CINEMAROSA: Queens Only Queer Film Series Celebrates Black History Month

Sunday, February 19, 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm, 2012

CINEMAROSA is Queens’ first and only Queer independent film/video series organized by new media artist Hector Canonge and hosted at the Queens Museum of Art every third Sunday. Spring 2012 monthly film program (February to May) kciks off with a selection of shorts in celebration of Black History Month. The program includes fiction and non-fiction films and videos that best reflect the lives and experiences of Queer Black communities in the US.

T’AINT NOBODY’s BIZINESS: QUEER BLUES DIVAS OF THE 1920′s
Dir. Robert Philipson
USA, 2011, 29 min

Award winning documentary exposes the triply oppressed (black, female, queer) pioneers of blues through interviews with cultural historians, vintage photos, footage, and recordings, all narrated by Jewelle Gomez.

Tracks

TRACKS
Dir. Deana Williams
USA, 2010, 25 min

Based on true events, Tracks is a story of Julie, an 18 year old runaway who reluctantly meets Tasha, a headstrong 15 year old and in the span of a week develop a companionship that quickly turns into their first romantic relationship which then threatens to tear the very fabric of both their worlds.

And I am Me

AND I AM ME
Dir. Alison Segar
USA, 2010, 16 min

Wonderfully honest and hysterically funny this self-doc covers issues of adoption, race and family through the eyes of a seven-year-old boy. The film is a an honest and touching portrayal of the relationship between a lesbian mother and her adopted, Ethiopian son.

One on One

ONE ON ONE
Dir. Luis Fernando Midence
USA, 2010, 10 min

Trevor and Alex are a great team on the basketball court, but when Alex asks Trevor to join a waltz class together, their lively relationship changes.

Change

CHANGE
Dir. Melissa Osborne
USA, 2010, 24 min

Jamie is an African-American teenager grappling with his sexual identity on the night Barack Obama is elected president and Proposition 8 is passed. When one of his gang initiates the bullying of an openly gay classmate, Jamie uses his wits to try and prevent it, but when things don’t go the way he predicted, he is forced to face his fears hen on.

Bye Bi Love

BYE BI LOVE
Dir. Giovanna Chesler
USA 2010, 17 min

Relating to relationships both gay and straight, either legally recognized or else banned by the legislative state, Bye Bi Love bypasses the standard controversies of the matter to consider the very real trappings of marriage and relationships. We are left to ponder whether or not we ever let go of past loves so that we may truly embrace the present.