PRIDE festival starts Thursday

Two of the many films to see at the upcoming PRIDE Film Festival from Jan. 29 to 31 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre put whimsical and homosexual twists on both a popular high school play and a French documentary, which explore the present-day lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer culture.

Films like the “High School Musical”-esque “Were the World Mine” by director Thomas Gustafson and the documentary “Gay ... So What?” by director Jean Baptiste Erreca will be the two most interesting films to IU students, said Maarten Bout, marketing director for the Buskirk-Chumley.

“What is very interesting about ‘Gay ... So What?’ is that it is free,” Bout said.

General seating for most of the other screenings costs $4 for students, or they can purchase a pass for $14 to see all the films at the festival.

Erreca’s French film documents the lives of different gay, lesbian and transgendered people in Germany, France, Spain and Cuba. In each region, Erreca follows a different person or persons as they experience the oppression and repression that gay, lesbian and transgendered people often face.

Bout said another reason to see “Gay ... So What?” is the panel discussion that allows the audience members and director to have an open dialogue about the film to discuss integration and assimilation happening in the present “post-gay” world.

“This will be interesting to the students because they are a younger audience, and this is directly impacted by their generation,” Bout said.

Bout also promotes “Were the World Mine” as a college crowd-pleaser.

This film takes the daydreams of a high school student and turns them into reality by recreating and using purple love-pansy, a magic potion similar to the one used in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The potion helps him turn his town gay, and it truly becomes his world.

Though the film festival has been a tradition for the Bloomington community since
2004, the changing themes are one way the Buskirk-Chumley team keeps it fresh.

This year’s theme focuses on international filmmakers.

Each year, the volunteers on the Steering Committee choose the films and events that they think will be popular.

Danielle McClelland, executive director of the Buskirk-Chumley, said the volunteers are a mix of IU students and professors, business owners, young professionals, high school students and retirees.

She also said popular films and events are determined by those that will generate the most promise of revenue for the Buskirk-Chumley.

“Programming must be supported by the community through ticket sales, donations and sponsorship,” McClelland said. “We wanted to find film events that would generate lots of all of these.”

Events this year include three days of film, two receptions, an exhibit at the Kinsey Institute and two after-parties.

The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Alumni Association plays host to the receptions Jan. 30 and 31. An exhibit, called “Pre-Revolutionary Queer: Gay Art and Culture Before Stonewall,” opens Jan. 30. One after-party is on Jan. 29 at Uncle Elizabeth’s at 1614 W. Third St., and the other is a final closing party January 31 from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. at the Buskirk-Chumley that encourages erotic attire.
Bout said there are surprise special guests that will kick off the party.

Despite the past six years of gay pride at the festival, gay junior Matthew Bochard said he does not take part.

“It’s film,” Bochard said. “I don’t think it should be held in any higher regard than straight film.”

He said his pride is not for fanfare over the sexuality behind such films; rather, he prefers to focus on the art.

“Gay film shows a viewpoint, but it’s telling a story,” he said, “just like straight film.”