CinePride Film Festival : a new 4 day queer film fest debuts in L.A.

Since OUTFEST imploded a couple of years ago, Los Angeles has been without its own queer Film Festival, bit that is about to change. A brand new event, CinePride Film Festival is will make its debut this September 11th -14th. The Organizers promise that the 4 day event will be a transformative celebration of authentic and diverse queer narratives, highlighting stories that challenge, inspire, and showcase the profound impact of LGBTQIA+ voices in cinema

The lineup will feature 30-40 films across genres, including feature films, shorts,and documentaries. The focus will be on artistic excellence, fresh perspectives, and the ability to spark conversations—with a strong emphasis on elevating the stories of those who are transgender, non-binary BIPOC (black, indigenous, people of color immigrants and those with disabilities. In the words of Cecilio Asuncion, Executive Director of CinePride Film Festival, it will focus on authentic storytelling challenges stereotypes, humanizes our experiences, and ensures that queer people—especially the most marginalized—see themselves reflected in ways that aﬃrm their existence.”

It all kicks of with an animated drag musical fantasy (which is a definite first for us…) Maxxie LaWow is the story of a shy young barista stumbles upon a magical pink wig that transforms him into a fabulous drag queen super-shero …..i.e. Maxxie LaWow….. and the plot gets camper as it unfolds. Its light and funny and perfect fopr a chance to chill out

Dean Johnson was a charismatic celebrity and gay activist in the New York club scene of the eighties and nineties. Six foot six tall and with a shaved head, Dean appeared in drag as front man with two queer rock bands, The Weenies and The Velvet Mafia. His drag was unconventional. With his little black dresses, chandelier earrings, big sunglasses and combat boots, he didn’t make much of an effort to look like a woman; his voice only had the slightest camp inflection. Playing with gender in an era of binary identities, he was way ahead of his time. The Big Johnson introduces us to this underground legend, who deserved to be more famous. This well-crafted documentary is structured around his New York diaries from 1979-2004, interspersed with reminiscences from his nearest and dearest. There is no shortage of footage from home movies, performances, and interviews to make this a compelling record of a life lived large.

Slab City is an off-grid alternative lifestyle community in the California desert, about 90 miles southeast of Palm Springs. Formerly a US military base, the abandoned site has, since the mid-1980s, become a seasonal home to up to 4000 nomadic people of all ages. There are many different kinds of resident–van lifers, alternative thinkers, people on the run from normal life, the law or anything, travellers, tourists, and so on. It’s largely self-governing, with minimal state or federal input, and with a limited water supply. It’s almost unlivable in the scorching summer desert heat, when the population dwindles to a couple of hundred hard-core dwellers. Many of the residents live in named camps – groups of trucks, caravans, RVs, and tents housing like-minded individuals in the vein of the Burning Man. Flamingo Camp, home to a group of young queer and trans campmates is one such camp and it’s the subject of a new documentary by director Chris Coats.

sept 11-14th

for the whole program

https://www.cinepride.org/

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