January 31, 2019
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Gay Israelis’ Atlanta Love
Football FEVER Atlanta’s hottest queer Super Bowl events
Her Debt Our Divorce My Money Q News Queer Agenda Q Shots
Black Silence = LGBTQ Deaths
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EDITOR’S NOTE Q Q MAGAZINE THE WEEKLY PUBLICATION OF PROJECT Q ATLANTA PUBLISHERS INITIAL MEDIA, LLC MIKE FLEMING PUBLISHER & EDITOR MIKE@THEQATL.COM MATT HENNIE PUBLISHER & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MATT@THEQATL.COM RICHARD CHERSKOV PUBLISHER & GENERAL MANAGER RICHARD@THEQATL.COM ADVERTISING SALES RUSS YOUNGBLOOD SENIOR SALES REPRESENTATIVE RUSS@THEQATL.COM
Tribal BEATS Marching to a queer drummer leads Atlanta to multiple destinations THERE ARE AS MANY KINDS OF QUEERS as there are kinds of people, so paths diverge for diverse LGBTQ tribes in any given issue of Q on any given day. Of course, this week isn’t just any given Sunday. So it follows that an LGBTQ-ATL contingent joins the rest of the city in its football fever. Whether you’re here for the Maroon 5 mini concert, the million-dollar ads or the gridiron action, the Big Game takes over our 10 Queer Things this week with the best queer Super Bowl watch parties. But the athletic beat doesn’t divert other queer tribes from their appointed beats. Dancing queens are doing their thing in the Q Shots galleries and Queer Agenda calendar, and a decidedly different dance duo all the way from Israel is performing a contemporary gay love story in Q Stage.
ART DIRECTOR JOHN NAIL JOHN@THEQATL.COM PROJECT Q ATLANTA PATRICK SAUNDERS EDITOR PSAUNDERS@THEQATL.COM CONTRIBUTORS IAN ABER LAURA BACCUS GABRIELLE CLAIBORNE BUCK COOKE CHARLES E. DAVIS JON DEAN BILL DICKINSON BRAD GIBSON JAMES L. HICKS TAMEEKA L. HUNTER HEATHER MALONEY ERIC PAULK KYLE ROSE JAMES PARKER SHEFFIELD VINCE SHIFFLETT ALEXANDRA TYLER VAVA VROOM
Speaking of Israel, offerings from that country feature prominently during the monthEDITOR & PUBLISHER long, always-inclusive Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. Q Movies scours the festival program for this year’s best films of queer interest. MIKE FLEMING
Never ones to be left out, hounds of Q News get the scoop from Project Q Atlanta. This week, find out which Atlanta spots made a list of the nation’s best gay bars, which former mayor is calling out Gov. Brian Kemp over his LGBTQ stance, and where the Westboro haters will demonstrate during the Super Bowl. The only thing left to talk about is queer issues, and there’s never a shortage. Q Voices calls out black celebrities for their silence on LGBTQ justice for African Americans, and The Q advice column peeks into married folks’ wallets: See who’s on the chopping block in the former and what your big fat gay divorce can cost you in the latter.
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1 1 JANUARY 31, 2019
LET’S DANCE
Gay Israeli duo hits 7 Stages
COVER
10 16
Game On
LGBTQ Super Bowl watch parties
THE QUEER AGENDA
Get Out
13 19
27 Camp Queens
Hit the bricks with Atlanta’s best LGBTQ to-do list
FESTIVAL
23
Movie Nights
31 Your Mother
Best queer bets during 19th Atlanta Jewish Film Festival
FEATURES Q Voices
8
Q News
13
Q Shots
27
Queer Agenda The Q
19 38
38
36 Paulo’s Boys theQatl.com
7
Q
VOICES
Black Silence
= DEATH Why black celebrities must fight HIV criminalization and are in a unique position to do so BLACK ARTISTS HAVE AND DO PLAY A CRITICAL role in the fight for racial justice. Our musicians have used their platforms to amplify issues impacting our communities, particularly around discrimination, violence and other forms of structural racism. Black artists have also been historically vocal in raising awareness around HIV prevention and treatment. A$AP Ferg and Jay-Z headlined HIV benefit concerts in recent years, Common and LL Cool J starred in “get tested” PSAs, and way back in 1995, The Notorious B.I.G. famously wore a red AIDS ribbon to the MTV VMAs.
These laws result in the opposite of what they were intended for: They perpetuate stigma, and they deter people — especially black Americans and LGBTQ folks —from accessing HIV testing. Under President Obama, the U.S. Justice Department issued guidelines suggesting elimination of HIV-specific criminal laws, except in a few specific situations. According to the Williams Institute, black LGBTQ people are disproportionately impacted by HIV, both in the share of people living with the virus and the majority of new diagnoses. This overrepresentation, particularly among gay and bisexual men and transgender women, shows these laws disproportionately push LGBTQ folks of color into the criminal justice system. Black artists like Jesse Williams, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, and Ava DuVernay have used their celebrity to engage in racial justice work like ending mass incarceration and reforming the racist criminal justice system. Now it’s time for black artists to take the leap and recognize how HIV criminalization is another manifestation of anti-blackness that must be denounced and dismantled.
ERIC Hip-hop artists do not shy away from speakMass incarceration is nothing short of P AULK ing out about important issues that impact modern day slavery, a system that destroys fans, but they have been noticeably silent families, devastates communities, and harms when it comes to responding to the real impact of HIV on us all. The promise of this political moment is that the our communities and in our lives. Though testing, prevention collective political outrage at the rates of our brothers and and treatment are all important messages for celebrity prosisters being thrown in cages, manifest in a powerful movemotion, black artists have an opportunity and a responsibility ment that will address the intersections of criminalization, to join activists and organizations combating one of the most racial justice, sexual orientation and HIV. important issues of the HIV movement: criminalization. Laws that criminalize HIV have nothing to do with safety What is HIV criminalization? According to AIDS United, and everything to do with control. They give law enforceit’s an “overly broad use of criminal law to penalize alleged, ment purview over our sex lives. Critically, these laws try to perceived or potential HIV exposure; alleged nondisclosure take away a person’s right to disclose their health status on of a known HIV-positive status prior to sexual contact… or their own terms. non-intentional HIV transmission.” HIV criminalization laws are part of systemic racism that pushes black Americans into jails. It’s time for black artists When HIV is criminalized, people living with HIV can to stand with HIV activists and use their platforms to face unjustly long jail sentences simply for having sex speak out against this injustice. So much of our movement — regardless of transmission or ability to transmit. HIV and work has been about getting the state and law enforceexposure laws are relics from an earlier time and fly in the ment out of our bedrooms; not invite them in. face of the science around how HIV is transmitted. As of 2017, 34 states have laws that specifically criminalize HIV exposure (not transmission) through consensual sex. 8
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Eric Paulk is an advocate working at the intersections of race, class, and sexuality. Follow him on Twitter @ EricPaulk
Q
10 QUEER THINGS
10 queer Super Bowl watch parties in Atlanta
FALCON HOSPITALI
By Mike Fleming
W
hen the Rams and Patriots hit town for some Southern hospitality, local LGBTQ football fans party like the Dirty Birds themselves are playing. Here are our Top 10 picks for queer Super Bowl parties on Sunday, Feb. 3. The Super Bowl kicks off at 6:30p.m. with televised ramp-up starting around 12 noon. THE BIG GAME AT WOOFS Atlanta’s only gay sports bar not only gives you the most screens showing the game, but possibly the most actual queer sports fans to watch it with @ Woofs, 12 noon. woofsatlanta.com WOMEN’S FUNDAY Doors open early and the party goes all day and into the night. Enjoy the game on multiple screens, then stick around for the Queer AF show @ My Sister’s Room, 1 p.m. mysistersroom.com SUPER BOWL COOKOUT Free dogs and burgers, 13 screens and dance floor open after the game @ Heretic, 3 p.m. hereticatlanta.com SUNDAY FUNDAY: SUPER BOWL EDITION Take all the hot guys and gals you can expect on any given Sunday, up the ante with the big game, and mix well with specials and surprises @ Ten, 4 p.m. tenatlanta.com 15TH ANNUAL CHILI COOKOFF Cooks compete for your tastebuds and everybody wins during this annual game-day contest with the gridiron action on screens @ Friends on Ponce, 4 p.m. friendsonponce-atl.com
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UNLIMITED EATS & ‘RITAS Bottomless glasses and endless plates to watch the game and the Maroon 5 halftime show on a 10 ft. screen with surround sound @ Las Margaritas, 6:30 p.m. – 9 p.m. lasmargaritasmidtown.com
NFFLA SUPER BOWL PARTY The gay National Flag Football League of Atlanta sets the standard for Super Bowl parties every year. With the game in Atlanta this time, consider all the stops pulled with these queer jocks @ Blake’s, 6 p.m. nffla.com GAME ON Every Sunday is brunch early and DJ Tron into the night. This week, make it football too with Atlanta’s venue catering to gay men of color @ Bulldogs, 11 a.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. facebook.com/bulldogsbaratlanta GAME DAY BRUNCH, MUNCH & SHOWS Get started early with the Revival show, keep it going with a smorgasbord of serving stations into the afternoon, then belly up to the bars and TVs with an Armorettes chaser after the game @ Midtown Moon, 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. facebook. com/Midtown-Moon-Atlanta DINNER WITH THE DIVAS Football even creeps its way into the Sunday drag cabaret shows @ Lips, 12:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. lipsatl.com Visit us online for the latest updates to the Queer Agenda Super Bowl Weekend calendar at theQatl.com.
TY
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GOOD EATS
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NIGHTLIFE Q Swinging RIchards
Party in
THE U.S.A.
Four Atlanta spots among most popular gay bars in the nation
Mixx
FOUR ATLANTA GAY BARS HAVE ANOTHER reason to be proud after landing on NewNowNext’s list of the most popular gay bars in America. The site — Logo’s home for LGBTQ pop culture — used a location-based marketing platform to track gay bar attendance from November 2017 through October 2018.
33. MIXX ATLANTA This crowd-pleasing club’s dance floor plays hip hop and R&B on Fridays, and old school house music on Sundays. 1492 Piedmont Ave. NE, Atlanta.
Bulldogs
Making it onto the list for the first time was the Northside Ballet, aka Swinging Richards. 47. SWINGING RICHARDS Swinging Richards—America’s most popular gay strip club— has provided Atlanta’s bar hoppers the full monty for more than 15 years. 1400 Northside Dr. NW, Atlanta. Also new to this year’s list is the legendary Marquette, one of the oldest bars in Atlanta. 43. MARQUETTE SOCIAL CLUB Run by the same family for more than four decades, this nightclub is known as much for its talent contests as it is for the DJs spinning everything from hip hop and pop to reggae and crunk. 868 Joseph E. Boone Blvd., Atlanta. Mixx dropped 12 spots from last year’s list but still landed at a respectable 33rd best in America.
And the top-rated Atlanta gay bar on the list, coming in near the top at number four? That would be none other than Bulldogs, which celebrated its 40th birthday in 2018 and is hot off a busy MLK weekend. 4. BULLDOGS BAR Everything is quite peachy at this Atlanta entry which has been open since the late 1970s. Expect a crowd of friendly locals and tourists alike enjoying strong drinks and an energized dance floor. 893 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. Parliament House in Orlando, Fla., took the top spot on NewNowNext’s list. Atlanta gay bars are used to landing on various “Best of ” lists. Woofs made Yelp’s list in 2017 and seven Atlanta bars made Out Traveler’s “200 Best Gay Bars in the World” list in 2015. Cheers, y’all! theQatl.com
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Q
IN BRIEF
Shirley Franklin knocks Gov. Brian Kemp on ‘legal discrimination’ SHIRLEY FRANKLIN CALLED “religious freedom” bills discriminatory as Gov. Brian Kemp — a supporter of such legislation — sat just feet away during a ceremony honoring Martin Luther King Jr. The former Atlanta mayor made the comments during the annual MLK ceremony at the State Capitol. Kemp was sitting in the front row as Shirley Franklin Franklin referenced three policies Kemp made central to his campaign, according to the AJC. “We still debate whether immigrants are welcome in Georgia or should be rounded up by vigilantes. And whether religious freedom means you can legally discriminate against someone. Or whether men should have control of their bodies but women shouldn’t,” she said. “The human rights challenges of the day are as important
as those of years gone by,” she said. “Are we aligned with King, or are we sweeping the hard social, ethical, legal and economic issues of the day under the rug?” King, Franklin said as she scanned a room full of politicians, was not afraid to “make leaders and everyday people uncomfortable — and we shouldn’t either.” Then Franklin outlined several issues for Georgia leaders to pursue, including opposition to discriminatory legislation, according to the AJC. “There is no place for hypocrites in an authentic King celebration. Celebration is fine. Action is better,” said Franklin. “This is a time for true believers in his message — fairness, justice, fair play, transparency, economic opportunity, peace.” Brian Tolleson, the openly gay interim CEO of the Center for Civil & Human Rights, also spoke during the event. He thanked former Gov. Nathan Deal for “standing on the right side of history” in vetoing a controversial anti-LGBTQ “religious freedom” bill in 2016, according to the AJC.
Westboro Baptist Church to protest at Super Bowl in Atlanta MEMBERS OF THE ANTI-LGBTQ HATE GROUP Westboro Baptist Church will hold a series of protests at the Super Bowl in Atlanta and at several North Georgia churches on Feb. 3.
The group will start the day protesting in half-hour intervals on Super Bowl Sunday at six Gainesville churches. Then they will head for Atlanta for a protest outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., according to a “picketing schedule” on Westboro’s website. The Super Bowl kicks off at 6:30 p.m. “America has sold out, lock stock and barrel to the sodomites, while they hide behind not causing ‘offence’[sic] and being ‘tolerant.’ Shame. Great shame!” the Topeka, Kan.-based group said in a news release. Atlanta Police Department spokesman Carlos Campos told the AJC that the agency is aware of Westboro’s plans. Westboro will protest at the following Gainesville churches: First Baptist Church of Gainesville; St. John Baptist Church; First Presbyterian Church Gainesville; St. Michael Roman Catholic Church; Grace Episcopal Church; and Good Shepherd Church. The group plans to protest homosexuality and marriage equality, according to The Gainesville Times. In a letter dated Jan. 15 addressed to Gainesville Police Chief Carol Martin, Rebecca Phelps-Davis, ostensibly a lawyer representing Westboro, writes that the motive for their visit is “for public demonstration/outdoor religious services regarding the judgment of God with respect to the dangers of promoting homosexuality, same-sex mar14
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Westboro Baptist Church members were met with counter protests during a 2010 visit to Atlanta.
riage, the filthy manner of life and idol-worshipping of this nation.” Rev. Dr. Stuart Higginbotham of Grace Episcopal Church posted a YouTube video on Jan. 17 saying the church is “what I believe a mischaracterization of the gospel.” Higginbotham added that they will ring the church bells continuously during the protest to “drown out the hate.” Westboro plans on protesting at the Grammy Awards, the Oscars and an Elton John concert in Kansas City, Mo., in February, according to the group’s website. Westboro was met with hundreds of counter-protesters (photo) during a visit to Atlanta in 2010.
Q
STAGE
Photo and illustration by Efrat Mazor 16
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From Israel,
WITH LOVE
Art imitates life for gay dance couple visiting Atlanta By Mike Fleming
N
iv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor are no strangers to social issues, cultural awareness or identity politics. Nor is the male Israeli couple afraid to include those themes with humor and heart in their compelling work as choreographers and dancers. “We’re reminded of a quote by [Atlanta’s own Coretta Scott King], which says something like ‘The battle for freedom is never really won. You have to fight for it and win it in every generation,’” the dance duo tells Q. “We hope we are contributing our share towards winning in the perception of ‘otherness’ which is very vast and broad in its implications.” Atlanta gets a taste of all that queer dance magic and more as the duo continues their partnership with Atlanta’s Core Dance in two pieces staging this week at 7 Stages in Little 5 Points. In American Playground, Core Dance performs the couple’s humorous, high-intensity homage to American culture, which from their outside perspective is “sassy, delicious and fragile,” they say. Those qualities come together with the choreography team’s modern, approachable style, they add. “Our dance is very different from what is usually expected in the dance world,” the couple says. “People laugh in our shows, and we are thrilled because it reinforces for us the notion that meaning doesn’t derive exclusively from very serious or pretentious stage works.” To really introduce audiences to the couple in a personal way, the performances set for Jan. 31 – Feb. 2 also include a second piece that they perform themselves, The Third Dance. In 2012, Sheinfeld and Laor raised eyebrows and applause for their sexy gay interpretation of a couple in love in Two Room Apartment. Now they revisit the story and progress of the same couple in the American debut of this new piece. “The Third Dance finds us more mature, more disillusioned, and therefore more embracing contradictions and disagreements, without losing the humorous aspect of being in a ‘marriage,’” the couple shares, noting that their personal life indeed inspires the performance.
“The way we communicate, the small nuances, the comic moments are all drawn from our personal experience as a couple,” they say. “Some other scenes that show emotional eruptions are performative manifestations that we devised especially for the show, but these too have deep truth in them, only blown up to theatrical proportions.” One aspect of most choreography and staging by Sheinfeld and Laor that audiences immediately notice is their use of minimalism. Stripped-down or non-existent sets, costumes and other typical performance trappings let the art shine through on its own merits. “It puts more focus on the individual and on behavior and on relationship than it would if there had been a lavish stage set,” they assert. “However, minimalism too needs to be handled with a thought behind it. We don’t dress as if we didn’t notice what we are wearing, or as if the few props that we use are the first ones that our eyes laid on in the store.” “In The Third Dance, the props are used as metaphors on one side, and on the other they serve to drive the narrative forward as they accumulate on stage,” they add. So let’s see… queer content and players, innovative choreography, cultural insight and global perspective. What more could you ask for? How about the only message that Sheinfeld and Laor would have you leave with if they could pick just one: “Love heals all wounds.” “American Playground” and the U.S. premiere of “The Third Dance” stage Jan. 31 – Feb.2 at 7 Stages with Core Dance Atlanta. For tickets and information, visit 7stages.org and coredance.org. theQatl.com
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Q
THE QUEER AGENDA
Hedwig & the Angry Inch
The Best Queer Things To Do in Atlanta This Week
Your last chance to see Atlanta native
January 31 — February 7
Chad Darnell in a role he was born to
THURSDAY, JAN. 31
play. Another actor takes the helm next
week @ Pinch ‘N’ Ouch Theatre, 8 p.m.
America In Transition
Atlanta Pride presents this docu-
mentary journey across the country to highlight trans people of
color. Meet trans model, publisher and activist Dezjorn Gauthier
(photo), as well as a two-spirit educator, a suicidal veteran, an HIV
positive woman and more @ Rush Center, 7 p.m. atlantapride.org
pnotheatre.com ’80s Prom
The gay-led Action Cycling and Field Day groups host this costume
party with oldies by VJ Mister Richard and prom photo opps @ Amsterdam, 7 p.m. amsterdamatlanta.com
SUNDAY, FEB. 3 Super Bowl LIII
Rams. Patriots. 6:30 p.m. Check out
the Q preview of Top 10 queer watch parties in this issue, with even more
Cream Thursday
DJ Kelly Romo and a drag king and queen show make the ladies swoon @ My Sister’s Room, 6
online as the big game approaches at theQatl.com.
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 6
p.m. mysistersroom.com
Church Annex Grand Opening
More To Love
If there’s one thing Grant Henry knows how
Join the gay men planning a volunteer mission to Thailand with cock-
to do, it’s keep the hipsters and queers
tails, food and a portion of your bill to the cause @ Frogs Cantina, 6:30
interested. Celebrate his
p.m. facebook.com/ATLMTL
new private event space adjacent to his popular bar @ 489 Edge-
FRIDAY, FEB. 1
wood Ave. SE, 7
Onyx Pearls
p.m. sisterloui-
The female branch of the leather-fetish club for queers of color hosts a
saschurch.com
bar night @ Atlanta Eagle, 10 p.m. atlantaeagle.com
DILF ‘Do Me Harder’
Nightlife impresario Joe Whitaker just keeps thinking of theme party titles, and the daddies
and boys keep coming back to dance @ Heretic, 10 p.m. hereticatlanta.com Deep South
First Fridays are a lot more fun these days, now that DJ Vicki Powell and her loyal
party crew take a slot @ MidCity Café, 10
THURSDAY, FEB. 7 Porcelain
A Chinese-British gay man faces an uphill
battle in the latest compelling queer drama
@ Out Front Theatre,
8 p.m. outfronttheatre.com Becoming A Dad
p.m. facebook.com/deepsouthATL
LGBTQ+ family building through
SATURDAY, FEB. 2
this workshop with experts @
Queerly Beloved
The Finesse Afterparty celebrates with a Cardi B and Bruno Mars
tribute show like only these queers can deliver @ My Sister’s Room, 11 p.m. mysistersroom.com
IVF and surrogacy is on the agenda of Renaissance Atlanta Midtown, 8:30
a.m. eventbrite.com
Find even more LGBTQ events in the Queer
Agenda each Thursday at theQatl.com.
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At the
INTERSECTION Atlanta Jewish Film Festival launches queer-inclusive lineup By Mike Fleming
I
t’s the biggest film festival Atlanta sees all year, one of the biggest Jewish film festivals in the world, and known for its inclusivity and broad appeal across demographics. The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival opens a month of compelling LGBTQ-inclusive films, characters and themes of queer interest this week. When the 19th annual festival opens on Feb. 6, the evolution of “gay film” inclusion is apparent in its lineup. No longer relegated to “special interest” films, the gay character in Holy Lands is part of the fabric of a wider narrative. Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays David, the successful gay son of a doctor played by James Caan. Instead of playing up David’s orientation, the film plays the gay character matter-of-factly as just one of the doctor’s strained relationships. That’s progress.
And not ones to include only the same-gender loving viewers in
its audience, Atlanta Jewish Film Festival also presents transgender
issues in the documentary Family in Transition. When the patriarch
of a family comes out as a woman, changes in the whole family play out alongside her own. The fact that they live in conservative Israel adds another level of complexity to the story.
A third film doesn’t feature any LGBTQ characters, but it is
decidedly queer. Fans of the original Saturday Night Live cast
will not want to miss Love, Gilda. No one on that groundbreaking show embodied the encouragement to “Be yourself,” “Be different,” and “Embrace diversity” than Gilda Radner. Her meteoric
rise, example-setting love with Gene Wilder and hope-in-tragedy end will elicit tears of joy and loss that every queer will adore.
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FESTIVAL, Continued Atlanta Jewish Film Festival screens at multiple venues around Atlanta Feb. 6 – 26 with special guests and speakers often part of the mix. Here’s a peek at our highlight selections. View the full lineup and buy tickets at ajff.org.
Holy Lands
Narrative • France
Family in Transition
With humor and an all-star cast, writer and director Amanda Sthers presents a universal story of love and acceptance based on her critically acclaimed novel of the same name. James Caan, Rosanna Arquette and Jonathan Rhys Meyers star in Holy Lands, a family drama about a Jewish-American cardiologist who leaves everything behind to become a pig farmer in Israel. Though Dr. Harry Rosenmerck (Caan) tries to leave his former life behind, it is his wife (Arquette) with a terminally ill diagnosis, who brings his family back to the forefront, alongside his estranged son David (Meyers), a successful gay playwright, and his daughter Annabelle, a professional student.
Saturday, Feb. 9, 6:10 p.m. Regal Atlantic Station Sunday, Feb. 10, 4:45 p.m. Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center Sunday, Feb. 10, 8:10 p.m. Regal Atlantic Station Friday, Feb. 15, 1:55 p.m. Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center Saturday, Feb. 23, 1:10 p.m. Regal Perimeter Pointe
Documentary • Israel
A family from a traditional Israeli town is forever Saturday, Feb. 16, 6:05 p.m. changed after their father shares his desire to live his UA Tara life as a woman, after 20 years of marriage, in Family Sunday, Feb. 17, 1:30 p.m. in Transition. Amit’s wife, Galit, chooses to stay with Regal Peimeter Pointe her husband, keeping their family with four children Monday, Feb. 18, 2:10 p.m. together. This candid portrait reveals, in unflinching UA Tara detail, the family’s struggles against social stigma and other difficulties, as they try to maintain their equilibrium in light of Amit’s transitioning. Shot over two years, Family in Transition delivers an emotional punch in its sensitive, intimate depiction of a courageous family facing the very personal realities of a hot-button topic. Best Israeli Film winner at the DocAviv Film Festival.
Love, Gilda
Documentary • U.S., Canada Through laughter and tears, trailblazing Saturday Night Live Saturday, Feb. 9, 1 p.m. comedienne Gilda Radner narrates her too-brief life story, in the Regal Atlantic Station affectionate Love, Gilda. With childlike wonder and boundless Sunday, Feb. 10 1:55 p.m. energy, Radner poured her soul into every wacky character she Sandy Springs Performing created, from her start at Chicago’s Second City to her instant Arts Center celebrity on the late-night-TV, live-comedy experiment SNL. Tuesday, Feb. 19, 3:20 p.m. Interspersed with performance clips and backstage glimpses, Regal Perimeter Pointe friends and colleagues share their fondest memories of the comedy icon and her enduring impact. With personal recordings, Wednesday, Feb. 20 12:55 p.m. journal entries and photos, Radner reveals her private side: inUA Tara Cinemas securities, struggles with success and relationships, her enduring romance with Gene Wilder, and heartbreaking battles with bulimia and ovarian cancer. What emerges is a privileged look at a beloved, brilliant comic superstar who exuded positivity even in the darkest times, and who continues to inspire a new generation of fans and performers. 24
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MLK WEEKEND AT BULLDOGS
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RUSTIN-LORDE LGBTQ MLK DAY BREAKFAST
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Q SHOTS Q
PHOTOS BY RUSS YOUNGBLOOD theQatl.com
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Q
Q SHOTS
PAULO AT HERETIC
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PHOTOS BY RUSS YOUNGBLOOD
Q
THEQ?! Queer
CURRENCY
Queer divorce rights and co-worker salaries are strangling more than your wallet
Q
Behind the starry-eyed specs of what I thought was love, I married my wife with no qualms about paying off her
exorbitant debts. Now she wants a divorce and half my assets.
First I wiped away her student loans with a nod to our future retirement together. Then I began chipping away at her credit cards and other over-spending until she was debt free. Flash forward, and she wants the house and my retirement fund. Color me lesbian non grata and feeling played. To make me feel even worse, I think she may have purposely snared me into paying her bills and got her talons in my own assets, while I gave away my faith in people in addition to my money. Do I have any recourse? Please tell me there’s a way to at least get away with time served and lessons learned without sacrificing my future security as well. Dear Played: First and foremost, forgive yourself. Putting your vulnerability on the line shows strength, not weakness. Even the worstcase divorce outcome would leave you with the skills that put you in a position to foot your ex’s bills in the first place, and you can rebuild. You may never know your wife’s motives, though Dateline-level intrigue is less probable than run-of-the-mill humanness. The disorganization it takes to run up major debt often comes 38
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from the free-spirits who frequently change their minds about marriage — and everything else. While divorce laws differ, a good lawyer — get one — is worth it when finances are contested. You can’t expect to reclaim the debts you paid, but most cases come down to a court trying to be fair. The short duration of your relationship, your financial diligence during the marriage, and the fact that she is the one asking for the divorce should play in your favor.
Q
I always heard that it’s uncouth to ask co-workers how much money they make, but a situation at work has me
questioning it.
I’m a contractor negotiating a fulltime employment offer, and a fellow queer on the staff might be able to help. Wouldn’t it be fair to tell me the number they’re pulling down so I can get in the ballpark. Dear No No: Staying out of other people’s money isn’t about whether it’s tacky (it is) or any of your business (it isn’t). It opens a can of worms you’ll never close. If the coworker quotes their salary and it’s high, you’re going to be pissed, even though their salary is based on their experience, tenure and skillset. If you think the number is low, the look on your face may be all it takes to foster disenchantment in the co-worker or discontent among the workforce. But the real trouble is what it says about your character. The co-worker thinks you pry inappropriately, and that you took advantage of their kindred queer spirit to do so. If it gets around, it could also tell your potential employers that you discuss personnel matters with their employees, and you get no offer at all. Your contract rate and a pay-scale site are your best bets for the salary ballpark in your field and your market. The Q is for entertainment
purposes and not professional
counseling. Send your burning Qs to mike@theqatl.com.
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