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2008
BIRMINGHAM SHOUT
Gay &
Lesbian Film Festival
Saturday,
March
29, 2008
Celebrate gay and lesbian films with the third annual
Birmingham Shout at WorkPlay in Birmingham. This year's
festival is a scaled-down one-day event,
showcasing the best features, documentaries and short films exploring
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender themes.
A Day Full of LGBT Films!
Tickets now on sale!
Click Here!
More info!
Click Here!
THIS YEAR'S LINE-UP....
CHASING THE DEVIL: INSIDE THE EX-GAY MOVEMENT
Saturday, March 29, 11:30 am WorkPlay Theatre
Chasing the Devil is a feature documentary film presenting an
unflinching look at the personal journeys of four people who claim to
have changed their sexual orientation from gay to straight. Their
stories mark the first time documentary filmmakers have been allowed
inside the "ex-gay" movement and provide an empathetic and, at times,
devastating portrait of those who claim homosexuality is an illness that
can be healed.
SHELTER
Saturday, March 29, 2:15 pm, WorkPlay Theatre
Forced to give up his dreams of art school in order to take care of his
family, Zach (Trevor Wright) has become accustomed to a life where he
neglects his own needs in favor of taking care of his older sister,
Jeanne (Tina Holmes) and his nephew, Cody. When his best friend's older
brother, Shaun (Brad Rowe), returns home to cure a case of writer's
block, Shaun and Zach develop a friendship that develops into a true,
intimate relationship. Shaun presses Zach to take control of his life,
and to take ownership of his artwork. He also develops a strong bond
with Cody, and Zach happily notices the positive effect Shaun's
attention has on him. As time progresses, however, a host of new issues
come up. Zach struggles with his identity, his family, and friends,
while trying to understand the new emotions Shaun has brought into his
life. When the cat is let out of the bag, Jeanne threatens to take Cody
away. Wanting nothing but the best for him, Zach is forced to decide
between his pattern of always putting others' desires first or fighting
for what is really most important and appropriate for both his and
Cody's future. "With an outstanding script expertly brought to life
through stellar performances and striking cinematography, Shelter
is a gorgeous, captivating film that is, at its heart, a story about
family." - Kirsten Schaffer, OUTFEST.
SPIDER LILIES
Saturday, March 29, 4:30 pm, WorkPlay Theatre
When Jade, a web-cam girl visits Takeko's tattoo studio she becomes
entranced with the image of the spider lily and with Takeko as well. In
order to get closer to the object of her desire, Jade asks Takeko to
give her the same lily tattoo, challenging Takeko's monastic existence
and opening up memories which threaten to tear the two women apart.
BI THE WAY
Saturday, March 29, 7:00 pm, WorkPlay Theatre
Journeying through the changing sexual landscape of America, BI THE WAY
investigates the latest scientific reports and social opinions on
bisexuality, while following five members of the emerging "whatevergeneration"
teens and twenty-somethings who seem to be ushering in a whole new
sexual revolution.
SEX POSITIVE
Saturday, March
29, 9:30 pm, WorkPlay Theatre
Sex Positive explores the life of Richard Berkowitz, a revolutionary gay
S&M hustler turned AIDS activist in the 1980s, whose incomparable
contribution to the invention of safe sex has never been aptly credited.
Berkowitz emerged from the epicenter of the epidemic demanding a
solution to the problem long before those both within and outside of the
gay community would take heed. However, it was not Berkowitz's voice
alone that sparked contention. Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, a controversial
virologist and AIDS doctor, postulated that AIDS was more complicated
than just a new virus. With Sonnabend's theory in tow, Berkowitz fought,
alongside beloved activist and musician Michael Callen, for safer sex
practices with out giving up on sex altogether. Sex Positive explores
the explicit bravery of this unrecognized triumvirate, and their dire
quest to save lives in the midst of unwavering dissent. Through the eyes
of Mr. Berkowitz, we are made witness to a graphic testimony of sex,
death, and betrayal, placing the invention of safe sex in a fresh and
compelling context. Now destitute and alone, Mr. Berkowitz tells his
story to a world who never
wanted to listen.
Visit the Birmingham SHOUT Website for more details
2007
BIRMINGHAM SHOUT
Gay &
Lesbian Film Festival
April 27-29, 2007
Birmingham SHOUT, the state’s only gay + lesbian film festival,
kicks off Friday, April 27 and runs through Sunday, April 29, on two
screens at Workplay on Birmingham’s Southside. After our successful
inaugural year in 2006, our 2007 festival has almost twice as many
films, celebrating a diverse community that has been marginalized
too often, especially in the Deep South.
In fact, SHOUT is one of only a small handful of festivals of its
type to exist in the Deep South. We are proud that Birmingham shows
such wonderful support for this much-needed cultural addition to the
city’s landscape.
Please consider attending our exciting
opening night, where Rep. Patricia Todd will make a brief keynote
address in conjunction with our screening of the documentary
BULLDIGGER, which chronicles her own recent winning campaign,
followed by the beautiful, award-winning THE GYMNAST; or our special
Saturday night screening of SUFFERING MANS CHARITY, where we will
give our first Beacon Award to actor Alan Cumming, who will be in
attendance. Or consider both!
There are so many great films this year, I’m sure you’ll find
something of interest to you. And on the website, you can purchase
tickets for all films.
Birmingham SHOUT is a non-profit festival and is a project of the
Alabama Moving Image Association, the same organization that brings
you the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival and other great film
programming to Birmingham.
2007 FILM HIGHLIGHTS
FREEHELD
Detective Lieutenant Laurel Hester spent 25 years investigating
tough cases in Ocean County, New Jersey, protecting the rights of
victims and putting her life on the line. She had no reason to
expect that in the last year of her life, after she was diagnosed
with terminal cancer, that her final battle for justice would be for
the woman she loved.
FREEHELD chronicles Laurel's struggle to transfer her earned pension
to her domestic partner, Stacie Andree. With less than six months to
live, Laurel refuses to back down when her elected officials – the
Ocean County Freeholders – deny her request to leave her pension to
Stacie, an automatic option for heterosexual married couples.
As Laurel's plight intensifies, it spurs a media frenzy and a
passionate advocacy campaign. At the same time, FREEHELD captures a
quieter, personal story: that of the deep love between Laurel and
Stacie as they face the reality of losing each other.
FREEHELD
screens with BOB + JACK'S 52 YEAR ADVENTURE
Sunday, April 29, 2:30 pm at WorkPlay Soundstage
For tickets
click here.
BOB + JACK'S 52 YEAR ADVENTURE
In 1952 an Army sergeant was cornered and courted by his commanding
officer. Their romance grew and then grew too obvious. Rumors became
anonymous tips to headquarters. They avoided court-martial by
confronting the troops in their unit. That pivotal moment cemented
Bob and Jack together for the rest of their lives.
52-years later they share how they've remained a couple: how they
left wives and children, moved to a small town in the Pacific
Northwest and started a radio station, and today how they battle it
out in their eighties.
BOB & JACK'S 52 YEAR ADVENTURE is the true self-told story about the
kind of lifelong love we all hope for and the equal rights two men
who are still in love will now need to survive.
BOB + JACK'S 52 YEAR ADVENTURE
screens with FREEHELD
Sunday, April 29, 2:30 pm at WorkPlay Soundstage
For tickets
click here.
RED WITHOUT BLUE
RED WITHOUT BLUE is an artistic and groundbreaking portrayal of
gender, identity, and the unswerving bond of twinship despite
transformation.
In 1983, Mark and Alexander Farley were born minutes apart in Big
Sky country with an identical genetic make-up. The twins' early
lives were quintessential by-products of their all-American family:
picture perfect holidays, a second home by the lake, supportive
parents who cheered them on every step of the way. By the time they
were 14, their parents had divorced, they had come out as gay, and a
joint suicide attempt precipitated a forced separation of Mark and
Alex for two and half years.
Today, Mark is attending art school in San Francisco, and Alex is
living as a woman named Clair in New York. RED WITHOUT BLUE explodes
our notions of self-hood and sexual identity through its deeply
personal look at the unique and unconventional relationship between
Mark and Clair as they mature into adulthood.
RED WITHOUT BLUE
Saturday, April 28, 4:30 pm at WorkPlay Soundstage
For tickets
click here.
LAST YEAR'S EVENT
The First Annual GLBT Film Festival
The first annual celebration of gay and lesbian films in
the Magic City was inaugurated April 28-29 with the very successful
Birmingham
Shout film festival at WorkPlay in Birmingham’s Southside.
It showcased the
best features, documentaries and short films exploring gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender themes.
Birmingham Shout's sold-out Opening Night, featured Sundance Film Festival favorite
"Small Town
Gay Bar." A reception was held beforehand and party was held
afterwards.
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Highlighting
Independent & Alternative Films
A project of the Alabama Moving Image Association, Inc., best
known for the nationally recognized Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival,
Birmingham Shout will
celebrate the growing gay and lesbian communities in the Magic City, as
well as the increasing demand for alternative/independent films in the
Greater Birmingham area. The two-day film festival showcased
features, documentaries and short films by new and established artists
and offered attendees the opportunity to view topics of interest to the GLBT communities, as well as to interact with filmmakers and documentary
subjects in attendance.
GREAT LINE-UP
List of the 2006 Films
SMALL TOWN GAY BAR
Focusing primarily on two bars in Mississippi, Rumors and Crossroads,
this amazing documentary introduces us to their proprietors as they
struggle to stand their ground in hostile terrain. The film showcases
the story of community in the Deep South and challenges the audience to
deal with struggles against ignorance, hypocrisy and oppression.
BE REAL
A joyous portrait and a celebration of the spirit and creativity of
local community heroes who have learned how to tap into their inner
strength and stand by their convictions to teach the importance of being
true to ourselves.
CRUEL & UNUSUAL
An unflinching look at the lives of male-to-female transsexual women in
men's prisons in the United States. Most transsexuals have not had sex
reassignment surgery, and prisons place inmates according to their
"gender assigned at birth," not their gender identity.
SUMMER STORM
A coming-of-age story about two best friends who are teammates on their
championship rowing team. Problems arise at summer camp, and they must
grapple with prejudices, fears and hidden longings when a team of
athletic, cliché-busting young gay men arrive at the camp.
THE AGGRESSIVES
A dynamic documentary, featuring intimate interviews with six lesbians
who define themselves as “Aggressives”. We see their daily lives and
also highlights of their participation in the underground lesbian “ball”
scene. The Aggressives range in masculinity but do not aspire to be men.
Nor are they “drag kings.” They have found an unexplored loophole in
society’s gender tapestry and this film seeks to expose their world.
WHEN I’M 64
A rare, melodious gay romance story between two older men – a retired
school teacher and a gruff cabbie.
PICK UP THE MIC
An explosive documentary on the world of queer hip-hop, or "homohop",
featuring searing public performances and intimate interviews with the
community's most significant players. The film captures an underground
music movement as it's about to hit the mainstream - defying the music
industry's homophobic traditions in the process.
LOVING ANNABELLE
A controversial lesbian romance about an accomplished Catholic boarding
school teacher who has an affair with a stud.
GAY SEX IN THE 70s
A steamy visit to the sexually charged period post-Stonewall, pre-AIDS
when gay men experienced an unprecedented sexual freedom. The film
focuses on New York City between 1969 and 1981, using remarkable
present-day interviews and stunning archival footage, taking us back to
the piers, the trucks, the Central Park rambles, the back rooms, and the
baths. It was a time where repression and fear were replaced by a sexual
explosion, where shame became joy.
THE CELLULOID CLOSET.
The
acclaimed documentary of the history of gays and lesbians in cinema,
with clips from over 100 Hollywood movies, and interviews with many of
the filmmakers and stars who created them. THE CELLULOID CLOSET makes us
see Hollywood images in a whole new light.
IT'S IN THE WATER.
A hilarious comic portrait of small-town life and a firm trouncing of
homophobic intolerance as the whole town confronts the zany rumor that
their water supply is turning everyone gay!
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