Reel Pride Program - 2016

ABOUT FRESNO REEL PRIDE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

From humble beginnings in a Fresno State classroom, On behalf of myself and the Board of Directors,
Fresno Reel Pride has evolved into the sixth oldest - and WELCOME TO REEL PRIDE 27!
one of the largest - Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender,
and Queer (LGBTQ) film festivals in the United States. The films presented at this year’s festival will address
Fresno Reel Pride is a celebration of LGBTQ cinema not just the comedic and romantic whims of our invited
and is a premier cultural event in Central California artists, they will also touch upon issues of need within
attracting thousands of attendees to its five-day our community.
festival of international features, documentaries, and For decades, same-sex marriage has been a dominating
short films. desire for the LGBTQ+ political mainstream—no other
issue has reached the same level of awareness nor
MISSION STATEMENT inspired quite so much attention. Other crucial LGBTQ+
issues are waiting for the same dynamic of funding and
The mission of Fresno Reel Pride is to increase the public outrage that carried same-sex marriage over
awareness of the LGBTQ community through the the proverbial threshold. It is no longer about marriage
exhibition of films and videos exploring LGBTQ equality; it is about keeping LGBTQ+ people safe and
themes at an annual festival in Fresno. Fresno Reel alive.
Pride, through the universal appeal of movies, works We have an obligation to prioritize the current
to produce a major cultural event for the entire Central overlapping of queer issues with those of racial and
Valley community designed to enhance community economic justice, in order to increase the health
acceptance and understanding while adding to the and wellness of our communities, with specific
diversity of a culturally rich city. attention to people in the LGBTQ+ community who
are marginalized, incarcerated, people of color, or
VENUE & TICKET INFORMATION are impacted by immigration policy. Prioritizing our
collective survival by centering on women, trans and
Movie Venues: Event Venues: gender non-conforming people, immigrants, people
The Tower Theatre Reel Pride Lounge at of color and the underprivileged, is the only strategy
815 E. Olive Avenue The Painted Table that doesn’t leave our community behind and gets us
1211 N. Wishon Avenue to the ideal of liberation and equality. Many of the films
ViSTA Theatre that are highlighted at this year’s festival represent the
1296 N. Wishon Avenue Pinot at The Tower Theatre struggles of the past and the struggles that await. At
805 E. Olive Avenue this precipice, our community must not only advance
Mia Cuppa Caffé policy, we must also accelerate acceptance —because
620 E. Olive Avenue Veni Vidi Vici laws alone don’t end discrimination, PEOPLE DO.
1116 N. Fulton Street The Reel Pride Film Festival has a unique role to play in
promoting this acceptance in the context of educating
Tickets for films start at $10 unless stated otherwise. and entertaining through the silver screen. Through
the sharing of stories that reflect our community and
Youth with a valid student I.D. get into movies for free our lives, film has always been a powerful teacher, a
except for opening and closing night movies. Youth can window we can view all of humanity.
purchase opening and closing night movie tickets at half As we look ahead to a movement beyond marriage
price with a valid student I.D. For more information, visit equality, we know that the work is not yet finished.
the Reel Pride Box Office in front of The Tower Theatre.
Victories are Sweet, but the movement is not over.

Kathleen Arambula-Reyna
Board President & Festival Director
Fresno Reel Pride LGBTQ+ Film Festival

PROUD TO BRAND REEL PRIDE

jpmktg.com

Once again, JP Marketing is proud
to provide the theme and design for

Fresno Reel Pride.

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 21
PUSHING DEAD OPENING NIGHT GALA*
OPENING NIGHT PRE-PARTY* Tower Theatre | 7:30 pm | PG. 5 Reel Pride Lounge | 9:30 pm
Bobby Salazar’s in Tower | 6:00 pm

THURSDAY, SEPT. 22 UNCLE GLORIA BEARCITY 3
ViSTA Theatre | 5:45 pm | PG. 8 Tower Theatre | 7:15 pm | PG. 9
TWO HARD THINGS, TWO SOFT THINGS
Tower Theatre | 5:30 pm | PG. 7

GIRL GETS GIRL PARIS 05:59: THEO & HUGO KISS ME, KILL ME
ViSTA Theatre | 8:00 pm | PG. 10 Tower Theatre | 10:00 pm | PG. 11 ViSTA Theatre | 10:05 pm | PG. 12

FRIDAY, SEPT. 23 SHARED ROOMS FIRST GIRL I EVER LOVED
ViSTA Theatre | 5:40 pm | PG. 17 Mia Cuppa Caffé | 6:00 pm | PG. 18
SOUTHWEST OF SALEM
Tower Theatre | 5:30 pm | PG. 14

SUMMERTIME AKRON I LOVE YOU BOTH
ViSTA Theatre | 7:20 pm | PG. 20 Tower Theatre | 7:30 pm | PG. 21 Mia Cuppa Caffé | 8:15 pm | PG. 22

SCARED SHIRTLESS: HORROR ARIANNA REEL NIGHT OUT AFTER PARTY
SHORTS ViSTA Theatre | 9:35 pm | PG. 27 Pinot at the Tower Theatre | 9:00 pm
Tower Theatre | 9:30 pm | PG. 24

SATURDAY, SEPT. 24

TRANSCENDENT SHORTS YOUTH PIZZA & FRO-YO PARTY RETAKE
Tower Theatre | 11:00 am | PG. 30 Cindy’s Fro-Yo | 12:00 pm ViSTA Theatre | 12:00 pm | PG. 31

FUN IN GIRLS SHORTS WEEKENDS DISCOVERIES: YOUTH SHORTS
Tower Theatre | 1:15 pm | PG. 32 ViSTA Theatre | 2:15 pm | PG. 33 Mia Cuppa Caffé | 2:30 pm | PG. 36

FUN IN BOYS SHORTS BRUISING FOR BESOS FORBIDDEN
Tower Theatre | 3:10 pm | PG. 38 ViSTA Theatre | 4:30 pm | PG. 39 Mia Cuppa Caffé | 5:00 pm | PG. 40

UPSTAIRS INFERNO FILMMAKERS’ RECEPTION** WOMEN WHO KILL
Tower Theatre | 5:15 pm | PG. 41 Veni Vidi Vici | 6:00 pm ViSTA Theatre | 6:40 pm | PG. 44
SUICIDE KALE
Tower Theatre | 7:30 pm | PG. 45 THE BIRDCAGE: 20th ANNIVERSARY FRONT COVER
Mia Cuppa Caffé | 7:45 pm | PG. 46 ViSTA Theatre | 9:00 pm | PG. 49

REEL NIGHT OUT AFTER PARTY LEZBERADOS: COMEDY WITH NO BULL
Pinot at the Tower Theatre | 9:00 pm Tower Theatre | 9:30 pm | PG. 51

SUNDAY, SEPT. 25 CLAMBAKE HEARTLAND
Mia Cuppa Caffé | 12:15 pm | PG. 52 ViSTA Theatre | 12:20 pm | PG. 53
DIRECTORS’ CLUB BRUNCH**
The Painted Table | 11:00 am

POLITICAL ANIMALS SLASH THE REVIVAL
Tower Theatre | 1:00 pm | PG. 56 ViSTA Theatre | 2:15 pm | PG. 57 Mia Cuppa Caffé | 2:30 pm | PG. 58

RAISING ZOEY / REAL BOY GIRLS LOST OTHER PEOPLE
Tower Theatre | 3:45 pm | PG. 59 ViSTA Theatre | 4:30 pm | PG. 62 Tower Theatre | 7:30 pm | PG. 63

CLOSING NIGHT GALA
Reel Pride Lounge | 9:30 pm

* Festival Pass Holders, Directors’ Club Members, Producers’ Circle, and Sponsors Only ** Sponsors, Filmmakers, and Directors’ Club Members and Above Only

Working together “PG&E” refers to Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation. © 2014 Pacific Gas and Electric Company. All rights reserved.
for better results

At PG&E, we know that working together
helps us energize each other to reach
common goals. So we proudly team with
our community. Because a joint focus on the
common good can produce great results.

W Tower Theatre
7:30 pm | $10

OPENING NIGHT FILM

PUSHING DEAD

Writer & Director: Tom E. Brown / 2016 / USA / 108 min.
While Dan lives paycheck to paycheck, working the door at a San Francisco dive bar and
promoting unpopular poetry slams, he has been stuck in place since the day he was diagnosed with
HIV. Now positive for 22 years, Dan’s problems aren’t physical—his psyche is more of an issue than
his T-cells. He longs for companionship, but dreading the inevitable “Hi I’m positive” talk, he has
successfully avoided the dating scene.
When the state suspends his medical coverage, and his expensive combo of multi-colored,
multi-tasking AIDS drugs are cut off, the daily grind and constantly living 10 pills away from death
every day gets just a little more nerve-wracking.

OPENING SHORT 7

RIBBONS

Writer & Director: Brandon Cordeiro / 2016 / USA / 9 min.
In 1997, a mother brings her seven-year old boy to a public AIDS
memorial on a beach in Provincetown, Mass. There, he experiences
firsthand the loss incurred by the epidemic of the mid-1980s and his
community’s inspirational response to it.

#REELPRIDE27

Congratulations to
Fresno Reel Pride

for 27 years of
international films

for everyone

From your cinema loving
friends at FresnoFilmworks.org

Save the date:
2016 Fresno Film Festival,
Nov. 11-13, Tower Theatre

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

Th Tower Theatre
5:30 pm | $10

DOCUMENTARY
CENTERPIECE
TWO HARD THINGS, TWO SOFT THINGS

Director: Mark Kenneth Woods & Michael Yerxa / 2016 / Canada / 71 min.
In English and Inukitut with English subtitles.

As a small group in Nunavut, Canada prepare for a seminal LGBTQ Pride celebration in the
Arctic, the film explores how colonization and religion have shamed and erased traditional Inuit
beliefs about sexuality and family structure and how, 60 years later, a new generation of Inuit are
actively ‘unshaming’ their post.

#REELPRIDE27 9

Th ViSTA Theater
5:45 pm | $10

UNCLE GLORIA: ONE HELLUVA RIDE

Director: Robyn Symon / 2016 / USA / 76 min.
During a nasty divorce, Butch, the 67 year-old Jewish macho and homophobic owner of a
South Florida auto-wrecking company hides from the law, as a woman, setting off a twisting tale of
discovery. Naming herself after her two idols - Gloria Estefan and Gloria Steinem - she decides to
remodel herself in much the same way Butch once lovingly restored his old cars. As a senior citizen,
she undergoes a risky sex change operation, becomes a dominatrix then a transgender activist,
finds, love all while trying to reconcile with her dysfunctional family.
While it has a twisting plot and lots of humor, Uncle Gloria is an important film about letting
go of labels and accepting people for who they are regardless of their gender expression. With
the cultural spotlight on gender rights and specifically transgendered people, this film couldn’t be
timelier.

10 #REELPRIDE27

Th Tower Theatre
7:15 pm | $10

BEARCITY 3

Writer & Director: Doug Langway / 2016 / USA / 108 min.
It’s three years later. Brent and Fred have settled into married life. They’ve convinced Fred’s
sister, Susan, to carry their baby. And while Brent is baby-proofing everything in the house, Fred is
preoccupied with finishing his long-developed documentary, Beartopia. Brent and Fred engage in
the classic avoidance of responsibilities vs. over-protective dance, one daddy distracted while the
other is hyper-vigilant, delivering hilarious results!
Big “Mama Bear” Michael lost his soulmate when Carlos was mugged for his cash-drop bag
while leaving the bar he owned with Michael and Roger. Now in a relationship with Dalton, a hand-
some African-American business man, Michael struggles to let go of the past and engage with this
new loving, adoring man. Hope seems lost for Michael, until Dalton’s 16-year old daughter is thrust
into their lives, forcing Michael to choose between holding onto the past or embracing the future.
BearCity 3 is the closing chapter to the BearCity triology and brings together a funny and
lovable cast including Joe Conti (BearCity), Gerald McCullouch (CSI), Stephen Guarino (Happy
Endings), Brian Keane (Gotham), and funny lady Kathy Najimy (Sister Act).

#REELPRIDE27 11

Th ViSTA Theater
8:00 pm | $10

GIRL GETS GIRL

Director: Sonia Sebastián / 2016 / Spain / 98 min.
In Spanish and English with English subtitles
Inés, a lesbian lothario, has lived the American dream in Miami for nine years. When she’s
caught cheating on her girlfriend, her world tumbles down. For the first time in years Inés asks
herself what she wants in life, and she knows the answer. It’s time to get back to Madrid - even if it
means she will have to face the huge mess she left behind.
What Inés really wants is to finally succeed in seducing Lola, the hot straight best friend of
Verónica Psyco, the woman Inés left nine years ago - pregnant and on their wedding day! And as
usual, Inés has chosen the worst time ever arriving in the middle of a party at Lola and Verónica’s
shared home. There she meets Candela, Verónica´s daughter (and almost hers) and all the women
and friends she once left. Will she runaway again or is it finally time to settle down? Much hilarity and
chaos ensues as Inés finds her way back to her heart.

12 #REELPRIDE27

Th Tower Theatre
10:00 pm | $10

PARIS 05:59: THEO & HUGO

Théo et Hugo dans le même bateau

Directors: Olivier Ducastel & Jacques Martineau / 2016 / France / 97 min.
Explicit sexual content. No one under 18 admitted. In French with English Subtitles.

Théo and Hugo encounter each other’s bodies in a sex club. They talk, things blur into the
haziness of unbridled desire, then take shape for a moment as their gaze meets before they resume
their exploration and lose themselves anew. A few moments later the two men feel the need to
go outside. Together they drift down the deserted streets of nocturnal Paris. Suddenly they find
themselves confronted by a sense of reality that wipes out their freedom and aimlessness and lends
each step an existential helplessness.
Do they want to know more about each other? Will their trust be rewarded? What are their
expectations? Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau display consummate sensitivity in bringing
us closer to two men as they strive for intimacy in spite of being stalled by their insecurity. Their two
leading actors delight us with their remarkably intuitive performances and their incredible charm.
(Description courtesy of the Berlin International Film Festival)

#REELPRIDE27 13

Th ViSTA Theatre
10:05 pm | $10

KISS ME, KILL ME

Director: Casper Andreas / 2016 / USA / 100 min.
After Dusty (Emmy nominee Van Hansis of As The World Turns) blacks out while confronting
his cheating boyfriend, Stephen (Gale Harold, Queer as Folk), he awakes only to find his boyfriend
murdered and himself as the prime suspect.
With plot twists and turns to keep you guessing, Kiss Me, Kill Me also stars a colorful
collection of characters, many of whom might have their own reasons for wanting Stephen dead.
Kiss Me, Kill Me is contemporary film noir and murder mystery in the great tradition of Alfred
Hitchcock and Agatha Christie. The film also stars Brianna Brown (Devious Maids), Jai Rodriguez
(Queer Eye for the Straight Guy), Matthew Ludwinski (Going Down in LA-LA Land), and D.J.
“Shangela” Pierce (RuPaul’s Drag Race).

14 #REELPRIDE27

Advancing Advocacy.
Promoting Pride.
Supporting Students.

Congratulations to Reel Pride
on another great festival!

Fresno’s 16th Annual Rogue Festival
Inclusive! Innovative! Independent! Incorrigible!

Offering 10 days of performances
pushing the edge of art and entertainment
for adventurous audience members like you!

March 2–11, 2017
8 Venues 60 Artists 300 Performances

In the Tower District
All Shows $5–$10
www.roguefestival.com
facebook: fb.com/rogue.fresno
twitter: @roguefestival

F Tower Theatre
5:30 pm | $10

SOUTHWEST OF SALEM:

THE STORY OF THE SAN ANTONIO FOUR

Director: Deborah S. Esquenazi / 2016 / USA / 91 min.
Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four excavates the nightmarish
persecution of Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, and Anna Vasquez — four
Latina lesbians wrongfully convicted of gang-raping two little girls in San Antonio, Texas. The film
begins its journey inside a Texas prison, after these women have spent nearly a decade behind bars.
They were 19 and 20 years at the time that allegations surfaced.
Using the women’s home video footage from 21 years ago combined with recent verité
footage and interviews, the film explores their personal narratives and their search for exculpatory
evidence to help their losing criminal trials. Fifteen years into their journey, director Deborah S.
Esquenazi captures an on-camera recantation by one of the initial outcry victims, now 25 years old
although 7 at the time of the investigation. This brings the filmmaker into the role of investigator
along with attorneys at the Innocence Project, who are just beginning their quest for truth in this
case.

16 #REELPRIDE27



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Play it safe. Get yourself tested:
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You don't have to be OUT to come IN!

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208 W. Main St. Suite B Visalia CA 93291 + (559)429-4277

F ViSTA Theatre
5:40 pm | $10

SHARED ROOMS

Director: Rob Williams / 2016 / USA / 74 min.
This witty, sexy, gay romantic comedy explores the meaning of home and family through three
interrelated stories of gay men finding connections during the week between Christmas and New
Year’s Day – a married couple who take in a teenage relative who was kicked out of his home after
his parents discovered he was gay; a pair of roommates forced to share a bed for the week, much to
the delight (and horror) of the one harboring a secret crush on the other; and two men looking for a
quick hookup who end up finding a much stronger connection. (Borrowed from Film Out San Diego)

#REELPRIDE27 19

F Mia Cuppa Caffé
6:00 pm | $10

FIRST GIRL I EVER LOVED

Writer & Director: Kerem Sanga / 2016 / USA / 91 min.
On assignment for her high-school yearbook, social-misfit Anne (Dylan Gelula) charmingly hits
it off with the beautiful star of the softball team, Sasha (Brianna Hildebrand). But when Anne tells her
best friend Clifton (Mateo Arias) about her new crush, he reveals a hidden jealousy that threatens
more than just the girls’ budding romance.
Winner of the Best of NEXT Audience Award at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, First Girl I
Loved is a poignant coming-of-age tale that captures all the anxiety, bravery, and heartbreak of first
love.

20 #REELPRIDE27

Information Line:
(559)434-6540

www.pflagfresno.org
[email protected]

P.O. Box 27382
Fresno, CA 93729

Meetings on the 2nd Sunday
every month at:

Wesley United Methodist Church
1343 E. Barstow Ave
Fresno, CA

PFLAG Fresno is a volunteer group of parents, family and
friends of people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender
(GLBT). We welcome all caring persons, including the GLBT
community to our meetings and membership.

F ViSTA Theatre
7:20 pm | $10

SUMMERTIME

Director: Catherine Corsini / 2015 / France / 105 min.
In French with English subtitles.
In 1971 France, Delphine, the daughter of farmers, moves to Paris to break free from her rural
lifestyle and to gain financial independence. There, she meets Carole, a Parisian actively involved in
the stirrings of the feminist movement who also has a boyfriend. The two women engage in an affair
that turns their lives upside down.

22 #REELPRIDE27

F Tower Theatre
7:30 pm | $10

MEN’S
CENTERPIECE FILM

AKRON

Director: Brian O’Donnell / 2016 / USA / 88 min.
Benny and Christopher, college freshmen, meet playing football and begin a relationship. They
fall in love supported by their family and friends. As their love for each other grows, a past tragic
event involving their mothers comes to light. This revelation tests their own love and Benny’s close-
knit family.
Throughout this reflective love story, with the beauty of rural Ohio as its backdrop, Benny
travels an emotional journey that examines both his own feelings and his family’s ability to come
to terms with the past. Akron is a sensitive and unique independent film that puts a progressive,
Midwestern spin on a classic family drama.

#REELPRIDE27 23

F Mia Cuppa Caffé
8:15 pm | $10

I LOVE YOU BOTH

Director: Doug Archibald / 2016 / USA / 90 min.
Twins, Krystal and Donny, have been codependent for 28 years, still living together in a
converted one bedroom house. When they both meet and start dating the same guy, they remain
in denial about the fact that they’re both seeing him until he picks only one of them, forcing them to
confront that they can no longer live the same life. With nowhere to turn for advice except each other
and their only two friends—Linda, Krystal’s coworker and former middle-school Tae Bo teacher, and
their mother—the twins are finally forced to look for answers from within.

24 #REELPRIDE27



F Tower Theatre
9:30 pm | $10

SAUNA THE DEAD - A FAIRY TALE MONSTER MASH

Writer & Director: Tom Frederic / 2016 / UK / 21 min. Writer & Director: Mark Pariselli / 2014 / Canada / 21 min.
Jacob (Tom Frederic) is a jaded narcissist who stalks the A Halloween hookup turns into something more for a pair
bathhouse halls looking for his next hookup. When he finds of morbid misfits costumed as horror cinema’s most iconic
himself amid a zombie outbreak, his survival may depend on female characters.
the one thing he didn’t come for - a human connection.

SCARED SHIRTLESS: HORROR SHORTS

MELODY OF DARKNESS THE GOOD WAITER
(CANTO DE SOMBRA)
Director: George Bamber / 2016 / USA / 16 min.

Director: Thiago Kistenmacker / 2016 / Brazil / 25 min. Kyle is your typical struggling “actor-waiter” trying to make
Jaque is a singer and songwriter and is willing to sacrifice his way in LA. When a mysterious and handsome trainee
anything to become a star. joins the team at his restaurant, the two are thrown into a
frantic tangle of secrets, sex, and dashed dreams.

In Portuguese with English subtitles.

26 #REELPRIDE27

Support

by becoming a member today!

Your membrship supports innovative exhibitions and thought-provoking programs on the arts and society.
It supports educational programs for children throughout the San Joaquin Valley and beyond.
It supports creative and innovative thinkers.

Become a part of YOUR art museum!

Go to www.FresnoArtMuseum.org
and click on Become a Member NOW! to join

Fresno Art Museum•2233 North First Street

Art of the Word 2

Writers Juan Felipe Herrera & Gary Soto, and their Illustrators

Head to Toe: Wearable Art

Hung Liu: Scales of History 6 Mississippi Freedom Summer, 1964
The Making of a Mural
Council of 100 Distinguished Woman Artist 2016

FALL 201
EXHIBITIONS
9.23.16 to 1.8.17 Student Mural Project &
A Tribute to FranCisco Vargas

Congratulations to
Fresno Reel Pride 27th Film Festival

Centro La Familia proudly supports
your organization.

Please join us for our Fiesta Night Celebration on
September 23, 2016 at Chukchansi Park.

302 Fresno Street, Suite 102, Fresno, CA. 93706
Phone: (559) 237-2961 Fax: (559) 237-2968
Toll Free: (877) 294-3772
www.centrolafamilia.org

Proudly Serving the Community
Since 1972

STARBUCKS

IS A PROUD SPONSOR OF

FRESNO REEL
PRIDE FILM

FESTIVAL

BRING IN A NON-PERISIBLE FOOD ITEM, WHERE STARBUCKS IS
PARTNERING UP WITH OPEN HANDS FOOD PANTRY

F ViSTA Theatre
9:35 pm | $10

ARIANNA

Director: Carlo Lavagna / 2015 / Italy / 83 min.
In Italian with English subtitles.

Arianna is 19 years old, but she still hasn’t had her first period. The hormones that her
gynecologist has prescribed don’t seem to have any effect on her development, except for a small
increase in the size of her breasts that only cause her discomfort. At the beginning of summer, her
parents decide to retake possession of the farmhouse on Lake Bolsena where Arianna grew up till
the age of thee and where she has never returned.
During her stay in the house, old memories start surfacing, so much that Arianna decides to
stay when her parents need to go back to the city. The afternoons are slow and silent while Arianna
starts inquiring about her body and her past; an encounter with her young cousin Celeste - so
different and feminine compared to her - and the loss of her virginity with a boy her same age push
Arianna to finally confront the true nature of her sexuality, and her true identity.

#REELPRIDE27 29



EQUALITY We all bring something unique to
=HEALTHY the world, something for which
we are proud.

For the 7th year in a row, Kaiser Permanente
has been recognized as a leader in health
care equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender populations in the Healthcare
Equality Index 2016 report.

And this year, Kaiser Permanente has
received a 100% rating as one of the Best
Places to Work for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender populations in the Corporate
Equality Index 2016 report.

Visit kp.org today.

S Tower Theatre
11:00 am | $10

MEZZO

Director: Nicole Opper / 2016 / USA / 14 min.
Celebrate the life and artistic endeavors of Breanna Sinclaire,
an African American opera singer and openly transgender
woman.

LADY OF THE NIGHT

Director: Laurent Boileau / 2014 / France / 10 min.
Commemorating the death of his lost love, Samuel seeks
refuge in his night life and becomes a Queen of the Night.

TRANSCENDENT SHORTS

RYANS

Director: Natalie Heltzel & Rain Valdez / 2016 / USA / 17 min.
A transgender woman goes on a blind date with a man, but
lingering similarities with an ex gets in the way.

A WIG AND A PRAYER: THE PEACHES CHRIST STORY

Director: Jeff Schlags / 2015 / USA / 19 min.
A Wig and a Prayer chronicles the story of Peaches Christ,
the legendary San Francisco drag queen, from her early
beginnings in raucous variety shows to the lauded success of
her Midnight Mass pre-movie experience.

HE WHO HAS TWO SOULS (CELUI QUI A DEUX ÂMES)

Director: Fabrice Luang-Vija / 2015 / France / 17 min.
They called him “He who has two souls.” He was beautiful like
a woman, and he was handsome like a man. He hesitated…
In French with English subtitles.

TEAR JERKER

Director: Amy Adler / 2016 / USA / 15 min.
A portrait of a transgender guy faced with difficult life
circumstances trying to find new ways to express old and
familiar feelings.

32 #REELPRIDE27

S ViSTA Theatre
12:00 pm | $10

RETAKE

Director: Nick Corporon / 2016 / USA / 98 min.
Jonathan, a lonely middle-aged man, travels to San Francisco to find a young male
companion. He quickly connects with a prostitute who he hires to accompany him on a road trip the
Grand Canyon. En route, the prostitute comes to realize that he’s playing a vital role in the recreation
of Jonathan’s lovelorn past.
As the young man digs for clues, Jonathan insists that he stick to the role he was hired to for.
Slowly, the prostitute begins to piece together the identity of the person he’s playing. Eager to leave
his own past behind and feeling a strange connection with his odd client, he sheds his own identity
and plays the part. As the two get closer to the destination, their affection grows and an authentic
relationship tries to break through.

#REELPRIDE27 33

S Tower Theatre
1:15 pm | $10

ONE LAST NIGHT

Director: Kerem Blumberg / 2015 / Isreal / 22 min.
It’s Noa and Orr’s last night together in Tel Aviv before Orr leaves for
Berlin. After getting arrested outside a punk gig, Noa will have to make a
final decision about their relationship. In Hebrew with English subtitles.

STAY HERE

Director: Lauren Schacher / 2016 / USA / 10 min.
A woman and her wife check in for a secluded romantic
getaway only to be haunted by the one who pulled them apart.

FUN IN GIRLS SHORTS

SPRUNKLE

Director: Lisa Donato / 2016 / USA / 11 min.
A brother contemplates fatherhood when his older sister and
her free-spirited wife ask him to be their sperm donor.

B.

Director: Kai Stänicke / 2016 / Germany / 15 min.
Torn between a cold relationship with K. and her feelings for
another woman, shy and insecure B. is heading for a disaster.
For too long she has suppressed her desire and lived a lie. But
is it really too late for B. to follow her heart?

VAMANOS

Director: Marvin Lemus / 2016 / USA / 12 min.
Hope struggles with grief after Mac, her butch girlfriend,
passes away and must must overcome homophobic hostilities
from her dead girlfriend’s family in order to respectfully send
Mac off into the afterlife in the way she would’ve wanted.

WEDLOCKED

Director: Puppett / 2015 / USA / 12 min.
Not one to be held back by unfair legislation, Sydney
outsmarts the web of laws keeping her tied down and unable
to get divorced.

34 #REELPRIDE27

S ViSTA Theatre
2:15 pm | $10

WEEKENDS

Director: Lee Dong-Ha / 2016 / Korea / 98 min.
In Korean with English subtitles.

G-Voice is the one and only gay men’s choir in South Korea. They are all amateurs, but their
passion has led to their 10th anniversary concert.
With their big concert only a few days away, they are invited to perform at the very first gay
wedding in Korea, only to be assaulted by a homophobic group. However, “give up” is not in their
vocabulary. G-Voice continues singing for equality and against all kinds of discrimination. Will
G-Voice’s 10th anniversary concert succeed?

#REELPRIDE27 35

2016 REEL PRIDE MEMBERSHIP

2016 Board of Directors Producers’ Circle

Kathleen Arambula-Reyna, Brian Carnes
Festival Director / Board President Jim Daggs
Peter Robertson, Co-Founder & Endowment
Augie G. Blancas, Vice President & Communications Directors’ Club Platinum
Michael Reyna, Vice President & Sponsorships
Brian Carnes, Treasurer Felix Wang & Wayne Chitwood
Haley White, Programming Harald Haneborg
Annalisa Perea, Programming Julia Howell
Chris Dodd, Memberships
Tiana Perez, Volunteers Peyton Bryars & Richard Jennings

Emeritus Members Directors’ Club Gold

Festival Directors Emeriti: Carmen Arambula-Reyna
Jon Carroll Herb Peterson & Carl Hernandez
Kenneth Fries Kevin Michael & Michael Craghead
Dave Houck
Jera Peterson Lee Danker
Peter Robertson Rick Spurlock & Greg Giroux
Jeff Robinson Warren Rost & Jess Esquivel

Directors’ Club
Bernice Miessner
Directors Emeritae: Bill & Lydia Simon Kathy Weston & Debra Harding
Jen Bracy Daniel Ruiz Kelly Kirk & MaryAnn De La Riva
Daryle Maddock Danny Goldstein
Ron Wilson Dawn & Elena Diestelkamp Linda Alvarado
Co-Founders: Deborah Riffle & Kathy Davidson Linda Knight
Kenneth Fries Della Green Campbell
Peter Robertson Erik & Amanda Peterson Matthew H. Wilson
Jamie Richardson & Sheryl Felling Melissa Jordine & Michelle DenBeste
Joe Erickson
Robert Hoffman
Robin Sischo

Ronald Avedisian & Gary Mykins
Samuel Nuñez & Matthew Schwartz

Thank you to our Festival Pass Holders
Presenting Partner Dennis Conner
Dorothy Partida
THE Jefferson Beavers
Jennifer English
Jera Peterson
Jim Cardella
Kristen Beastley
Laurie Young & Kathy Koch
Lisa Lindsay & Amanda Sayers
Michael Rivera
Michael Swain
Nathan Gomez
Penny Steele
Sherri Valenti
Tom White
Thad Mummert
Toni Onkka

Festival Sponsors SPONSORS & VOLUNTEERS

Absolut Vodka President’s Host Acknowledgements &
American Ambulance Committee Special Thanks
Arctic Glacier USA
AT&T The Painted Table / Rod & Jeromie Hansen
Bobby Salazar’s Jessica Rodriguez The Tower Theatre / Lawrence Abbate and
Susan Neville
Boos & Associates ViSTA Theatre
Bradley Rutledge - A/V Equipment by Expo Audio Visual
Guarantee Real Estate Programming Fresno Filmworks
Bulldog Pride Fund Dumont Printing / Gayle Takajian-Gilbert
The California Endowment - Venue Managers: JP Marketing / Art Reker
Fresno Building Healthy Communities John Beynon Reel Pride “Stinger” / The Diva X and
Centro La Familia Advocacy Services John Jordan Upstage Fresno
Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino Tower District Marketing / Bill Kuebler
Cindy’s Frozen Yogurt and Desserts Tehnical Directors: G-Free Foodie / KC Pomering
CSAA / AAA Travel Russell Leavitt Beauty Boutique
DJ Binx – Bianca Lopez Derrick Spiva Brenda Allison
Kimberly Bedrosian Photography
DJ Smack Jilly - Stefan Ramirez Volunteers & Host Expo Party Rental
Donaghy Sales Diana Gomez
Dr. Carole Goldsmith Henry Perea
Dumont Printing Committee Posh & Posy
Gazebo Gardens Macy’s / Lee Danker
Engelmann Cellars Alex Holguin Coca-Cola
Andrew Losh Chase Flower Shop / Michael Chase
FAB Fresno Giselle O’Ell Enlightenment: The Right Hand Path
Fresno Art Museum Isabel Orduño Photography
Fresno City Councilmember Jennifer Berg Disneyland Resort
Jesus Sepulveda A very special thank you to the businesses,
Esmeralda Soria Kate White restaurants and individuals who contributed
Fresno County Supervisor Henry Perea Lisa & Elena Silva to this year’s silent auction and festival.
Fresno Filmworks Patricia DeLeon
Fresno Music Academy and Arts Cultural Arts Partners
Robert Griffin
Fresno State College of Social Sciences Suliana Juarez
Fresno State Rainbow Alumni and Tori Domena
Allies Club
Gay Central Valley Venus DeCarlo

Gazebo Gardens
Hedrick’s Chevrolet
Jack Daniel’s
JP Marketing Media Sponsors
Kaiser Permanente
Livingstone’s
Mia Cuppa Caffé
Netricks, Inc.
New Amsterdam Vodka
The Painted Table
Pepsi Co. - Equal
PFLAG - Fresno Chapter
PG&E
Piccadilly Inn Shaw
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte
Positive Life
Queen’s Inn / Idle Hour Winery
Richie’s Pizza & Hot Dogs
Sequoia Brewing Company
Starbucks Coffee
Stella Artois
The Source LGBT+ Center
Tom DeBey – Landmark Properties
ViSTA Theatre
Wells Fargo
Wesley United Methodist Church
The Xotica Show

S Mia Cuppa Caffé
2:30 pm | $10

CRYSTAL LAKE SWIRL UNDER THE RAINBOW

Dir: Jennifer Reeder / 2016 / USA / 20 min. Dir: Lance McDaniel / 2016 / USA / 6 min. Dir: Trish Garner / 2014 / Canada / 12 min.
A group of girls take over a skate park, The story of a boy’s first crush told through After being thrown out of her home,
forming an all-female force field on the half dance, exploring the journey your mind Shawnee finds herself couch-surfing with
pipe. takes the first time you touch someone you strangers and living a life of daily insecurity
love. and vulnerability.

DISCOVERIES: YOUTH SHORTS

FILIP

Director: Nathalie Álvarez Mesén / 2016 / Sweden / 11 min.
When 7-year-old Filip witnesses something unexpected, he is
forced to confront his feelings of admiration towards his older
brother, Sebastian. (In Swedish with English subtitles.)

PRONOUNS

Director: Mike Paulucci / 2015 / USA / 9 min.
A teenager from the South Side of Chicago decides to reveal
their true identity during a spoken word performance only to
be interrupted by an uninvited guest.

A SONG FOR YOUR MIXTAPE

Director: Brandon Zuck / 2016 / USA / 7 min.

A young outcast deals with the loss of his friend.

WHITTIER BLVD.

Director: Michael Patrick Spillers / 2015 / USA / 17 min.
A rock ‘n roll fable about André, a transgender teen runaway
who falls in love with a rockabilly princess on the streets of East
Los Angeles.

38 #REELPRIDE27



S Tower Theatre
3:10 pm | $10

1985

Director: Yen Tan / 2016 / USA / 9 min.
A dying man prepares to move in with his estranged mother.
He makes an appointment with a beauty consultant to hide
his symptoms.

ALZHEIMER’S: A LOVE STORY

Director: Gabe Schimmel & Monica Petruzzelli
2016 / USA / 16 min.
Greg and Michael as they struggle with a disease eradicating
the memory of their relationship 40+ years in the making.

FUN IN BOYS SHORTS

CHANCE

Director: Jake Graf / 2015 / UK / 17 min.
Trevor’s life has become a void, following the passing of his wife
and long term companion, A chance encounter in the park with
a mysterious stranger equally troubled by his own past jarringly
reawakens him, and forces both men to once again start to live.

SIGN

Director: Andrew Keenan-Bolger / 2016 / USA / 15 min.
Through silent vignettes, music, and sign language, Sign tells
the story of a relationship between Ben, a hearing man, and
Aaron, who is deaf.

PICK UP

Director: Joshua Alan Rogers / 2015 / USA / 20 min.
Jesse is a driver for Pick Up, a ride-sharing service in Los Angeles,
who’s been falling for a handsome regular passenger until the secret he
shares threatens to steer them both off course.

ZEBRA

Director: Paul Detwiler / 2015 / USA / 6 min.
An erotic poem exploring the multidimensional nature of male
erotic attraction.

40 #REELPRIDE27

S ViSTA Theatre
4:30 pm | $10

BRUISNG FOR BESOS

Writer & Director: Adelina Anthony / 2016 / USA / 89 min.
This film contains depictions of domestic violence and trauma.

Yoli is a charismatic and complicated Xicana lesbian making family in a Queer and Trans
People Of Color (QTPOC) suburban Los Angeles scene. She’s an artist at heart, and along with her
best friend, Rani, makes do with a mundane job. One night she pursues, Daña, an alluring Puerto
Rican woman. This romance upends the seeming calmness of her life as Yoli soon finds herself
recreating a tumultuous past.

#REELPRIDE27 41

S Mia Cuppa Caffé
5:00 pm | $10

FORBIDDEN: UNDOCUMENTED
AND QUEER IN RURAL AMERICA

Director: Tiffany Rhynard / 2016 / USA / 83 min.
If you are an undocumented Queer immigrant living in the United States amidst this turbulent
political climate, you are not safe and your future is at risk. When Moises Serrano was just a baby,
his parents risked everything to flee Mexico and make the perilous journey across the desert in
search of the American dream. After 23 years growing up in the rural south, where he is forbidden to
live and love, Moises sees only one option — to fight for justice.
Forbidden is a feature length documentary about an inspiring young man whose story is
exceptional, although not unique. Moises is like the thousands of young people growing up in the
United States with steadfast dreams but facing overwhelming obstacles. The film chronicles Moises’
work as an activist traveling across his home state of North Carolina as a voice for his community, all
while trying to forge a path for his own future.

42 #REELPRIDE27

S Tower Theatre
5:15 pm | $10

CENTERPIECE
SCREENING

UPSTAIRS INFERNO

Writer & Director: Robert L. Camina / 2015 / USA / 96 min.

On June 24, 1973, an arsonist set fire to the Up Stairs Lounge, a gay bar located on the edge
of the French Quarter in New Orleans. For 43 years, it was the deadliest single event to affect the
gay community in U.S. history. Despite the staggering historical significance, few people know
about the tragedy. Thirty-two people were killed and some bodies were never identified. One-third of
the New Orleans chapter of the Metropolitan Community Church were killed in the blaze, including
two clergy. The primary suspect was never charged with the crime. The tragedy did not stop at the
loss of lives. There were also the delayed injuries: lost jobs, fear, public ridicule and severed families.
The devastation was compounded by the homophobic reactions and utter lack of concern by the
general public, government and religious leaders. The fire permanently altered lives and was the root
of many lifelong struggles.
Featuring interviews from survivors, witnesses and friends/families of victims, Upstairs Inferno
is the most comprehensive and authoritative film about the fire and its aftermath. However, Upstairs
Inferno isn’t simply a stagnant exposition of facts. it brings humanity to the headlines by shining a
light on the very painful effect the tragedy had on the people left behind.

#REELPRIDE27 43

Diamonds After Dark

hosted by Leslie Davis
weeknights 7pm–midnight

YOUR MUSIC DISCOVERY STATION

#onestep The 27th Annual
Fresno Rainbow Pride

Parade & Festival

Join The Movement

June 3 2017

/rainbowpridefresno

/fresno_rainbow_pride
www.fresnorainbowpride.com

S ViSTA Theatre
6:40 pm | $10

WOMEN WHO KILL

Writer & Director: Ingrid Jungermann / 2016 / USA / 93 min.
Commitment phobic Morgan and her ex-girlfriend Jean are locally famous true crime
podcasters obsessed with female serial killers. There’s a chance they may still have feelings for each
other, but co-dependence takes a back seat when Morgan meets the mysterious Simone during
her Food Coop shift. Blinded by infatuation, Morgan quickly signs up for the relationship, ignoring
warnings from friends that her new love interest is practically a stranger.
When Jean shows Morgan proof that Simone may not be who she says she is, Morgan
accuses Jean of trying to ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to her. But as she and Simone
move into commitment territory, Morgan starts to notice red flags—maybe Jean was right and
Simone isn’t as perfect as Morgan’s made her out to be.
Morgan and Jean investigate Simone as if she were a subject of their podcast, they uncover
disturbing clues - a death at the Food Coop, a missing friend, a murder weapon - leading them to
suspect her not only of mystery, but of murder. In the end, Morgan has to examine all the evidence in
front of her. Is she just afraid of what it means to be in a relationship or is her life actually in danger?

46 #REELPRIDE27

S Tower Theatre
7:30 pm | $10

WOMEN’S
CENTERPIECE FILM

SUICIDE KALE

Director: Carly Usdin / 2016 / USA / 75 min.
Making its rounds on the U.S. film festival circuit, Suicide Kale has garnered attention for
its vividly rendered, dark-comedy take on relationship troubles between women and the difficult
conversations about mental health that happen in between bites of crisp kale at a seemingly perfect
lunch party.
We all know Jasmine (Brittani Nichols) and Penn (Lindsay Hicks), the newly “one-month
official” couple giddy in the throes of young love, and their counterparts Billie (Jasika Nicole)
and Jordan (Brianna Baker), the five-years-married couple who throws cute salad parties in their
adorable house.
But when Penny finds an anonymous suicide note, it challenges everything that the couples
thought they knew about each other’s relationships into doubt. (Borrowed from KitschMix.com)

#REELPRIDE27 47

S Mia Cuppa Caffé
7:45 pm | FREE

THE BIRDCAGE: 20th ANNIVERSARY

Director: Mike Nichols / 1996 / USA / 117 min.
Armand Goldman (Robin Williams) owns a popular drag nightclub in South Miami Beach. His
long-time lover, Albert (Nathan Lane), stars there as Starina. Their son Val - Armand’s by his one
heterosexual fling, 20 years before - comes home to announce his engagement to Barbara Keeley,
daughter of Kevin Keeley, U.S. Senator, and co-founder of the Committee for Moral Order. The
Senator and family descend upon South Beach to meet Val, his father and “mother.” What ensues is
comic chaos.

48 #REELPRIDE27

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AAA Travel’s Vacation Specialists are committed to serving your interests and can plan lesbian- and gay-friendly vacations and trips with family

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Visit your AAA Fresno office, 5040 N. Forkner Ave., (559) 435-8450.
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equality

Diversity drives innovative solutions. Because
ideas are better when everyone works together.
That’s why we’re pleased to support the 27th
Annual Fresno Reel Pride Gay and Lesbian Film
Festival. AT&T is proud to be named one of
the “Best Places to Work” by the Human Rights
Campaign (HRC) for the 12th consecutive year,
receiving a perfect score from 2004-2016
on the Corporate Equality Index for its fair
treatment of LGBT employees.

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