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Connecticut Out Film Festival Awards

With a screening & after-party at the Connecticut Science Center in downtown Hartford the Connecticut Out Film Festival announced the winners of their 38th annual 9-day event. This year’s festival comprised 90 films including features, documentaries & shorts with nearly a dozen in-person screenings at the vintage Cinestudio theater on the Trinity College campus in Hartford as well as a wide range of virtual programs. Shane Engstrom, Out Film CT Festival Director stated, “Every year we try hard to select a lineup that our audience will love & judging by this year’s ballot results & comments we’ve received, we succeeded once again.” “Four Mothers” won the 2025 Audience Award for Best Feature Film. Shane Engstrom also presented the Director’s Award to Darren Thornton director of “Four Mothers” stating, “Darren told a personal story with a universal message that was both deeply touching & uplifting. Additionally, he went above & beyond to enhance the festival experience for our audience by pinch hitting with a last-minute Q&A session where he shared wonderful insights into the making of the film.” Other Out Film CT Festival award winning films included “A Culinary Uprising: The Story of Bloodroot” won Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature. “Sorority” won Audience Award for Best Short. “Rains Over Babel” won the Jury Award for Best Feature. “Heightened Scrutiny’ won the Jury Award for Best Documentary & “Stimulants & Empathogens” won the Jury Award for Best Short. Out Film CT’s mission is to entertain, educate & promote community by presenting outstanding LGBTQ cinema & other theatrical events throughout the year including their 9 day Film Festival. 
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Provincetown Tennessee Williams Event

The Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival is celebrating its 20th season September 25th to 29th in several town locations. The theme of this year's Festival is “Last Call” with live performances of plays by Williams that celebrate endings. After this season the mission of the festival will continue in new ways, championing Tennessee Williams in other forms in Provincetown & around the world. David Kaplan Festival Curator stated, “We've enjoyed our run: productions of over a hundred different plays by Williams from Adam & Eve on a Ferry (2008) to Will Mr. Merriwether Return from Memphis? (2018). From A to W, if not quite A to Z.” The 20th season will feature a fabulous new production of a classic play by Williams with a fresh take on a rarely produced late play by Williams & a new adaptation of a text by Williams as well as several short plays by Williams’ peer Samuel Beckett. A highlight of the twentieth season will be a production of Williams’ classic “Sweet Bird of Youth” in which the glamorous Alexandra DeLago proclaims “There’s no more valuable knowledge than knowing the right time to go.” This production will truly have a Ptown spin in director Mitchell Polonsky’s version of “Sweet Bird of Youth / A Nasty Melodrama.” I had the privilege to work with Mr. Williams back in the 1970’s. He was wearing his trademark seersucker blue & white suit topped off with a fabulous fedora hat a memory I’m fortunate to have etched in my mind forever. 2025 Festival Passes are now available with Carte Blanche Pass providing an all-access VIP experience or a Flex Pass affords a more flexible menu across the full range of shows. 
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DOJ Targeting Trans Youth Healthcare

The U.S. Department of Justice has announced that it had sent more than 20 subpoenas to doctors & clinics performing gender-affirming care for minors as the current administration ramps up its attacks on this marginalized community. The subpoenas came despite every major American medical association supporting gender-affirming care for both adults & youth including the American Academy of Pediatrics. Bruce Parker, Chief Operating Officer of Rocky Mountain Equality stated, “This is yet another attempt to push a broad, dangerous ideology that criminalizes the existence of transgender people. These providers are not committing crimes, they are doing their jobs: providing healthcare. Instead of protecting vulnerable communities, the DOJ is using its power to target & intimidate doctors, dismantle trust in healthcare & put transgender youth at even greater risk. The federal government’s coordinated campaign of fear & misinformation is putting our communities at risk, leading to threats of violence & damaging the mental health of trans people & their families. Gender-affirming care is supported by every major medical association in the United States & is often the difference between hope & despair for young trans people. We stand in full solidarity with the doctors, nurses & clinics being targeted. We stand with the families fighting for their kids’ right to thrive & we stand with every young person who is scared about what this means for their future. The federal government cannot put themselves in the way of families making decisions for themselves about healthcare. Our federal leaders need to reject this politicization of healthcare & immediately halt any efforts to harass or punish those who provide or receive gender-affirming care.”
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Jewel Thais-Williams Passes (AUDIO)

Sad news to hear that Jewel Thais-Williams a woman whose courage & compassion changed the landscape of LGBTQ life in LA & beyond has died at 86. I met Jewel in 2017 with filmmaker C. Fitz when their documentary “Jewel's Catch One” was presented at the Boston LGBTQ Film Festival. The film tells the story of Jewel’s legendary “Jewel’s Catch One” nightclub often referred to as the Studio 54 of the West & one of the first Black discos in the country creating a safe space for our community to gather, be seen & thrive. In the late 1990’s Jewel continued to serve our community becoming an acupuncturist & herbalist & establishing Village Health Foundation in LA. In 2017 when I asked how she saw our LGBTQ community moving forward in the first Trump administration Jewel stated, “United & on all fronts I feel is the key to it as well as being supportive of other groups. I think that we saw during the Civil Rights Protests & Campaign embrace every aspect of the human conditions & so we had folks joining from various & slightly different groups to support that cause & I feel if we can get that kind of support around our LGBTQ issues & we’re finding hope with millennials. We see them protesting things like Black Lives Matter & they might be Asian, Indian & Caucasian, whatever, this is the kind of support we need to face anything that is happening politically to us now. We all have to join together every facet of our Americana especially those people that are being discriminated against & of course we’re one of the main ones of that. If we all come together there’s power in numbers.” LISTEN TO FULL INTERVIEW 
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San Francisco Mime Troupe New Musical

Celebrating 66 years the San Francisco Mime Troupe (SFMT) new show “Disruption A Musical Farce” runs now through August 3rd in the Bay Area for free & open to the public unless otherwise listed. When asked why call yourself a Mime Troupe if you talk & sing, SFMT stated, “We use the term “mime” in its classical & original definition, 'The exaggeration of daily life in story & song.' It is a form of popular theater that is as old as the marketplace itself. From the ancient Greek & Roman farces to the Renaissance commedia dell'Arte to modern Chinese Opera, using archetypes comically to illustrate people's issues is a time-honored worldwide tradition. Our broadly drawn characters are instantly recognizable allowing the audience to immediately engage in the action. Our work is political satire & anything but silent.” “Disruption A Musical Farce” features a four-person cast that includes veteran SF Mime Troupe collective members Michael Gene Sullivan (Hector Washington), Alicia M.P. Nelson (Zubari Macintosh) & features Lizzie Calogero Fawkes) & Jed Parsario (Augie Dimalanta). “Disruption” is about in a city where nothing is more important than “innovation” Augie – a son of immigrants whose life is all about helping his neighbors navigate an increasingly underfunded system. Meanwhile a tech genius is all about making a city attractive to the right kind of people. Who wouldn’t want that? Soon San Francisco will be a suburb of Silicon Valley & just in time for the president’s upcoming visit. But if the city is poised to be a calm, efficient paradise why is everything suddenly on fire. “Disruption A Musical Farce” was written by Michael Gene Sullivan & Marie Cartier, Music & Lyrics by Daniel Savio with Music Director Daniel Savio & directed by Michael Gene Sullivan. 
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Creative Coalition Releases NEA PSA

As Independence Weekend comes to a close The Creative Coalition has released a stirring new public service announcement starring Iain Armitage (“Young Sheldon”) & written by Emmy-nominated television visionary Bill Prady (“The Big Bang Theory”). The PSA is a timely & impassioned call to protect one of the pillars of American greatness, our nation’s commitment to the arts. Iain Armitage stated, “As someone who has grown up in the arts, I’ve seen how the NEA creates real opportunities in communities everywhere. The arts are the soul of our country. They connect us, inspire us & reflect who we are. Without them, America loses a vital part of itself.” Tim Daly, President of The Creative Coalition added, “At a time when division feels louder than unity, the arts bring us back to what connects us. The NEA empowers artists & communities to tell their stories — to reflect, to challenge, to heal. Supporting the arts is supporting democracy itself. It’s not just a cultural investment; it’s a patriotic act.” Robin Bronk, CEO of The Creative Coalition concluded, “The arts are not a luxury they are a lifeline to who we are as a people & as a nation. Through NEA support, we see communities thrive, cultures flourish & futures born. This PSA is a powerful reminder that federal funding for the arts isn’t about entertainment it’s about equity, opportunity & preserving the soul of America.” The PSA underscores that NEA funding isn’t just about creativity it’s also about economic strength, education & national pride. In towns big & small NEA grants plant the seeds that grow community theaters, festivals, galleries & arts education programs igniting local economies & enriching lives. WATCH   
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Global Filmmakers In Ptown (AUDIO)

This week I concluded our audio montage series with celebrities & filmmakers at the 27th Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF). First I talked with Christine Vachon whose production company Killer Films has produced many acclaimed independent films including Far from Heaven, Boys Don't Cry, Hedwig & the Angry Inch & Carol. She also produced the HBO miniseries Mildred Pierce. In 2023 Vachon received her first Academy Award nomination for Past Lives & recently produced Materialists starring Dakota Johnson. Christine serves on the PIFF’s Advisory Board. Next I talked to Sophie Hyde & Aud Mason Hyde about their film Jimpa starring Olivia Colman & John Lithgow that premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival & was directed by Sophie. The film is about Hannah (Olivia Colman) & her non-binary teenager Frances (Aud Mason Hyde) who visits her gay grandfather (John Lithgow) in Amsterdam. We talked about the film & LGBTQ political issues in Australia their native country. Then I talked with Michael Koehler who directed the documentary SPIRITUS: No Business like Dough Business which explores the history & culture of Spiritus Pizza in Provincetown, MA. This film is about the rich history of one of the oldest family-run businesses in Ptown highlighting the challenges faced by the business, the LGBTQ community & the AIDS crisis against the backdrop of the conservative Puritanical attitudes in the town during the 1970s & 1980s. I concluded our audio montage with Claire Titelman who’s working on developing her short Remember Me into a feature film. The autobiographic film is about after a series of personal setbacks 40-year-old Claire moves back home to care for her ailing father. Despite her challenging circumstances she musters the courage to re-enter the dating scene. LISTEN  
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Connecticut Out Film Festival Awards

With a screening & after-party at the Connecticut Science Center in downtown Hartford the Connecticut Out Film Festival announced the wi...

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