By
Angela Orlando
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Community, university sponsors provide support for film fest
Entering its ninth year, the Lesbian Looks Film and Video Series commences Saturday.
This year, international works will enhance the diversity of the short cinematic pieces. Four screenings, each with slightly different themes, will run. On opening night, 10 alternative films will play, four of which originate from countries other than the United States.
"We have productions from Canada, Germany, Norway and the Netherlands this year," said UA media arts professor Beverly Seckinger, founding director of the series.
The second screening's feature is "Johnny Greyeyes," a full-length American film which premiered at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival.
Traditionally, the series shows lower-budget, independent films.
"Most of these are videos, or 16 mm films," Seckinger said.
The third screening will feature "Youth Outloud," a documentary depicting youth activism in public schools. "Out at Work" will play during the last screening. This is an award-winning documentary about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered workplace rights.
The Committee on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Studies annually organizes the series, and a variety of entities support and fund it.
This year's community sponsor is the Amazon Foundation, an organization which "strives to improve the lives of women and girls in southern Arizona," said Shannon Cain, executive director of the foundation.
"Lesbians are an oppressed population and a disenfranchised group. Film and video are excellent tools for visibility," Cain said. "Visibility is the first step to awareness, and after awareness comes acceptance, then inclusion and after inclusion, everything opens up."
Campus-originated support comes from the departments of media arts, English, anthropology, women's studies, German studies, the Library Diversity Council, the dean of libraries and the University Teaching Center/Audio Video Equipment Services.
"Most of these groups contributed relatively small dollar amounts to help keep the festival free," Seckinger said.
"We're donating the usage of most of the equipment for the film showings," said Ron Landis, supervisor of equipment services at the University Teaching Center. "We want to help the community recognize the diversity at the university," he said.
"This festival fills a niche not otherwise filled in Tucson," Seckinger said about the festival being free.
