FILMS GONE WILD: OUTstream Film Fest got it right when it came to seeking inclusion with their debut virtual LGBTQIA+ film festival
The OUTstream Film Fest wrapped on Sunday and I wanted to call attention to it again, not simply because there were A LOT of fantastic films featured and filmmakers and subjects who received an enthusiastic platform for their work and their stories, but because there is a really important inspiration behind the film festival and energy that I think is vital when talking about LGBTQIA+ film festivals.
OUTstream Film Fest Closing Night selection, GAY CHORUS DEEP SOUTH
Admittedly, I am the publicist for OUTstream Film Fest and because of that I would understand anyone heaping the grains of salt onto this column, but I also trust in my Pollyanna-ish belief that in a general sense people will not dismiss what I have to say here based on the fact that they are clients of mine. Bluntly, this column is not just shillerama infotainment on behalf of an event or organization that employs me. I am fortunate that I have the opportunity to work on behalf of organizations and people that I believe in. Yesterday also wrapped the BrightFocus Foundation’s free-to-the-public presentation of the great documentary LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE. I am a huge fan of the film AND the work BrightFocus Foundation does on behalf of research and care for those suffering with Alzheimer’s, macular degeneration, and glaucoma. I am invested in what these clients are doing beyond getting a paycheck.
June 1 marked the debut of the OUTstream Film Fest. First time out, and the very first full fledged LGBTQIA+ virtual film festival. A couple others like Outfest have screened some one-off titles virtually, and Frameline just announced their virtual schedule, but to my knowledge no one had done the big cannonball dive into the pool like this. That alone is a cause for admiration for Co-Founders/Co-Directors Ben McCarthy and Megan Garbayo, as well as Programmer Faridah Gbadamosi, and Programmer/Social Media Specialist Rachel Malia Newkirk. But there is much more here than the audacity to create and launch a brand new virtual film festival during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The very first conversation I had with Ben regarding the OUTstream Film Fest project struck me as the real “gold” the team had a hold of – which really came down to one very key word I have spoken about and had on my mind regarding a project like this: “inclusive”.
OUTstream Film Fest Opening Night selection, CHANGING THE GAME
Now, you would think that would be obvious, something baked in for a film festival built around gay and lesbian and transgender films and filmmakers. But it’s actually not. And there is a pretty defined reason for that. We’ll dig into this in some detail, but here is the debate, the conversation, the struggle that this subset of film festivals now has to deal with: Do these film festivals “invite” all audiences – gay, lesbian, trans, etc…AND straight people to see their films? Or should they tacitly limit access under the tent to those that fall under the LGBTQIA+ letters?
The second important thing to note here is that I am a straight white male. Therefore, I assume there would be some dubiousness and potential side eye regarding having me considering this topic, discussing it, and writing about it. I know that, I get it and am very aware and respectful of not overstepping and speaking out of turn. And it’s of course very possible that I will err in some way here. I hope not. I consider myself very much an ally and seek to do all of this in the right way. So, hopefully that will be evident as I think about and write about this thing that I think was great about OUTstream Film Fest.
SONG LANG was featured at OUTstream Film Fest
To quote McCarthy when the OUTstream Film Fest was first announced, “We have created OUTstream Film Fest to bring people together all across the country, of any sexual identity, to view these films, which we feel will entertain, touch, enlighten, and affect all audiences. Thanks to COVID-19, everyone in the world has received a stark reminder that we are all together and similar in many more ways than we are not. We believe this has the potential to bring people together virtually via this shared event – because art offers a rich opportunity to connect us all.” He then added, “OUTstream Film Fest could reach people that want to have an understanding about LGBTQIA+ people or appreciation for queer cinema. It’s all about inclusivity. Films are made to tell someone’s unique story and if it’s only being seen by people that have “lived” that story, then it’s not reaching everyone that could legitimately connect with and be touched by that story.”
SECOND STAR ON THE RIGHT, another selection of OUTstream Film Fest
As a film and film festival publicist, one of my top interests, priorities, and a key part of my focus is introducing the films and filmmakers under my care, so to speak, to as large of an audience as possible. I want as many butts in seats as I can encourage or influence (back when we went inside theaters and in the future when we do it again), and I want as many people introduced to the art, insight, and creativity on those screens and the people responsible for it as I can manage to help make happen. I could not care less about their sexual orientation or background or anything else. Now, that does not mean I am not very aware of our differences, and the baggage, the pre-conceived notions, the histories, and everything else all of us carry around, that might be present within each member of those audiences I’m luring into the big tent thanks to my carnival barking.
But I’m also a “true believer” in the films and filmmakers (and the value of the film festivals as part of the larger industry ecosystem). Therefore, I don’t believe you need to be gay or lesbian or transgender to be affected and touched by the stories of the filmmakers that are or the LGBTQIA+ stories they are telling or shining a light on. If you have heart then the tragedies they put in front of you will devastate you, and if you have a sense of humor then funny is funny. And if you have a brain, then the documentaries designed to make you think and dig deeper into our history or controversial issues and topics, will also send YOUR mind reeling or at the least open up your awareness of the world around you. McCarthy and Garbayo get it and OUTstream Film Fest had the ambition to deliver all of it to you – to us – ALL OF US.
BRIEF STORY FROM A GREEN PLANET, at OUTstream Film Fest
When I told the team that I wanted to write something about this, Megan Garbayo sent me a quote that educated me about something I hadn’t even thought of in relation to all of this. Garbayo said, “One of the things that made me most excited about this project is to be able to reach such a wide audience of people, especially our queer family in rural areas and places that don’t have access to a local queer film festival or even a pride parade. I am also excited for these queer voices who have yet to find distribution to reach more people and touch more hearts. I want every person who participates in our festival to walk away with a feeling of community and pride in themselves. I want to program the next trans rom-com, the next lesbian film noir, or the next gay sci-fi adventure. I want a nonbinary action hero! And I think the way we get to those films is by amplifying queer content and empowering folks to tell their own story.”
I hadn’t really thought about the difficulty in finding great independent film, and in this case great gay, lesbian, and trans stories via film in rural communities. And introduced to that thought, the idea of giving access to these films to LGBTQIA+ people living in those locales is really exciting. I mean, I grew up in a town so small that we had one theater that played two films for a month at a time before they got switched out. I don’t think a McDonalds colonized us until I was well into my teens. So that seldom satisfied hunger for entertainment that spoke to me and wasn’t the lowest common denominator big studio crap – THAT I can easily tap into. Rachel Malia Newkirk, OUTstream Film Fest Programmer and Social Media Specialist, also added to Megan Garbayo’s thoughts, saying, “Working with filmmakers to help connect queer audiences with radical art is essential. Joining the programming and marketing team for OUTstream was a no-brainer. I am honored to do my part for the queer and filmmaking communities.”
So now this becomes much more mission-oriented than just showing some movies to some people that like to watch movies, right? That brings us to the potentially tough question: What is that mission? Is it to make these films available to everyone and encourage straight audiences to watch them too? Or is it something else? Should the priority for LGBTQIA+ film festivals be to provide a safe space for the people represented by those letters – a closed clubhouse, if you will? I think that could be a valid option. I would completely understand a film festival not welcoming me in the door in a way because being a cis gender straight person it would be legit to presuppose that I could not in any way understand the base-line of everyone else under that roof. I haven’t had the experiences, the persecution, the discrimination, the hate thrown my way based on who I am attracted to and who I love. I don’t know and I could never…really…know. I understand that reasoning and I respect it. I wouldn’t agree with that approach because I do seek to understand and I am always empathetic toward others and work to be aware of what doesn’t take place right underneath my own nose, so to speak.
But ultimately a choice has to be made, I think. I don’t think this is something where you can straddle the fence. Either you invite everyone and truly be inclusive in an effort to bust all of those barriers fueled by ignorance and lack of life experience and contact with those that aren’t your double or you go the secret handshake route. But even that sounds dismissive and I don’t want to weight one side versus the other in that way because I do understand the instinct to close the ranks, circle the wagons, protect your own, etc. If I put myself in the shoes of someone who is gay, lesbian, or transgender, then maybe I just want to be surrounded by others like me, so I can watch my fucking movies in peace with people that have likely shared versions of my life’s experiences up to that point. Safe. I can relax, enjoy my popcorn and let my guard down for the duration of one fucking movie. As a straight person, I would hate to encroach on that and be that boorish guest that doesn’t pick up on the fact that everyone would kind of, you know, prefer it if I just kindly got my ass out of there, because…uhmm,..awkward. Good intentions aside, no one needs to have someone like me always invited to the party.
THE GARDEN LEFT BEHIND
But here is one of the key arguments that I think can be made against that idea: Is that LGBTQIA+ film festival “safe space” needed any longer? Countless regional film festivals have either programmed significant numbers of gay, lesbian, and transgender themed films at their fests or created dedicated sidebars and sections for them. Oxford Film Festival, Sidewalk Film Festival, and Women Texas Film Festival are three film festivals I work with that have not just done that but made a point to proclaim far and wide that they were doing it and why they were doing it. At Art House Convergence I spoke to Seattle International Film Festival’s Artistic Director Beth Barrett about this and she underlined that idea that film festivals like the ones I have mentioned or SIFF having a solid base of LGBTQIA+ programming is pretty routine now. Hell, even a film festival like Heartland, sitting in the center of one of the reddest states there is, celebrates and honors a film like Flavio Alves’ THE GARDEN LEFT BEHIND.
And no one is showing a “membership card” as they enter the theater at these regional film festivals, if you know what I mean. Straight people are in those audiences watching these films and including them in their film festival viewing schedules and appreciating them. So, damn, does that mean that film festivals like OUTstream Film Fest are pointless? No, not at all. In fact, they take on a huge role as curators of film art and the builders of bridges between their filmmakers and audiences. Just as genre fests lead the way in pushing forward the filmmakers that make the films that frighten us, film festivals like OUTstream Film Fest, Frameline, Outfest, Newfest, and Inside Out lead the way toward getting those films in front of everyone. That is a HUGE role they play in the process.
I keep thinking back to McCarthy’s quote in that first press release. “OUTstream Film Fest could reach people that want to have an understanding about LGBTQIA+ people or appreciation for queer cinema. It’s all about inclusivity. Films are made to tell someone’s unique story and if it’s only being seen by people that have “lived” that story, then it’s not reaching everyone that could legitimately connect with and be touched by that story.”
As a filmmaker I want people to get my jokes, or be freaked out by a scare, or feel a gut punch of emotion because they can connect with what the character onscreen is going through. That is universal among filmmakers, I think – that hope and desire. OUTstream Film Fest got it/gets it when it comes to wanting to reach everyone. It IS all about inclusivity. Whether you can claim one of those letters or not. And I was very proud to be part of the ambitious launch of what I think was a great debut.
