A Queer Film Festival In The Middle of Appalachia? Yes, Please.

[theHandpuppet]

http://blogs.indiewire.com/bent/a-queer-film-festival-in-the-middle-of-appalachia-yes-please-20141028
A Queer Film Festival In The Middle of Appalachia? Yes, Please.
By Valentina I. Valentini for Bent
October 28, 2014

"Our Agenda Is Equality"

My expectations for traveling to Lewisburg, West Virginia for the first-ever Appalachian Queer Film Festival were mixed. Mostly, I kept my expectations in check, though, and kept my eye on the prize – when else would I get to check out queer art in a rural town of 3,800 in the middle of Appalachia?

If we’re lucky, next year would be the answer. Although they didn’t boast huge attendance numbers (what first-year fests do?), something incredibly special happened this past weekend, on the heels of West Virginia becoming one of now 32 states to allow same-sex marriage: "We found out that we are a place where the words Appalachian and Queer can exist in the same sentence without consequence," says festival founder and WV-native Tim Ward. "Not only is it important to give LGBTQ West Virginians a space to see themselves in film, but also to show the world that our state and our people are no different than anywhere else."...

..."Outside of the state, we hope people take away that there is a thriving arts community and a thriving queer community here," says Ward as we meander along back roads to find my rental car. "Is there pushback at all? Yes. Are we any different from any other state? No. That’s the gist of what we’re trying to say. You don’t have to search far and wide for tolerance and acceptance. We are putting on a festival with the words 'Appalachia' and 'Queer' in the title. We’ve had articles written about us on the statewide level and some of them have included comments that were not very nice, but I think that would happen in any rural part of New York or even California. That’s not what makes us unique. What does make us unique is that we have been received far more generously then anyone on the planning committee could have anticipated, both from outside of the state and inside. Just the fact that we got the kind of financial support that we did is proof of that, and the attention we’ve gotten in the local media as well."

"Patriarchy insists that there are specific duties in gender roles and our society is very much into the honor-shame system," admits Reverend and mother of a gay son, Shauna Hyde, during the panel "Raising an LGBTQ Kid in Appalachia." "Either honor our families by being what they want or shame them. It’s used – like religion – as another weapon. I, as a clergywoman, am set up on a pedestal and have the privilege of my voice being heard even if they don’t agree with my voice, but it’s always a struggle. There are a lot of scripture that lend themselves to talking about (being LGBTQ) – where Philip meets the Eunuch, for one [New Testament, Acts 8:26-40]. It’s what’s 'wrong' with American churches today. Somewhere along the way, religion became a social club of do-gooders and people that had the right to judge other people. I am told that I’m too socially justice oriented, but I’m not the one who’s on the fringes of Christianity. Most Christians in my experience cannot really explain their faith nor the things they don’t have answers for in their faith, so they just get mad. When you have a limited knowledge base it can become a brick wall. What happens if you take out a brick? Everything falls. First, we have to make them not afraid."....

For more information on the Appalachian Queer Film Festival, visit their website at http://aqff.org/