(Always) Too little time

There's so much I want to write about, but so little time (right now and ever) to do so. But, I still want to try. I've put these images here as place holders, something that I can come back to and comment on.


In the attempt to actually enjoy some of the perks of living in such close proximity to Washington DC, I decided that this year I wouldn't just look through the Reel Affirmations film festival program schedule, but that I would make it out to as many films as I could. I think I ended up sitting through 11 hours of films over four days.

Let me start by saying that I admire any queer filmmaker, and that I'm thankful that there are folks out there working on so many different projects that cover so many different aspects of our queer communities. One feature-length film that I do have to rave about here, though, is Lisset Barcellos' Both.

From Reel Affirmations's website:
Charismatic and beautiful, Rebecca Duarte seems to have it all—an exciting job as a stuntwoman, good friends, and both male and female lovers. However, she has always felt uneasy in her own skin, frustrated with her body and her sexual relationships. When a photo album arrives from Peru full of pictures of her parents and her deceased baby brother, Rebecca attempts to unravel her past and confront her true identity. Her exploration leads her to challenge how she perceives sexuality, gender, and family. Based on the experiences of the filmmaker, this raw, groundbreaking drama confronts bisexuality, gender identity and intersex issues head-on like no movie before. Dir. Lisset Barcellos, 2005, US/Peru, video, 86 minutes. Predominantly in English, but contains some sections of Spanish with English subtitles.

This film touched me on so many emotional and intellectual levels. There wasn't one thing about it I didn't like. As a non-intersex person who teaches about intersex issues, I thought the film did a good job of making crucial points in a cinematic, narrative way without being didactic or orientalistic. As a person who grew up in a bilingual household, the use/mix of English and Spanish, especially between generations, added to the emotional intensity of important scenes. And as a film festival movie-goer, it reminded me of the importance of independent arts.




One thing I did love about being out east was watching the leaves change colors. Having grown up in California, I didn't have a sense of seasons until I moved to Virginia. I used to love those moments, riding metro, when we'd be above ground, making our way past groves of trees, with their leaves of red, yellow, and orange. I used to pick out a favorite tree, whose bright and brilliant colors fed my evergreen eyes. This year though, I went away to Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada for the International Drag King Extravaganza (IDKE.7) and when I returned, the leaves had gone from green on the trees to garbage on the streets, wet and without shine. I tried, still, to find a leaf I could like...but it certianly wasn't like past autumns.




Ahh...this Gay Asian sticker I picked up at NGLTF's Creating Change conference. More on that in a later, separte post (hopefully).



Lastly, but not least, this Pot of Gold came from one of my former Women's Studies students. She was so sweet to leave it, and a nice note in my departmental mailbox, just when I was needed a little reminder of how much I love teaching.