7 random things that happened on this day, March 13th, in history...
Olivia's first Oscar
1947 The 19th Academy Awards are held honoring the best films of 1946. The Best Years of Our Lives triumphs and remains one of the greatest decisions the Academy ever made in Best Picture. Meanwhile Fredric March picks up his second Best Actor Oscar (for the same film) and Olivia de Havilland picks up the first of her two Best Actress Oscars (for To Each His Own). "On the Atcheson Topeka and the Santa Fe" from the Judy Garland musical The Harvey Girls wins Best Song...
The Film Experience and Doc Corner is celebrating Pride Month with a focus on documentaries that tackle LGBTIQ themes. In this final edition we're looking at four classic documentaries that have now been restored and are back in theaters (in select cities), waiting to be (re-)discovered: The Queen(1968), A Bigger Splash (1973), Before Stonewall (1984), and Paris is Burning (1990).
We will begin with the earliest and move forward through time. I was lucky enough to see The Queen on the big screen at a repertory screening in New York several years ago...
For Pride month you may have heard that Rotten Tomatoes has expanded and updated their list of the greatest LGBT films ever to a full 200 movies wide.
Given that they've just done this, we thought it might be a good idea to share multiple "best lgbt films list" to give you lots of rental ideas for Gay Pride month. We've also listed the pros and cons of a few of the key lists out there. Do you feel like you've seen your share of queer classics perusing these or do you have endless hours of screenings ahead to catch up?
The Rotten Tomatoes list and 4 additional lists are after the jump. Which lists is friendliest to your tastes?
If the words Paris Is Burning don’t automatically send your wrists flicking, legs swishing, or face twisting then please politely exit stage right to your nearest local library, pick up a copy of the seminal drag ball documentary, and then keep reading. For those of you already wrapped up in LaBeija, you’ll want to peep this trailer for the documentary Kiki – a compassionate check-in on the contemporary state of voguing that centers on a diverse community of queer performers in the Harlem ball scene. This trailerprovides a glimpse of the hugely talented group practicing – nay slaying – on the Christopher Street Pier, creating a makeshift home to express their talents and personal experiences to audiences and to one another, as well as their commentary on society's discriminatory attitude towards the different identities that the citizens of the scene inhabit. Check it out below.
Having already seen this exceptional, energetic glimpse behind the velvet curtain (full disclosure: I work with an LGBT film festival which showcased the film last summer) I can attest to the inspirational dazzle and real life razzle on display. While much of the documentary focuses on the first-person perspectives within this tightknit scene, the film understands how integrally tied those expressions are to their identities; as the cast is near-exclusively populated with performers of color just getting their starts in New York City, their hot takes pronounce themselves as deeply distinct, exuberantly expressed reflections of day-to-day life for marginalized queer youth in a modern American city. Kiki hits Los Angeles and New York theaters this weekend, and can already be viewed on VOD - all easy avenues for supporting LGBT filmmakers, their stories, and their fundamental human rights.
Saturday, March 13, 2021 at 8:00AM 
Olivia's first Oscar
