Film

Narrated by LGBTQ+ historian Lillian Faderman and illuminated through interviews with trailblazers like Jewelle Gomez (The Gilda Stories), Dorothy Allison (Bastard Out of Carolina), and Sarah Waters (Fingersmith), In Her Words: 20th Century Lesbian Fiction charts a literary journey from post-war lesbian pulp to modern bestsellers. Highlighting the successful and controversial, directors Lisa Marie Evans and Marianne K. Martin skillfully delve into stories that defined eras of lesbian writers, and the changing socio-political landscapes that encouraged an evolution of the genre. In Her Words: 20th Century Lesbian Fiction pays loving tribute to this evolution of lesbian and queer fiction, told through a lens of broader American history.

Starting in 1928, readers fell into The Well of Loneliness— a groundbreaking lesbian novel, albeit a tragic one. By the late 1990s, lesbian fiction had climbed out of the well and into a diverse world of stories and storytellers who were publishing increasingly multifaceted stories (some of them even happy ones). This film will inspire lit lovers of any age to return to old favorites, while igniting curiosity for a new literary tryst or two.

In Her Words: 20th Century Lesbian will be shown at Frameline47 June 22, 6 PM at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco and will stream online June 24 — July 2, 2023.  For more information and to purchase tickets, go to: www.framline.org.

Gary Carnivele interviews co-directors Lisa Marie Evans and Marianne K. Martin and producer Cheryl Pletcher. 

Gary:  Tell us about why this subject matter is so important to you and why you were compelled to create this wonderful documentary.

Marianne: The idea for a documentary began when I was asked to give a keynote speech at the National Music and Women in the Arts Festival. It could be on anything that I wanted – my career, my next book, publishing lesbian fiction. I began thinking about what books had had the most impact on me over the years and discussed them with friend and fellow author,

Sandra Moran. Together we put together a presentation that highlighted classic lesbian fiction and their impact on society from 1920 to 2000. The overwhelmingly positive response to our presentation and the sudden death of Nancy Garden, the author of a groundbreaking novel we had highlighted, Annie On My Mind, compelled us to get as many of the authors as possible on

film.

Cheryl: My wife, Sandra Moran, was working with Marianne K. Martin on a project to get groundbreaking 20th Century lesbian fiction authors on film. Sandra and Marianne wanted to

interview these authors in order to document this important history. Less than a year after this project was initiated by Sandra and Marianne, we found out Sandra had stage 4, incurable

cancer. Less than a month after we learned she had cancer, Sandra was gone. What compelled me to help make this documentary a reality was Sandra’s legacy. It was important to see this

dream of Sandra’s become a reality.

Gary:  By taking on an entire century, you would need to cover a lot of literary territory. Why was it important for you to delve into 100 years?

Marianne: For so many readers and writers of lesbian fiction, The Well of Loneliness, written in 1928 by Radclyffe Hall, was the first lesbian book they read. Lesbian-themed books published between the 1920’s and 2000 present a fascinating study of society’s view of lesbians and the

effect it had on their lives and on society. The limited number of books available during those

years made groundbreaking books clear and obvious landmarks. The following are just a few of

those landmarks:

The black lesbian voice of Jewelle Gomez in The Gilda Stories

Beyond the Pale, written by Jewish lesbian Elana Dykewoman

The explicit sexual content of Katherine Forrest’s Curious Wine

And, the first happy ending of Patricia Highsmith’s The Price of Salt

Gary:  I can imagine the research phase of writing the screenplay was intense. How were you able to so masterfully remind us of and, in some cases, introduce us to so many authors

in 99 minutes?

Lisa Marie: This making of this film was a deep journey into the world of lesbian fiction and LGBTQ+ history, much of which was unfamiliar to me prior to beginning this project. The

research was massive. Editing down to 99 minutes meant we left out a lot of amazing material. We want to make sure that history is shared as well.

Marianne: I think one of the things that helped us cover so many authors in a relatively short span of time is that we just let them talk. It’s difficult for an interviewer to know exactly what

questions will get the author to reveal the most unique aspects of their personal journey. Much of what we learned came from Lisa Marie doing a beautiful job of making the author feel

comfortable, asking a few leading questions, and then allowing them the freedom to tell their stories. And they gave us a treasure-trove of information. Probably the most difficult part was

choosing what was most important to include in the documentary – what was unique about the author’s journey, where did their strength come from, what did their book tell us about our

society at the time? And how did their book, their voice, affect our culture?

Gary:  Tell us about some of the writers interviewed in the film and what surprised you most about them and their work?

Lisa Marie: Ann Bannon, the Queen of Lesbian Pulp, was so generous with her interview. I did enjoy hearing her talk about Marijane Meaker. Interviewing Jewelle Gomez, who will be in attendance at our screening, was like watching a theatrical performance. Beautiful and authentic, it was as if she sang her words.We interviewed Rita Mae Brown in a barn on her ranch in Virginia with stuffed wolves in the

background. That’s just awesome.

Gary:  I’m almost sorry for asking, but who are the writers who didn’t make the final cut?

LM: There are many more stories to be documented. A world with more films about lesbian

authors is a better world indeed.

Gary: Who are the deceased writers you really wish you could have gotten before the camera?

LM: I’m sure Marijane Meaker would have had some fantastic stories. Leslie Feinberg has always been an inspiration to me.

Marianne: Two deceased authors who I would have loved to have captured on file were Virginia Wolfe and Patricia Highsmith. Each of a different time in history, each socially and

emotionally complicated. I would love to know what they needed from life, what tortured them, and what writing such important work meant to them.

Cheryl: Patricia Highsmith has always intrigued me. I’d love to know the story behind Price of Salt. What motivated her to pen it? Nancy Garden’s Annie on my Mind was such a key game

changer. And Nancy’s passing was an impetus for developing this documentary.

Gary:  How much pressure did you feel as filmmakers to explore such an important aspect of queer history?

Lisa Marie: We carried Sandra Moran with us throughout this project. We, and many in the community who adored her, wanted to see this project succeed. Success for us meant creating

a film that documented key historical authors of lesbian fiction and authentically told their stories in relation to the societal events around them. To do that, we sought input from the

authors interviewed in this film and important voices in the community. Lillian Faderman’s wealth of knowledge and feedback was crucial. We understand that there are many stories we weren’t able to tell in this film. Fortunately, there’s more films to be made. And they need to be made. Especially as books continue to be banned.

Gary:  If memory serves me right, it took several years for lesbian fiction to get mainstreamed by the big publishers after gay fiction started really taking off in the late 1970’s. Was that the case or was lesbian fiction always there but forced underground?

Marianne: As the film shows, lesbian fiction has always existed – scarce, marginalized, and often banned. Few authors had the opportunity to be published by mainstream publishers, and

even those risked banning and censorship. Most writers used pen names (sometimes usinginitials or a male name) to better their odds of publication and elicit respect not given to women

writers. Many authors, without the distributorship of a publishing house produced and marketed their books themselves, even hand-selling on the street or in private parties. And to

make production and distribution even more difficult, The Comstock Act of 1873 (still largelyintact today) made it illegal to send “obscene, lewd or lascivious”, “immoral”, or “indecent”

publications through the mail. That not only made distribution difficult, but made even

possession a misdemeanor.

Gary:  I love that In Her Words discusses the importance of small women-owned publishing houses and women’s bookstores to helping lesbian works to readers. Tell us about some

of the most important publishers then and now.

Marianne: There were a number of small lesbian presses during those early years, including Firebrand, Cleis, Rising Tide, Spinsters Ink, and New Victoria. But, the largest and longest

operating exclusively lesbian publisher was Naiad Press. It was without a doubt the most important and effective of the presses for a number of reasons. Barbara Grier’s mission for

Naiad was to make it possible to put a lesbian book in the hands of every lesbian who wanted one. After society seemed to offer a relaxation of the Comstock Act, Naiad developed a mailing

list that provided a monthly newsletter and order form, and enabled them to mail books to women who either couldn’t or wouldn’t buy them from a bookstore. And probably equally as

important was Naiad’s commitment that their books deviate from the restrictions of the past and every book have a happy ending.

Gary: Tell us about the impact of some of the early novels you include in your documentary and how the writers managed to not be censored?

Marianne: Many of the novels that we’ve included in the documentary were at some point banned or challenged. Their impact was in spite of that censorship. Lesléa Newman’s, Heather

Has Two Mommies, is a good example. It was banned, burned, glued, spit on, and destroyed. But it proved to be a groundbreaking children’s book that is still relevant thirty years later.

Patricia Highsmith, writing as Claire Morgan, probably avoided having The Price of Salt (1952) banned because her publisher marketed it as a suspense thriller. And despite it being

published during the wave of pulp fiction and in the same year that the American Psychiatric Association classified homosexuality as a mental illness, this book has been touted as lesbian

fiction’s first happy ending.

Gary:   You honor the racy pulp dime-store novels as an important aspect of lesbian fiction. Did you feel it was important to discuss novels not necessarily marketed to lesbians or

even women, and were subjected to the ‘male gaze’ of editors and even the targeted male readers?

Marianne: During the wave of lesbian pulp fiction in the 1950’s, publishers adhered strictly to the restrictions that allowed lesbian-themed books to be produced and distributed. The main

character must have one of only three options at the end of the book – death, madness, or living in denial alone or with a man. But the pulp fiction era did offer two things that hadn’t

been available before; cheap paper from pulp that produced 35 cent books that were affordable enough to leave on the seat of a bus for someone else, and sales numbers that sky-

rocketed. Odd Girl Out, the first in Ann Bannon’s Beebo Brinker Chronicles was the second best-selling paperback of 1957. In order to reach a few, you have to sell to many.

Gary:  What are you hoping audiences take away from In Her Words?

Lisa Marie: Empowerment. LGBTQ+ lives play a vital role in history and we have many storiesto celebrate.

Marianne: I hope that In Her Words leaves the audience with a clear sense of our literaryhistory, the struggles we’ve faced, the progress we’ve made, and an appreciation of the

personal courage that it took to chronicle it.

Cheryl: An understanding of the bravery of many of these women. Many risked it all to share their stories in order to give hope to their readers. Motivation to actively make a difference. Change happens when people are willing to stand up and speak out for what matters.

Gary:  How thrilled are you to be part of Frameline47?

Lisa Marie: Absolutely thrilled. I’m excited for the many connections and resources ahead. We’re all thrilled to be screening in San Francisco where a great deal of our history was lived.

Gary:  What are some of the other festivals you’ve shown your film and what has impressed you most about folks’ comments and queries?

Cheryl: I have been amazed by the number of recognition awards we have received from festivals. At the most recent festival showing we received not only the Best Documentary award but also the Audience Choice award! Incredible. I am so grateful that the film has been getting this kind of recognition.

Gary:  What are you working on now?

Lisa Marie: We want to ensure this film lives up to its fullest potential and continue to spread the good word of lesbian literature.

From visionary art director Sam Shahid, Hidden Master – The Legacy of George Platt Lynes features a stunning collection of photography from the 1930s-50s, uncovering the life of Lynes less known: his gifted eye for the male form, his long-term friendships with Gertrude Stein and Alfred Kinsey, and his lasting influence as one of the first openly gay American artists. This work, sensuous and radically explicit for its time, has only recently begun being fully discovered and appreciated for the revolution that it represents — a man capturing his fantasies as a gift, a window to a future his camera saw coming before anyone else.

Hidden Master – The Legacy of George Platt Lynes will be shown at Frameline47 June 24, 3:30 PM at the Castro Theatre and will stream online June 24, 12:01 AM — July 2, 11:59 PM

For more information and to purchase tickets go to: https://www.frameline.org/films/frameline47/hidden-master-the-legacy-of-george-platt-lynes

“We are here. We are queer. We are Muslim. We are both, relentlessly without contradiction and without apology.” Eman is a brilliant academic, a strong and empowered woman, and active in her queer Muslim community. She speaks on panels, writes and directs a queer play, and is an all-around badass. That is, except when she goes home to Missouri to visit her traditional Muslim mother, whom she has yet to come out to. When she starts dating a cisgender man, it seems as though her worlds can finally coexist, but can she live up to the traditional expectations?

This fresh take on coming out eloquently avoids the trope of vilifying the religious mother to a depiction that is nuanced, thoughtful, and always comes back to shared respect and love. Fresh off its world premiere at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival and executive produced by Frameline alum, Fawzia Mirza (Noor & Layla, Frameline45) and Marc Smolowitz (Who I Am Not, Frameline47), Coming Around reminds us that coming out is anything but straightforward.

Sandra Itäinen (Director, Producer, Editor) is a Finnish film director, producer, and editor based in New York City. Sandra’s directorial feature debut COMING AROUND premiered at Thessaloniki 2023, nominated for the Golden Alexander in the Newcomers Competition. Documentary editing credits include TOMBOY (SXSW, 2020) and award-winning KELET (DocPoint, 2020). In 2021, she directed the short documentary series NOITAPIIRIT (eng. COVENS) to critical acclaim for Finnish YLE. 

Sandra’s first documentary short THE WEAVEOLOGIST (2016) screened at multiple film festivals, among others DOC NYC. She is the associate producer of DARK MONEY (dir. Kimberly Reed) which premiered at Sundance 2018, nominated for Best Documentary Feature. Before moving into film, Sandra worked as a journalist for Finnish YLE. She works to amplify women’s voices through filmmaking and focuses mainly on themes revolving around identity, family and mental health, through a millennial lens. She holds an MFA in Documentary Film from the School of Visual Arts and an MSS from the University of Helsinki. 

Coming Around will be shown Thursday, June 22, 1 PM at the Castro Theatre and available to stream June 24 — July 2.   For more information and to purchase tickets go to:  www.frameline.org. 

In this nuanced, gentle, and ultimately heartfelt dramedy, director Andy Vallentine explores the notion of connection through the experiences of a loving gay couple who discover they have differing ideas about what makes a family. Nico Totorella (The Walking Dead: World Beyond), Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek), Juan Pablo Di Pace (Mamma Mia!), Carl Clemons-Hopkins (Hacks), Cloie Wyatt Taylor (Partners in Rhyme), Jake Choi (Front Cover, Frameline40), and Heather Matarazzo (Welcome to the Dollhouse) make up The Mattachine Family’s queer power ensemble.

Jumping through moments in time between a collection of characters, The Mattachine Family finds a fiercely in love gay couple — photographer Thomas (Tortorella) and actor Oscar (Di Pace) — maintaining their relationship through steadily remaining fiercely in love through geographical setbacks, after their foster son returns to live with his birth mother. Just as Oscar’s acting career begins to rise, Thomas enters something of a pre-midlife existential crisis. As the couple begins to have differing views and desires around what a potential family looks like together moving forward, Thomas leans heavily on a close-knit core of friends for comfort and meaning through it all.

Director Andy Vallentine is a queer, dyslexic, daddy, diet-coke obsessed, director from Mid-Michigan. His debut short film, The Letter Men, had its world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival which has gone on to win numerous awards at film festivals around the world. His first feature film, The Mattachine Family, produced by Zach Braff + Scot Boland, written by his husband Danny Vallentine. 

The Mattachine Family will be shown June 15 at 6 PM at the Castro Theatre and stream June 24 – July 2.  To purchase tickets, go to:  www.frameline.org.  

Teenagers Egghead (Louis Tomeo) and Twinkie (Sabrina Jie-A-Fa) have been best friends since childhood, but recently they’ve been keeping secrets from each other. Egghead has a secret crush on Twinkie. Twinkie is a lesbian infatuated with social media star, BD (Ayden Lee). These awkward truths come to light when Egghead tries to kiss Twinkie, spurring her to come out to her conservative parents and take off on a road trip with Egghead along for the ride. The problem? Egghead doesn’t know that the real purpose of the trip is for Twinkie to meet BD in person, and BD might not be everything she appears to be online. Told in a series of colorful flashbacks, Egghead & Twinkie is a stylized, whip smart, coming-of-age story written by and for Gen Z. 

Sara Kambe Holland (writer / director / producer / editor) is a filmmaker based in Orlando, FL. Her directorial work has screened at festivals all over the country, including the Florida Film Festival, NewFest, and Reeling Film Festival. Her 2019 short film, “Egghead & Twinkie”, won Best Film and Best Director from the Women Making a Scene International Film Project along with a production grant to produce the concept as a full-length feature. She is passionate about positive minority representation and exploring important issues through a comedic lens. 

Egghead & Twinkie  will be shown June 19 at 6 PM at the New Parkway Theatre in Oakland and stream online June 24 – July 2.  To purchase tickets, go to:  www.frameline.org.

In this poignant coming-of-age drama, everyone wants something from high school senior Jake: his father is pushing him to try out for the basketball team – an abandoned dream of his own – and his girlfriend wants to take their relationship to the next level. But it’s not until Aleks, an openly gay teen with a love for basketball, moves in across the street that Jake begins to struggle with his own desires. To get closer to Aleks, Jake devotes himself to making the basketball team – only to realize it’s not basketball he really wants. Meanwhile, Jake finds out that his father is having an affair, which leaves him questioning his entire family foundation. Distraught and confused, Jake pulls away – until he’s finally outed as gay. With the truth in the open, Jake and his father come to terms with the reality of their relationship and expectations for each other. At last able to find the courage to be himself, Jake is ready to face the future with his family and friends by his side. 

Golden Delicious’ director and executive producer Jason Karman (He/Him) is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a Master of Fine Arts in Film Production and Creative Writing; his films have travelled internationally and won awards. His short film, Lions in Waiting, was selected by Telefilm Canada’s Not Short on Talent at Clermont- Ferrand in 2018. Jason’s debut feature, Golden Delicious, is supported by Telefilm Canada Talent to Watch program, which has launched Canada’s brightest talents. Jason is working on a second feature film with Norman Y. Li, a 2021 Pacific Screenwriting Program graduate. 

Golden Delicious will be shown Monday, June 19 at the Castro Theatre and it will stream online June 24 – July 2.  For more info and to purchase tickets got to:  www.frameline.org. 

Tell us about getting the “Golden Delicious” ball rolling. Did you work with Gorman Lee, or did his script come to you?

Getting the ball rolling took many years, not only because it takes a long time to get feature film funding but I was also gaining my self-confidence as a BIPOC director. I was introduced to Gorrman Lee in 2012 because I wanted a feature script to develop. After an unsuccessful attempt at funding this project in 2013, I continued to create shorts and returned to school to do a Master of Fine Arts in Film Production and Creative Writing in 2016. Up to that point, I was self-taught, so it was valuable to go back to school to fill in my knowledge gap and get tested on what I knew. In 2019, armed with more knowledge, I applied again for funding for Golden Delicious and started getting grants. It took a few more years before we got most of our funding, and we started principal photography in March 2021.  

What about the screenplay really spoke to you, and how faithful is the feature to what was on the page?

Golden Delicious resonated strongly with me because of its strong familial relationships. I could identify with many characters and what they wanted and needed. The feature is faithful to what was on the page because Gorrman wrote a great script, and I understood it. Test audiences dwelled on only a few production design elements, so we scaled them back in the final edit, making them less of a distraction. Time, for example, was chaptered in the script, but on-screen, marking the passage of time with months became a distraction to the story. Instead, emotional transitions were used to show the passage of time.   

The characters are so multi-layered and fully developed. Was it important to you to get the full spectrum of Jake’s life – family, friends, school, the future etc?

It was essential to acknowledge Jake’s surroundings because coming of age doesn’t happen in a vacuum. There is a strong sense of heritage within Asian families that can be debilitating and suffocating to finding happiness. By comparing Jake’s relationships with his family and friends, we start to see what he has and is missing. 

You’ve cast very talented actors. Tell us about casting the leads and about working with a perfect example of an ensemble.

We cast using Zoom starting in December 2020. The process began with finding Jake, the boy next door, Aleks, and his girlfriend, Valerie. Due to COVID restrictions, we didn’t have a chance to do in-person chemistry reads, so everything I interpreted was through my laptop monitor. Often, I identify contrasting elements within actors as it makes them more compelling to watch. I see how well they take direction and look at their acting range. Once Jake, Aleks and Valerie were cast, I looked for actors to complement them. Special attention was given to Jake’s Dad, George, because the actor who played him had to convey a patriarch of the family and one of the antagonists to Jake on his journey. I discovered Ryan Mah, who could play George as a character who is both intimidating and inspiring at the same time.  

As a timely coming-out story, “Golden Delicious” tackles some important themes, including the dangerous nature of young people living their lives online. Why did you decide to explore this aspect of teenage life?

Growing up, I did not have to deal with being online, so I wanted to explore how this affects them. As an educator, I have heard from students that being online can be an overwhelming and confusing experience. My emotions can be amplified online, and I have seen people become alienated online through casual remarks they have made. I can imagine how anxiety-inducing and unforgiving it must be for young people trying to find their identity and place in the world. I wanted to make a film that a teenager could relate to and offer hope during one’s formative years. 

I like that you also explore legacy – Jake feeling pressured to play basketball like his father; Jake’s parents struggling with the restaurant that was handed down to them. Did this have special meaning for you, both personally and as a filmmaker?

My parents owned a restaurant when we first came to Canada and struggled to keep it open. My siblings and I spent time after school helping them. I am unsure if my parents wanted to hand the restaurant down to us, but I certainly felt trapped, and I could see them feeling it too. As the eldest child, I felt the pressure to be a role model, to perform at a time when I wasn’t ready. 

When depicting father/son relations, high school life and sports, it’s impossible not to touch on toxic masculinity. “Golden Delicious” dives deep. What are you hoping audiences take away on this subject?

Toxic masculinity is a subject matter that’s often difficult to talk about. I hope audiences, through the film, will be able to address it in the open with more empathy and understanding instead of assumptions and judgment. In other words, we need to have more conversations about it.

There’s nothing like the double whammy of a girlfriend pressuring you into sex and meeting a hot, out gay boy. How did you depict Jake’s split affections while keeping the gay romance lively and sexy?

I treated Jake’s sexual experiences as firsts regardless of gender. This sets the stakes. However, we automatically compare and measure which experience is better. I used humour in Jake’s gay romance to make that feel livelier and sexier. In doing so, we experience Jake as he processes his growing attraction to the same sex. 

“Golden Delicious” is a delicious mix of a few genres – the coming-of-age/coming-out story, a tender rom-com, an intense family drama. Did you strive to tell a story that wasn’t easily defined? 

I aim to tell a story that feels authentic, and in real life, we often have moments of tenderness and laughter right after intense drama. This is a character-driven story; my characters are like real people who need to vent when confronted with challenging situations. 

“Golden Delicious” has been on the festival circuit since October 2022. Tell us about some of your favourite screenings and the awards that you’ll most cherish.

My favourite screening is the one at the Reelworld Film Festival in Toronto. We were opening night film, and the crowd was engaged. The lead cast and some crew were there, and we could hear how invested they were in the movie and how vocal their reactions were. Afterwards, many audience members stuck around at the afterparty and talked to us for hours. We ate Vietnamese food at 3 am, commiserating what we collectively experienced. It was a magical night that none of us wanted to end.  

What was your reaction when you learned that “Golden Delicious” would be shown at the world’s biggest and oldest LGBTQI+ film festival, Frameline47?

I was thrilled and delighted. We received the Frameline Completion Fund earlier in 2022 but could not complete the film in time for Frameline46.  

Will you and your cast be in SF for the screening, and if so, will it be your first time at Frameline?

My cast and I will be in San Francisco for the Bay Area Premiere. I have visited Frameline before, but for my cast, it will be their first time at the festival, so that will be very special. 

What advice can you offer fellow queer filmmakers struggling to get their work out there?

I would recommend seeing as many queer films on the festival circuit as possible and getting a sense of what kind of stories are being curated and how they are being received. Travel with your film as much as possible because it is a rare and invaluable opportunity for professional development. 

What’s up next for you?

I am working on a queer heist movie and a coming-of-age film about a young woman obsessed with muscle cars. Hoping I can shoot one of these in 2024. Keep an eye out for it. 

Jamie’s dream camping trip is ruined before it even begins when he finds out that his beloved cousin is bringing her new boyfriend. However, Jamie’s initial jealousy of the competent and confident Dan quickly turns into a friendship, as they bond over cooking, games and both being “big boys.”

But as the weekend progresses, despite Jamie’s brother’s attempts to set him up with a girl staying at the campsite, all Jamie wants to do is hang out with Dan. As his burgeoning crush gets him into awkward scrapes and arguments, Jamie begins to come to terms with who he is, and who he desires. Hilarious and heartwarming, BIG BOYS is the type of coming-of-age film we need more of in the world.

“Big Boys” will be shown Sunday, June 11 at Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol.

Emily Kaye Allen’s Cisco Kid follows Eileen (they/them)–a young queer dreamer who moves to a desert ghost town in Southern Utah, determined to live an independent and untethered life.  Originally a pit-stop for the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, and then for drivers traversing a former thoroughfare, Cisco was all but abandoned after the construction of an interstate highway. Almost half a century later, Eileen feels called by the town.

We get to know Eileen through objects and anecdotes: the memorabilia they collect; the music they play; a voicemail they leave for their mother. They spend days building a wall made of tires and barbed wire. Seasons pass and progress feels hard won. Set against the startling tableau of the vast Utah desert, Cisco Kid is a portrait of a singular spirit who defiantly walks away from mainstream society and resurrects a place that has been left behind by a changing world.

Emily Kaye Allen is the documentary’s director, cinematographer, and editor. Allen is a photographer and filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. Her work explores the connection of characters and story to environment and place. She works as a freelance camera person and teaches video production. Cisco Kid is her debut feature film.

Cisco Kid will be shown at Roxie Theater House 2 Sunday, June 4 at 9 p.m. and available for online streaming June 1 – June 11.  For tickets and more information go to:  https://sfdocfest2023.eventive.org/films/63ef9e2fe2fa12008cfbbd71

Frameline announced the Opening Night film for the 47th iteration of the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline47). Fairyland, directed by Andrew Durham and produced by Sofia Coppola, will kick-off an 11-day celebration of LGBTQ+ film in venues throughout San Francisco and Oakland.

Running from June 14–24, 2023 — with a streaming encore to follow from June 24–July 2, 2023 — Frameline47 will also feature Cora Bora, starring Hacks scene-stealer Megan Stalter, as its Oakland Centerpiece film. This year, the festival is presenting a Pride Kickoff film, God Save the Queens. To send guests and filmmakers off in style, the Pride Kickoff event will feature a post-screening performance by drag star Alaska and celebratory party at the iconic Oasis drag bar.  

Frameline is also thrilled to announce that all three films will feature afterparties that are not to be missed. These gatherings include Fairyland’s massive Opening Night Gala at Terra Gallery; the post-screening celebration of Cora Bora at the new, yet-to-be-opened Oakland LGBTQ+ bar Fluid150; and the God Save the Queens afterparty at Oasis..  

“Frameline47 is going to be a festival for the ages. Today, we are announcing just three of our 90 planned screenings to provide festival goers with a taste of all the wonderful — and wonderfully queer — films and events to come,” says James Woolley, Executive Director of Frameline. “We are delighted to open the 2023 festival with the San Francisco-set Fairyland, which illustrates the power of queer art and community. That spirit will be exemplified throughout Frameline47, in so many ways, which is why we are proud to feature not just film screenings, but filmmaker Q&As, and performances like Alaska’s.” 

“Fairyland is the perfect film to open Frameline47 as it’s a film anchored in the rich, gay history of San Francisco, and connected to the heart and soul of The Castro,” says Allegra Madsen, Director of Programming at Frameline. “Adapted beautifully from Alysia Abbott’s memoir, Fairyland is a quintessentially San Francisco story of a queer father-daughter relationship during the ‘70s and ‘80s. Every year, Frameline’s Opening Night screening and party are amazing events, but this year we are honored to celebrate a hometown story, made by a hometown team. Frameline47’s Opening Night will be legendary.” 

Tickets to all three films are on sale now. While admittance to the Opening Night Gala is reserved for Fairyland ticket holders, party-only tickets for Cora Bora and God Save the Queens are available for purchase. Additionally, festivalgoers can purchase Castro Passes, which provide access to 45 of the 47 Castro Theatre-based programs at a significant discount. Castro Passes are now available to Frameline members for $280 ($6.22 per film). The full festival line-up for Frameline47 will be announced on May 18.  

Frameline47 is made possible with generous support from BANK OF AMERICA, GILEAD, SHOWTIME, HILTON SAN FRANCISCO UNION SQUARE, and TOMORROW PARTNERS. 

OPENING NIGHT FILM & GALA
Fairyland | Wednesday, June 14 | Castro Theatre, 6:30 PM 
Helmed by Andrew Durham in his directorial debut and produced by Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation), this evocative adaptation of Alysia Abbott’s memoir captivates with its exhilarating depiction of the early days of gay liberation in a more bohemian San Francisco. Scoot McNairy (Halt and Catch Fire) is a revelation as queer poet Steve Abbott, who is trying to balance fatherhood and writing with an enthusiastic exploration of his sexuality. Fairyland is a moving film, which captures the way that optimistic, heady era gave way to the shattering reality of the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Following Fairyland, join us for our glittering Opening Night Gala at San Francisco’s Terra Gallery. 

OAKLAND CENTERPIECE 
Cora Bora | Saturday, June 17 | The New Parkway Theater, 6:00 PM 
Directed by Hannah Pearl Utt, this hilarious follow-up to her Frameline43 Centerpiece, Before You Know It, gives Hacks scene-stealer and queer comedy maven Megan Stalter the star vehicle she so rightly deserves. After chasing her dreams of becoming a musician all the way to LA — think a millennial Phoebe Buffay — Cora experiences limited success, which prompts this chaotic, poly bisexual protagonist to make a surprise trip back to Portland. Eager to win back her girlfriend (Fresh’s Jojo T. Gibbs), Cora is met with a series of messy reunions, a search for a lost (and misgendered) pet, and a clumsy pansexual orgy. Following Cora Bora, join us for our Oakland Centerpiece party at the yet-to-be-opened Fluid510, a new LGBTQ+ bar in Oakland. 

PRIDE KICK-OFF FILM + PARTY 
God Save the Queens | Friday, June 22 | Castro Theatre, 7:00 PM 
Buckle up for director Jordan Danger’s quick-witted queer group therapy film, which features a veritable roster of Drag Race royalty: Alaska, Laganja Estranja, Kelly Mantle, Manilla Luzon, and even Michelle Visage herself. God Save the Queens chronicles the highs and lows that befall four Los Angeles drag queens after they land in a desert retreat — not exactly by choice — to get their careers back on track after their respective PR disasters. Following God Save the Queens, join us for a drag party at Oasis, featuring a performance by star Alaska.  

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ABOUT FRAMELINE 
Frameline’s mission is to change the world through the power of queer cinema. As a media arts nonprofit, Frameline’s integrated programs connect filmmakers and audiences in San Francisco and around the globe. Frameline provides critical funding for emerging LGBTQ+ filmmakers, reaches hundreds of thousands with a collection of over 250 films distributed worldwide, inspires thousands of students in schools across the nation with free films and curricula through Youth in Motion, and creates an international stage for the world’s best LGBTQ+ film through the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival and additional year-round screenings and cinematic events. 

The 22nd San Francisco Documentary Film Festival (SF DocFest) will be held June 1 – 11, 2023. SF DocFest will screen 39 features and 47 shorts. The festival will once again be presented as a hybrid of virtual screenings and live presentations. There are 35 films that will screen at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco. The majority of the in-person screenings held at the Roxie Theater will also include live Q&A sessions.  For those who are unable to attend in person, the festival may be attended virtually through on-demand screenings and pre-recorded Q&A sessions. A selection of 83 films will be available virtually during the festival at https://watch.eventive.org/sfdocfest2023.  The full festival program may be found at https://sfdocfest2023.eventive.org. Find a working folder of available media assets here: 2023 SF DOCFEST Media Assets. Please find a few of this year’s festival program highlights below. HEADLINERS OPENING NIGHTFrom the Opening Night Film, 26.2 TO LIFE, directed by Christine Yoo.

26.2 TO LIFE Christine Yoo Filmed inside California’s oldest state prison, 26.2 TO LIFE explores the transformative power of San Quentin’s 1000 Mile Club, in which incarcerated men train for and run a marathon on the dirt and concrete path circling the prison yard. Through intimate access behind the walls of the infamous correctional facility, the film confronts the meaning of personal transformation within the greater crisis of the American carceral state. FANTASTIC NEGRITO: HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND YET? Yvan Iturriaga, Francisco Nuñez Capriles Mercurial bluesman Fantastic Negrito (Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz) faces his demons amidst the mental health crisis ravaging his community. Digging deep as a survivor of domestic abuse, drug violence, and brutal racism, the film captures Negrito creating his most personal album to date.   CENTERPIECE HOW TO HAVE AN AMERICAN BABY Leslie Tai There is a city in Southern California that is teeming with pregnant women from China. HOW TO HAVE AN AMERICAN BABY is a kaleidoscopic voyage, told through multiple perspectives, into the booming shadow economy of Chinese birth tourism that has taken over the Chinese enclaves of Los Angeles County.  CLOSING NIGHTFrom the film, BLACK BARBIE, directed by Lagueria Davis.BLACK BARBIE Lagueria Davis Through intimate access to a charismatic Mattel insider, Beulah Mae Mitchell, BLACK BARBIE delves into the cross section of merchandise and representation as Black women struggle to elevate their own voices and stories, refusing to be invisible. SATAN WANTS YOU Steve Adames, Sean Horlor SATAN WANTS YOU is a feature documentary about the shocking story of how a young woman and her psychiatrist helped ignite the global Satanic Panic with their bestselling memoir Michelle Remembers.  SPECIAL EVENTS OPENING NIGHT ART SHOW AND AFTERPARTY Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 8:00 PM PT 518 Valencia Gallery, 518 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110 Free, tickets available here. Join the cast and crew from 26.2 TO LIFE in celebrating opening night at the 22nd annual San Francisco Documentary Film Festival. The evening also pays tribute to Ronnie Goodman, who originated the idea of holding a marathon inside San Quentin.Goodman was a homeless exhibited artist encamped near the Roxie Theater that was known throughout the local community for his work. Pieces of his art will be showcased at the gallery.  PRINCE’S BIRTHDAY SING-A-LONG PARTY Saturday, June 3, 2023 at 9:30 PM PT Roxie Theater House 1, 3117 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94103 $15, tickets available here.  Dearly beloved, we are gathered here on this day… to celebrate the Purple One’s birthday! Sing along to a program of Prince and Prince-adjacent music videos. Don’t worry, lyrics are provided.  “DOCUMENTARY GHOSTS” PANEL Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 1:00 PM PT 518 Valencia Gallery, 518 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110 Free, tickets available here. Many filmmakers have had film projects that, for a variety of reasons, they just couldn’t complete. How do we know when to say “I’m done?” How do you mourn the loss of the project that never was and move forward with clarity? Filmmakers share thoughts, ideas, and personal experiences with their “documentary ghosts.”  A conversation with filmmakers Katie Galloway, Nancy Kates, and others, moderated by Jennifer Steinman Sternin. Followed by a hosted social mixer.  Co-presented by the Bay Area Women Directors’ Collective (BAWDC) and the Documentary Producers Alliance (DPA).  TICKETS AND PASSES Individual tickets and passes are available for this year’s festival.  Note that masks are not required this year, but we kindly ask that you stay home if you are feeling sick, may be experiencing any symptoms, or may have been exposed to any contagions.  Individual tickets for virtual shows are $10 each.  Individual tickets for screenings at the Roxie Theater range from $15-24 each.  Live + Virtual Pass is $175 each. It includes access to all virtual on-demand films via the online screening platform (June 1-11) and all live festival screenings at the Roxie Theater (June 1-8).  Live + Virtual Donor Pass is $225 each.  It includes access to all virtual on-demand films via the online screening platform (June 1-11) and all live festival screenings at the Roxie Theater (June 1-8). Additionally, you’ll receive recognition for your generous support of independent film storytelling. Virtual Screening Pass is $90 each. It includes access to all virtual on-demand films via the online screening platform (June 1-11).  Virtual Screening Donor Pass is $140 each. It includes access to all virtual on-demand films via the online screening platform (June 1-11). Additionally, you’ll receive recognition for your generous support of independent film storytelling.