October 03, 2004
Kola Boof Tour Pix
Still enjoying my blog vacation. Check out the photo gallery of Kola Boof's Sudanese Embassy Speech and Book Tour.
October 18, 2004
FYI: ETHAN MAO World Premiere
Dear friends of Ethan,
I'm so excited to tell you that "Ethan Mao" will be world premiering as part of American Directions at the AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival on Wednesday November 10 at 9:30PM.
Jun Hee Lee, who made his feature acting debut as Ethan Mao, has just been cast as a supporting lead in "American Pie IV." And if you watch MTV, you may spot Jerry Hernandez who was featured as Jojo's boyfriend in Jojo's number one music video "Leave (Get Out)".
"Ethan Mao" was also selected as the closing film for the Hong Kong Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. More festival dates to be announced soon. Please check out our updated website.
The screening times at AFI Fest are:
Wed. Nov 10, 9:30pm, theatre A12, ArcLight Hollywood
Sat. Nov 13, 12:30pm, theatre A13, ArcLight Hollywood
For the AFI screenings, tickets will go on sale starting this Friday Oct 15: http://www.afifest.com
Thank you for all your support, and hope to see you at the world premiere!
Quentin Lee
filmmaker
Facades fall away when everyday family life is hijacked by extreme situations. This genre-busting film blends drama, thriller and romance into a singular coming-of-age journey for the titular character. Newcomer Jun Hee Lee’s innocent face and straightforward portrayal help illuminate a troubled adolescent buffeted by life’s storms.
Eighteen-year-old Ethan Mao’s life starts to spin out of control following back-to-back traumatic events: an attempted robbery at the family restaurant and his father’s discovery that Ethan is gay. Out on his own, he leads a hustler’s sketchy life until he meets another street kid, Remigio, who offers sanctuary. Ethan later convinces Remigio to take him home to collect some belongings, including a necklace that belonged to his deceased mother. When his family returns unexpectedly, a hostage situation results in confrontations and revelations for all concerned.
Writer/director Quentin Lee (SHOPPING FOR FANGS) draws on influences from Thomas Hardy to Gus Van Sant to craft a story thoroughly modern in its examination of one gay Asian teenager’s struggle to claim his place in life. Using subtle shifts in sound and music, a voyeuristic camera and unexpected narrative jump cuts, Lee subtly frames the disorienting world of ETHAN MAO.
- P.E. Thomas
FYI: Writers Read James Baldwin
Still writing and relaxing and enjoying life. I'll be on vacation starting this weekend. Part of my time will be spent ducking the upcoming elections (not really, but I should may be abroad November 2nd) and moderating the event below:
[ image opens in a new window for printable handouts *hint* ]
Stop by if you can and maybe a bunch of us can go have coffee afterwards.
October 24, 2004
See You Tuesday?
I'm really hope there will be a good turnout on Tuesday for our Community reading of essayist and novelist James Baldwin's most beloved works. Writers are scheduled to read Giovanni's Room, Go Tell It On The Mountain, and Just Above My Head amongst others. If you'd like, you can bring up other titles during the Q&A session to follow. I'm hoping my bad cold will be just a bad memory by then. No matter what, I'd like to see more than a few of you there.
October 31, 2004
FYI: Samiya A. Bashir Pre-Election Day Reading
I'm still on a self-imposed hiatus. Enjoying some much needed vacation time (even though I was sick for about 1/3 of it and ain't going to Toronto/London/Paris as I originally planned and I'm not really writing that much, and ...)
The reading at Hue-Man last Tuesday went well despite my sloppiness and partial illness. I hope Steven G. will have another community reading/forum soon so I can hopefully redeem myself. Some of my friends said they couldn't hear and/or understand me while I read author bios (thankfully, Steven took over during the discussion period; I was in no shape to perform the task as moderator). And I referred to Colin Robinson as Colin Ferguson not once, but twice while reading his bio. Overall, I loved the event and got to meet a few writers in the flesh after admiring them from afar. One of them has an upcoming event (sorry for the late notice):
Samiya A. Bashir will be reading this Monday evening, Election Eve, at Q2:Queer Too downtown, a monthly poetry series featuring LGBT writers of color …
Q2:QUEER TOO Rides again…
Monday, November 1, 2004 at 7:00 PM
LouderArts Project/Bar 13
13th Street & University Pl. in Union Square
Admission $5.00
Join us for two for one drinks and our open mic
our features will be:
Samiya Bashir
RH Douglas
Parker Balderson
Jayme Del Rosario
Hosted by Trinidad's Prettiest Mango, Cheryl Boyce Taylor
n,r,w,4,5,6,L, to Union Square
Not sure if I'll make it, but I will try my best. I owe some of you drinks/dinner, so stop over and say "Hi!" if you see me there.
He's On His Way
Good news from a friend that I've been meaning to post for a while:
Gay activist Larry Chang found out this month that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has granted him political asylum based on persecution he faced in Jamaica due to his sexual orientation.
It marks a major step for Chang, one of Jamaica's most outspoken gay civil rights advocates. The 55-year-old D.C. resident can now apply to live in the United States permanently, and has the right to work and freely travel outside of this country.
Chang .. is now preparing to apply for a permanent visa, which also is known as a green card. This will allow him to become a permanent U.S. resident and permit him to own property. It also gives him the opportunity to apply for U.S. citizenship after five years.
"I've crossed the first hurdle," he says. "Sometimes I have to pinch myself, and ask 'Did it really happen?'"
The co-founder of the Gay Freedom Movement, Jamaica's first gay rights organization, applied for asylum to escape the danger he says he faced while living in a country notorious for its outspoken opposition to homosexuality.
Chang also was a part of Jamaica's small Asian-Jamaican population, which began to grow in the mid 1800s. At the time, Jamaica was under British rule, which ended in 1962, and Chinese civilians and residents of East India began immigrating to that country to do plantation work that formerly had been done by slaves.
If 2005 continues the promising hope of 2004, I'm sure you'll hear a lot more about Larry.