4


GAY SAN DIEGO August 12–25, 2011


NEWS FROM PAGE 2


FESTIVAL among others.”


Gay San Diego talked to ac- tors, writers and producers of three of this year’s FilmOut fea- tures:


actress Dreya Weber of


“A Marine Story” which outs the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy; producer Regina Reinhardt discussing “Bisexual Revolution,” a documentary; and brothers Gary and Larry Lane from Nashville who co-wrote and lensed “Hollywood to Dol- lywood,” about a cross-country road trip


of gay self-discovery


from L.A. to Tennessee. Weber said the motivation be- hind “A Marine Story” was origi- nally a response to real-life trans- lators in Arabia getting kicked out of the military for being gay in 2006.


“The idea was that you could be


more afraid of gay and lesbian ser- vicemembers than of another ter- rorist attack, the absurdity of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy which is gone now,” she said of the film, which took four years to make. Weber said it was feared Presi- dent Obama’s overturning of the controversial policy toward gays in the military might undermine the film, but added its message about the enduring double-stan- dard which prompted the policy underscores its timeless value. “The film shows the ripple ef- fects of the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ pol-


Identical twins (l)Larry Lane and (r) Gary Lane with Dolly Parton, “Hollywood to Dollywood” screens at this year’s FilmOut, San Diego. (Courtesy Gary Lane)


icy,” said Weber, who plays “Alex- andra,” a Marine major in the film expelled from the military for be- ing gay who returns to her Mojave Desert hometown. Weber noted some of the current Marine com- mand remains opposed to over- turning the anti-gay policy which she described as “a civil right.” “All those who believed this kind of discriminatory policy was OK, now those minds have to be shifted,” she said revealing her ultimate wish for how far-reaching the film’s message can be. The Lanes’ film “Hollywood to Dollywood,” is described by


them as a coming-out journey of song and dance along the yellow brick road of Interstate 40. The film documents their trip in an RV named “Jolene” to hand their cul- tural hero, country-western star Dolly Parton, a screenplay called “Full Circle” on the 25th anniver- sary of creation of her Dollywood theme town. “It was all tied around Dolly,”


said Gary Lane about the film’s in- spiration. “Our earliest memories of her were how well she always treated her gay fans, her accep- tance and tolerance, how she’s al- ways believed everybody is born as they are.”


A lot of material in the film was


drawn from the Lanes’ deep-root- ed experience growing up in the homophobic South. “We hope the message of our


movie reaches gay youth around the world,” said Lane. “With Dol- ly’s support we are planning to open doors in search of a more tol- erant world and letting everybody know it does get better.” A bisexual activist who started


a nonprofit research institution on the subject, Reinhardt was first approached in 2008 by other like-minded individuals to do an in-depth film exploration of sexuality.


bi-


“The movie is a documentary about bisexuality and has many famous bisexuality experts being interviewed, as well as famous actors in France and singers in America,” she said. “The movie is meant to educate people about this sexual orientation.” The crux of the movie’s mes- sage, said Reinhardt, is that bisex- uality is not a transitory relation- ship between heterosexuality and homosexuality but a viable sexual orientation in its own right. McQuiggan of FilmOut im-


plores people to come out and watch the festival’s films. “Our demographic reaches to all ages, sexual preferences, in- come ranges and ethnicities,” he said, noting since FilmOut began monthly screenings almost two years ago with cult films that ap- peal to everybody, “our audience has grown to include more stu- dents and heterosexual audience members—which is great be- cause you dont need to be LGBT to enjoy the selections at our film festival this year. There is some- thing for everybody.”


The historic, 735-seat Birch


North Park Theatre is at 2891 University Ave. For more infor- mation about the film festival or showtimes, ego.com.t


visit filmoutsandi-


gay-sd.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24