GISH AT THE MOVIES QFEST : TWENTY YEARS OLD AND ALL GROWN UP
Next to Me Group shot | Photography by Dalton DeHart
The Night Porter Uncle Howard
“ It ’ s all about the community ,” QFest ( www . q-fest . com ) executive director KRISTIAN SALINAS told me recently . It was in the spirit of community that Houston ’ s only LGBT film festival was founded in 1996 by LORIS BRADLEY of DiverseWorks , LIZ EMPLETON of Rice Cinema , MARIAN
LUNTZ of The Museum of Fine Arts , Houston and me , working at the time for Landmark Theatres . We were excited to come together to show films ( mainly LGB at the time ) at stellar venues all over the city because it was a time when being gay , bisexual or lesbian wasn ’ t easy and we wanted to show our support . With the recent consistent attacks on the trans community , QFest is now more important than ever .
Salinas was on the Advisory Committee of the festival in its inaugural year and it ’ s fitting that he ’ s now in charge after stints at places like Rice Cinema and Los Angeles-based Outfest . Kristian ’ s love for film and his vast knowledge of its history and its players has given QFest a renewed vibrancy . He can barely contain his excitement when giving me the lineup each year and always has special treats in store , such as filmmaker appearances and unique events .
QFest 2016 will take place July 21 – 25 in venues all over Houston and will kick off with a fab party on Wednesday , July 20 , at DiverseWorks , orchestrated to complement an exhibition by lesbian artist SHEILA
PEPE . You can access the full schedule on their website . Highlights include the moving documentary “ Uncle Howard ” ( pictured ); the Serbian film “ Next to Me ” ( pictured ); and Italian director Liliana Cavani ’ s “ The Night Porter ” ( pictured ). Audiences can also see Burt Lancaster and Marcello Mastroianni in “ The Skin ” and Patty Duke in “ The Valley of the Dolls ” – screened as an homage to Duke ’ s support of the LGBT community .
QFest is now a sponsored project of Southwest Alternate Media Project ( www . swamp . org ) and its future is bright . Over the next 20 years , Salinas plans to stay true to QFest ’ s mission as a public-facing , cutting-edge annual event that inspires creativity while emphasizing its educational aspect in light of the disappointing loss of the HERO ordinance . “ As a community , we cannot allow for the vilification of our trans brothers and sisters ,” Salinas told me . QFest has always been about community … and indeed it always will be .
WANT TO SEE MORE ART FILMS ?
CHECK OUT THESE VENUES
14 Pews ( www . 14pews . org ) Alamo Drafthouse ( www . drafthouse . com ) Asia Society ( www . asiasociety . org / texas ) Aurora Picture Show ( www . aurorapictureshow . org ) Blaffer Art Museum ( www . blafferartmuseum . org ) Café Brasil ( www . cafe-brasil . net ) Contemporary Arts Museum ( www . camh . org ) Discovery Green ( www . discoverygreen . com ) DiverseWorks ( www . diverseworks . org ) Holocaust Museum ( www . hmh . org ) Jewish Community Center ( www . erjcchouston . org ) Landmark River Oaks Theatre ( www . landmarktheatres . com ) Menil Collection ( www . menil . org ) Miller Outdoor Theatre ( www . milleroutdoortheatre . com ) Museum of Fine Arts , Houston ( www . mfah . org / films ) Orange Show ( www . orangeshow . org ) Rice Cinema ( www . ricecinema . rice . edu ) Sundance Cinemas ( www . sundancecinemas . com )
By Sarah Gish | www . gishcreative . com
36 L O C A L | july 16