Gay film festival keeps low profile Toronto Star
BEIJING–When China’s homosexual moviemakers decided to hold their fourth-ever film festival this year, they took pains to avoid confrontation with the cops.
They’d had confrontations before.
So this year, they didn’t issue any press releases. They picked a venue where they didn’t have to apply for a government permit. And they insisted on calling the event The Beijing Queer Film Festival.
“The translation of queer in Chinese is `ku er,’” explains film director Cui Zi’en. “In the Chinese language, it’s actually a less well-known word – a less provocative word than `gay.’”
The idea, Cui says, is not to wave flags in the authorities’ faces.
Yesterday, the five-day film festival opened in a village on the outskirts of Beijing without incident.
It’s no longer illegal to be gay in China: that ended in 1997.
In 2001, the Chinese Psychiatric Association delisted homosexuality as a disease. But gay books and films remained banned here in China and the gay community continues to test the limits.
Cui and other organizers hope this week’s festival goes smoothly – and doesn’t get busted. Gay film fests in the capital were shut down in 2001 and 2005, while a festival in 2007 squeaked by under the radar.
See Gay film festival keeps low profile Toronto Star
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/06/gay-film-fest…
Here Networks LLC and Its Publishing Affiliate Complete Merger Deal With PlanetOut Inc.
Here Networks LLC announced today the completion of the business combination of Here Networks LLC and its publishing affiliate, which includes the LGBT publications The Advocate and Out, with PlanetOut Inc. (formerly-traded under the ticker symbol, LGBT). The new public company resulting from this business combination will be named Here Media Inc. with Stephen P. Jarchow serving as Chairman and Paul Colichman serving as CEO.
On Wednesday, June 10, 2009 , the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of PlanetOut Inc. common stock voted to approve the proposed business combination.
“The close of this deal represents an exciting moment for LGBT consumers across the globe,” said Stephen P. Jarchow and Paul Colichman . “We look forward to bringing new features that will enhance the user experience and keep our customers engaged.”
Here Media now becomes the premier global company for providing news and entertainment to the LGBT community. The company is also uniquely positioned to provide advertisers opportunities to reach its niche audience across platforms including television, online, print publishing, and filmed entertainment. Here Media’s unmatched reach positions the company as a leader in creating an interactive relationship with consumers across all its iconic brands.
Jarchow and Colichman, along with current PlanetOut Inc. Chairman Phil Kleweno , will serve as the initial board of directors of Here Media.
About Here Media
Here Media, Inc. produces and distributes niche content across all platforms worldwide. Here Media’s iconic brands distribute gay media and world cinema programming with universal, humanistic appeal. Its distribution platforms include theaters, television, VOD, broadband, online, print and mobile. It earns subscription, advertising and licensing revenue from its award-winning content.
Here Media owns and operates a variety of media assets including:
- Here Studios, a full service motion picture studio.
- Here Films, a motion picture distribution company.
- here! Networks, a premium television network featuring programming that appeals to a gay and lesbian audience airing in 96 of the top 100 US markets, including every top 10 market.
- Iconic print brands including Out, Advocate and HIV Plus, as well as Alyson Books .
- Online properties including Gay.com, Planetout.com, Advocate.com, Out.com and SheWired.com which provide broadband video and social networking.
Paul Colichman is Chief Executive Officer of Here Media and Stephen P. Jarchow is Chairman. Together, they have produced and/or distributed over 200 motion pictures including Academy Award(R) winners “Gods and Monsters” and “Departures”.
Forward-Looking Statements
In addition to the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding Here Media’s plans to launch new technologies and user experiences., .These statements include those containing the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” and similar words. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the limited operating history and variability of operating results of Here Media and its subsidiaries; ability to achieve its operating plan; competition; timing and success of product launches; success of marketing efforts; and dependence on technology infrastructure, cable and satellite operators and the Internet. Additional information concerning factors that could affect Here Media’s future business and financial results is included in Here Media’s public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/06/here-networks…
Philadelphia Cinema Alliance Announces 2009 Gay Icon Award Recipients
The Philadelphia Cinema Alliance is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s awards. They are - 2009 Gay Icon Award: Sharon Gless; the 2009 Rising Star Award: H.P. Mendoza; the 2009 Artistic Achievement Award: Chad Allen; and the 2009 Barbara Gittings Award: Dr. Dee Mosbacher. Each honoree will be present to accept his or her award at one of four special ceremonies during the 15th Anniversary of Philadelphia QFest, July 9 - 20, 2009.
Actress Sharon Gless will receive the Gay Icon Award on Sunday, July 19 at The Prince Music Theater before a screening of her new movie Hannah Free. Gless entered the national consciousness as detective Christine Cagney on the classic series “Cagney & Lacey”, a show unafraid to tackle difficult issues like AIDS, abortion and racism. In 2000, Gless created the role of the beloved PFLAG-Mom Debbie Novotny for the groundbreaking series “Queer as Folk”, remaining with the series throughout its five-season run. She recently completed an Emmy-nominated, multiple-episode arc in the hit series “Nip/Tuck”, and currently stars in “Burn Notice”. Her current project, Hannah Free, finds the actress playing a free-spirited lesbian trying to reunite with the love of her life. Off-screen, Gless is an active participant in the ongoing struggle for reproductive rights and a consistent supporter of national and international human rights.
The multi-talented H.P. Mendoza will receive the Rising Star Award on Thursday, July 16 at the Ritz East Theater, preceding the screening of his new film Fruit Fly. An innovative, musical and prodigious talent, H.P. Mendoza returns to QFest this year with his bubbly directorial debut. Born in San Francisco to Filipino immigrants, he studied film at the College of San Mateo, where he met Richard Wong. Wong went on to direct Colma: The Musical which Mendoza wrote and composed. Colma was one of the highlights of PIGLFF 2007. H.P. has also released several CDs over the past few years, including the new “Nomad”.
Hollywood mainstay Chad Allen will receive the Artistic Achievement Award Thursday, July 9 at The Prince at QFest 09 Opening Night celebration, following the screening of Hollywood je t’aime. Many know Allen for his impressive body of professional work on family dramas ranging from “St. Elsewhere” to “Our House” and “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Women.” Equally important to Allen is his personal life, being one of the few openly gay actors working in Hollywood today, one willing to speak candidly about his sexuality. Allen has most recently gained recognition as the sexy, shrewd and resourceful gay detective Donald Strachey in the series of films Third Man Out, Shock to the System, On the Other Hand, Death (all of which screened at PIGLFF) and Ice Blues. Allen is a solid supporter of AIDS/LIFECYCLE, in which he recently rode 545 miles to help raise more than $11 million for the fight against AIDS. See Philadelphia Cinema Alliance Announces 2009 Gay Icon Award Recipients
Broadway World
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China hushes up first gay pride week
Beijing - Organizers of China’s first gay pride week were struggling Thursday to find new venues for their events after police in Shanghai warned clubs and bars against joining the planned festival.
The crackdown came even as China’s state-run English-language daily was hailing the celebration as “a good showcase of the country’s social progress” and “an event of profound significance.”
Police and commercial bureau officials warned a local restaurant of “very severe” consequences if it screened films as part of the festival, says an organizer who asked not to be identified. A photo studio called off a theater performance after a similar visit.
Gay activists said the official interference illustrated official Chinese policy toward homosexual gatherings: low-key events in private spaces are tolerated; public activities are banned.
“If you attract a lot of attention and media reports, the government will intervene,” says Wan Yanhai, an AIDS activist in Beijing.
The two American women who organized Shanghai Pride week deliberately avoided scheduling any public events that would have required official permission, for fear of being banned. The festival of film, theater, literary readings, and panel discussions, however, has drawn considerable international media attention, even if the Chinese-language press in Shanghai has made no mention of the event. Most of the 500 or so people who have attended events so far have been foreigners.
There are thought to be around 35 million homosexuals in China, who face considerable discrimination in the workplace and elsewhere if they are courageous enough to come out. Homosexuality was a crime here until 1997, and classed as a mental disorder until 2001. Some government-funded medical institutes are still trying to find a “cure” for homosexuality.
Although gay websites, clubs, and tea rooms have sprung up in cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, there is still a taboo on gay culture in Chinese cinema and television. At the same time, adds Mr. Wan, “the traditional Chinese concept of the family is very conservative, and families put heavy pressure on gays to get married.” China hushes up first gay pride week
Christian Science Monitor * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/06/china-hushes-…
The pageantry of Thailand’s”Third Gender”
PATTAYA, Thailand — They’re known as the “katoey,” or transgender people, and they are an important part of Thai culture.
Katoeys are found across Thailand — in urban areas, in rural villages, in cabarets and restaurants, in films, newspapers and, yes, on the stages of beauty pageants.
Here’s a look at the “Miss Tiffiny Unlimited Sexy Star Contest,” in the beach resort of Pattaya, which drew an television audience of some 15 million people. See The pageantry of the “Third Gender”
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Chinese director Lou Ye braves ban risk at Cannes
Chinese director Lou Ye brushed off fears he may face problems with the authorities when he returns home after showing his new film “Spring Fever” at the Cannes film festival.
The film, a graphic drama that deals with the taboo subject of homosexuality, was shot in secret after officials slapped a five-year banning order on Lou preventing him from making films following his last feature “Summer Palace.”
That film, shown in Cannes in 2006, examined the protest movement that led to the brutal repression in Tiananmen Square in 1989 and earned Lou international acclaim as well as ostracism from the official world of Chinese cinema.
But speaking on Thursday after the press screening of “Spring Fever,” he played down the furor that has surrounded both the film’s subject matter and his problems with the powerful Chinese Film Office.
See Chinese director Lou Ye braves ban risk at Cannes
Washington Post * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Graphic Gay Film, Made in Secret, Makes it to Cannes from China
The 62nd edition of the international film festival at Cannes (the “Festival de Cannes”) includes a new look at American culture from Ang Lee of “Brokeback Mountain” fame, as well as a secretly-filmed movie about gays in China.A May 15 article at Adelaide Now quoted the director of “Spring Fever,” Lou Ye, as saying, “I hope to be the last Chinese director ever to be banned.”The article said that the full-length film contains several graphic scenes depicting sex between men. The movie had to be made in secret not only because of the subject matter, but also because Ye has been banned from making films for a five-year span, following his last movie, “Summer Palace,” which is set in 1989 and concerns the Tiananmen Square demonstrations.”We were psychologically prepared to be stopped during the filming,” said Ye, “but that never happened, and today here we are with the film and the cast, which after all is a good thing.” See Graphic Gay Film, Made in Secret, Makes it to Cannes from China
EDGE Boston* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Sacha Baron Cohen: The men in his life
His latest alter ego, a gay Austrian fashionista, is already hailed as a work of genius. But can Sacha Baron Cohen ever just be himself?
Photo: Sacha Baron Cohen as the fashion journalist Brüno
They didn’t know, the Alabama National Guard. Never realised that allowing a German documentary-maker into their high-security training camp 65 miles east of Birmingham would go so wrong. They certainly couldn’t have guessed, when they agreed to let him take part in training, that this curiously effeminate man would adorn his US military uniform with a white D&G belt, or strip in front of a locker room-full of crew-cut squaddies to reveal a camouflage thong.
Ron Paul didn’t twig, either, that a TV interview that was supposed to be about Austrian economics might end in a candle-lit hotel bedroom, where a blond male journalist would proffer cheap champagne before attempting to seduce him. Never, in his wildest dreams, could the 73-year-old hero of the Republican right have envisioned that a predatory homosexual would have the gall to suddenly drop his trousers. That’s why Paul ran away shouting: “This is ENDED!”
Then there was the crowd lured to a fairground in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on the promise of one-dollar beer and “blue-collar brawling”. They expected to spend the evening watching good, old-fashioned fisticuffs. Instead, the cage-fighting took an unexpected turn when a contestant called “Straight Dave” and his opponent stopped wrestling and started, in the words of a police report, “stripping down to their underwear, kissing and rubbing” each other.
How could that crowd have guessed? How could they possibly have realised, in a town where men are men and “gay” is a form of insult, that a pair of tough-guys would start canoodling, and force them to watch? Little wonder they promptly started a riot. Whoever you happen to be, what other emotion, except extreme anger, is the natural reaction to being “punked” by Sacha Baron Cohen?
It’s been a while, now, since this ludicrously talented British comedian burst onto the scene. A decade since his character Ali G first demonstrated that you can make highly intelligent people say incredibly revealing things by asking them the stupidest questions imaginable. Three years since his Kazakhstani alter ego, Borat, toured Middle America exposing staggering levels of misogyny, anti-Semitism, and public ignorance.
But now he’s back. This summer, Baron Cohen will complete his trio of “mockumentary” films with a movie following the flamboyant exploits of Brüno, an outrageously camp fashion reporter from Klagenfurt, whose “MeinSpace” page proudly declares: “If I vas a Starbucks drink, ich vould be a tall, skinny Austrian mit a great personality und a really big brains.”
The film boasts the extended title Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt. That pretty much sums up what the film is about. Firstly, Brüno’s preposterous vanity will expose the excesses of a fashion industry (and celebrity culture) obsessed with body image and consumerism. Secondly, his overbearing homosexuality will be used as a tool to generate, expose, and thus satirise public homophobia.
See Sacha Baron Cohen: The men in his life
Independent -* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/04/sacha-baron-c…
Short Videos on Marriage Equality Could Win Up to $2,500 in L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Project Pushback
It’s time to grab your camera and help change the conversation about marriage for same-sex couples. The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has launched Project Pushback to tap into the grassroots energy of marriage equality supporters and to inspire development of video messages that will effectively promote support for the freedom to marry.
Since the National Organization for Marriage has just launched a $1.5 million ad campaign repeating many of the lies relied so heavily upon by the Yes on 8 campaign, the need for effective messages to promote the support for marriage equality, and the truth, has never been greater.
Submissions will be accepted at lagaycenter.org/projectpushback, and the public will vote for its favorites. A $1,000 “people’s choice award” will be given to the creator of the video that receives the most votes. From among the 10 videos that receive the most votes, a $2,500 “grand prize” will be awarded to the creator of the video voted the best by a panel of judges, who include: Academy Award-winning Producer Bruce Cohen, Emmy Award-winning television producer and director Paris Barclay, MTV producer Sherri Brown Francois, political and communications strategist Chad Griffin, Google vice president Megan Smith and Current TV producer Tracey Chang.
Anyone who submits a video, or votes for one, is eligible to win a new Sony HD video camera, valued at $1,000.
Project Pushback isn’t about a specific election but about building support for the freedom to marry long before campaign season. The best messages will educate and persuade voters as well as motivate people who are already supportive to be more active in promoting marriage equality.
Entries don’t need to be complicated–some of the most effective ads by opponents of marriage equality were fairly simple, such as the Yes on 8 campaign’s “I can marry a princess” ad. Judges will, however, be looking for innovative and original entries.
“During the fight against Prop 8, opponents of marriage equality used scare tactics and lies in their television ads to frighten voters,” says Center CEO Lorri L. Jean. “We need to find effective ways to blunt the impact of those ads by educating people about the truth of our lives. Entries to Project Pushback should help open the minds of those who don’t already support our freedom to marry.”
The Center’s Vote for Equality project, which has harnessed the power of hundreds of volunteers to educate voters about marriage equality since 2004, is continuing to organize neighborhood canvasses in areas where the vote on Prop 8 was evenly split. The issues/reasons most commonly cited by those who voted “yes” on Prop 8 are:
- Religious opposition
- Marriage is defined as the union of a man and woman
- The impact on children
“We’re learning a lot about voters from our one-on-one conversations, and just as important, we’re starting to change minds,” says VFE Project Manager Regina Clemente. “We also realize that face-to-face conversations are not the only way to start to open the minds of voters. We look forward to seeing the best videos from Project Pushback and then testing those messages in person with actual voters.”
Vote for Equality’s next voter canvasses are Saturday, April 11, and Saturday, May 9 - hundreds of volunteers can be accommodated and training is provided. More information about volunteering can be found at www.lagaycenter.org/VoteForEquality.
The panel of judges includes:
- Paris Barclay is an award-winning television director and producer, with two Emmy Awards and two NAACP Image Awards, among others. Barclay’s current projects include HBO’s In Treatment and MTV’s Pedro.
- Sherri Brown Francois is the producer and director of True Life, MTV News and various documentaries.
- Tracey Chang is a producer for the Vanguard Journalism department at Current TV, a cable television network founded by former Vice President Al Gore. Since 2005, she has covered a range of stories in countries including Pakistan, China, Colombia and Egypt.
- Janet Choi is a producer at MTV in New York. A former international correspondent for Channel One News, Janet was also a reporter for KTLA’s “Your LA with Janet Choi.” She has produced four documentaries based on travels to North Korea, Cuba, Colombia and China.
- Bruce Cohen is the Academy Award-winning producer of American Beauty, and his most recent film, Milk, was nominated for a best picture Oscar. Cohen also produced Big Fish and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.
- Rev. Art Cribbs Jr. is pastor of the San Marino Congregational Church and formerly was employed by KPIX-TV in San Francisco. Rev. Cribbs serves as a board member for several organizations, including the United Black Christians in Crisis Committee.
- Donna Deitch is an award-winning film director best known for her 1986 film Desert Hearts. Deitch also directed The Women of Brewster Place, HBO’s Prison Stories: Women on the Inside and Showtime’s Devil’s Arithmetic, for which she won an Emmy.
- Chad Griffin is a seasoned political and communications strategist. Griffin raised money for the No on 8 campaign from celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Steve Bing and Ron Burkle. He also helped create the anti-Prop 8 ads featuring Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
- Hon. John A. Perez is a California Assembly member who has worked in the labor movement and has served as a board member for organizations such as AIDS Project Los Angeles, the Latino Coalition Against AIDS and the California Center for Regional Leadership.
- Cathy Renna is nationally recognized as a media relations expert. She was a major force behind the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). She is a founder and managing partner at Renna Communications, which specializes in LGBT issues.
- Hilary Rosen is the managing partner of the DC office of the Brunswick Group, a London-based PR and communications strategy firm. She is also an on-air contributor for CNN and Washington editor-at-large for The Huffington Post.
- Megan Smith is the Google vice president of new business development and general manager of Google.org and previous CEO of Planet Out.
- Pam Spaulding is the editor and publisher of Pam’s House Blend, honored as “Best LGBT Blog” in the 2005 and 2006 Weblog Awards.
- Judy Starkman is the co-owner of convergencefilms.com, an L.A.-based production company specializing in commercials and web-based films. In the past she has worked as a commercial director, a television news producer and a photojournalist.
- Andy Towle is the former editor-in-chief of Genre and the blogger behind Towleroad, which has become an important source for gay news, technology, pop culture, travel and more.
- Karin Wang, vice president of programs at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, is a founding steering committee member of API Equality-LA, a coalition of LGBT and allied Asian/Pacific Islander groups working to advance marriage equality and promote positive images of LGBT Asians and Pacific Islanders.
About the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center:
Since 1971 the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has been building the health, advocating for the rights and enriching the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Our wide array of services and programs includes: free HIV/AIDS care and medications for those most in need; housing, food, clothing and support for homeless LGBT youth; low-cost counseling and addiction-recovery services; essential services for LGBT-parented families and seniors; legal services; health education and HIV prevention programs; transgender services; cultural arts and much more. Visit us on the Web at: www.lagaycenter.org.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/04/short-videos-…
Short Videos on Marriage Equality Could Win Up to $2,500 in L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center’s Project Pushback
It’s time to grab your camera and help change the conversation about marriage for same-sex couples. The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has launched Project Pushback to tap into the grassroots energy of marriage equality supporters and to inspire development of video messages that will effectively promote support for the freedom to marry.
Since the National Organization for Marriage has just launched a $1.5 million ad campaign repeating many of the lies relied so heavily upon by the Yes on 8 campaign, the need for effective messages to promote the support for marriage equality, and the truth, has never been greater.
Submissions will be accepted at lagaycenter.org/projectpushback, and the public will vote for its favorites. A $1,000 “people’s choice award” will be given to the creator of the video that receives the most votes. From among the 10 videos that receive the most votes, a $2,500 “grand prize” will be awarded to the creator of the video voted the best by a panel of judges, who include: Academy Award-winning Producer Bruce Cohen, Emmy Award-winning television producer and director Paris Barclay, MTV producer Sherri Brown Francois, political and communications strategist Chad Griffin, Google vice president Megan Smith and Current TV producer Tracey Chang.
Anyone who submits a video, or votes for one, is eligible to win a new Sony HD video camera, valued at $1,000.
Project Pushback isn’t about a specific election but about building support for the freedom to marry long before campaign season. The best messages will educate and persuade voters as well as motivate people who are already supportive to be more active in promoting marriage equality.
Entries don’t need to be complicated–some of the most effective ads by opponents of marriage equality were fairly simple, such as the Yes on 8 campaign’s “I can marry a princess” ad. Judges will, however, be looking for innovative and original entries.
“During the fight against Prop 8, opponents of marriage equality used scare tactics and lies in their television ads to frighten voters,” says Center CEO Lorri L. Jean. “We need to find effective ways to blunt the impact of those ads by educating people about the truth of our lives. Entries to Project Pushback should help open the minds of those who don’t already support our freedom to marry.”
The Center’s Vote for Equality project, which has harnessed the power of hundreds of volunteers to educate voters about marriage equality since 2004, is continuing to organize neighborhood canvasses in areas where the vote on Prop 8 was evenly split. The issues/reasons most commonly cited by those who voted “yes” on Prop 8 are:
- Religious opposition
- Marriage is defined as the union of a man and woman
- The impact on children
“We’re learning a lot about voters from our one-on-one conversations, and just as important, we’re starting to change minds,” says VFE Project Manager Regina Clemente. “We also realize that face-to-face conversations are not the only way to start to open the minds of voters. We look forward to seeing the best videos from Project Pushback and then testing those messages in person with actual voters.”
Vote for Equality’s next voter canvasses are Saturday, April 11, and Saturday, May 9 - hundreds of volunteers can be accommodated and training is provided. More information about volunteering can be found at www.lagaycenter.org/VoteForEquality.
The panel of judges includes:
- Paris Barclay is an award-winning television director and producer, with two Emmy Awards and two NAACP Image Awards, among others. Barclay’s current projects include HBO’s In Treatment and MTV’s Pedro.
- Sherri Brown Francois is the producer and director of True Life, MTV News and various documentaries.
- Tracey Chang is a producer for the Vanguard Journalism department at Current TV, a cable television network founded by former Vice President Al Gore. Since 2005, she has covered a range of stories in countries including Pakistan, China, Colombia and Egypt.
- Janet Choi is a producer at MTV in New York. A former international correspondent for Channel One News, Janet was also a reporter for KTLA’s “Your LA with Janet Choi.” She has produced four documentaries based on travels to North Korea, Cuba, Colombia and China.
- Bruce Cohen is the Academy Award-winning producer of American Beauty, and his most recent film, Milk, was nominated for a best picture Oscar. Cohen also produced Big Fish and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.
- Rev. Art Cribbs Jr. is pastor of the San Marino Congregational Church and formerly was employed by KPIX-TV in San Francisco. Rev. Cribbs serves as a board member for several organizations, including the United Black Christians in Crisis Committee.
- Donna Deitch is an award-winning film director best known for her 1986 film Desert Hearts. Deitch also directed The Women of Brewster Place, HBO’s Prison Stories: Women on the Inside and Showtime’s Devil’s Arithmetic, for which she won an Emmy.
- Chad Griffin is a seasoned political and communications strategist. Griffin raised money for the No on 8 campaign from celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Steve Bing and Ron Burkle. He also helped create the anti-Prop 8 ads featuring Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
- Hon. John A. Perez is a California Assembly member who has worked in the labor movement and has served as a board member for organizations such as AIDS Project Los Angeles, the Latino Coalition Against AIDS and the California Center for Regional Leadership.
- Cathy Renna is nationally recognized as a media relations expert. She was a major force behind the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). She is a founder and managing partner at Renna Communications, which specializes in LGBT issues.
- Hilary Rosen is the managing partner of the DC office of the Brunswick Group, a London-based PR and communications strategy firm. She is also an on-air contributor for CNN and Washington editor-at-large for The Huffington Post.
- Megan Smith is the Google vice president of new business development and general manager of Google.org and previous CEO of Planet Out.
- Pam Spaulding is the editor and publisher of Pam’s House Blend, honored as “Best LGBT Blog” in the 2005 and 2006 Weblog Awards.
- Judy Starkman is the co-owner of convergencefilms.com, an L.A.-based production company specializing in commercials and web-based films. In the past she has worked as a commercial director, a television news producer and a photojournalist.
- Andy Towle is the former editor-in-chief of Genre and the blogger behind Towleroad, which has become an important source for gay news, technology, pop culture, travel and more.
- Karin Wang, vice president of programs at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, is a founding steering committee member of API Equality-LA, a coalition of LGBT and allied Asian/Pacific Islander groups working to advance marriage equality and promote positive images of LGBT Asians and Pacific Islanders.
About the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center:
Since 1971 the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center has been building the health, advocating for the rights and enriching the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Our wide array of services and programs includes: free HIV/AIDS care and medications for those most in need; housing, food, clothing and support for homeless LGBT youth; low-cost counseling and addiction-recovery services; essential services for LGBT-parented families and seniors; legal services; health education and HIV prevention programs; transgender services; cultural arts and much more. Visit us on the Web at: www.lagaycenter.org.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/04/short-videos-…
