community FRANCESKA FROM CINEGAY
A FILM FESTIVAL FOR ALL
by chris carpenter TO SOMOS! The San Diego Latino Film Festival is celebrating its
25th year in 2018, no small achievement. From its scrappy beginnings as a showcase for short films by Chicano students, it has grown to encompass 11 days, nearly 200 movies and more than 20,000 attendees. This year’s event will runThursday, March 15 through Sunday, March 25 at the AMC Fashion Valley and Digital Gym Cinema. Films to be screened hail from various parts of the world including Mexico, the United States, Brazil, Spain and Latin America. After parties, filmmaker workshops and guest celebrities from the hottest TV shows and feature films are additional enticements. In 2005, the festival added a special showcase dedicated to LGBTQ stories. Dubbed CineGay for the last 13 years, it is receiving a new title this year. “We are adjusting the name this year to Somos, the Spanish word meaning all or everyone,” explained Moises Esparza, the festival’s Programming Manager. “We are doing so based on audience feedback to make (the showcase) more inclusive.” As in year’s past, the films to be shown are thought- provoking, incisive and unflinching in their portrayal of the modern-day LGBTQ experience. The documentaries will highlight the struggles individuals face when they strike against systems of oppression, while the narrative features provide examinations of the complex nature between sexuality and gender, reality and fantasy, as well as actions and their consequences.
10 RAGE monthly | MARCH 2018 Somos! Film Showcase (note
Our goal is to celebrate emerging Latino talent.
But we’ve learned we have to evolve and reach as large an audience as possible.”
the official, emphatic exclama- tion point) is one small part of the festival’s purpose. “Our goal is to celebrate emerging Latino talent,” Esparza said during a recent phone interview. “But we’ve learned we have to evolve and reach as large an audience as possible.” Naturally, this includes San Diego’s LGBTQ community. Esparza
has worked with the fest
for five years now. He reflected on the festival’s 25
historic years. “It has grown into a more inclusive and developed film festival, with both U.S. feature films and international films recognized. We haven’t forgotten our roots, though, so student films are still included.” The well-attended event also now includes an international beer, wine and food festival.
Drag superstar Franceska (aka Franko Guillen) is a ubiquitous presence in San Diego’s LGBTQ community. He also helped launch the Latino Film Festival’s CineGay showcase 13 years ago. I recently spoke with him via phone about this year’s event and his overall community involvement.
FABU LOSA!
Thanks for taking time to speak with me! How are you? Oh, mi hijo, I’m at work at HIV Services...I’m
a multi-tasker, Aye! When you’re 27 such as myself, you really need a sugar daddy. 27?
Actually, I just turned 64. (Laughs) You
know, I need to get one thing out of the way: If there is one thing I embrace and love, it is the culture I came from. Even though I grew up in the United States and assimilated, I love my Latino culture. Tell us about your longtime involvement with CineGay/Somos! I am CineGay! (Laughs) I founded it 13
years ago and serve as mistress of ceremonies and I intro the films in drag and am at all the parties and events. When we first talked about starting CineGay, there was a lot of fighting, a lot of doubts. There was a lot of concern the festival would lose sponsors, but it all worked out. You know, the heterosexual community has attended and supported CineGay more than the gay community. It’s about 60 percent heterosexual, so I thank the heterosexuals and everyone from the bottom of my heart for making it a success. But, I am just one piece of the whole team putting together the event. What has your experience as a Latino gay man and drag performer been like? When it comes to Latino gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender and queer—or whatever they are calling themselves today—lots of
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