Pride Film Fest Announces Six Slates of International LGBTQ Films to Stream October

Pride Film Fest has announced its first schedule of LGBTQ-themed films since spinning off as a separate entity from PrideArts (previously Pride Films and Plays), where it began in 2012 as the in-person Queer Bits Film Fest. Pride Film Fest promises year-round LGBTQ film programming presented in streaming and occasionally in-person formats in Chicago. Through this abundance of programming, Pride Film Fest will showcase the breadth of world LGBTQ film art - from shorts to features and everything in between - that expresses the variety and complexity of queer life across the globe. The fall schedule will include six separate programs streaming for 12 days each. Themes will explore the experiences of gay men and women, trans, gender queer, non-binary, and even asexual identities. Pride Film Fest is a program of Open Space Arts, a non-profit organization dedicated to performances related to contemporary issues. This past summer, Open Space Arts presented the world premiere of THE KRAMER PROJECT, a dramatic adaptation by David Zak of Larry Kramer's seminal 2004 speech, "The Tragedy of Today's Gays."

Short films to play in two programs: October 26 - November 6, and November 7-13
The newly independent Pride Film Fest will launch on October 26, with the first of two programs of short LGBTQ-themed films. This first program, streaming from October 26 through November 6, will include 10 short films; including stories of trans people in Iran, a German look at the gay American poet Walt Whitman, and a non-binary person's relationship with their father. A second program, streaming from November 7 -13, will feature nine shorts; including a sci-fi story set in the future and a suspense thriller; along with shorts exploring a man's relationship with his grandmother, and stories of young love and coming out.

Mid-length films to play in a double- and triple-feature
Sometimes difficult to program because of their length, five mid-length films will be given their own showcases over two weeks. From November 9 - 20, a double feature of Angela Harvey's "Black Rainbow Love" (USA) and Wynand Dreyer's "Call Me Miles" (Republic of South Africa) will stream. The former is based on interviews with 28 Black queer people, exploring a breadth of experiences in a way never shown before. The South African film is a brutal and often poignant story of a boy trapped in the body of a girl. The November 23 - December 4 program will be a triple feature of "Inside the Beauty Bubble" (USA), a documentary about "hairstorian" Jeff Hafler and his roadside attraction in the California desert; "Static Space" (USA), a drama of a young Indiana woman who makes contact with an astronaut; and "Become the Wound," a Canadian drama about a couple trying to mend old wounds.

Feature films complete the fall festival
PROGNOSIS (USA), by Kate Stilley Steiner, Debra Chasnoff, will stream from November 16 - 27. In perhaps her bravest act, Oscar-winning documentarian and LGBTQ+ activist Debra Chasnoff responds to a deadly disease by turning the camera on herself, her wife and their chosen family. The second feature, and the final film of the fall festival, will be THANKS TO HER (USA) by Sam McCoy. It concerns a straight-A high school senior who develops an unexpected friendship with another senior student, who is outspoken about her identity as a lesbian on the asexual spectrum. This coming of age, all-inclusive LGBTQ+ film focuses on the self, sexuality, and how that plays out in one's community. THANKS TO HER will stream from November 30 - December 11, 2022.

Access to each program is $10.00, entitling the purchaser to view the program as often as they want during its 12 days of streaming. Season passes are also available for $50.00 (general), or $45.00 if purchased by October 1, 2022. Passes for seniors age 65+ are $30.00 ($27.00 if purchased by October 1) and passes for students are $25.00 ($22.50 if purchased by October 1). Gift cards are also available for $25.00 and $50.00. Films and passes can be purchased and accessed at https://www.goelevent.com/OpenSpaceArts/e/Search. Further information is available at http://www.pridefilm.org.

Week One - International Shorts Program A (1:14:00) - October 26 - November 7, 2022

10 short LGBTQ films from the US, UK, Netherlands, Germany, and Iran.

AYOR (Netherlands, 11:00). Directed by Tom Bakker. During the national commemoration of Remembrance Day in 1970, two men try to make a statement against gay discrimination.

CUT SHORT (USA, 5:33). Written and Directed by Charlie Andelman.
A young nonbinary person comes to terms with a difficult new reality while giving a haircut to their father.

EMBRACE (USA, 5:18). Directed by Latesha Merkel.
An animated short film about asexuality--an orientation generally defined by a lack of sexual attraction, regardless of gender. The narrative explores the common asexual experience of feeling different than most of the population, and the isolation, confusion, and self-loathing that difference can create.

FLASHES OF BEAUTY: LIVIA (USA, 14:16). Directed by Steve Gatlin.
In interview format, it explores the life of LGBTQ+ human rights activist, and transgender woman, Livia Wolfe.

I COULD BE YOUR GIRLFRIEND (USA, 6:48). Directed by Zachary Alturas Spitz, Written by Samori Cullom.
Ameillia has been in love with Bobbi, her ex-girlfriend, for a while, but she isn't ready to make that public. Bobbi brings her new boy toy Jules on a date to the restaurant where Ameillia just happens to work at. Forced to interact with her ex, Ameillia tries to win Bobbi back.

ONCE I PASSED (Germany, 10:00). Written and directed by Martin Gerigk.
Walt Whitman's 1860 poem "Once I Passed Through a Populous City," is an aphoristic account of a romantic relationship with an unknown woman. In 1925, the original handwritten copy of the poem was discovered, in which Whitman writes, however, not about a woman but about an affair with a man in an anonymous city, which may have been his first physical experience of love.

PANAH (Iran, 14:49). Directed by Fatemeh Ghadirinezhadian, Written by Masoumeh Bayat.
Panah, a Middle-aged transgender mom, is trying to leave Iran, in order to have sex reassignment procedures. She receives a phone call that her visa and medical docs have been rejected. Now, her only hope and motivation is to once more see the only true love of her life, and be accepted by him for her authentic true self.

QUEER BODIES (USA, 10:30). Written and Directed by Emma C. Barda.
A queer documentary filmmaker explores gender identity and queer bodies through the lives and works of other queer artists.

THE AQUARIUM (Iran, 9:56). Directed by Fatemeh Askarpour, Elyas Askarpour. Written by Fatemeh Askarpour, Elyas Askarpou, and Tahereh Fard.
Two trans people fall in love with each other and because of the taboo of this love, they hide it in their workplace, and make a date in a hotel.

THE NAILING OF AN OLDER WOMAN (UK, 10:12). Directed by Sid Anstey, Written by Solomon Watkins.
Set in the covid era, Maria, a nail technician, who happens to be trans, meets an older lady named Ingrid, and begins to question the whereabouts of her transphobic grandmother.

Week Two - International Shorts Program B - November 2 -13, 2022

9 short LGBTQ films from the US, Ireland, Germany, Mexico, and Canada

BUSIA'S BABUSHKAS (USA, 5:56). Directed by Dan Pal.
A sweet and personal memoir by Chicago filmmaker Dan Pal about a grandmother's babushkas and a boy's obsession with long hair.

CLOVER (USA, 12:03). Written and directed by Jonathan D'Rozario.
Jon has something important he needs to say to Sam. He just isn't quite sure what that is yet.

DASH (Ireland, 14:56). Written and directed by Rory Fleck Byrne.
A small-town stable man struggles with his femininity amidst a rugged rural landscape. As his favorite horse is set to be euthanized at the end of the week he is forced to make a decision. Will he continue to live like this?

FRIDA (Germany, 22:00). Directed by Aleksandra Odic.
An encounter between a young nurse and her patient of the same age, Frida, on the border of professional distance and the desire for closeness.

KEEP/DELETE (USA, 19:00). Written and directed by Kryzz Gautier.
In a future world where memories are handled like computer files, two lovers decide to undergo a procedure and have their entire relationship wiped from their brains.

KISS ME (Mexico, 10:00). Written and directed by David Barba.
A mischievous teen explores an empty beach house unaware of the video cameras watching his every move.

TABANCA (Canada, 11:50). Written and directed by Lauren Marsden.
Dampened by office life during a wet Vancouver winter, a genderqueer Trinidadian woman, Marlinn, misses out on the chance to celebrate Carnival season back home. Until, one night, they discover that the power of masquerade is within them no matter where they are.

TO ALL THAT WE ARE (Canada, 5:00). Written and directed by Kristian Cahatol.
A dreamlike love story exploring the budding relationship between two queer twenty-somethings.

WASHING OFF MAKEUP (USA, 17:00). Directed by Elliott Gerard Dynes.
Percy, a timid high school student, joins a few classmates in a dress shop and encounters another classmate, James, trying on a dress. The two find strength and validation within each other and find that he must do what's right for them, even in the face of disapproval.

Week Three - Two Midlength Films - November 9-21, 2022

BLACK RAINBOW LOVE (USA, 40:00). Written and directed by Angela Harvey.
Black Rainbow Love shares the stories of the black LBGTQ+ community in a way that has never been done before. The authentic and transparent stories of love, intimacy, friendship, spirituality, marriage, self-care, community, purpose, and were extracted from the 17 interviews of 28 lovers.

CALL ME MILES (Republic of South Africa, 51:27). Written and directed by Wynand Dreyer.
The brutal and often poignant story of a boy trapped in the body of a girl. It takes us on the journey of a typical Afrikaans child who faces self-hate, societal rejection, doubt and ultimately healing. A story about a transgender child fighting to find their place in the world.

Week Four - Feature Length Film - November 16-27, 2022

PROGNOSIS: NOTES ON LIVING (USA, 1:21:00). Written and directed by Kate Stilley Steiner and Debra Chasnoff.

In perhaps her bravest act, Oscar-winning documentarian and LGBTQ+ activist Debra Chasnoff responds to a deadly disease by turning the camera on herself, her wife and their chosen family.

Week Five - Three Midlength Films - November 23 - December 4, 2022

INSIDE THE BEAUTY BUBBLE (USA, 31:15). Written and directed by Cheryl Bookout and Cheri Gaulke.
Enter a pastel dreamland of 3,000 vintage beauty artifacts in the desert community of Joshua Tree, California and meet "America's hairstorian" Jeff Hafler as he struggles to keep his roadside attraction afloat during a remarkable year that changes his life and the lives of his husband and son.

STATIC SPACE (USA, 23:00). Directed by John Klein, Kate Black-Spence. Written by Kate Black-Spence.
Jamie is a young woman living in rural Indiana struggling to figure out her place and identity. When she inadvertently stumbles across a frequency on her ham radio and makes contact with astronaut Noa currently orbiting Earth, the two women are presented with the opportunity to find meaningful connection, even while worlds apart.

BECOME THE WOUNDED (Canada, 35:00). Directed by Amir Zargara. Written by Gabe Berry.
A couple tries to mend old wounds but realize it's not about fixing things - it's about true empathy.

Week Six - Feature Length Film - November 30 - December 12, 2022

THANKS TO HER (USA, 1:20:21). Directed by Sam McCoy. Written by Sam Orlowski.

Millie Blake, a high school soccer star and straight A student is serving receiving a month of community service at a local nursing home after trying to break up a fight at school. At the nursing home, she is stuck with the instigator of the fight - another senior student, who is outspoken about her identity as a lesbian on the asexual spectrum. Initially, the two girls butt heads, but the tension quickly blossoms into friendship as they learn more about each other.

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