The Houston Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (HGLFF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the media arts as a powerful tool for communication and cooperation among diverse communities by presenting films, videos, and programs by, about, or of interest to the LGBT

LGBT

LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...

 (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) community.

History of the Houston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

Organizations closely associated with movies helped garnish the first HGLFF in 1997. The HGLFF does not use a curator; instead, each venue books its own films from submissions and projects they pursue independently. An advisory board facilitates organization of the films and events – an undertaking that begins almost a year in advance. Striving to make the Festival accessible to the entire population of the greater Houston area, the two-week festival has screenings at Landmark Theatres

Landmark Theatres

Landmark Theatres is the largest art house movie theater chain in the United States. It is owned by Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner through their 2929 Entertainment. The chain shows mostly first run independent, foreign film, and restored classics though some Landmark theaters also show more mainstream...

, Angelika Film Center, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston , located in Houston, is one of the largest museums in the United States. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 6,000 years of history with more than 62,000 works from six continents....

, Rice Cinema (at Rice University

Rice University

William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...

), DiverseWorks Art Space, and Aurora Picture Show.

The Festival was co-founded by Loris Bradley (formerly of DiverseWorks), Sarah Gish (formerly of Landmark Theatres) and Marian Luntz (still with the Museum of Fine Arts).

Outreach and educational programming

In addition to showing feature films, documentaries, and short videos, the Festival hosts a series of panel discussions, public forums, and other special events in conjunction with screenings to examine such topics as hate crimes; the Media's Influence on Homosexual Perception; and the unique way in which Houston’s gay and lesbian community has developed over the last few decades.

Board of directors

2005 9th Annual Houston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Board of Directors:
Margaret Zigman, President; Ernie Manouse

Ernie Manouse

Ernie Manouse is an American television host, radio personality, writer and producer. He currently hosts the interview show InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse, produced by HoustonPBS...

, Vice President, PR/Marketing; Stephanie Atwood, Treasurer; D.L. Murphy, Festival Administrator/Secretary; Sixto Wagan, Programming Committee Chair; Ray Ramirez, PR/Marketing Committee Chair; Blasé DeStefano, at-large member

Past screenings

TransGeneration

TransGeneration

TransGeneration is an eight episode documentary series depicting the lives of four transgender college students during the 2004/2005 school year as they attempt to balance college, their social lives, and their struggle to merge their internal and external selves while gender transitioning.Two of...

 (2005)
Director: Jeremy Simmons

D.E.B.S.

D.E.B.S. (2003 film)

D.E.B.S. is a 2003 action/comedy independent short film written and directed by Angela Robinson. D.E.B.S. made the film festival circuit including the Sundance Film Festival, L.A. Outfest and New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, receiving a total of seven film festival awards.D.E.B.S. is both a...

 (2004)
Director: Angela Robinson

Angela Robinson

Angela Robinson is an American film and television director, screenwriter and producer.-Early life:Robinson was born in San Francisco, California and later grew up in Los Angeles. Robinson completed a B.A...

Garcon stupide

Garçon stupide

Garçon stupide is a 2004 film directed by Lionel Baier.-Main cast:*Pierre Chatagny – Loïc*Natacha Koutchoumov – Marie*Rui Pedro Alves – Rui*Lionel Baier – Lionel...

 (2004)
Director: Lionel Baier

Pink Flamingos

Pink Flamingos

Pink Flamingos is a 1972 transgressive black comedy film written, produced, composed, shot, edited, and directed by John Waters. When the film was initially released, it caused a huge degree of controversy and thus became one of the most notorious cult films ever made. It made an underground star...

 (1972)
Director: John Waters

John Waters (filmmaker)

John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...

Gypsy 83

Gypsy 83

Gypsy 83 is a 2001 drama film, written and directed by Todd Stephens, about two young goths, Gypsy and Clive, who travel to New York for an annual festival celebrating their idol, Stevie Nicks.-Plot:...

 (2001)
Director: Todd Stephens

Lan Yu

Lan Yu

Lan Yu is a gay-themed Hong Kong-Chinese film by Hong Kong director Stanley Kwan in 2001.-Background:The movie is based on a novel published anonymously on the Internet in 1998...

 (2001)
Director: Stanley Kwan

Stanley Kwan

Stanley Kwan is a Hong Kong Second Wave film director and producer.Kwan landed a job at the TVB after receiving a mass communications degree at Hong Kong Baptist College...

Psycho Beach Party

Psycho Beach Party

Psycho Beach Party is a 2000 Comedy horror film based on the off-Broadway play of the same name, directed by Robert Lee King. Charles Busch wrote both the original play and the screenplay...

 (2000)
Director: Robert Lee King

Valley of the Dolls

Valley of the Dolls (film)

The soundtrack was released in 1967. Dionne Warwick sang the title track; however, her version is not on the soundtrack. Warwick was signed to Scepter Records at the time and could not contractually appear...

 (1966)
Director: Mark Robson

Mark Robson

Mark Robson was a Canadian-born film editor, film director and producer in Hollywood.-Career:Born in Montreal, Quebec, he moved to the United States at a young age. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles then found work in the prop department at 20th Century Fox studios...

See also

• WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival – another film festival in Houston
• Gulf Coast Archive and Museum
  Gulf Coast Archive and Museum
  The Gulf Coast Archive and Museum of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender History is an LGBT history organization located in Neartown, Houston, Texas ....
  
   – Houston-based LGBT archive
• Houston Gay Pride Parade
  Houston Gay Pride Parade
  The Houston Gay Pride Parade is a Gay Pride festival held annually since 1979 in the Neartown area of Houston. The festival takes place in June to celebrate the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people and their allies. The route of the parade is usually along Westheimer Road, from Dunlavy...
  
  

External links

• Houston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival – official website