CINESLAM: Vermont’s LGBTQ+ Short Film Festival! June 24

CineSLAM is Vermont’s first LGBTQ film festival, celebrating 25 years!

Sponsored by the Kopkind Colony, founded 25 years ago in memory of celebrated political journalist Andrew Kopkind, CineSLAM returns to the Latchis Theatre in downtown Brattleboro with a Pride Film Festival of Shorts on Saturday, June 24 at 4.00 p.m.

The intention of CineSLAM is to offer a glimpse into the diversity of life, struggles and triumphs of LGBTQ people and their allies in short narrative, documentary and art video formats. It is programmed by John Scagliotti, creator of the first LGBT series on PBS, In the Life, producer of Before Stonewall and After Stonewall, programmer of the Vermont Bear Film Festival and Administrator of the Kopkind Colony.

“During these turbulent times for our LGBTQ+ community, when anti-LGBT laws are being passed by right-wing legislatures and LGBT Pride Events are being threatened and even canceled, it is vital for the New England community to come out to show a recommitment for our human rights. To show we are queer, we are here, and we will ­ fight!” said Program Director John Scagliotti in a news release.

“Rainbow humanity is like a beauty bush,” said JoAnn Wypijewski, president of The Kopkind Colony. “Many flowers, one name. In politics, the name is solidarity. No one is free, no one flourishes, unless we all do.”

CineSlam 2023 will focus on putting the COVID-19 pandemic of the past few years behind us and on the uplifting stories of New England LGBT History, past and present. Leading o‑ the festival will be a humorous look back at our shared experience of isolation during the past few years of the pandemic.

Director Sibyl OMalley, a theater artist whose practice includes writing, directing, teaching, and community organizing writes of her ­ film, Love and Hate in the Time of COVID, “With theaters closed during the past two years, I began experimenting with stopmotion animation. This video captures one of the many moments of heartbreak and rage that marked the past few years. It was a way to express my fury and also let my heart do what it wants to — love you and this stupid world we’ve made.”

Workwear , from Director Emily Everhard, is about the collapse of our public and private lives during the pandemic. Inspired by lead actor Jebreel Samples’s personal experiences, she said she wanted to explore how gender performance influences work and pleasure — and what happens when we can no longer neatly separate these different aspects of our day-to-day lives.

Local history is also included in this festival. Bar Stories from Queer Maine offers funny and often poignant accounts of gay bars as important venues for community, organizing, sex, and safety, revealing the threat to queer culture of our disappearing social spaces in urban and rural Maine.

CineSlam presents more local flavor this year with Rewritten: The Screendance , a mediated extension of a multi-disciplinary performance project created by Tom Truss and Matthew Cumbie. It explores the mysterious connection and sudden parting of American authors Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville, filmed at Herman Melville’s Arrowhead Estate, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts.

CineSlam will also be presenting the theatrical premiere of Here She Comes from filmmaker Sybil Patten, which offers a unique and personalized perspective on the ­final years of her grandmother’s life in Hartland Four Corners, Vermont.

A ticketholder after-party will feature Pride cake and sparkling cider at The Latchis Pub.

Be part of the Pride Action taking place in Southern Vermont!  You can reserve and buy your CineSLAM Tickets  here.

cineslam.com for additional information

 

 

About Us

Frog Meadow Farm Bed & Breakfast and Massage Oasis for Men is a welcoming, non-judgmental place for men of all colors and backgrounds to unwind and shed the trappings of busy modern life.

Situated on 63 beautiful & private acres, Frog Meadow frequently hosts men’s gatherings, workshops and retreats. Hosts Dave & Scott are committed to providing a welcoming environment to re-connect with nature and yourself.

Frog Meadow is only 4 miles from the popular Rock River swimming hole, 10 miles from Brattleboro, VT and 30 minutes Mount Snow & Stratton Mountain ski resorts.

Relax in our spring-fed swimming pond, soak in our wood-fired hot tub, or enjoy our 4-season recreation trails and extensive perennial gardens and orchard!

Be sure to check out our special events calendar, photo galleries, rooms/lodging pages & lodging specials and discover all that gay-friendly Southern Vermont has to offer!

 

Click here to learn why Edge Boston calls Frog Meadow “Vermont’s Gay Oasis”