Pride Fest

One of my favorite Bloomington events is coming up-- Pride Fest!

If you haven't picked up tickets yet, grab 'em up, it's Jan. 25-27.

My favorite memories from last year:

1. Really eye-opening films about issues and subcultures I didn't know about before--The Aggressives, about a group of lesbians of color often self identified as "aggressive butches" and their competitions (kind of like drag king balls, but with lots of differences) and their lives in New York...//100% Woman, about Michelle Dumaresq, a male-to-female downhill mountain biker and her experience with discrimination from other women in the sport. Very, very compelling questions about physique and biology as they relate to gender. // And all the other amazing short films!

2. The chocolate man and the Pride dance party! Let's hope he'll be back this year, accompanied by some other-gendered (where my ladies at?!) near-nudes dipped in chocolate and thrusting.

3. Discovering El Norteno on a break between movies--my dining life hasn't been the same since! Damn good mole.

Films that I'm looking forward to this year:

Pretty Ladies: A Super8explosion! / Catherine Crouch /Comedy, 30m
A mythical tale of desire and want tinged with the humor of Flannery O’Connor. A gorgeous and striking use of Super 8 film.

Before Nine / Hana Abdul / Experimental, 26m
This film tells the story of two families whose lives are marked by transitions, loss, and violence. Through the use of a non-linear structure, repetition, and overlaps, Before Nine brings together three stories - two young girls’ attempt to cope with the psychological trauma of racialized homophobia; a mother’s search for a job, and a grandmother’s attempt to overcome the loss of her home and business.

Women in Love / Karen Everett / Documentary, 59m
While examining the human ability to redefine ourselves and reshape what we think "love" means, filmmaker Karen Everett masterfully weaves images of lesbians making their way through present-day sex clubs and attending masturbation seminars. Drawing on her own experience and that of her circle of lesbian, bisexual and polyamorous friends and lovers, Everett blends her own personal trials with intimate, raw and emotional moments of sexual pleasure and heart-wrenching loneliness.

Screaming Queens: Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria / Victor Silverman & Susan Stryker /Documentary, 67m
Screaming Queens introduces viewers to a diverse cast of former prostitutes, drag entertainers, police officers, ministers, and neighborhood activists, all of whom played a part in the events leading up to the Compton’s Cafeteria riot. The program goes on to show the connection between transgender activism and the larger social upheavals affecting the United States in the 1960s: the civil rights and sexual liberation movements, the youth counterculture, urban renewal, and antipoverty programs.

Rock Bottom: Gay Men & Meth / Jay Corcoran / Documentary, 61m
Rock Bottom follows the journeys of seven gay men struggling with meth addiction and recovery against a backdrop of an emerging second wave of HIV infection. A chilling portrait of a community in crisis.

For full schedule, see their website.

In other news, I'm on the radio tonight subbing for 'Women's Space' from 9pm-11pm-- listen at 98.1 or 91.3 or at wfhb.org