Oct. 16, 2012. The 13th annual Queer Film Series begins Oct. 23 at Appalachian State University with a showing of “Wish Me Away,” the story of Chely Wright, the first country music star to come out as gay.
The series consists of four films with multiple screenings of “Bully,” a documentary about peer-to-peer bullying in schools across America.
Events are free and open to the public. All films begin at 7:30 p.m. in Room 114 Belk Library and Information Commons unless otherwise noted. A discussion will follow each film. For more information, visit qfs.appstate.edu.
“Wish Me Away” (2011, U.S., 102 minutes) has won best documentary honors at more than 10 LGBT and indie film festivals. After a lifetime of hiding, Chely Wright comes out and shatters cultural and religious stereotypes within Nashville, her conservative heartland family, and most importantly, herself. This film will be preceded by two five-minute student documentary shorts.
Other films in the series include:
· Oct. 30, “Rocky Horror Picture Show” (1975, U.S., 100 minutes). In this comedic musical, two sexually confused American kids are confronted by the complications of the corrupt morality of the ’70s, represented in the mad “doctor” Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite from the planet Transexual. Spectators are invited to come dressed as their favorite character from the movie and to dance and sing along with the film.
· Nov. 13, “Facing Mirrors” (2011, Iran, Farsi with English subtitles, 102 minutes). Winner of the Best Feature-Length Movie of the 36th annual Frameline LGBT Film Festival, “Facing Mirrors” is a story of an unlikely and daring friendship that develops despite social norms and traditional beliefs. It is also the first narrative film from Iran to feature a transgender main character.
There will be four special screenings of “Bully” sponsored by APPS Films.A discussion panel of campus and community experts on bullying will occur between showings each night.
· Nov. 26 and Nov. 28 at 7 and 9:30 p.m. in I.G. Greer Auditorium, “Bully” (2011, U.S., 98 minutes). Filmed over the course of the 2009-10 school year, this documentary offers an intimate, unflinching look at how bullying has touched five kids and their families. “Bully” opens a window onto the pained and often endangered lives of bullied kids, including 16-year-old lesbian, Kelby, revealing a problem that transcends geographic, racial, ethnic and economic borders.
The Queer Film Series is an academically oriented film series that, through education, entertainment and outreach, seeks to increase campus and community awareness of the histories, lives and cultures of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, and intersex persons (LGBTQI). Now in its 13th year, the series seeks to further university goals for diversity by using high-quality LGBTQI-themed cinema to promote understanding and acceptance of the many ways people experience and live out their gender identity and sexuality; highlight the intersections of sex, gender and sexuality with other categories such as race and class; and to provide a venue to discuss, with invited and university experts in the field, the films and the questions they raise about issues such as identity, community, prejudice, normalcy, etc. In addition, the series strives to integrate cross-cultural and international perspectives on these issues each year.
The series is supported by Appalachian’s College of Arts and Sciences; Library Collections Development; Office Multicultural Student Affairs; LGBT Center; High Country Pride; Department of English; Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures; Department of Philosophy and Religion; Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies; Office for Equity, Compliance and Diversity; the Women’s Studies Program; Department of Social Work; and private donors.