Hoping to both quash stereotypes and introduce the public to the pulse and talent of local queer artists, the Appalachian Queer Film Festival is set to premiere Wednesday, Oct. 23 and conclude three days later. The event, which will be hosted in the self-described artistic colony of Lewisburg, W. Va., will screen 12 films of varying narrative forms along with panel discussions and a dance party on Saturday night.
The festival is the byproduct of two men, Tim Ward and John Matthews, who shared a dream of introducing the region to the culture of the LGBTQ experience, a culture that has a surprising amount in common with that of Appalachia. Ward, a native of Huntington, W. Va., recalls how the experiences of his youth helped shape the narrative that would propel him to this moment in time. “As a gay kid from Huntington, I never had the opportunity to see myself reflected on screen,” Ward said. “That’s why starting this film festival was important to me. I wanted to give folks like myself the chance to see people just like them on screen without having to drive out of state.”
Matthews, an Alum Creek-native, filmmaker and former civil rights litigator, met Ward through his work on a PSA for Fairness West Virginia. Matthews credits connections with NYU’s graduate film school and making the film festival rounds with his documentary, Surviving Cliffside, for building the network necessary to draw other filmmakers to the Lewisburg event. As a result, films that premiered at Sundance Film Festival, South by Southwest Film Festival and Outfest will screen at the inaugural event. “We want to bring in LGBTQ filmmakers, from across the nation, and show them that there are cool, progressive, queer artists and activists living in Appalachia. We want to show that, even though our state may go red in the presidential elections, we have a lot of open-minded people here, regardless of political affiliation, that have open minds and love great films,” Ward explains. (In 38 presidential elections since its founding in 1863, West Virginia has voted Republican 18 times and Democratic 20 times.)
The schedule for the festival includes Skeleton Twins which features Saturday Night Live alumni Bill Hader (“Stefon”) and Kristin Wiig (Dooneese Maharelle, the deformed singing sister on The Lawrence Welk Show) and To Be Takei, a documentary about the 77-year-old former cast member of the original Star Trek television show who has become an international icon for the LGBTQ community.
“We are really excited and lucky. We are the only ones that are bringing in films here in the Appalachian area from Sundance,” said Matthews. “It will be their West Virginia premiere for a lot of these films. It will cast a positive spotlight on West Virginia and LGBT community.”
Sadly, DowntownLewisburg.com, the official Web site for the merchants of this small community, makes no mention of the Appalachian Queer Film Festival.
For info, tickets and a schedule of films, go to www.aqff.org.
