Atlanta’s Out on Film adds films and GLAAD for this week’s edition of the film festival
Out on Film presented by WarnerMedia announced late additions to the lineup of films for the 34th edition of the Atlanta-based LGBTQIA+ film festival which starts in little more than a week (September 24-October 3).
Added to theimpressive lineup of the hybrid film festival will be Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s award-winning personal drama Flee, a special 30th Anniversary presentation of Alek Keshishian’s documentary, Madonna: Truth or Dare, Todd Stephens’ drama Swan Song, featuring a career capping performance by the iconic Udo Kier, and the world premiere of Sharon Lewis’ documentary With Wonder. Out on Film also announced that GLAAD has come onboard to sponsor the Closing Night world premiere screening of William T. Horner and Stacey Woelfel’s Keep the Cameras Rolling: The Pedro Zamora Way.
Out on Film Festival Director, Jim Farmer, said, “Just as our Out on Film team works tirelessly to put together all of the production and presentation details for both our in-theater and online virtual screenings, we also continue to work to ensure that we have left no stone unturned when it comes to the films we offer each year. When you have an opportunity to add one of the year’s top award winners, an anniversary of a signature film, another film with a true icon of cinema front and center, and another world premiere, then you just have to do it. Add to that, being able to join forces with an organization like GLAAD on behalf of a truly special film like Keep the Cameras Rolling: The Pedro Zamora Story? Well, that can’t help but add an amazing exclamation point on everything!”
Rasmussen’s Flee, a Grand Jury Prize winner at Sundance, utilizes animation to tell the story of a man whose deeply held secret from his days as a refugee threaten to destroy the world he and his husband had built for themselves. The screening of Keshishian’s documentary, Madonna: Truth or Dare provides an opportunity to look back at a time when the music legend was at her peak with all cameras on her at seemingly every moment of her life. Stephens’ drama Swan Song, stars Udo Kier as a flamboyant hairdresser on an epic mission to do a dying client’s hair one last time. Lewis’ documentary, With Wonder explores the uneasy relationship between being Christian and Queer, and asks the vital question of whether that is even possible in a real sense.
GLAAD joining forces with Out on Film to sponsor the previously announced Closing Night world premiere screening of William T. Horner and Stacey Woelfel’s Keep the Cameras Rolling: The Pedro Zamora Way truly adds to the anticipation of that evening’s presentation. The documentary looks at the life of Pedro Zamora, who gained fame on MTV’s The Real World, and utilized that platform to open up his life, his joy, and his influence on the world until his death at the age of 22. Zamora’s partner, Sean Sasser, worked with GLAAD from 1997 to 1998 helping to open and run the organization’s Atlanta chapter, and GLAAD was very closely aligned with Zamora’s efforts throughout his young life to make a difference in education, raising awareness, and humanizing the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
“GLAAD is thrilled to be working with and supporting Out on Film for the first time this year to help uplift and amplify such an important space for LGBTQ filmmakers and storytellers,” says Jeremy Blacklow, GLAAD’s Director of Entertainment Media. “Keep the Cameras Rolling: The Pedro Zamora Way is a powerful film that’s intertwined with GLAAD’s own history and DNA. We’re thrilled to help support the filmmakers who are bringing Pedro’s incredible legacy forward to a new generation.”
For information on purchasing passes, tickets, and additional details on Out on Film, please go to: outonfilm.org.
The 2021 Out on Film additional selections:
Flee
Director: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
Country: Afghanistan, Running Time: 83 min
Flee tells the story of Amin Nawabi as he grapples with a painful secret he has kept hidden for 20 years, one that threatens to derail the life he has built for himself and his soon to be husband. Recounted mostly through animation to director Jonas Poher Rasmussen, he tells for the first time the story of his extraordinary journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan.
Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991)
Director: Alek Keshishian
Country: USA, Running Time: 120 min
Madonna: Truth or Dare chronicles Madonna’s controversial 1990 “Blonde Ambition” international tour, kicking off in Japan during its rainy season, then traveling to North America with significant stops in Los Angeles, Detroit, Toronto, and New York. The film is a behind-the-scenes look at Madonna’s relationships with her dancers and crew, her then-boyfriend Warren Beatty, and her family and friends, achieving an intimate glimpse into the boundary-pushing singer’s drive and individuality.
Swan Song
Director: Todd Stephens
Country: USA, Running Time: 105 min
Retired hairdresser Pat Pitsenbarger (Udo Kier) has given up on life from the confines of his small-town Sandusky, Ohio nursing home. But when Pat gets word that a former client’s dying wish was for Pat to style her final hairdo, he sets out on an epic journey across Sandusky to confront the ghosts of his past—and collect the beauty supplies necessary for the job. Swan Song is a comical and bittersweet journey about rediscovering oneself and looking gorgeous while doing so.
With Wonder World Premiere
Director: Sharon Lewis
Country: USA, Running Time:
Born out of Director Sharon Lewis’ own muted struggle with not fitting into neat racial/Queer/Christian boxes, With Wonder takes an intimate look at the journey of members of the Queer, Christian community and their attempts to answer the question: Can you be both Christian and Queer? In the film, we hear and see diverse members of the LGBTQIA+ community, including high profile queer activists and Queer clerics, in places like Jamaica, New York, London, and Los Angeles. They each have their own unique ways of amplifying their voices and finding their way back to spiritual health, despite the shaming tactics of some Christian institutions.
