DC’s LGBT Film Festival – Oct. 15-24: Profile “Family” and “Standing-N-Truth: Breaking the Silence”

DC’s Reel Affirmations: The Nation’s LGBT Film Festival opens on Oct. 15th showing more than 100 films over a 10-day period.  Live events include filmmaker panels, receptions and an Opening Night Gala at Harman Center for the Arts.

Those who want to attend the event can visit the organization’s website to find out which films are playing and when they will be screened:  www.reelaffirmations.org.

There are two pieces that feature black queer subjects as the primary focus of the film.

Director Faith Trimel chronicles the lives of black lesbians who make a pact to come out to their

family and friends while dealing with the slew of issues African American queers face in her feature film “Family.”  See synopsis and trailer below.

Director Tim Daniels takes a hard look at the Black community’s struggle with sex, homosexuality and HIV/AIDS in his documentary “Standing-N-Truth: Breaking the Silence.” See synopsis and trailer below.

Both films play on Sunday Oct. 18th at the Harman Center for the Arts at 610 F St. NW, Washington DC.  If you are taking the Metro:
From  Gallery Place Chinatown station, use the Verizon exit, then head south two blocks.
From Archive-Navy Memorial station, walk north 2 blocks.

“Family” plays at 5pm
“Standing-N-Truth” plays at 11am

Family

Closeted life can be pretty cramped, what with all the hangers hitting your head. Not being able to live out in the open is sometimes a small price to pay compared to the fear of familial and professional backlash. But the price becomes too high for thirty-something Felicia, as she finds herself coaxing her lesbian lover into a closet due to a surprise visit from her mom. Her relationship now in jeopardy, Felicia has a proposal for her similarly repressed group of Sapphic friends: all six must come out within thirty days. Of course, this is easier said than done. For cocky WNBA player Kemp, future endorsements are on the line. Sabrina, a meek churchgoer, must reconcile her beliefs with her desires. Tonya feels ongoing pressure from her fiancée, but can’t stand up to her pushy sister, and Melanie will do whatever it takes to regain custody of her daughter from a former girlfriend. The bravest of the bunch, Monifa, confesses her sexuality to her parents with hilarious results, but then finds herself swept up in an unexpected love affair. And Felicia, the catalyst for the pact, is too afraid to stick to her own plan. Tackling relevant African American LGBT issues such as church values and coming out in Hollywood, writer-director Faith Trimel (Black Aura on an Angel) effectively transcends color lines with her powerful, relatable story of confronting your own truth.

Standing-N-Truth: Breaking the Silence

Winner of the 17th Pan African Film Festival Programmer’s Award for best documentary feature, Standing-N-Truth: Breaking the Silence explores the attitudes, fears and shame that many members of the Black community struggle with surrounding sex, sexual identity, and HIV/AIDS among other topics. Through the vision of director Tim Daniels, this revolutionary film gives voice to those who have been silenced and ostracized. Reflections of personal stories, from a diverse, insightful group of community leaders and everyday folks, winds throughout the film, including the Black Aids Institute’s Phil Wilson, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and AIDS activist and actor Sheryl Lee Ralph. Focusing on their passionate stories of coming out, their church’s teachings about AIDS, and early sex education in the Black community, Daniels strips away the political and religious messiness of the issues and makes them emotionally accessible.