QDoc 2009

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In a city seething with religious and political tensions, Jerusalem’s only gay bar, Shushan, offers an oasis of freedom and acceptance. Palestinians and Israelis, lesbians and gay men, gather at Shushan in a spirit of community and mutual support. Unlike cosmopolitan Tel Aviv, Jerusalem’s political atmosphere is dominated by ultra-religious Jews, who have found rare common ground with their fundamentalist Muslim and Christian counterparts in their shared hostility toward gays and lesbians.

CITY OF BORDERS takes us into the lives of some of Shushan’s habitues – Palestinian lesbian Samira and her Israeli partner, Ravit; devout Muslim Boody, who receives death threats in his home town of Ramallah and sneaks through the border to perform in drag at Shushan; an activist gay couple who are building a house among right-wing settlers in the West Bank; and the bar’s owner, Sa’ar, a tenacious idealist who was the only gay member of Jerusalem’s city council.

Yun Suh’s provocative and inspiring film offers the hope that people from conflicting worlds can embrace their commonalities rather than be defined by their differences.

CITY OF BORDERS dir Yun Suh 2009 USA 66 min

Filmmakers Hanifah Walidah and Olive Demetrius brought together a group of women and transmen of color, gay and straight, at a brownstone in Brooklyn to film a music video, “Make a Move.” Over the two-day shoot their cameras caught the off-screen production as well, with cast and crew awaiting the next scene, getting their hair and makeup done or simply passing time out on the stoop. What might have been a common “the making of” video turned into an “accidental” documentary, as the unscripted conversations took on a rich and passionate life of their own.

What does it mean to be a woman of color? A lesbian of color? What about a transman of color seen as male, as female? What does it mean to face multiple oppressions, and how or should they be compared? In the spirit of sisterhood, these dialogues develop among people who are comfortable enough in their own identities to make the effort to understand those of others.

Scattered throughout these moments of personal honesty, the sexy, on-screen house party video must go on! U PEOPLE, the documentary, is the result. A joyous celebration of community and shared identity, of honoring similarity and respecting difference, U PEOPLE is about being real, people.

U PEOPLE dirs Hanifah Walidah and Olive Demetrius 2008 USA 76 min.
Community Partners: Happy Ours Productions & Q Center

Director John Waters considers Mike and George Kuchar’s films “my first inspiration.” As an impressionable youth, Waters saw in their work “a vision so peculiar, so hilarious, goodnatured and proudly pitiful that I realized (with a little help from LSD) that I too could make the films of my dreams.”

Bronx-born twins, both gay, the Kuchars began making 8mm films as teenagers in the 1950s, and in the early ‘60s they were a part of the cutting-edge NYC underground film scene of Jack Smith, Jonas Mekas, and Andy Warhol. Unlike the more “arty” films of their peers, the Kuchars’ work wallowed in hilariously lurid, melodramatic deviations on cheesy Hollywood convention. With titles like SINS OF THE FLESHAPOIDS, HOLD ME WHEN I’M NAKED, and I WAS A TEENAGE RUMPOT, the Kuchar films featured tawdry glamour, spaceships and aliens, preposterous vulgarity and over-the-top performances by some of their very peculiar friends and family members.

Both brothers have continued to produce exceedingly kooky work, with more than 200 films to their names. George has been making films with his SF Art Institute students since 1971, rarely missing an opportunity to push their sexual boundaries. Beautifully directed by a former student of George’s, IT CAME FROM KUCHAR is an affectionate, funny look at the lives and work of these unique and very prolific cinematic oddballs.

IT CAME FROM KUCHAR dir Jennifer Kroot 2009 USA 86 min.
Community Partner: Northwest Film Center

In 1999 Georgina Beyer became the first transgender person in the world elected to national political office, and the first person of Maori descent in New Zealand’s parliament. Even more amazing was the fact that this former stripper, drag performer and sex worker was elected by a mostly white, rural, conservative constituency that was fully aware of her background. Said one farmer from Dannervirke, “I’m going to vote for that Georgina Beyer because she’s a go-getter and she’s a good chap.”

Beyer’s election was part of a major shift in the make-up of New Zealand’s parliament that also included the first Rastafarian MP and the first Green party MP.

GEORGIE GIRL chronicles Beyer’s incredible journey from rural farmboy to flamboyant cabaret performer to accomplished screen actress to charismatic national leader. Beyer unapologetically recounts her fascinating and inspirational life story, enhanced by archival footage from her early years in theater and community organizing.

Equally interesting are scenes of Beyer attending to her daily political duties – making parliamentary speeches, meeting with her constituents, and even judging sheep racing contests. Demonstrating a depth of empathy and a level-headedness that disarms her critics and inspires the trust of ordinary people, it becomes clear why her district (the largest in New Zealand) chose to elect the irrepressible politician known simply as “Georgina.”

GEORGIE GIRL directors Annie Golson and Peter Wells 2001 New Zealand 70 min.
Community Partners: Basic Rights Oregon & Sex Workers Outreach Coalition

A classic in every respect, WORD IS OUT was the first documentary made by gay people, about gay people, for gay people. Released in 1978 WORD IS OUT captured the exuberance and the diversity of the emerging gay liberation movement. For the first time, lesbians and gay men were able to see ourselves represented on screen, in all our complexity and beauty. A collective of three women and three men, mentored by filmmaker Peter Adair, interviewed 26 lesbians and gay men of varying ages and backgrounds. Their stories ranged from being a dyke in the military in WWII, getting electroshock therapy in the 1950s, to the new post-stonewall generation with its radical politics and gender activism.

After 30 years, WORD IS OUT remains incredibly intimate, often funny, and deeply moving. It manages to simultaneously be a time capsule into the proudly gay 1970s, as well as the closeted decades preceding it. It is a must-see for anyone who is interested in understanding who we are, where we’ve been, and how we got to where we are today.

WORD IS OUT dir Mariposa Film Group 1977 USA 130 min.
Community Partners: Portland PFLAG & SMYRC

During her 26-year coaching career at Penn State University, Rene Portland had three publicly well-known rules for her women’s basketball team – no drinking, no drugs, and no lesbians. She enforced these rules with a vengeance for more than two and a half decades, without apology and without interference from Penn State’s powerful and wealthy athletic department.

In 2006, player Jennifer Harris, along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, sued Portland and Penn State for discrimination. Harris’ courage led other women victimized by Portland through the years to come forward and share their stories.

TRAINING RULES skillfully exposes what is unfortunately a far more pervasive problem than simply one coach’s homophobia. The film serves as both a wake-up call to the many athletic departments nationwide that still discriminate against their student athletes and coaches, as well as inspiration to those athletes ready to fight back.

Preceded by BREAKIN’ THE GLASS, an exciting and fast paced look at the promise of women’s professional basketball. Featuring fast breaks, cross-over dribbles, and three point bombs, the rise and demise of the American Basketball League (go Portland Power!) is a testament to the importance of women role models and professional opportunities for women athletes.

BREAKIN’ THE GLASS dirs Marla Leach and Dina Maria Munsch 2000 USA 28 min.
TRAINING RULES dirs Dee Mosbacher and Fawn Yacker 2009 USA 59 min.
Community Partner: Oregon Gay and Lesbian Law Association