LLGFF / DIVA

So I finished my internship at Diva Magazine. I learned that people want to be shown in a positive light and this is okay; that people are willing to talk to you and respond to challenges if you avoid attacking them; that there are genuine nutcases in the world; that writing clearly/simply is as great a skill as writing technically/academically; that you should spell things out; that *everyone* I meet once worked with or was a member of the Revolutionary Communist Party; that people who work for magazines have to *think of things* to write about and aren’t magically bestowed with knowledge; that editors might – shock, horror – ask others for their opinion; that the media is probably where I want to spend the rest of my life.

I also spent the last two weeks getting about four hours of sleep every night because I was at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival at the BFI, Southbank. Oh how I love this festival and this year was particularly good because it involved LOTS OF BEER, a pink card!, two minutes of fame and glory as a chair on one of the panels, lots of beautiful people, interviews!, and yeah, there were some good films as well. Someone, who shall remain nameless, was disparaging in an email and I sent back three paragraphs explaining why, and how, the festival was a good thing. It so is! For roughly 355 days of the year we’re all scattered across the country/globe, working, busy, poor etc. Then the festival comes and EVERYONE is there. I imagine it’s more fun for me, since this is the first time I’ve known a significant amount of people – thus novelty, thus joy – but if *I* can go, mingle, hang about in the cafe and make sleazy passes at interesting people, ANYONE CAN. I’ll admit that there’s a bit of a boy/girl split. And at one event I was so disgusted by the painfully fashionable druggy dykes I saw congratulating themselves on their Shane-esque aloofness that I left early. But other than that, there’s so much to be gained by going.

I was particularly impressed with Bi The Way, which looked at the notoriously sticky issue of bisexuality. It was affirmation of what I already felt; yes, bisexuality exists and in fact, could be the more enlightened position. I really liked Against a Trans Narrative because it wasn’t completely positive in its portayal of FTM transsexuals. By this I mean that it brought up all the taboos that the rest of us – and probably trans people themselves – think but are afraid to say. It also made me realise that there is a feminist / non-feminist dichotomy and something needs to be done about this. I’m all for Queer being an umbrella term, but, as someone rightly pointed out this alienates the older generation for whom Queer is an insult. Okay – but are we trying to be inclusive or accurate? Both lead to infinite regress; if we approach this as individuals then *everyone*, by virtue of being themselves and not someone else, would need their own label. On the other hand, by attempting to be inclusive we have a list of letters: LGBTQQIAA, anyone? What the hell does that even mean?

As Diva rightly pointed out, black lesbian cinema appears to be having a moment. Though it’s all from across the pond. I imagine this is because the Jay Bernards of London, England are blogging, rather than shooting. black./womyn.: conversations with lesbians of African descent was great because as one of the participants put it, it showed ‘regular ass women’ talking about their lives. It’s nice to see all three major aspects of myself on a screen. Really, it is. The testimony of the cousin of Sakia Gunn in Dreams Deferred broke my mother fucking heart. I *cried*. In public. Still Black was dull in parts, but it was fascinating to see these peopleat various stages in their transition.

I’m thinking next year I’d like to submit a film. First, it will shut me up and give me a deeper appreciation for all the peeps who make films, regardless of their lack of technology / funding / support / talent / ability. If I can spot the flaws, maybe I can avoid them. Allyson Mitchell made a great point about this during her Deep Lez discussion: stop criticising and start contributing, bitch.

Films I’m pissed I didn’t see

Society
Noah’s Ark
OMG / HaHaHa
Travel Queeries
Fig Trees