Scranton native Cody Parrish Thompson. Justice for ALL, a Human Rights Campaign-produced short documentary about fair and balanced judiciary, will screen in-between the features.
Sunday, however, will offer attendees a unique addendum to the typical film festival programming. Following a Welcoming and Affirming Ecumenical Worship Service & Lunch at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Wilkes-Barre, festival-goers will walk to the R/C Theatre’s Wilkes-Barre Movies 14 where Saint of 9/11 will be screened. “We have a Faith and Spirituality Committee as part of the organization. ‘Saint of 9/11′ is about a gay Franciscan priest and focuses on his life’s work,” said Dawe. “Doing the service and lunch at the church, and then walking down the street to the screening seemed like a perfect fit.”
This award-winning documentary, which is narrated by Sir Ian McKellen, chronicles the life and work of New York Fire Department chaplain Father Mychal Judge, who lost his life as a result of the World Trade Center collapse on September 11, 2001. “(He) was beloved by the broadest range of folks from literally Bill and Hillary Clinton who spoke eloquently about him at his funeral to literally the most marginalized homeless people in New York,” said Malcolm Lazin, who served as executive producer for both Saint of 9/11 and Friday’s short documentary offering, Gay Pioneers. “And the fact that there’s going to be this ecumenical service is just literally a blessing in his memory and for me personally.”
The PBS co-produced Gay Pioneers, on the other hand, chronicles the start of the organized gay and lesbian civil rights movement. “We think that at least through our documentary films and through the efforts of others,” said Lazin, “that it is having an important impact through film festivals in advancing our civil rights.”
But will this niche programming find an audience beyond the gay and lesbian community? “All the films scheduled easily appeal to any audience,” said Dawe. Balitski agreed: “I think that these festivals are very important not only as an art form but as teaching tool. You don’t have to be gay or lesbian to attend and appreciate the work.”
Lazin, who also serves as the executive director of Equality Forum, a national gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization, feels that this inaugural event is important in terms of promoting equality. “A film is just an incredible way of educating, entertaining, and energizing our community,” said Lazin. “It’s terrific to see what we’re doing.”
When all is said and done and the final film has screened, the Rainbow Alliance hopes that the consensus of filmgoers will walk away from the festival saying or feeling the same as Lazin. “This is the first time we’re attempting this festival and we have some hopes that people will have done the three things in our slogan … Learn, Grow, and Understand,” said Dawe. “All that, and movies too!”
Schedule:
Friday, September 28
* Shorts in Scranton at Semian & Gress, 400 Spruce St., Scranton - 7 p.m. including Gay Pioneers and Red/Blue
Saturday, September 29
* Steam Cloud Rising at R/C Theatre’s Wilkes-Barre Movies 14, Northampton and Main streets, Wilkes-Barre - 2 p.m.
* Justice for ALL at R/C Theatre’s Wilkes-Barre Movies 14, Northampton and Main streets, Wilkes-Barre - 6:30 p.m.
* Rolling at R/C Theatre’s Wilkes-Barre Movies 14, Northampton and Main Streets, Wilkes-Barre - 7 p.m.
Sunday, September 30
* Welcoming and Affirming Ecumenical Worship Service & Lunch, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church - 12:00 p.m.
* Saint of 9/11 at R/C Theatre’s Wilkes-Barre Movies 14, Northampton and Main streets, Wilkes-Barre - 2:00 p.m.
