My Busy February

I'm involved in several exciting events this month:

1) This Tuesday (Feb 7th from 7-9) at the Little Roxie (16th & Valencia)

SFFS Film Arts Forum: Digital Distribution Now

It’s no secret that online distribution is changing the shape of the film industry. From giants like YouTube, iTunes and Netflix to emerging, intriguing platforms like Fandor, Distribber, Dynamo and Distrify, filmmakers are faced with a distribution landscape that’s evolving daily. As independent film distribution has changed from DIY ("Do It Yourself") to DIWO ("Do It With Others" — i.e., crowdfunding), filmmakers are exploring new ways to circumvent the middlemen and stream directly to audiences. The latest SFFS Film Arts Forum will assemble a panel to debate, demystify, and debunk online distribution in all its varying forms. Panelists include filmmaker and LGBT cinema champion Jenni Olson, IndieGoGo cofounder Danae Ringelmann, film attorney George Rush and filmmaker Tiffany Shlain. Michael A. Behrens will moderate.

 This event is co-presented by BAVC

2) This Wednesday Feb 8 from 6-8pm SF Main Library, Koret Auditorium (lower level)

More Gems from the Hormel Center's Video Archive

Rare and precious LGBTQ films are being preserved and digitized here at the Library. Come see clips from the Frameline San Francisco LGBT Film Festival archives. Learn about Queer Film History as told through The Hormel Center's Frameline Video Archive Project. The Video Archive is international in scope and has films dating back to the early 1950s. Hosted by Project Consultant and film historian Jenni Olson, and Hormel Center Program Manager Karen Sundheim.

3) February 18 | 6:15PM—7:30PM
 Namaste Hall, 
California Institute of Integral Studies Main Building (1453 Mission Street @ 10th)

Witnessing: History and the Individual Voice—A conversation between prize-winning novelist/poet Elizabeth Rosner, author of The Speed of Light and Blue Nude; and filmmaker/author/curator Jenni Olson, director of The Joy of Life. Preceded by open mike by MFA students, 5:30PM—6:00PM.

2012 Queer Park City Preview

Going to the Sundance Film Festival next week? Or just want a sneak peek at a few top films coming up in 2012? Please take a look at my Queer Park City preview on The Bilerico Project — you could also read it on QMovieBlog.com or AfterEllen.com if you are so inclined. That picture above is from Mosquita y Mari (premiering in the NEXT section at Sundance).

On Art: Jeff Brouws/Ed Ruscha

"The beauty of Ruscha's work is that it appears authorless, effortless, totally objective, artfully artless, which I think gives it a universal appeal, as if his voice and vision are ours, as if he's saying: you could do this too. Twentysix Gasoline Stations led me down the typographical path; it made me want to photographically collect "types" of things as a way of systematically surveying the unique qualities of similar objects, a way to remind myself that everything in the world is interesting, mystifying, individual, and worthy of our attention, no matter how banal or ordinary."

Jeff Brouws on Ed Ruscha's Twentysix Gasoline Stations (in Readymades, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2003)

Pictured above: Edward Ruscha, Phillips 66, Flagstaff, Arizona, 1962, from Twentysix Gasoline Stations, 1963. Gelatin silver print, 4 11/16 × 4 11/16 in. (11.9 × 11.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from The Leonard and Evelyn Lauder Foundation, and Diane and Thomas Tuft 2004.467 © Ed Ruscha

Parting Glances: VIP Q Movie Pick for World AIDS Day

Please read my posting on Bilerico.com today which includes reflections on Parting Glances from Matthew Rettenmund, Will Clark, Bruce Vilanch, Alec Mapa, Dan Butler and Tom Bezucha. Here's the intro:

As World AIDS Day approaches on December 1st it's a fitting moment to share the half-dozen VIP Q Movie Pickers who have named Bill Sherwood's legendary 1986 HIV/AIDS drama, Parting Glances as their number one favorite LGBT film (alongside Desert Hearts and But I'm a Cheerleader this film has been the most popular selection amongst our dozens of celebrity movie lovers).

And here's the rest: Parting Glances: VIP Q Movie Pick for World AIDS Day

Hear Harvey: Post-November 27 Action Item

This past Sunday, November 27th marked the anniversary of the death of gay civil rights movement leader Harvey Milk (he was assassinated on November 27, 1978). His legacy carries on in innumerable ways today. Visit the Milk Foundation website to find out more. And if you have time, please take seven minutes to watch my little short film, 575 Castro St. which includes some of Harvey's tremendously inspiring reflections on the gay movement.