Shobiz News/Blog Posts

Hello! As the genocides and wars rage on, cultural work that speaks to these times is a way to give our spirits some breath.  Here are some festivals that have graciously included my work – which has always observed the cultural boycott of the apartheid (and made-up) state of israel.
i’m very proud to be included in every one.   This summer, my movies “$4 Billion Reasons.” “M or F” and “Rural Butch Femme Rap” will be seen in Australia, France and/or the United Kingdom and online internationally.

AN/Other Film Festival  (tickets)  Another Film Festival puts people with disability at the centre of storytelling and filmmaking. Join us for a week of films by and about people with disability.
Encompassing a program of film screenings and conversations, AN/OTHER Film Festival 2024 presents diverse stories and perspectives from around the globe.
The program is shaped around three themes: Wide Open Spaces and Urban Landscapes, The Simple Things in Life, and Queer Minds and Bodies and Chosen Families.
All films are audio described and captioned.
Queer Minds and Bodies and Chosen Families
Screening 1 | Fri 19th July, 2024 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Screening 2 + Q&A with Steven Fraser | Sat 20th July, 2024 7:30 pm – 10:00 pm

Queer Minds and Bodies and Chosen Families examines the intersection of queer identities and disability, and difficulty of not fitting neatly into categories of disability, sexuality or gender. How do we navigate this in a world that can struggle to understand one type of difference, never mind more than one embodied in the same person?

AN_OTHER Film Festival Screening Queer Minds and Bodies and Chosen Families Humanitix

*********

Gilbert Baker Film Festival’s  focus is celebrating and amplifying authentic 2SLGBTQIA+ / Queer Stories on Screen and the Creators who bring those stories to life and connecting a Global film loving and film making community (our GBFF Gilbees) by allowing folks to be seen, heard, valued, loved, and respected. Streaming on Eventive June 07, 2024 thru August 19, 2024

Gilbert Baker Film Festival- GBFF takes a unique approach and hosts interactive, international pop in/drop in discussion groups, watch parties, Q & A, networking and social events throughout our festival run.
My film “M or F’ is included in this screening.

M or F (2024) _ Out of This World Collection GBFF2024 _Experimental, original, and fantastical; let your imagination run wild!_ _ Gilbert Baker Film Festival GBFF2024

*********

36th Cineffable Paris International Lesbian & Feminist Film Festival (31 October -03 November 2024) have chosen to screen my humorous story about “date nights” and being queer outside of urban areas, “Rural Butch Femme Rap.”

From the festival website: ” The Paris Feminist and Lesbian Film Festival, Quand les lesbiennes se font du cinéma, started in 1989. The desire to organise a festival grew out of discontent and frustration with the Women’s Film Festival at Créteil: despite the fact that THE lesbian film always won the People’s Choice Award (prix du public) at Créteil, hardly any space was given to lesbian films and lesbian festival goers.”

One method to control populations is to use administrative violence is to pathologize difference and dissent. In this film, I reenact what actually happened to me in a psychiatric setting.  The clothes I wear provoked a very violent response by medical professionals – I was locked up and forced to take psychotropic medications. This film uses experimental visuals to highlight the insidiousness of the therapist’s words.

From eugenics to ethnonationalism, here we go again.  Also, Free Palestine.

Watch the movie I made about my experience in My Crazy Boxers.

 

Hello, as you all know i’ve been trying to be a human worthy of this planet. I’ve tried to use my cultural work in the service of justice, exposing the pinkwashing of the apartheid state of you-know-who, and supporting the call for #BDS.  All of that does not seem to have helped the Palestinians, but i am not going to allow myself the luxury of being discouraged.  Maybe the organizing we are doing now will blend into refugee support and other new forms of trying to keep one another alive in a more just world.

My movie CAROL was selected for the Brighton Animation Festival, and will screen on Sunday, April 7, 2024 at 6:15pm at Fabrica.

OMG OMG I’m in a program with Barbara friggin Hammer in Marseille, France! Thank you to everyone, this is a triumph for us all.

Mémoire des Sexualités is partnering with Videodrome 2 for a week of cinema, to bring our queer archives to life. Facebook event here.

Intimate and political stories, Sexual and militant connections between different eras, places and generations, Archive films that open windows onto past desires and struggles, Diaries, video cassettes forgotten in cupboards, But also fiction films, to tell the stories we miss.

This festival is also a pretext to meet, and invent new imaginations for our future archives, which, as you know, are moving to Boulevard de la Libération. All sessions are free of charge, the profits will be donated to Mémoire des sexualités for the development work of the new premises.

⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ 𝗔𝗨 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗠𝗘 ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆

⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ TUESDAY DECEMBER 5 ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ • 6.30 p.m. ✧

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 by Agustina Comedi | 2018 | Argentina | 13 mins

𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 by TT Takemoto | 2021 | USA | 6 mins

𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙙𝙮𝙠𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨 (𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙦 𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨) by Krissy Mahan | 2012 | USA | 2 min

𝘿𝙮𝙠𝙚 𝙏𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙨 by Barbara Hammer | 1974 | USA | 4 mins

𝙇𝙚𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨 𝙙’𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙣𝙚 by Mario Fanfani | 2013 | France | 20 mins • 9:00 p.m. ✧ 𝙎

𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙄 𝙄𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚 by Metin Akdemir | 2020 | Türkiye | 46 mins Metin Akdemir combines archival footage, interviews, and re-enactments. Working on three films from the Turkish movement of the 80s “Women Films”, he explores the queer imagination that he posed on these portraits of women’s relationships, not being explicitly presented as queer but leaving for him the possibility of ‘dream about it. Session followed by a video discussion with the director

⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6 ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ • 6:30 p.m. ✧

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙂𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙍𝙤𝙗𝙗𝙚𝙧: 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝘽𝙪𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙇𝙚𝙨𝙗𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙁𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙤𝙢 𝙁𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙖 𝙗𝙤 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 by Julie Perini | 2017 | USA | 47 mins The vibrant portrait of Rita Bo Brown, a white butch from the working class also nicknamed the Gentleman Bank Robber, in reference to the elegance with which she carried out the bank robberies in which she took part in the 1970s as a member of the George Jackson Brigade, dedicated to the anti-racist and anti-carceral fight. • 9:00 p.m. ✧

𝘼𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙚𝙣 𝙕𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚́𝙨 by Lionel Soukaz and Stéphane Gérard | 2023 | France | 43 mins Daily spleen, drunkenness between friends, conversations and the passing of time: the video diary composed by Lionel Soukaz chronicles the beginning of the 1990s, the comet tail of these never-ending winter years and the nightmare of the AIDS years. But edited thirty years later with Stéphane Gérard, they also serve as a tribute to the deceased, the beloved spouse who is at the center of all the scenes filmed, Hervé Couergou. In the presence of Lionel Soukaz and Stéphane Gérard

⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ THURSDAY DECEMBER 7 ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ • 7:00 p.m. ✧

𝗖𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘂𝘅 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗚𝗮𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝘀 Left Hands, a queer and feminist festival with slippery labels, invites itself for a short film session. This is the opportunity to discover or rediscover the selection work proposed by its team which signed its fourth edition last September. • 9:00 p.m. ✧

𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 by Randa Mirza and Oras Elone | 30-45 mins The memory archives of sexualities come to life on the big screen, live, with Randa Mirza’s camera, on the sound layers of Oras Eleon. ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ FRIDAY DECEMBER 8 • 7:00 p.m. ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ • 7:00 p.m. ✧

𝙇𝙚𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙤̂𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙙𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 by Lazarus Lazarus and Lupa | 2023 | France | 35 mins The crazy story of a hard gay club open in Marseille since 1967, the Mineshaft, with the presentation of a montage from old bdsm porn VHS. From cassettes shot by hand in Marseille, to USA productions, this film tells the story of a genealogy of S&M images. In the presence of the bar managers, Marc and Angelo, and some regulars 🔈 Session containing explicit sexual scenes • 9:00 p.m. ✧

𝙋𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙚 𝙫𝙤𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚/𝙉𝙚𝙬- 𝙔𝙤𝙧𝙠 by Peter Friedman | 1998 | France, USA | 40 mins No direct flight… mixes a poetic portrait of this exotic city – seen by a foreigner – with interviews with gay and lesbian Marseillais. We meet a former dockworker who became a gay activist, a lesbian mother and her lesbian daughter, a young man kicked out of his parents’ house for his homosexuality, a mother who is writing a book about her son who died of AIDS and different groups of women . In the presence of director Peter Friedman and Michèle Belladonna, one of the protagonists of the film

⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ Saturday December 9 ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ • 7:00 p.m. ✧

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙒𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣 𝙒𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣 by Cheryl Dunye | 1996 | USA | 1h30 Videographer Cheryl Dunye begins research around lesbian and racialized people who would have been active in the cinema industry in the USA before her. • 8:30 p.m.

★★★ 𝗦𝗼𝗶𝗿𝗲́𝗲 𝗱𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻 𝗮̀ 𝗹𝗮 𝗗𝗮𝗿! ★★★

⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ SUNDAY DECEMBER 10 ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ •8:00 p.m. 

𝗟𝗲𝘀 𝗦𝗼𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗲 𝗹𝗮 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗲́𝘁𝘂𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 45 mins At Memory of Sexualities, a shelf is occupied by a few neutral cardboard sleeves. These archives of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence contain hundreds of photos of parties, demonstrations and gatherings. These archives come to life thanks to the voices of sisters Marie Sulpice and Izadora, in a series of podcast interviews which we offer you to listen to, accompanied by the projection of part of the photographic archives which bear witness to the thirty years of presence of the Sisters of the Perpetual Indulgence in Marseille. Invited to this evening are the Couvent des Chênaies, the local order of Sisters, and Vanessa Hiblot for an exhibition of a series of photographs taken with the nuns dedicated to Saint Latex.

⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ 🔗 More information on our site: https://wp.me/p7zfFm-28PY ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆

𝗜𝗡𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗦 ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆ 🎟 Recommended free price €5 (+ annual membership €6) 🕐 The ticket office opens 30 minutes before the start of each session. 📍 Videodrome 2 49 Cours Julien – 13006 Marseille Metro: line 2 – Notre Dame du Mont station Bus: line 74 – Stop 3 Frères Barthélemy

Cycle cinéma Mémoire des sexualités au cinéma – Videodrome 2

Baltic Circle Theatre Festival is an international festival for contemporary theatre and performance organised annually in November in Helsinki. Next edition is the 20th and it takes place in Helsinki from 17 to 25 November 2023.

Remi Vesala:  showroom: worldly portals

this room is filled with tension between life and becoming
(they are rewriting a ghost story)

showroom is a metamorphic event concept, where different ways of watching and listening together are experimented with. The edition titled worldly portals is an evening consisting of a curated screening of moving-image works, short films and a live music performance by Niña Sombra.

List of short films shown during the evening

marlow magdalene: Velvet Rain (2019)
duration: approx. 7 min
language: English

The undead are watching you, Suzan. Run, Suzie, run. This conceptual zombie collage centers the eminent violence Black folk experience amidst white surveillance.

krissy mahan: When a Butch Dyke Dies (2014)
duration: 2 min 11 s
language: English

What happens to butch dykes when their health fails and/or they die? There are some things that need to be considered in advance (cocks, exes, underwear…). I made this as a way to make light of a near-death illness.

krissy mahan: My Crazy Boxers (2013)
duration: 8 min
language: English

Institutional violence is sometimes hard to name because it has been normalized as neutral. But people experiencing it know that living “between checkboxes” can be a life or death matter. The film re-enacts a conversation based on actual meetings with hospital staff while in a psychiatric hospital system.

The film contains instances of queer- and transphobic attitudes of the medical industry, invalidation from the medical community and refers to an suicide attempt. These may be distressing or triggering for some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.

ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS: We Come With Nothing (2023)
duration: 30 min
language: English
subtitles: English

We Come With Nothing is a film reimagining the 2021 stagework of the same name. Inspired by ‘constellation novels’ and ghost stories, it conjures a shadow world of broken connections. What happens when a relationship ends in estrangement? What do we discover when we stare into this black hole?

 

Niña Sombra floods the spaces every time their machines start generating sounds taking every breath below the soil, blindfolded stepping forward the secret passages.

Remi Vesala is a freelance curator living in Helsinki. Vesala takes situations and places as starting points for curatorial work, aiming to make space for complexity, theory and emotions. Vesala shares an artistic practice together with visual artist Jade Kallio. Together they make experimental short films focusing on queer eco-fiction.

marlow magdalene is a filmmaker whose work explores the transgressive space of Black memory, social death, intercellular trauma, and the underbelly of the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. His work showcases a gothic, low-fi lens into a cinematic universe composed through dance, harrowing portraits of Black depression, and lyrical camera movement.

krissy mahan is a self-taught filmmaker who centers marginalized people, such as people with disabilities, working class and queer people.

ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS is a Queer art collective. Chris Gylee and Aslan have been living and making artwork together for more than a decade. Their practice is multidisciplinary with a strong emphasis on writing, film and live performance and involves elements of publication, installation, and curation. www.oncewewereislands.com

In collaboration with Mad House Helsinki.

Baltic Circle

Anti-racist, feminist justice requires creating socially shared affective receptivity, not merely ideological nor cognitive openness.

The fantasy of “economic self-reliance” is predicated on privileging white, properties interests and restricting public resources for their own use

Ethical witnessing seeks to make justice irresistible and white supremacy intolerable.

Racism is perpetually insecure and anxious, despite economic,  racial, national and gender dominance.

Depoliticization of racial struggles meant protest against exclusion and exploitation were reformatted as acts of crime against the nation.

Neoliberalism would have us individualize problems rather than make fundamental changes.

Justice is not a static thing we achieve once and for all. It is something that has to be persistently struggled for on the basis of shared principles as conditions change.

But we are comforted and motivated by the fact that at the very least, we try to abide by our principles. We do this imperfectly and always incompletely. When we try not to engage in the labor of hatred, denial, disavowal, guilt, and projection, when we reveal lies repeated by white heteropatriarchal supremacy, when we do not reject the fact that we are all complicit in systems of denigration and destruction in some way, when we do not shy away from our social and political responsibility to end oppression – that is when the process of struggling for justice begins to offer an unchartered sense of liberation, an unlegislated experience of freedom, and a mutually interdependent place to belong.

Thinking from my dear sister/friend, Dr. Paula Ioanide