Alabama Moving Image Association (AMIA), the organization that produces the nationally recognized Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival, has announced the feature and documentary program line up for the inaugural Birmingham Shout, a celebration of gay and lesbian films, according to Erik Jambor, executive director and co-founder of AMIA.
The weekend celebration of gay and lesbian films will take place on April 28 & 29 at WorkPlay, located at 500 23rd Street South.
The narrative features and documentaries to be screened are:
“small town gay bar” (81 minutes/color), directed by Malcolm Ingram, documents the history and progression of gay bars in the Deep South. With two particular bars at the focus of attention, the film showcases the story of community in the Deep South and focuses on the struggles of ignorance, hypocrisy and oppression.
* “small town gay bar” is Birmingham Shout’s Opening Night Film, to screen April 28 at 8 pm at the WorkPlay Theatre. Film subjects and director/writer scheduled to be in attendance.
SUMMER STORM (98 minutes/color), directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner, is a coming-of-age story about two best friends who are teammates on their championship rowing team. Problems arise at summer camp, and they must grapple with prejudices, fears and hidden longings when a team of athletic, cliché-busting young gay men arrive at the camp. (German with English subtitles).
LOVING ANNABELLE (77 minutes/color), directed by Katherine Brooks, s a controversial lesbian romance about an accomplished Catholic Boarding School teacher who has an affair with a student.
WHEN I’M 64 (90 minutes/color), directed by Jon Jones, is a rare, melodious gay romance story between two older men – a retired school teacher and a gruff cabbie.
THE AGGRESSIVES (75 minutes/color), directed by Daniel Peddle, is a captivating documentary exploring the lives of six butch lesbian’s who identify as “Aggressives” and participate in NYC’s predominantly African-American lesbian drag balls. These gender trend-setters represent an intriguing cross-section of a little explored subculture.
* Director is scheduled to be in attendance.
BE REAL (55 minutes/color) directed by Bobbie Birleffi & Beverly Kopf, is a joyous portrait and a celebration of the spirit and creativity of local community heroes who have learned how to tap into their inner strength and stand by their convictions to teach us the importance of being true to ourselves.
CRUEL & UNUSUAL (66 minutes/color), directed by Janet Baus, Dan Hunt and Reid Williams, is an unflinching look at the lives of male-to-female transsexual women in men’s prisons in the United States. Most transsexuals have not had sex reassignment surgery, and prisons place inmates according to their “gender assigned at birth,” not their gender identity.
* Director is scheduled to be in attendance.
GAY SEX IN THE ‘70s (71 minutes/color), directed by Joseph F. Lovett, is a captivating documentary about the gay sexual revolution in New York during the decade of gay liberation following Stonewall and before the beginning of the AIDS epidemic.
PICK UP THE MIC (95 minutes/color), directed by Alex Hinton, is an explosive documentary on the world of queer hip-hop, featuring searing public performances and intimate interviews with the community’s most significant players. The film captures an underground music movement as it’s about to hit the mainstream – defying the music industry’s homophobic traditions in the process.
For more info, visit the Birmingham Shout website.
