April 24, 7:30pm
WORD IS OUT at the UCLA Festival of Preservation
Quite possibly as relevant today as it was on its debut over 30 years ago, Word Is Out: Stories Of Some Of Our Lives is widely considered the first feature-length documentary on gay and lesbian identity. Offering a vastly different perspective on gay and lesbian identity in America than the common views of the time, the film presents 26 diverse gay and lesbian individuals, who with profundity, honesty and humor, describe their struggle to live a decent life in America, despite prejudice, discriminatory laws and society's unwillingness to treat them with respect and equality.
Preservation funded by The David Bohnett Foundation with additional support provided by The Andrew J. Kuehn Jr. Foundation and the members of Outfest
IN PERSON: Director Nancy Adair., Lucy Massie Phenix
Location: Billy Wilder Theater
Tickets/Information: www.cinema.ucla.edu
May 11, 8:30pm
WATERMELON WOMAN at REDCAT,
co-presented by the Outfest Legacy Project
Dir. Cheryl Dunye, 1996, 85 min., screened in Beta SP
Cheryl
Dunye's "saucy, daring, insidiously smart debut" (The Boston Phoenix)
stands as the first-ever theatrical feature directed by an African
American lesbian. The Watermelon Woman tells the story of Cheryl,
played engagingly by Dunye herself, who develops a fascination with
1930s actress Fae Richards--a fictional character confined to playing
"Mammy" roles in movies by a Dorothy Azner-type director. As part of
the production, New York photographer Zoe Leonard shot cleverly
constructed still images of Fae Richards and in the process
(re)invented a history running counter to the invisibility of black
women in early Hollywood and black lesbians in general. The winner of
the Teddy (the Berlinale) and Outstanding Narrative Feature (Outfest)
awards, The Watermelon Woman also managed to raise the hackles of
unreconstructed reactionary Jesse Helms, who called the work "flotsam
floating down a sewer." Funded in part with generous support from Wendy Keys and Donald Pels. In person: Cheryl Dunye
Location: ROY AND EDNA DISNEY/CALARTS THEATER, 631 West 2nd Street,
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tickets/Information: http://www.redcat.org/season/0809/fv/dunye.php
May 17, 7:00pm
A Tribute to Tom Graeff (TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE, TOAST TO OUR BROTHERS, ISLAND SUNRISE)
Legacy Project Screening Series at UCLA
This
evening's program celebrates the life and career of Los Angeles
filmmaker Tom Graeff. Low-budget auteur, eccentric rabble-rouser,
religious fanatic sent to save the world--Graeff was all of these.
Unknown in his own lifetime, his fascinating, earnest and campy work is
ripe for re-discovery.
TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE
Dir. Tom Graeff, 1959, USA,16mm, 86 min. In 1956, Graeff made his second independent feature film, Killers from Outer Space. Three years and several title changes later, Warner Brothers released it as Teenagers from Outer Space
and a cult B-movie science fiction classic was born. Starring Graeff's
boyfriend Chuck Roberts (as David Love), Teenagers was written,
produced, directed, shot, and edited by Graeff, who also acted in it,
supervised the music and created the notorious special effects.
Preceded by. ISLAND SUNRISE
Dir. Tom Graeff, 1954, USA, Beta-SP, (rev. 2008), 4 min.
This short was originally created to introduce Graeff's boyfriend Chuck
Roberts to Hollywood and was recently contextualized and updated by
filmmaker and Graeff biographer, Jim Tushinski.
TOAST TO OUR BROTHER
Dir. Tom Graeff, 1951, USA, Beta-SP, 23 min.
Shot mainly on the UCLA campus, Graeff's delightful student film
depicts campus life and the rewarding aspects of fraternity brotherhood.
Location: Billy Wilder Theater
Tickets/Information: www.cinema.ucla.edu
OUTFEST members receive $1 off admission at the box office.
