Georgia Voice 09/22/23, Vol. 14 Issue 13

A Long Arc

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Out On Film

Jim Farmer, Director of Out On Film

In 2008, I saw a blurb in Southern Voice that the Atlanta Film Festival was giving up Out On Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQIA+ film festival, and wanted it to be a community-run organization moving forward. I immediately reached out to the new group that was taking over and blatantly said that I’d like to be the festival director/head of programming. It seemed like a perfect job for the movie nerd in me. Little did I know what I was stepping into — or that 15 years would pass by so quickly.

Those first years were tough, but we slowly built up a team and have continued to grow, season after season. As we dive into our 36th anniversary, we have become one of the major LGBTQIA+ film festivals around. This year, as part of the “USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards 2023,” we were voted as the top film festival in the country.

To have that honor is an amazing testament to the filmmakers, sponsors, and patrons who have supported us all these years, and the staff and volunteers who keep us hungry to grow every season.

I grew up at an age where there was very little LGBTQ programming and what was there was mostly tragic and unnerving. One of the first movies with a gay character I watched was the film, “Cruising,” in which a police detective goes undercover in an underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to try to find a serial killer who is killing gay men. It scared the heck out of me. Then I started watching AIDS films, and they were all very good and affecting, yet the main character had to die at the end, befitting the times. At one point, I thought to myself — I do not have a lot to look forward to if I ever have the nerve to come out.

But I did watch a TV movie called Consenting Adult with Marlo Thomas and Martin Sheen as parents whose son, played by Barry Tubb, is gay. I knew when I watched Barry Tubb kiss another guy in a van that I was gay. Tubb was later seen in Top Gun and a few other movies, but he’s not active now as a performer. The movie, too, is largely under the radar. Too bad. I’ll never forget it, though. It changed my life.

That is what movies and media can do. It’s important to have positive portrayals of LGBTQ individuals, but for a while those were especially hard to come by.

As I grew older, I did begin seeing more positive portrayals, including another that changed me — TV’s “My So-Called Life,” with Wilson Cruz playing Enrique Vasquez. It was a groundbreaking character. And over the years, representation and positive portrayals have gotten much better. One of my favorite LGBTQ films is “Paris 05:59: Théo & Hugo,” which deals with HIV/AIDS in a refreshingly positive manner.

With many more LGBTQ movies available, as well as television series, people often ask me why it’s still important to host an LGBTQ film festival. It will always be essential to have positive portrayals of the LGBTQ experience

so audiences know they are not alone. Nothing beats the feeling of having someone come to Out On Film and tell us they saw themselves on screen for the first time. That is why we exist and why we work so hard every year. For every patron in the Midtown/Atlanta area who comes to see a film, there is another from somewhere else in the state or the South who is not able to be out at work or at home, and what we offer that person is a safe haven to see themselves and be part of their community.

A reporter asked me last week why our theme was Defiantly Queer this year. It seems natural. At a time when our community is under attack, with so much unnecessary anti-gay legislation, it is vital to bring us all together, stand up and proudly say: we are here. We have every right to be here. And we are not going anywhere.

We open our festival with a bang this year — Bill Oliver’s “Our Son,” featuring excellent performances by Billy Porter and Luke Evans as a gay couple in a custody battle over their 8-year-old son when they part ways. Our closing night film is Tom Gustafson’s delightful, “Glitter & Doom,” a musical featuring songs from the legendary and local Indigo Girls. We literally have movies all members of the LGBTQ community can enjoy. As always, it is our pleasure — and responsibility — to do so.

Read these stories and more online at thegavoice.com

LGBTQ Students Face New Laws as They Head Back to School

Most straight and cisgender students will be starting school this fall as usual with only a new backpack, fresh notebooks and maybe a new “look” with their hair and clothes. But for LGBTQ students in at least 17 states, the new school year means new laws governing — and restricting — how LGBTQ students can be in their schools and classrooms.

As the ACLU has been detailing throughout 2023 and earlier, state GOP lawmakers have made LGBTQ youth a focal point of legislation — and GOP presidential candidates have used these same laws as a pivot to their MAGA base as they campaign. Of the nearly 500 state bills introduced this year targeting the rights of LGBTQ+ people, 228 involved the rights of students, according to the ACLU.

Alabama: Bans trans student athletes in colleges from playing on sports teams that match their gender identities.

Arkansas: Prohibits instruction on LGBTQ topics below grade 5; restricts the use of pronouns and bathrooms that don’t align with sex assigned at birth.

Florida: Bars colleges from using federal funds for diversity, equity and inclusion; prohibits instruction on LGBTQ topics in grades K-8 and restricts health education in grades 6-12.

Idaho:  Restricts the use of bathrooms that don’t align with sex assigned at birth. A lawsuit has been filed against this measure.

Indiana: Prohibits instruction on human sexuality to students in pre-kindergarten through third grade.

Iowa: Restricts the use of bathrooms that don’t align with sex assigned at birth; allows parents to opt students out of health/sex education.

Kansas:  Bars trans student athletes in K-12 and college from playing on sports teams that match their gender identities.

Kentucky: Bars trans student athletes in K-12 and college from playing on sports teams that match their gender identities; restricts the use of pronouns that don’t align with sex assigned at birth; prohibits instruction on human sexuality through fifth grade; prohibits instruction or presentations on LGBTQ identities in all grades. A lawsuit has been filed against the restriction on instruction related to LGBTQ topics.

Missouri: Bars trans student athletes in K-12 schools and colleges from playing on school sports teams that match their gender identities.

Montana: Restricts the use of pronouns that don’t align with sex assigned at birth.

North Carolina: Bars trans student athletes in grades 6-12 and college from playing on sports teams that match their gender identities; prohibits instruction on LGBTQ topics in grades K-4.

North Dakota: Restricts the use of pronouns that don’t align with sex assigned at birth; bars trans student athletes in grades K-12 and college from playing on sports teams that match their gender identities; restricts the use of bathrooms that don’t align with sex assigned at birth.

Oklahoma: Restricts the use of bathrooms that don’t align with sex assigned at birth. Tennessee: Restricts the use of pronouns that don’t align with sex assigned at birth; bars trans student athletes in grades 5-12 and college from playing on sports teams that match their gender identities.

Texas: Bars trans student athletes in college from playing on sports teams that match their gender identities.

Utah:  Requires students to present a birth

certificate to participate in school sports; requires schools to give parents access to any information related to their child’s gender identity.

Wyoming: Bars trans student athletes in grades 7-12 from playing on sports teams that match their gender identities.

DeSantis Blames Media for Backlash Against Florida’s Anti-LGBTQ Policies

During an interview with CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running for president, doubled down on his anti-LGBTQ policies by attributing backlash to controversy ginned up by the media.

The governor’s comments began with O’Donnell’s question about the travel advisory issued in May by the NAACP over legislation the group characterized as “openly hostile for African Americans, people of color, and LGBTQ individuals.”

“They obviously have [a] very left-wing agenda,” DeSantis said.

When she countered that some minorities including LGBTQ people feel unsafe visiting the state, particularly after laws targeting them were passed in recent months, DeSantis said, “Part of the reason they think that is ‘cause of narratives that are put out by media.”

While he declined to say whether he would support a U.S. Supreme Court justice who sought to overturn the 2015 marriage equality precedent, DeSantis said such an outcome would be unlikely in consideration of the ruling’s “significant reliance interest.”

Asked whether everyone would feel welcome in America if he is elected president, DeSantis responded “100 percent.

LGBTQ students face new laws as they head back to school. PHOTO BY ADOBE STOCK

A Look at Atlanta Pride 2023

Katie Burkholder

As September comes to a close, Atlanta anticipates the return of our annual Pride festival and parade. While the festival comes to the beautiful Piedmont Park on October 14 and 15, there’s plenty happening before the festivities to get you ready for the big weekend.

Before Pride is here, support Atlanta Pride Committee (APC) by drinking beer! Head over to My Sister’s Room on September 23 at 8pm for the Atlanta Pride Beer Bust. Ten dollars gets you all-you-can-drink Bud Light Draft — 100 percent of the proceeds will go to APC.

A week before Pride, compete for the title of Mr., Miss, or Mx. Atlanta Pride at the Pride pageant! Contestants will compete in categories for presentation, evening wear, and talent at Future Atlanta, and the winners will receive $500 and a vehicle in the parade! Registration is $50 and begins at 7pm before the show begins at 8. Visit future-atlanta. com for more information.

Then, get ready for Pride weekend on Friday, October 13 with the official kickoff party at the Georgia Aquarium! Celebrate the start of Pride with friends, music, and aquarium views. Guests will experience a variety of music from three different DJs scattered throughout the Aquarium. Hollywood superstar DJ Dawna Montell from Los Angeles will headline the event with support from circuit icon DJ David Knapp and the return of the Deep South secret spot featuring DJ Brian Rojas. The upgraded lounge tickets are sold out, but attendees can still buy general admission tickets, which include two drink tickets valid for cocktails, beer, wine, or sodas. The party kicks off at 7pm. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased at georgiaaquarium.org/events/event/ pride-kickoff.

That evening, the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta in partnership with SOJOURN will

also be hosting an Atlanta Pride Shabbat at 6:30pm at the Dock at Piedmont Park. This event is free for anyone to join.

The following day, the Pride festivities officially begin! Head to Piedmont Park on Saturday to experience all 205 vendor booths — including one for the Georgia Voice! — and two stages of entertainment. This year’s entertainment lineup includes Icona Pop, Saucy Santana, G Flip, Angie K, Ashlee Keating, Chrissy Chlapeka, DJ Babey Drew, Emma Ogier, Erica Mason, The Gurls, Nachlanta, Out Front Theatre Company, Rico Marcel, the Shooting Star Cabaret, Siena Liggins, Tkay Maidza, and the Voices of Note chorus on Saturday, and the Candybox Revue, Debby Holiday, DJ MikeQ, Michel Jons Band, and Sweet Tea: A Queer Variety Show on Sunday. The Starlight Cabaret, the largest outdoor drag show in the country, will close out the weekend on Sunday. The entertainment will kick off on Saturday at the Mercedes-Benz USA Stage at noon and on the Coca-Cola Mainstage at 2.

On Saturday there will be three marches

before the main parade on Sunday. The annual trans march will meet at 1:15pm at the Charles Allen Gate before stepping off at 1:45. The annual bi and pan march will meet at 3 before stepping off at 3:30, and the annual dyke march will meet at 4:30 before stepping off at 5.

There will also be a special group wedding ceremony held in the park on Saturday. Couples will be able to say “I Do” for free at the Marry Who You Love ceremony, presented by the Fulton County Probate Court, complete with wedding decorations provided by Marry We Events, a photographer, and more — and couples will be able to purchase wedding day Pride VIP passes at a discounted rate! Couples must register and obtain a Fulton County marriage license; spaces are limited, so register now at marrywhoyoulove.rsvpify.com.

The festival will come to a close with the annual Pride parade, which will draw over 100,000 people to the streets of Atlanta at noon on Sunday. Along with the winners of the Pride Pageant, you will be able to see

the staff of the Georgia Voice driving in the parade along with other Grand Marshals Danielle Bonanno, Aubri Escalera, All-1Family, Jim Farmer, Sergio Mendez, Voices of Note, Jon Santos, Jennifer Slipakoff, and Toni-Michelle Williams.

While Atlanta Pride promises to be a funfilled weekend, it will also serve as a reminder for all the work that remains to protect the LGBTQ community. In honor of the history and activism of Atlanta Pride, this year’s theme will be “Show Up and Show Out” to remind people to stand up for the full spectrum of the LGBTQ community.

“I think Pride is important every year, and it’s especially critical this year,” APC Executive Director Chris McCain said in an interview with Atlanta News First. “I think it's really important that we remember that Pride is about resistance and about working towards justice and equal rights for all people, especially the queer community.”

For more information on Atlanta Pride, visit atlantapride.org.

Atlanta Pride parade FILE PHOTO BY ROB BOEGER

Out On Film IN

Read all the reviews online at thegavoice.com.

BEST OF FEST Lie With Me

September 25, 8:30pm

“Lie with Me” is the sad tale of a man who lived and died in the closet, told through the eyes of his secret high school sweetheart, an openly gay author who returns after 35 years to their French hometown of Cognac for the bicentennial of the famous brandy named for its birthplace. The story is told in the trendy then-and-now back-and-forth style I often find annoying, but director and co-writer Olivier Peyon employs it perfectly. Stéphane Belcourt (Guillaume de Tonquédec, a Nathan Lane type) has become famous writing stories about Cognac, often fictionalizing his own

experiences. As a nerdy 17-year-old (Jérémy Gillet) he was chosen by popular hunk Thomas Andrieu (Julien De Saint Jean) for gay sex that had to be kept secret. They couldn't even be seen together, but at least one of them fell in love. In the present, Stéphane meets Lucas (Victor Belmondo), Thomas’ son, and they learn things from each other about the man they knew at different times. If Out On Film doesn't sell cognac at the concession stand at this screening, they're missing a chance to finance next year's festival in advance.

RECOMMENDED

A Big Gay Hairy Hit! Where the Bears Are: The Documentary

September 23, 8:15pm

If you're into bears, you’ve probably seen the seven-season YouTube sensation, “Where the Bears Are.” I haven’t, but I’m looking forward

to catching up after enjoying Eduardo Aquino’s film about the series and its creators Ben Zook, Joe Dietl, and Rick Copp. They were all in their late forties, getting what work they could in Hollywood, when a conversation in a Palm Springs hot tub led to them creating their own series, conceived as “‘Golden Girls’ meets ‘Murder, She Wrote’ with big, hairy gay men.” This documentary includes clips from the show and behindthe-scenes shots that show how much fun they had making it. They also look back on those good times, as do members of their crew, co-star Ian Parks and other actors who were in the show, including Tuc Watkins and Brooke Dillman. The millions of registered views indicate they’re not the only ones who had fun, and this making-of film is sure to boost that number considerably.

Big Boys

September 23, 6pm

Despite being billed as a comedy, “Big Boys” isn’t funny. It could evoke more tears than laughter from gay men as it unfolds, stirring memories of their own coming out. Jamie (Isaac Krasner) is a 14-year-old virgin who's not sure what he wants. He goes on a weekend camping trip with his older brother Will (Taj Cross), their 20-something cousin Allie (Dora Madison), and her boyfriend Dan (David Johnson III). Jamie’s attraction to Dan is subtly hinted at, but “Big Boys”

is nearly half over before the youth starts having outright gay fantasies. Things play out from there, mostly in believable fashion — sometimes painfully believable for some of us. A few shorts prepared Sherman to avoid many novice mistakes in delivering a polished film with fine performances from his mostly unfamiliar actors. Because Krasner’s not a leading man type, I’m sure people are writing scripts tailored to him at this moment.

F.L.Y.

September 22, 9:10pm

Trent Kendrick and Rafael Albarran cram what seem to be too many ideas and themes into one movie, as if they’re afraid they won’t get a chance to make another; but somehow it doesn’t feel as plot-heavy as many simpler films. When we meet Max (Kendrick) and Raf (Albarran), they’re lovers in New York. Max, whose homophobic father had been abusive, is not a fan of many aspects of the gay world: bars, music, drag, and monogamy. Five years later, they meet again in L.A., where Max is house- and dog-sitting for wealthy friends and Raf has just arrived and found himself without an expected place to stay. So Raf stays with Max, who has a new boyfriend, Hunter (Alexeev Dismuke). Raf, who now identifies as nonbinary, is hoping to become a drag star.

Steve Warren

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Max is a wannabe screenwriter who’s working on what will obviously become the script of this movie. Both frequently Facetime with their grandmothers and other friends and family, which is good, because COVID-19 has just broken out and Max is particularly paranoid about masks (yes!) and mingling (no!). The story unfolds as you might expect, with a few surprises. Albarran does a good J-Lo and Kendrick has a great smile he doesn't show off enough because Max isn’t always a happy camper. If “F.L.Y.” doesn’t quite soar, it should still send you out of the theater on a cloud.

Golden Delicious

September 24, 7pm

Everybody wants to make a man of Jake Wong (Cardi Wong). His father, a former high school basketball star, trains Jake in the driveway to force him to follow in his footsteps. Valerie (Parmiss Sehat), Jake’s girlfriend of two years, wants to have sex, but he’s made her agree to wait a year until they graduate and can move in together. Ronald (Jesse Hyde), captain of the school basketball team, bullies Jake mercilessly. Aleks (Chris Carson), a new neighbor and classmate, can help Jake with all three problems. He coaches him effectively, stands up to Ronald, and — well, he’s openly gay, so Jake may have options. The movie’s almost half over before Jake begins exploring those options in what I found to be the most arousing scene I’ve seen in years. The Wongs

have other issues. Jake’s older sister Janet is in cooking school, but their mother hates working in the family’s Chinese restaurant of the title and warns the girl to stay out of the business. This leads to bigger problems between the parents. If all that sounds like melodrama, it is — but it doesn't begin to feel like it in a bad way until well into the second half, and by then we’re really caring about at least some of the characters. The first feature by skilled director Jason Karman, “Golden Delicious” is a workout for the cast, especially Wong, who goes through every emotion a human can in one crisis after another and makes us believe them all.

Studio One Forever

September 24, 6:10pm

This documentary about what is hyperbolically called “the very first disco” has its flaws, and I’d have to take them into account if I were on an award committee. But as a viewer of a certain age, I was caught up in happy memories of the disco era and sad ones of the AIDS years, and I could forgive a lot. Scott Forbes opened Studio One in West Hollywood in 1974. Soon the Backlot was opened upstairs, a cabaret that attracted name performers, who in turn attracted allies, including straight and closeted celebrities, to see them. The film was inspired when a developer bought the property in 2018 with plans to demolish the legendary, longshuttered nightspot. About half a dozen men who used to co-own or work at Studio One offer their memories. The stories, clips, and

photos often seem too random, but I guess our thoughts weren’t always well organized in the disco days. “Studio One Forever” will be a source of memories for some generations and a history lesson for others. I’m glad they made it and glad I saw it.

Stuck in Greece: An LGBT Refugee Crisis

September 27, 7pm

Not your typical horror movie, but more horrible because it's true, “Stuck in Greece” studies the problem of LGBTQ refugees from (mostly Muslim) countries where their orientation is a virtual death sentence. If they’ve made it to Greece, some via Turkey, things aren’t much better. They get no special consideration, and many are put in camps where they’re as likely to be beaten and abused as they were at home. The rest of the European Union is essentially closed to refugees, hence the title. Filmmaker Gerald McCullouch discovered the situation when he took his 2015 gay film Daddy to Greece for a festival and stayed for a month. It’s not clear whether he filmed the bulk of his interviews then or as late as last year, but we get to know several LGBTQ refugees who are trying to make a home in Greece if they can’t get out, other than by being sent back to their native countries and certain death. Nongovernmental organizations that separate LGBTQ people from other refugees and try to help them are formed or expanded over the years, and Greece itself becomes somewhat less conservative. There are a couple of individual happy endings in addition to the gradual progress shown, but the overall dilemma is far from resolved. Making more people aware of it, as McCullouch's film does, can only help.

Unidad: Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos October

1, 2pm

While the LGBTQ community continues to fight for diversity and inclusion, this documentary reminds us we haven’t always been so open to our own subgroups. Gregorio Davila’s “Unidad” takes us back to Los Angeles in 1981, when most queer groups were run by (and mostly consisted of) gay white men. Tired of being excluded, some gay and lesbian Latinos formed their own group, Gay & Lesbian Latinos Unidos, nicknamed GLLU (pronounced like “glue”). There was a learning curve as some men had to stop using sexist language and people from different countries became familiar with each other’s cultures. Some women were still not satisfied and formed an offshoot, Lesbianas Unidas, after a few years, though many belonged to both groups. Besides fighting for LGBTQ rights, GLLU marched with farmworkers, and César Chávez was an early ally. They hosted an international conference of queer people of color and women from LU attended a feminist conference in Mexico. Of course, AIDS was starting up and, as in most locations, lesbians became caretakers for the gay men who had largely ignored them. A Latin AIDS organization, Bienestar, formed in 1989 because existing groups shut most Latinos out. The importance of the subject matter, including lessons some of us could still apply today, outweighs any of the film’s shortcomings, including cursory introductions that make it hard to get to know the many GLLU pioneers who share their memories.

To purchase your tickets to Out On Film, visit outonfilm.org.

“Unidad: Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos” PUBLICITY PHOTO

“Golden Delicious” PUBLICITY PHOTO

Out On Film IN REVIEW

characters and make their every line as dramatic and Shakespearean as possible.

Read all the reviews online at thegavoice.com.

BEST OF FEST

Glitter & Doom

September 30, 8:15pm

“Glitter & Doom” is so gay, so ridiculous, and so over-the-top that it just might work. Tom Gustafson’s musical rom-com follows the titular characters Glitter and Doom, two 20-somethings chasing their outlandish dreams who fall in love.

What makes “Glitter & Doom” special is not so much what it’s about, but how it goes about it. Every scene is jam-packed with vibrant colors, strange cuts and transitions, and outrageous fashion choices; every set seems miraculous and opulent to the point you begin to wonder who financed this independent film. The performances take these very light, admittedly shallow

Now, “Glitter & Doom” may not be for everyone. What seems camp and Shakespearean to one person may seem shallow, histrionic, and ridiculous to another. Indeed, Gustafson’s hyper stylizing quite literally crowds the screen with visuals at points; the poetic way people speak can be unclear, too, making it difficult to follow what characters are saying or why. But the passion, effort, and earnestness behind this project bleeds through every frame, and that is undeniable (it also doesn’t hurt that the songs are by the iconic Indigo Girls).

RECOMMENDED

Queer Exile Berlin

September 25, 6:30pm

“Queer Exile Berlin” follows the lives of seven queer people who all find themselves living in Berlin for their own reasons. Director

Jochen Hick showcases a rich diversity of queer life with his subjects. They range from the Portuguese transwoman Eunice, going through gender confirmation surgery, to the Syrian refugee Haidar, who fled to Berlin to avoid mandatory military service, to the self-proclaimed oldest drag queen of Berlin, Gloria Viagra.

If “Queer Exile Berlin” has any one problem, it’s that some of its subjects are more interesting than others. However, it’s this range of representation that is Queer Exile Berlin’s biggest strength. The process of moving to an oasis like Berlin to find community is an experience that is almost universal to LGBTQ folk, so that the film captures so much of the queer experience will make it resonate for audiences in Atlanta, which is itself a land for queer exiles.

Kenyatta

September 30, noon

Kenyatta follows Rep. Malcom Kenyatta on his campaign to become the first openly LGBTQ person of color elected as a senator in Pennsylvania’s history. When the film begins, over a year before the primary election, Kenyatta appears to be the perfect candidate. However, as Kenyatta progresses, we see how systemic racism and homophobia intersect to impact his campaign.

Though Kenyatta can feel like a glorified political ad at times, it offers so much as a film: a deft examination into the intersection between race, class, and sexuality; a story of finding love amid chaos and turmoil; and a hopeful feeling that the politics of the future will allow those from poor, minority communities to truly represent themselves.

Silver Haze

September 23, 4pm

The 23-year-old Franky is tormented by her thirst for revenge in “Silver Haze.” As a child, she was the victim of what she believes to be an arson attack perpetrated by the woman who tore her parents’ marriage apart. Now working as a nurse and living in East London with her mother and sister, Franky intends to exact revenge against her father and his new wife for the event that left scars all over her body. That is, until she meets Florence, a suicidal patient Franky tends to at the hospital and forms a relationship with. Though Florence ends up fueling Franky’s fiery anger, Florence’s adoptive family offers her a chance to overcome her pain and find a happier life.

The story of “Silver Haze” unfolds in a natural, meandering fashion, picking up myriad plot lines as its characters go about their lives. For

CONTINUES ON PAGE 11

Fletcher Varnson

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“Queer Exile Berlin” PUBLICITY PHOTO

some, this will make Polak’s film feel aimless and messy. But for others, this experience will feel true to life. After all, when you live near the poverty line like Franky, the world tends to hit you from all angles, and Polak and lead actor Vicky Knight manage these angles with grace and care.

Chasing Chasing Amy

September 24, 2pm

When director Sav Rodgers set out to make this film, his original intention was simple but personal and earnest. Growing up, Rodgers identified as a lesbian girl, and no other movie made him feel as comfortable with this identity as Kevin Smith’s 1997 rom-com, “Chasing Amy.” Rodgers wanted to explore the legacy of “Chasing Amy” as a part of LGBTQ cinema and see how queer folk and the creatives who made the film view its queer representation now.

But it becomes clear early on that “Chasing Chasing Amy” is not really going to be about that. You can sense that Rodgers doesn’t have a planned method to accomplish the goal of his documentary (even though he comes to an insightful conclusion about “Chasing Amy’s” legacy by the film’s end). Instead, things quickly shift to Rodgers’s unique experience making “Chasing Chasing Amy” with his partner Regina and meeting the people who created the film that meant so much to him growing up.

This description might make “Chasing Chasing Amy” sound rather messy, and that’s because it is. Rodgers’ constant search for what his film is going to be about makes “Chasing Chasing Amy” an uneven and winding experience. But it’s through this winding that we discover — along with Rodgers — that it’s important to grow beyond the nostalgic artifacts that got us through our childhoods so that we can better appreciate the love, friendship, and identity we have in the here and now.

Elephant

September 21, 9:20pm

Set in the rolling hills and farmlands of an autumnal Poland, Elephant tells the story of Bartek, a young man who discovers his sexual identity when he falls for Dawid, a slightly older man with a troubled past who returns

to Bartek’s small town after a long absence. Though Elephant’s plot may be typical of gay indie coming-of-age films, its approach is not. Krawczycki is much more interested in celebrating the sensuousness of the fall season and young love than in telling a love story.

However, if Elephant’s sensory pleasures make up its strongest moments, its attempts at creating narrative tension make up its weakest. As Bartek and Dawid fall for each other, the locals of their small town — particularly Bartek’s mom — begin to chastise and alienate them. Krawczycki never shows the town’s discovery of their relationship or why Bartek’s mother is so opposed to their coupling (it feels especially strange considering her reliance on Bartek), so the bigotry the two face ultimately feels inert and one-dimensional.

Nonetheless, Elephant remains a beautiful film about young love, and its success in building a cozy, warm atmosphere with its cinematography, direction, and set and costume design is a triumph.

FLAWED, BUT INTERESTING

In Her Words: 20th Century Lesbian Fiction

September 27, 8pm at Out Front Theatre

“In Her Words” gives an impressive survey of the development of lesbian fiction by looking at landmark novels in the space, starting with “The Well of Loneliness” and continuing through to the 1990s. Through myriad interviews with lesbian authors, filmmakers Lisa Marie Evans and Marianne K. Martin find a universal experience among them: that there was an absence of lesbian representation in fiction that alienated them, so they wrote the novels they had always wished they could read. If anything, “In Her Words” could have made the story of how lesbian fiction progressed in the twentieth century clearer, as the film rarely gives enough historical context to the novels it covers; it could have also spotlighted more authors of color (or at least more from outside the West). But for people unfamiliar with the subject, “In Her Words” provides an engaging history of lesbian fiction writing and, perhaps, a way out of the well of loneliness for those who feel unrepresented

in the books they read.

Norwegian Dream

October 1, noon

Robert is a Polish immigrant who just moved to a remote coastal town in Norway to start a blue-collar job at a fish processing factory. The pay is terrible, the living facilities worse, and the environment surrounding him feels endlessly lonely, cold, and depressing. Things only become more complicated for him when he becomes closer with Ivar, his coworker who is openly gay. To make things even more tricky for Robert, Ivar joins the workers’ union, which goes on strike to address the poor conditions at the factory. This leaves Robert with a difficult decision: does he participate in the strike and risk losing the minimal wages that allow him to live in Norway, or does he side with love and dare to face the consequences?

The Norway of “Norwegian Dream” seems incapable of fostering love, so the film falters when it focuses on Robert and Ivar’s relationship. The two have a lack of chemistry that makes their affection for each other hard to believe. Consequently, as “Norwegian Dream” becomes more and more about how Robert manages his relationship with Ivar while keeping his sexual identity hidden and his job secure, the film becomes less and less convincing. Still, Robert’s struggles as an immigrant living on the wrong side of the poverty line are genuine.

All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White

September 23, noon

There is a moment in Nigerian filmmaker Babatunde Apalowo’s second film, “All the Colours of the World Are Between Black and White,” that showcases his promise as a director of slow cinema. When the main character, Bambino, eats lunch in a poorer area of Lagos one day, a thief is stopped in the background by a group of men, who then proceed to beat the thief relentlessly and light him on fire. The entire time, Bambino eats in the foreground with a disaffected look on his face, never once turning to watch the scene. This moment speaks to a culture of normalized violence — of the deadening effect that witnessing violence and poverty all the time can have on the human psyche — more than many films explicitly about the subject ever do.

Unfortunately, Apalowo doesn’t continue to tap into this rich vein in All the Colours; instead, he focuses on Bambino's burgeoning romance with a photographer named Bawa, a subject he is less apt at depicting. Apalowo’s strengths lie in presenting a larger cultural attitude and not in isolated character study. Thing is, “All the Colours” is all about examining Bambino’s character: his frustrations with his sexual urges, his inability to conform to heteronormative expectations. Moments of intimacy between him and Bawa thus tend to feel empty.

Nevertheless, “All the Colours” is one of the most artistically daring films I've seen all year. Not only is Apalowo’s slow, methodical pacing and beautiful, unique framing a huge risk that pays off.

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Out On Film

BEST OF FEST

Cora Bora

September 22, 7pm

This is one of the best hidden gem films I’ve seen this year, let alone in this festival. Star Megan Stalter is the queen of irreverent, awkward, no-filter comedy, but what starts as a laugh-out-loud Gen Z/Millennial comedy about Stalter’s Cora as she clumsily and embarrassingly navigates life, career, and her open relationship with her long-distance girlfriend turns out to be a heart-wrenchingly poignant story of loss and love.

If you’re as big a fan of Phoebe WallerBridge’s “Fleabag” as I am, you will love this film. Cora is so effortlessly funny, but she’s also unlikable, mean, pathetic, and often completely in the wrong — and yet still deserving of love. The secondhand

embarrassment borders on too much to handle at times, but if you can get through the cringe, you will be left with a raw look at womanhood, the messiness of grief, and the awkwardness of queer relationships.

RECOMMENDED Clashing Differences

September 26, 7pm

At first, watching this German film about a group of women and femmes haphazardly put together for a diversity panel hosted by white feminist group, “House of Womxn,” in a bid to avoid controversy can feel more like a TED Talk than a movie. Characters speak directly to the camera, breaking the fourth wall to share their opinions about race, tokenism, gender, and class. However, intermingling with these moments of explicit analysis (which effectively contrasts with the sort of panels the film criticizes by having the characters speak frankly, angrily,

and in unfiltered ways that would be deemed “inappropriate” in a conference setting) are moments of gripping reality. A Nazi threatens their safety. An estranged mother comforts her daughter. Kisha — played by Thelma Buabeng, the undeniable shining star of a stellar cast — fights off sobs to compose herself after being humiliated by one of the other women.

Funny, heartwarming, and inspiring, “Clashing Differences” effectively explores the complex differences among identities often lumped together, the fraudulence of performative diversity, and ultimately, what feminist solidarity actually looks like.

The Lost Boys (Le Paradis)

September 26, 8:30pm

“What did you do when you went off?

Just enjoyed it.”

If you’re wanting an action-packed thriller, look elsewhere. But if you want a stunning, tender slow burn, this is the film for you. Think “Call Me By Your Name” meets “Girl, Interrupted.” “The Lost Boys” is a queer film that is not so much about the queer experience as the carceral one. Joe is a young man in a French juvenile reform center, longing for freedom. But when William arrives, he longs for more. So much of this film is unspoken, and yet it

is the quietest, stillest scenes that are the most impactful. While Joe and William’s relationship is tender and intimate, “The Lost Boys” is about much more than young love; it’s about the cages that bind us. The boys in the center all long to be out, yet they still experience moments of joy and connection inside. They silently watch fireworks. They paint each other’s faces. They scream in the rain. Despite the cold carceral reality of the film, “The Lost Boys” is full of deep warmth.

Pornomelancholia

September 28, 9:20pm

“They see you fucking and think that you are just for fucking, and they don't even know how you feel.”

Think “Boogie Nights,” but with more porn and more melancholia! Lalo tries to escape the monotony and mundanity of his life through sex — or more specifically, through porn. He starts out as a Twitter sex influencer, but progresses into the more traditional porn film industry. Longing to escape his loneliness, porn provides Lalo with an online community. But as sex becomes more performative to him and he faces emotional exploitation at the hands of the industry, his distance from others only increases.

Katie Burkholder

“Cora Bora” PUBLICITY PHOTO

“Clashing Differences” PUBLICITY PHOTO

“Pornomelancholia” is a devastating and moving portrait of the realities of sex work (as well as both sex and work in general), the exploitation of poverty, and the isolation of the digital age. While those wanting a fastpaced film (as well as those averse to penises) might want to look elsewhere, the slow, meandering scenes serve to punctuate Lalo's pain in a way that can be unbearably sad to watch but worth every second.

Egghead and Twinkie

September 30, 2pm

Just as the title suggests, “Egghead and Twinkie” is quirky, adorable, and so much fun. Colorful and cute animations throughout the film — a nod to the titular Twinkie's dreams of being an animator — bring this teen road trip rom-com to life. The film captures the awkwardness of teenage life, brought up to an 11 thanks to heteronormativity, as Twinkie and her best friend Egghead set off on a road trip adventure so she can meet her secret online girlfriend. Being a typical teenager, Twinkie acts stupid and selfish, but it doesn’t make you love and root for her any less.

While the plot can be predictable, as is the case with most rom-coms, this movie is perfect for tweens and young adults who are navigating the realities of queer coming of age. It’s sweet, goofy, and had me smiling the entire time.

1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture

September 30, 6pm

Whether you’re a Christian or not, you will probably find “1946” fascinating. The documentary explores the first inclusion of “homosexual” in the Bible in 1946, and why it hadn't been included until then.

“1946” not only dives into the archival research that found that “homosexual” came from a translation that combined the Greek “malakoi,” which means someone soft in a cowardly, indulgent way, and

“arsenokoitai,” which is thought to mean men who exert abusive sexual power over others, specifically young boys. But it also delves into how this mistranslation was politically weaponized and how that had serious personal impacts.

The subject matter of “1946” is fascinating, but it's the heart of the film that makes it great. One of the central opponents of the conception of this mistranslation is the lesbian director’s father. Though he never changes his mind and writes his own book about how homosexuality is a sin, director Rocky Roggio still loves him. They have a relationship and have difficult conversations with one another, highlighting the nuances of human relationships and reminding us that even though humans are fallible and make mistakes — some that change the course of history — we are all still capable of love.

DISAPPOINTING

The Mattachine Family

September 24, 8:15pm

There's a tender story about chosen family and paving your own path in life somewhere in here, but unfortunately, it's lost in unnatural dialogue and a haphazard narrative. The story follows a gay couple as they struggle to come to terms with parenthood after their foster son is returned to his birth mother after a year. But the movie completely disregards the writing rule of “show, don’t tell” — almost 75 percent of the film is exposition, including the first five minutes where the main character, Thomas, tells us about losing his foster son. Because we don't even get a single scene with the couple and son, the emotional gravity of the situation falls flat throughout the film.

Interspersed seemingly randomly throughout the movie are monologues from Thomas only loosely related to what's happening in the plot; it feels like the writer had the idea to write these flowery monologues about being gay before deciding to write a movie around them, haphazardly filling in the gaps. However, the movie is worth watching for the eye candy of Nico Tortorella alone.

Birder

September 29, 9pm

There are many things horror can be and still be fun to watch: goofy, corny, campy, or just straight up bad. The cardinal sin of horror, though, is to be boring. Unfortunately, “Birder” is guilty of this sin. A twist on the classic camp slasher at a naked gay campground sounds like it would be a romp, but unfortunately “Birder” was agonizingly slow and devoid of the tension and fear that make horror fun.

There were so many opportunities for this film to be over the top, campy, and gory, and I was very disappointed that the only vaguely gory scene of the film was imagined. If you’re looking for a queer horror film, like I was, I would look elsewhere. However, if you're looking to ogle hot naked men fucking for an hour and a half, this is definitely the film for you. There is plenty of eye candy, penises, and even a cum shot to look forward to. To its credit, “Birder” did explore the interesting intersections of sex and violence, where the lines between domination and destruction blur. But as a horror fan, I found that it fell flat.

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“Egghead and Twinkie” PUBLICITY PHOTO

‘Stuck in Greece’ EXPLORES THE LGBTQ REFUGEE CRISIS

For most Americans, say “Greece” and white-and-blue images of its most beautiful destinations come to mind. The iconic history of Athens; the perfect streets of Santorini; the idyllic beaches of Mykonos.

But for Greece’s roughly 120,000 asylum seekers and 50,000 refugees, Greece isn’t a vacation destination; it is a sole hope for survival. For those fleeing violence, destruction, and political strife from countries like Syria, Greece stands as the point of entry to the rest of Europe, and a door to a safer, more comfortable life.

As actor and filmmaker Gerald McCullouch points out – freshly returned to the States from a visit Greece – refugees and asylum seekers are viewed as a single entity, their individuality lost to biases against newcomers.

“I feel that there’s been a global antiimmigrant anti-refugee stance,” McCullouch said, “and everyone is seeing them as a blanket community that is somehow threatening to them, not realizing that we're all the same man.”

Oftentimes, LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers are overlooked completely, left without resources, contacts, or money in a country they may not be allowed to leave.

This community of LGBTQ migrants and the struggles they face are the focuses of McCullouch’s newest film, “Stuck in Greece,” which is premiering at Out On Film September 27.

Production for “Stuck in Greece” was spurred by McCullouch’s 2016 visit to Greece for his first feature film “Daddy.” After attending a panel of LGBTQ refugees,

McCullouch was shocked and intrigued; their stories were harrowing, and their plight entirely unknown to him. Taking up his phone – from which much of “Stuck in Greece” was shot – and going into streets and homes and camps guerrilla-style, a film began to come together.

What unfurled over the following years, after initial shots and through global lockdown over COVID-19, was an amalgamation of stories and a strong portrait of what life as an LGBTQ migrant from the Middle East is truly like.

“[My subjects are] getting away from their families, getting away from their countries, paying smugglers to get them to a different country where they have to learn a completely different language to even get by,” McCullouch said. “And they don’t get the comfort or support that many refugees from the Middle East get when they stay in refugee camps–where there’s food options, places to do laundry, places to bathe themselves.”

Throughout his multi-year journey with “Stuck in Greece,” moving alongside his subjects’ lives and watching the world around him change, McCullouch remained disappointingly surprised at how relevant the LGBTQ migrant crisis – and the migrant crisis in Greece overall – remained.

Fifty hours of footage, condensed down to the film’s hour-and-40-minute runtime, tell of the horrors that LGBTQ migrants face: being imprisoned, refused help, attacked, and even killed. Choosing which moments, which stories, and which interviewed subjects to include was difficult, almost impossible. In the end, discrimination, harassment, poverty, and desperation tie together most of the lives “Stuck in Greece” features.

“I feel like the film is so dense in content,” McCullouch explained, “that I wanted it to be like a nonstop whirlwind, because that's what it was for me. Over time, I learned about what these people are running from; what they're escaping, and how they got there; what they're facing once they arrive in Greece; the fact that they can't live in the camps, because the camps are filled with the same people they're running from.”

Shining light on the stories of LGBTQ refugees, often without access to a platform to share their experiences, McCullouch paid special care to raise the voices of some of the most at-risk members of the refugee communities in Greece today.

“[I focused] especially on the journeys of transgender refugees,” McCullouch said. “What they go through being on that boat to get to some Greek islands, and being surrounded by people that throw them overboard or take violent actions to them.”

Watching the lives of McCullouch’s subjects unfold in the years since 2016, viewers can see “Stuck in Greece” as a time capsule – a moment of global LGBTQ history preserved to show how LGBTQ rights and acceptance

has progressed in some ways and begun backsliding in others. Where Grecian NGOs for LGBTQ refugees were nonexistent on the outset of McCullouch’s filming, postCOVID they exist.

For McCullouch, filming, editing, and releasing “Stuck in Greece” has been an opportunity for growth and new perspective on the world of LGBTQ history he’s immersed himself since he was young.

“After each of these interviews, after hearing their stories, things I hadn't even imagined, or things I've only heard about, I was left with such a sense of awe regarding the courage that each of these people had to really take action, and in not only finding freedom and safety, but in changing their lives,” he said.

Returning to Atlanta in a few weeks for the film’s premiere in the same parking lot that he finished post-production, McCullouch hopes that, above all, people can find understanding, respect, and genuine human connection to his subjects.

“I think the world could really just use some more empathy right now.”

Hunter Buchheit

“Stuck in Greece” PUBLICITY PHOTO

‘Jewelle: A Just Vision’ Explores Belonging Through the Work of Jewelle Gomez

Mars Stone

“Are we going to wait until our artists, our queer women of color artists, die before we actually start to recognize their work?” was the question that award-winning director Madeleine Lim posed to fellow artist and activist, Jewelle Gomez, shortly after a screening of her 2013 film, “The Worlds of Bernice Bing.” Bing was a lesbian abstract expressionist painter based in San Francisco who, like many other queer women of color, failed to reach the heights of recognition that would match her level of talent before passing away in 1998.

In 2022, Jewelle’s own story was immortalized on the silver screen in “Jewelle: A Just Vision,” Madeleine Lim’s latest film, which will be featured at Out On Film later this month on Friday, September 29 at 7pm at Out Front Theatre Company. Gomez and Lim both spoke with Georgia Voice ahead of this year’s film festival.

“Jewelle: A Just Vision” follows her story, from early childhood struggles moving between family homes and coming to terms with a multiracial identity, to her journey of finding pride and liberation, to her many fights for activism, such as working with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation since its founding during the AIDS crisis in the ’80s, and everything in between. Gomez also worked in an award-winning career as a poet and playwright, with her most popular work being, “The Gilda Stories,” a commentary on the experiences of lesbian women of color in America styled as a vampire anthology novel.

“When I would go to readings, I realized I had created another community that I hadn’t even known existed,” Gomez told Georgia Voice. “That’s gratifying, because wherever I go, I know there are going to be some people

who are vampires, and they will be my fans no matter what.”

Gomez is proudest of her ability to touch so many different communities and movements. While working on “The Gilda Stories,” released in 1991, she was also working on the annual New York -based feminist magazine Conditions, along with working with GLAAD, among other things. She stays busy. Lim says Gomez is a huge role model for her because of her skill at balancing her art, activism, and livelihood so gracefully.

Lim is well accomplished in her own right as an activist and artist. She is the founder of Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project, a Bay Area-based organization focused on bringing awareness to marginalized communities through film and nurturing “filmmaker-activists as leaders of social justice movements that incorporate the power of art as cultural resistance and cultural resilience,” per QWOCMAP’s vision statement. Lim has a special vision as a

documentarian because of the importance of getting the stories of our heroes out to other queer women of color artists.

Lim is motivated by the lack of support or role models she had in her own upbringing. She is widely credited as being one of the earliest prominent LGBTQ activists in her homeland of Singapore, where homosexuality only became legal this year, while doubling down on the criminality of same-sex marriage. Growing up, police would bust queer dance clubs, arrest people, and put their names in the newspaper the next day.

Madeleine recalled a small review Cosmopolitan magazine did on the 1973 lesbian novel Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown. The review was only three or four lines long, and “the Singapore government took every single issue, cut out that little review, then put the magazine back on stands to be sold.”

In a climate like this, there was no one to lean on. Lim knew she was queer from the

age of eight, but there were no resources to equip her with the knowledge and language to understand what she was feeling.

When she reached her darkest moment, she said, “I think that has been my motivation for my community building. You know, it’s coming from a place of wanting to make it easier for the next folks that come behind me.”

The central theme of “Jewelle: A Just Vision” is belonging. It is meant to inspire people to know that we all belong somewhere. Jewelle is an example that there are people out there like us.

“Sometimes you may end up on your own,” Lim said. “If a community doesn’t exist, you have to create it.”

Gomez said that the message she hopes people get from the film is that “we’re both extraordinary and not extraordinary … you could be doing, in your own realm, something just as significant.”

“Jewelle: A Just Vision” PUBLICITY PHOTO

ASO Kicks Off New In Unison Season this Fall

Katie Burkholder

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s LGBTQ group, In Unison, is kicking off a new season of connection, inclusivity, and classical music just before Atlanta Pride.

The group started performing as single special events three years ago, intended to celebrate and engage the LGBTQ community. In Unison has since grown into its own membership program, which includes not only tickets to orchestra shows, but also access to a post-show reception with food, drinks, and an opportunity to meet and chat with the featured musicians.

The highlight of last season for Jacob-Clifton Albritton, a member of In Unison, was a show featuring Black opera singers.

“Afterwards, we got to meet all of [the performers], including the fabulous Denyce Graves, which was pretty amazing,” Albritton told Georgia Voice. “What was really special for me about that was that all my identities — being Black, being a lover of music, being queer — emerged, and I was able to celebrate that and something I love so much, which are the arts.”

That’s what In Unison is all about: making the queer community feel not only included but celebrated in a space that traditionally may not be inclusive of the LGBTQ community.

“People really feel welcomed and held in that space,” Albritton said. “With all the stuff that’s going on in the world, in particular for LGBTQ people, it’s important to have safe spaces where people can just show up and be themselves, and In Unison cultivates that, which is really exciting and really beautiful — and I think somewhat rare in the classical music space.”

While In Unison is the perfect opportunity for queer lovers of the symphony to find community with like-minded individuals, it’s also great for newbies and novices to

experience the wonders of the ASO.

“The beautiful part about the Atlanta Symphony is that we have a great love for people who come for the first time who say, ‘I don’t know how that magic trick is done, but it was awesome,’” Erin Jones, the director of sales and audience development at ASO, told Georgia Voice. “You don’t realize how integrated classical music actually is in your lives and how familiar it actually is to you — even though you might not be able to name it or name the composer, you don’t have to to enjoy it. You just say, ‘Oh, yeah, I know how that makes me feel.’ You don’t have to know anything more than that.”

For $200, members of In Unison get tickets to four exclusive events, which include the food, drinks, and concert tickets, as well as four additional complimentary tickets

to select Delta Classical Series concerts — which can be used to bring a guest.

“[In Unison is] a great way to demystify the Symphony,” Albritton said. “Whenever I bring a friend with me, usually it’s folks who are a little nervous or feel like the orchestra or the symphony is not for them. Groups like In Unison help break down that barrier and show people that there’s a place for everyone.”

The membership also includes a 20 percent discount on additional select Delta Classical performances, complimentary access to the 2023/24 Behind the Curtain virtual concert series, and pre-sale access to Symphony Hall Live, outdoor, and special concerts.

This season kicks off on October 5 and 7 at 8pm with Maestro Nathalie Stutzmann

conducting music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The concert will include the debut of harpist Xavier de Maistre, among the foremost harpists in the world, as he plays Alexander Mosolov’s 1939 Harp Concerto.

Those who aren’t yet sure they want to join can get a free taste of the Symphony at Piedmont Park on September 30 at 7:30pm. William R. Langley will conduct a program of classical masterworks that will be performed this coming season. The ASYO String Chamber Ensemble will also perform at 6:30pm. Guests are encouraged to arrive early with picnic blankets and chairs. Beer, wine, and food will be available to purchase on site.

To learn more about In Unison and become a member, visit aso.org/concerts-tickets/ special-offers/in-unison.

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra PHOTO VIA FACEBOOK

Are You Worried About Authenticity?

The cover of the October issue of Psychology Today is plastered with a popular buzzword that makes my skin crawl: authenticity. The occasion is an essay that promises to teach you “how to stay true to yourself in an artificial world.” Ground Zero of the artificial world is supposedly the social media that confers utmost value to the best performers. This value arguably colors the entire culture so that, politically for example, what matters most is what people want to believe is true — not what approaches the objectively true. Thus, we watch endless videos of Trumpsters being confronted with facts about their hero’s criminal, crazy performances. When ultimately cornered, they triumphantly blurt, “I don’t care!”

The obsession with authenticity is certainly not new. It’s been 400 years since Polonius famously advised his son in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, “To thine own self be true … and thou canst not then be false to any man.” Here’s the problem: Polonius was a slimeball who spied on his son, then his daughter (who soon committed suicide), and ultimately Hamlet, who plunged a dagger into the advocate of self-truth, who was eavesdropping behind a curtain.

So, what was Shakespeare suggesting by giving words that have been repeated as utmost wisdom for four centuries to a seemingly hypocritical asshole? Is it possible to be authentically true, at least intellectually, to thine own self and also be a scumbag? Yeah, it really is. None of us is single-minded. The natural condition of the human psyche is multiplicity. When a client comes to see me and starts complaining that

“As we head into the 2024 election campaigns and the litigation of charges against Trump and the higher-ups who sought to destroy even our hobbled model of democracy, we’re going to be constantly assaulted by the media’s frantic language and imagery of a world spinning out of control.”

the job he hates keeps him from becoming his true best self, I ask him what he would rather be doing. Easily eight out of 10 times, the client has no idea. And so we begin the search for the soul’s purpose. By the time we catch a whiff of it, the client has typically found more entertaining pursuits. I always repeat the words of Henry Miller in Big Sur and the Oranges of Hieronymus Bosch, which I read when I was 25 after ending five years of marriage to a woman and editing weekly newspapers in rural Georgia: “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of looking at things.” I became obsessed with freak shows — not that surprising after interviewing prisoners convicted of crimes like stealing hair pomade for a preacher — and trying to explain to my psychiatrist that

I didn’t think fucking her was going to make me give up dick. I was learning.

And, really, have queer people not always defied the culture’s fantasy of authenticity? The state, psychiatry, and the law conspired to destroy primordial love. Were we being inauthentic by burrowing in the closet to avoid ostracization or prison (which counterintuitively may have been one of the few relatively safe spaces to be queer)?

You get the point. Authenticity is not the possession of a single abiding true self always on display. The author of the article in Psychology Today acknowledges that, sort of, claiming authenticity is about qualities like awareness and adaptive behavior. If I have to use the term, I say it’s about taking on the struggle to be kind in the face of my own fear and animal greed. I believe in the Buddha’s notion of basic human goodness. Seriously, my time in rural Georgia taught me that the meanest people can also be the kindest.

As we head into the 2024 election campaigns and the litigation of charges against Trump and the higher-ups who sought to destroy even our hobbled model of democracy, we’re going to be constantly assaulted by the media’s frantic language and imagery of a world spinning out of control. But our mainstream media folks are truly just another brigade of TikTokers — yes, on the left as well as the right — and you do not have to join the lunacy to be true to yourself. Place your hand on your heart and swear allegiance to love of one another rather than the flag.

Cliff Bostock, Ph.D., is a former psychotherapist who offers coaching to people who seek to expand their imagination and creativity (cliffbostock.com). He is not involved in it, but strongly recommends participation in the Atlanta Shambhala Center’s beginning workshop, "The Art of Being Human," October 7 through 8: atlanta.shambhala.org.

Cliff Bostock

PHOTO BY SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/ ASTUDIO

Some Logical Political Predictions

Mark Segal, Philadelphia Gay News courtesy of the National LGBTQ Media Association

Here’s a few short political takes and, perhaps, a prediction.

Trump will be the Republican nominee for President unless health, physical or mental stops him. If by any chance he is unable to keep campaigning, look to Nikki Haley or Tim Scott to start leading the Republican pack.

On the Democratic side, President Biden must stop running from the age issue and embrace it. Ronald Reagan is a perfect example of running and winning by embracing his age. A confident senior is a comforting voice in a storm of raging vitriol.

To other democrats, pundits, and elected officials: stop being spineless. When Biden’s age is brought up, pivot to Trump’s age and how much worse he is physically. Forget about what is going on in court. Talk about his tweets, his statements of violence, and the unrelenting hatred he spreads.

Biden will win a general election over Trump. Any other Republican has a shot, but Republicans keep shooting themselves in the ballot box with their Trumpian messaging. Ron DeSantis is proof of that (more later on him).

Republicans want to investigate Hunter Biden. Therefore, Democrats must start eyeing the Trump Children and their spouses and they must do it loudly every chance they get. In fact they should start any question on Hunter Biden by saying: “What about the $1 billion investment that Jared Kushner got from the murderous Saudi?” Yes, do the same thing to Republicans that they do to you!

Senator minority leader Mitch McConnell, who has recently had some health alarms, will not resign as many have suggested, but will serve out his term. McConnell who is all about power is looking to the 2024 general election. The possibility that Republicans

may retake the Senate and him retiring as Senate Majority Leader is too good an opportunity for him to pass up.

And finally, the “Don’t cry for me, Tallahassee,” moment. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his race for the Republican Presidential nomination is toast. It seems that even Republicans felt his form of cultural fire branding was too extreme. In other words, the Republican party has learned that while an extreme position might do you some good within your own conservative state borders, it goes beyond the limits of most people’s humanity. Put even simpler: DeSantis’ views on the campaign trail were so extreme that his own party of extremists turned their backs on him. And here’s the fun part: rather than say it was his cultural positions that turned off Republican voters, the pundits said it was his personality and he was too stiff on the campaign trail. But we all know it was that he was too stiff in his positions.

Of course, the opinions expressed here are my own, and as this column has stated for many years, mark my words: there are only two institutions that are standing firm to protect our democracy. One is the United States Judiciary, and the other is independent media like the newspaper you are reading now. There is a stalemate in almost all parts of our federal and state body politic which leaves little room for debate or respectful discussion. Both the Courts and independent news media give a platform for people to present their cases to the public. Every other venue is little more than a onesided barrage of dribble.

Independent media provides this platform in the hopes that someday we as a nation will once again be a place for reasonable discussion on issues that will serve us all well as a united nation. I still believe that is true, and it is one reason we are still standing.

As I’ve said many times, this is not the first backlash or populist political movement we’ve seen. Remember something called the Tea Party movement, the Moral Majority, or Anita Bryant? This too will pass.

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