Ladies, and my fellow gentlemen, clutch your pearls!
Hard as it is to believe, it’s 2010 and Milwaukee remains the only place in the entire state of Wisconsin to throw an annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender film/video festival.
Keep that interesting bit of trivia in mind when the revamped 2010 Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival launches its 23rd annual edition this Thursday, October 21, with Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls. The much-praised, award-winning documentary feature from New Zealand chronicles the lives of Lynda and Jools Topp, perhaps the world’s only “comedic, singing, yodeling lesbian twin sisters.” The screening time is set for 7:30 p.m. at the historic Oriental Theatre, with a post-screening reception at Beans & Barley.
The festival continues through Sunday, October 24 with four days of features and documentaries that celebrate the diversity found within the LGBT community, including two nights of short film programs – Friday, it’s all about the ladies, and Saturday, it’s all about the guys – as well as the closing night film, the well-received Bahamian drama Children of God all of which will be shown at the UWM Union Theatre, unless otherwise noted.
The “Documentary Salon,” a new edition to this year’s program, will run throughout the festival’s four-day run and will showcase free screenings of five documentaries (the longest of which runs 70 minutes) showcasing different aspects of the LGBT experience. These sidebar screenings will be held in Room E280 of the UWM Student Union, which is right across from the UWM Union Theatre.
Returning patrons of the fest will likely notice that the length of this year’s festival program is considerably shorter than those in years past. They can rest assured that the festival is in no danger of cancellation.
Moving away from the traditional, once-a-year format of most film and video festivals, the festival will now offer patrons an alternative, according to Festival director and UWM Peck School of the Arts Film lecturer Carl Bogner. “Our revised format gives us more opportunities to showcase LGBT films and videos – new and classic – all year long while still hosting a festival that remains one of the annual highlights for the LGBT and film-loving communities.”
Beginning Thursday, November 4, the festival will launch a series of monthly screenings at the UWM Union Theatre. The screenings will be held on the first Thursday of almost every month. For up-to-date information about the new monthly screenings, go here.
And for additional information regarding ticket and festival pass prices, screening times and venues, check out the Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival’s official website.
