Frameline 41, The Pop Quiz: Part 1

FRAMELINE 41 initiated a pair of press days for those of us covering the festival, and it offered me a rare opportunity to talk to many of the participating filmmakers while they were all gathered together in one place. The result was my inspiration to do a pop quiz with them, and the question I sprang on them was “What is the importance of art in the time of Trump?”

Below are the answers I received, all of them insightful, all of them reaffirming the importance of the arts for everyone, no matter what their profession.

 

Mike Roma, San Francisco, CA 6/23/17

Mike Roma, writer/director of the wise and winsome comedy DATING MY MOTHER (and the equally delightful web series, Danny The Manny), emphasizes showing the queer community living regular lives.

 

 

Fawzia Mirza, San Francisco, CA 6/23/17

Fawzia Mirza, co-writer, actor, and producer of SIGNATURE MOVE, advocates comedy as a tool of rebellion. Her direct response to Trump is a film called THE MUSLIM TRUMP (TheMuslimTrump.com to watch online), and in finding our intersectional truth.

 

 

Valerie Weiss, San Francisco, CA 6/17/17

Valerie Weiss, who holds a Ph.D. in biophysics, and is the director of THE ARCHER, a story of vengeance set in the world of a corrupt juvenile justice system. She speaks of the need to tell stories that contribute to the betterment of society.

 

 

Jeanine Mason and Bailey Noble, San Francisco, CA 6/17/17

Bailey Noble and Jeanine Mason, co-stars of THE ARCHER, urge us to express ourselves and shine our light. They also recommend You Are a Circle: A Visual Meditation for the Creative Mind by Guillaume Wolf

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Legacy Bailey, San Francisco, CA 6/23/17

Legacy Bailey, the star who got a standing ovation at a Frameline screening of her film the lyrical love story BOBBYANNA, sees art as giving voice to those who are usually denied one, particularly in the black queer community. 

 

 

 

Damon Cardasis, San Francisco, CA 6/17/17

Damon Cardasis, writer/director of the musical exploration of gender and religion, SATURDAY CHURCH,  cites art’s ability to inspire people and to give them hope, and the parallels between the American present and Weimar Germany.

 

 

 

Laura Embry and Cari Searcy, San Francisco, CA 6/18/17

Laura Embry (pictured with one of the film’s subjects, Cari Searcy) is the co-director of ALABAMA BOUND, a doc that chronicles the struggle for marriage equality in that state.  She speaks about the arts being at the edge of social movements, and spurring them on.

 

 

Carolyn Sherer, San Francisco, CA 6/17/17

Carolyn Sherer, co-director of Alabama Bound, speaks to the way arts can educate, even in her conservative state.