NEWS in ENGLISH
— film festival — the conference — art exhibiton — news from poland — looking for support — our partners —
Film Festival – Current Developments
In preparation of the programme for the "a million different loves!?" film festival we find ourselves confronted with the different readings of the films in question. We are faced with questions such as: Which elements and situations in films allow for a queer perspective? How can a film undermine expectations or even change culturally endorsed patterns of thought? We try to make ambiguity the key characteristic of our programme by allowing a great thematic and stylistic variety in the selection of international films. This should provide opportunities to reflect on the unity and discreetness of common categories of gender and sexuality. On October 25 2006 Antke Engel, founder of the Institute for Queer Theory Hamburg/Berlin, will speak on "Queer visual culture & die Strategie der VerUneindeutigung" as part of the opening of the festival at the UT Connewitz.
A brief overview of the programme:
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The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros
(OT: Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros)
Auraeus Solito / PH 2005 / 100 min / English subtitles / Feature film
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Beyond Hatred
(OT: Au-delà de la haïne)
Olivier Meyrou / FR 2005 / 86 min / English subtitles / Documentation
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Das verordnete Geschlecht
Oliver Tolmein & Bertram Rotermund / DE 2000 / 62 min / Documentation
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Homo Father
Piotr Matwiejczyk / PL 2005 / 74 min / English subtitles / Feature film
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The Milkman
Ken Takahashi / CA 2001 / 8 min / Short film
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Paris is Burning
Jennie Livingston / US 1990 / 71 min / OF / Documentation
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The Pink Mirror
(OT:Gulabi Aina )
Sridhar Rangayan / IN 2003 / 40 min / English subtitles / Feature film
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Under the headline "a million different loves!?" we are going to engage with the conditions, possibilities and expressive forms of queer audio-visual cultures in different political and social contexts. Finally, here is the first newsletter before we kick off in October following our motto WATCH AND THINK QUEER. With this newsletter we want to keep you updated with the current developments, successes and challenges concerning the organisation of the first installment of "a million different loves!?", as well as provide some information about the political situation in Poland.
The Politics of Body and Desire in Audio-visual Culture – The Conference
In reaction to our call-for-papers, which was addressed to academics, artists and culture activists who work on queer theory and audio-visual media, we have received many interesting and exciting contributions for our conference. From the proposals received, we have selected the following, which will be presented in Leipzig in topic-centered blocks. Brief outlines of all of the contributions can be found on www.amilliondifferentloves.net
A short excerpt from the conference programme:
- Sofie van Bauwel: Hybrid Gender Identities in Music Videos: Resistance and Hegemony
- Rike Bolte: Keine queere (R)Evolution oder die Macht der Matrix: Über den "indifferentiellen Artefaktizismus" der Matrix-Trilogie und die Figuration des "homotopischen" Cyborg
- Valérie Carré: Geschlechterkonstruktionen in deutsch-türkischen Filmen: De-/Re-/Konstruktion von Männlichkeit
- Sarah Dellman: Queere Blicke auf Todd Brownings "Freaks" (1932): Subvertierung von Normalität bis zum Referenzverlust als Möglichkeit für "nicht normales" Leben
- Samuel Jonathan Nowak: "The Power of Ruby Shoes". Film Acting, Gender and Body in Victor Fleming's "The Wizard of Oz" (1939)
- Caroline Schubarth: "I'll be a Rock'n'Roll Bitch for You" – Männlichkeitsbilder im Glamour Rock der 70er Jahre
- Hedwig Wagner: Die Zwanghafteste der Zwangsheterosexualität und die Bezwingerin heteronormativer Gender-Identität: Die Prostituierte im Film
Accompanying Programme — Art Exhibition
Part of the accompanying programme, which we are still working on like crazy, will be an exhibition . Julia Moritz and Jana Sperling are curators the exhibition, which opens on Thursday October 26 and closes on Friday November 11. Information on who and what will be featured coming up soon.
contact: art[at]amilliondifferentloves.net
News from Poland
Good News
The Łódź "a million different loves!?" site is now on-line!!!
www.amilliondifferentloves.pl
Bad News
The second party in government of Poland, the LPR (Liga Polskich Rodzin – League of Polish Families) is planning a people's vote for the reintroduction of capital punishment. The LPR can build on the support of President Lech Kaczynski, who is a strong contender for capital punishment, his twin brother Jaroslaw and Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro. According to TAZ abortion legislation will also become more restrictive than it already is: "In the future, according to LPR plans, danger to the life of a mother will not be considered an acceptable reason for an abortion." [Pflückiger, Paul: Pädophile Mörder sollen sterben, TAZ online, 8.8.2006,
TAZ]
see also:
looking for support – supporters and translators wanted
we are still looking for motivated people that are interested in supporting the work of the filmfestival and conference teams or in the area of public relations and financing. if you are interested and would like to take part in the organistaion of "a million different loves!?" then feel free to contact us via e-mail: support[at]amilliondifferentloves.net
translators and interpreters wanted!
to support our film festival, conference and blog: german/polish, polish/german, english/polish send an email to: kontakt[at]amilliondifferentloves.net
interns wanted !!!!
we, the german/polish queer-festival "a million different loves!?" are looking for an intern for our public relations department. you should have time until at least the end of october and be interested in les-bi-gay, trans- and intersexual related issues. you should have an understanding of terms such as heteronormativity and queer-theory or otherwise these terms should stir some interest in you. you will be responsible for establishing and maintaining contacts to with public media, international and local supporters of the festival (like the ut-connewitz and the prager frühling) and sponsors.
previous experience is welcome, but not recquired. you will be introduced to the job in either case.
you will also have opportunity to take an active part in the preparation of the festival: you may chose and present films. the internship is unpaid, since the whole festival is organised on a volontary basis. we are looking forward to meet you!
kontakt[at]amilliondifferentloves.net
our partners
the "a million different loves!?" festival is supported by Kulturstiftung des Bundes. other local Leipzig supporters: