Q the Lights... Camera... Action!

The Center Long Beach celebrates queer filmmakers with the return of the Q Film Festival

BY KEN KNOX

For those who missed out on Outfest this year, a trip to Long Beach may be in order. The Center Long Beach is once again presenting its annual Q Film Festival, a three-day event that offers a unique experience for filmgoers in an intimate setting and a way for people to learn about the Center’s efforts to engage the LGBT community.

Taking place in the newly renovated Art Theatre in Retro Row of Long Beach, the festival highlights issues within the gay and lesbian community through shorts, documentaries and feature-length movies made by a talented selection of up-and-coming filmmakers. This year’s crop of films includes a few that were seen at Outfest, such as James Vasquez’s comedy Ready? OK!, plus the debut of A Four Letter Word, director Casper Andreas’s third feature, Between Love & Goodbye and the highly anticipated lesbian drama Steam, starring Ally Sheedy and recent Oscar nominee Ruby Dee. Additionally, Kim St. Leon’s sexy thriller Lost Everything (starring hunky Mother Lode bartender Kyle Lupo) and recent Cannes favorite Omgasm will be screened. On the documentary side, the festival is hosting a screening of Gary Takesian and Roz Esposito’s Teach Your Children Well, which documents the recent killing of Lawrence King and highlights violence against LGBT youth in schools. Says the Center Long Beach’s executive director, Kim Woods, “I think we have an interesting mix of some very talented independent filmmakers.”

Previously known as Film to the Second (and, later, Third) Power, the festival has been running at the Center on and off since 1992. Since re-launching it in 2005 as the Q Film Festival, the Center has made inroads with the greater Hollywood community, developing relationships with local filmmakers and community giants like the Logo Network. “We’re recognizing in this day and age that if you want to be successful, you’re going to have to get connected with Hollywood,” Woods says. “We want to do that while also providing an interesting and entertaining mix of independent films [that speak to our community].”

To that end, the festival will host post-screening Q&As with several of the filmmakers and cast members, who will also will be present at the VIP parties taking place throughout the weekend. “We’re saying, ‘Hey, this is something you want to come to. These are people you want to see,’” Woods says. “This isn’t just ‘Come and watch films.’ It’s ‘Come and experience.’

“This is a fun and unique experience,” she adds. “They’ll see some really good films and meet people in the industry. People are going to feel like they’ve got a lot for their money.”

The Q Film Festival takes place Oct. 10-12 at the Art Theatre, 2025 E. Fourth St., Long Beach. For more information, visit CenterLB.org.

Positive Bond

Collaborative efforts from community organizers hope to give back by encouraging giving back

By Zamná Avila

Joe Zamora was 17 years

old when he became infected with HIV. Alone, scared and confused, he sought answers in a time when the disease and carriers of the virus were socially exiled.

Twenty-one years later, people living with HIV/AIDS still live with the stigma.

“I have a friend who was just thrown out of his home because he is gay—because he is positive—and he has no where to go,” said Zamora, now 39. “He is one of hundreds of kids who are in similar situations.”

Social relations have an impact on the mental, emotional and even physical health of human beings, said Dr. Becky Kuhn.

“I’ve noticed that medicine only goes so far,” said Kuhn, who specializes in treating patients with HIV/AIDS. “I could provide medical care … but when it came to other aspects of their mind—their soul—I couldn’t do anything.”

Grassroots groups Global Lifeworks, Our Catalyst Community and Kingdom Causes recently formed HIV/AIDS Collaborative Long Beach, which they hope would help build genuine relationships between people from all walks of life, including faith-based groups.

“The mission is to create a safe environment that facilitates open and honest sharing in the spirit of friendship … that empowers individuals with HIV/AIDS and broader communities,” said Kuhn, co-founder of Global Lifeworks. While services to the HIV/AIDS community exist, most are one-sided relationships, she said.

“As a client you are receiving services, but there is no challenge for the patient to actually give back,” she said. “They can conceivably create an expectation that things will be given to them.”

The collaborative is an opportunity for participants to share their skills and friendship, thus promote reciprocity and empowerment. Having a conversation over coffee, taking care of a pet for someone, helping someone with money management, vocational resources, or transportation all are possible with this networking connection.

“It’s selfish but it’s a good type of selfish,” said Dario Calderón Gaitán, an Our Catalyst Community volunteer coordinator. “It makes me feel good that I was able to see someone smile because there was someone willing to give them a hand.”

“We can teach each other what we do,” he said. “We also build ideas and self-esteem in our heads. We teach them that anything is possible—the world doesn’t stop here, it continues.”

For more information, log onto globallifeworks.org.

COMMUNITY BRIEFS

Bowl 300 and make new friends

Have a gay ol’ time filled with strikes and spares and, with luck, no gutter balls as the South Bay Center sponsors a bowling party. It’s a chance to socialize with friends and make new ones too. After bowling, the group plans to go out for dinner at a nearby restaurant. The bowling party is Saturday, Sept. 27 starting at 2:30 p.m. at the Lucky Strike Lanes bowling alley at the Del Amo Fashion Center, 3525 W. Carson St. in Torrance. All are welcome. Shoes available for rent at the bowling alley. For more information, call the South Bay Center at 310/328-6550.

Savings Passport benefits HIV/AIDS

Macy’s department stores offer their 26th annual Passport sale benefiting HIV/AIDS organizations. Shoppers can purchase a Passport for $10 which gives a 20 percent discount on most purchases made at participating Macy’s stores on Oct. 3-4. “They’ll give you $10 off your first purchase over $25, so it’s essentially getting the 20 pecent discount card for free,” explains Garry Bowie, executive director of Long Beach AIDS Foundation, which is selling the Passport. Runway shows featuring the latest fall fashions are planned at South Coast Plaza, Beverly Center, Sherman Oaks, Palm Dessert and other stores. For more information log onto lbaidsfoundation.org or macys.com.

The hills are alive with the sound of Oktoberfest

It’s an early start on Halloween as Long Beach’s Imperial Court celebrates Oktoberfest. “We’re doing a show that celebrates with anything German or Sound of Music,” says reigning Empress Regina. “We’re inviting the audience to wear their lederhosen or bar maid outfits. Or they can create Sound of Music-themed costumes, whether it’s a lonely goatherd, girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes or brown-paper packages tied up with string.” They’ll serve huge pretzels, sauerkraut and bratwurst, plus giant steins of beer, of course. Proceeds benefit St. Mary’s CARE Program. The festivities start at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11 at the Red Room, 1227 4th St. For more information, log onto longbeachimperialcourt.org.

B-I-N-G-O is a drag-o

Long Beach Imperial Court offers drag bingo on the third Sunday of every month. “It’s a relaxing way to wind down from the weekend and also a nice alternative to the bars,” says last year’s empress, Jackie, who hosts the bingo along with a celebrity guest caller. “We also do some trivia—bingo trivia, coffee trivia and drag trivia—just to keep it interesting.” Prizes awarded for winners of each game. $10 per set of bingo cards. Proceeds benefit St. Mary’s CARE Program. The next bingos are Oct. 19 and Nov.16, starting at 7 p.m. Hot Java, 2105 E Broadway. For more information, log onto longbeachimperialcourt.org.