LGBT Film Festival envokes sense of pride
The IUPUI Campus Center hosted the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Film Festival on Nov. 14-16.
By Manny Casillas | Editorial Assistant
The I.U.P.U.I. Campus Center played host to the annual Indianapolis Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Film Festival on Nov. 14 – 16.
The festival kicked off Friday night with “Save Me”, an independent film exploring the issue of religion and homosexuality. The film, starring Chad Allen, Judith Light and Robert Gant played to a packed audience, with actor Gant (of T. V.’s “Queer As Folk”) present.
“It means so much to be here and be able to share in the stories being told. All of our stories have different beginnings and different ends, and it’s great to be able to see that,” said Gant after the film’s premiere.
The next few days saw a bevy of short films and features that presented a myriad of perspectives on gay and lesbian life.
Saturday’s round of screenings included short films “Queering My Mother!” and “20 Straws: Growing Up Gay” with some of the directors themselves in attendance.
“It’s really exciting and fun, [especially] because I shot the entire thing in Indiana,” said Anthony Miendl, whose short film, “Ready? Ok!” was nominated for a grand prize.
Saturday culminated with two very different features. The first, “Were The World Mine”, directed by Tom Gustafson, a musical that takes Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” into the queerest of territories when a young boy uses a love potion that turns the whole town on its head.
“The next day I went out and ordered the soundtrack, it was inspiring,” said David West, another UIndy student in attendance.
Then there was “Otto; Or Up With Dead People”, the latest from underground filmmaker Bruce LaBruce.
On the documentary side, the big name was the feature “For The Bible Tells Me So”, an award-winning film that tackles homosexuality and scripture. It was then followed by the lesbian shorts series, which included “Baby Jane”, a parody of the kitsch classic, and “Late”, from popular filmmaker Guinevere Turner.
The festival ended Sunday evening with the showing of “The World Unseen”, a sort of romance between two women set in Apartheid-era South Africa. All in all, it was an exciting and eye-opening event for all involved.
“It [the festival] strengthened me and gave me a renewed sense of pride,” West said.
