Mon., Aug. 22nd for reception and Tues., Aug. 23rd for all films

Shreveport, LA – August 18, 2016

Tickets go on sale to the public next week for PACE’s 8th North Louisiana Gay & Lesbian Film Festival to be held at the Robinson Film Center in downtown Shreveport, LA, September 9-15, 2016. The film festival features LGBT-themed documentaries, feature films, short films, a lavish reception, panels, Q&A’s and other special events.

Tickets to the opening weekend reception on Sat., Sept. 10th are purchased through the film festival website nlglff.org for $25 beginning Aug. 22nd.  All film tickets are purchased through the Robinson Film Center (617 Texas St., 318-459-4122, www.robinsonfilmcenter.org) starting Tuesday, Aug. 23rd.

Here are some highlights of our exciting opening weekend:

• Friday, Sept. 9th: Opening night will feature the 7:30 pm film Suicide Kale, with an appearance by the film’s writer, producer, and star Brittani Nichols.  Nichols is well-known for playing “Nicol” on the Emmy-winning series Transparent.  Nichols will also attend the Saturday night reception.
• Saturday, Sept. 10th: The festive reception will feature heavy hors d’oeuvres along with a cash bar. The extended-time reception of 6 – 8:30 pm is scheduled to overlap two showings (5 pm and 7:30 pm) of our spotlight film Small Town Rage: Fighting Back in the Deep South so that attendees of both films can mix and mingle with Small Town Rage filmmakers David Hylan and Raydra Hall and principals from the film. There will be a panel discussion after the 7:30 pm screening. Small Town Rage is the story of the members of ACT UP Shreveport who fought against deeply ingrained prejudices in northwest Louisiana during the early years of the AIDS pandemic as they forced this community to address this disease that was killing so many of them, their friends, and their loved ones.  Lance Bass, formerly of the band NSYNC and a native of Mississippi, narrates the film.  He can be seen in this video in a working session in the studio with Hylan and Hall as he narrates a portion of the film about the late ACT UP Shreveport activist Chuck Selber.
• Friday, Sept. 9th & Sunday, Sept. 11th: Other People, the Sundance and Outfest darling, will screen at 9:45 pm on Friday and at 7:30 pm on Sunday.  Written and directed by Chris Kelly, it starts Molly Shannon, Jesse Plemons, and Bradley Whitford.  Kelly made SNL history recently when he became the first out gay person to be promoted to head writer for Saturday Night Live.  In an interview with the U.K.’s Gay Times, Kelly emphasized the importance of fully representing LGBT people in film, just as they are portrayed in Other People: “I think there’s no mystery to writing gay characters. You can just write them! There’s all sorts of them! And they eat food and hang out with friends and their mothers die just like all the best straight characters.”  Other People will also screen on Tuesday, Sept. 13th at 7:30 pm.

All the films to be shown throughout the week are:
·        Feature films:  Closet Monster, First Girl I Loved, Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party, Other People, Suicide Kale, Women Who Kill
·        Documentary films: Memories of a Penitent Heart, Real Boy, Small Town Rage, Suited
·        Short films on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 pm:  11 Life Lessons from an Awesome Old Dyke, After the Mass, Peace in the Valley, The Orchid, Ultra Blue, Vessel.

Trailers for the films, show times, and reception tickets are available at the film festival web site:  nlglff.org.  All film tickets are sold through the Robinson Film Center.

For more information about the film festival or about PACE, “People Acting for Change and Equality”, Northwest Louisiana’s leading advocacy organization for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, go to www.pacelouisiana.org, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pacelouisiana, or visit the film festival web site: nlglff.org.

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Contact information
Brad Campbell, Film Festival Chair
(318) 518-0299
bradcampbell@bellsouth.net

Ryan Parker, Film Selection Chair
(318)294-1905
prjam63@aol.com

David Hylan, Small Town Rage filmmaker
(318)344-5130
neptunestwin@gmail.com