Sunday, October 11, 2009

Day 3: SWIMMING WITH LESBIANS and FLOWER CITY FLICKS SHORTS

We went with a new format this year with a feature documentary at the center of the program. ImageOut's local films focus is always a favorite. Can it keep up the exciting pace of our first two days?

Note: The following films screened during this program:

Swimming With Lesbians
The Other
Thanksgiving
photos by Billijo Wolf

9 comments:

J. O'Neill said...

I've been enjoying all the movies so far, but there was something extra special about _Swimming with Lesbians_ -- a great example of a documentary that not only tells a powerful story but also shoots it in a style which is thoughtful, elegant, & personal. An amazing activist, an amazing community, an amazing filmmaker. And all about upstate! So good!

Unknown said...

While I enjoyed all three films in Flower City Flicks, I was especially intrigued with The Other and how the filmmaker was able to capture the images of "the other" in the mirrors. Amazing how the film was captivating without a need for dialogue. Loved it!

Jim V. said...

All three of these films blew me away. This was the best Flower City Flicks ever! Three very different films with very different messages and styles, and all done so very well.

Stefan said...

Very well done.

billijo wolf said...

I cried through out Swimming With Lesbians! It brought memories and the need to grieve my own struggles at 61 of being intersexed and lesbian and finding my palce in this world with some peace! It strenghtened my beliefs as a documentary photographer of how many of us live (and some still do) a silent life. We have a silent history which needs to be archived, documented and shouted out to the world not only for us who are aging but to pass on our history to our youth and future generations of queer.

Woody said...

I loved all three of the shorts in this, and was beyond pleased that everyone involved was able to come to speak in the after-panel.

In particular, I want to comment on the way Swimming With Lesbians was so much more that a local documentary. I hope and pray that this gets to dozens of festivals, and into the hands of people running other archive that can and should be including LGBT material, indexed appropriately, to preserve our stories.

To billijo: I would encourage you to contact the author and share your story with the Buffalo or Rochester archive. Just from what you've said I can tell you've had a very unique life, and that life would be a gem in such a collection if it can be shared and preserved to current and future generations.

Unknown said...

I thought "Swimming with Lesbians" was just wonderful, and it felt like the entire audience agreed. Such heartfelt and prolonged applause when the film ended. So far (day 4) this is one of my top 2 favorite films of the festival.

KaeLyn said...

All three of the films in Flower City Flicks this year were fantastic. My family is from the Buffalo area and I've lived most of my life in WNY, but Swimming with Lesbians touched me way beyond just recognizing the Clarence Antique Market. As a young (GenX/Y) person and a queer feminist, it means so much that our lgbtqi histories are being honored and recorded. It challenges my generation to keep building on the foundation of our brave and rich queer history.

Tina said...

great film, I cried, I was moved and I never thought of how much history we do need to record and leave behind.