Second Annual International Queer Film Festival
Ohio Wesleyan’s Free Weekly Movie Screenings Continue Through March 2
DELAWARE, Ohio – Ohio Wesleyan University students have launched OWU’s second annual International Queer Film Festival to showcase acclaimed cinema from around the globe and create an opportunity to discuss LGBTQ issues.
The weekly film festival continues through March 2, and admission is free. The festival was created by 2017 alumnus Ryan Bishop and is sponsored by OWU’s Ross Art Museum, Wesleyan Council on Student Affairs (WCSA), People Regarding Individual Diversity Everywhere (PRIDE), Spectrum Resource Center, French Club, and Horizons International.
Bishop, who graduated in December, helped to organize this year’s festival with senior Jason Perry; junior Emily Shpiece; sophomores Rebecca Porter, Anna Burkhart, Brandon Stevens, and Mahnoor Ansari; and freshman Isabelle Ammendola.
The volunteers met throughout fall semester to work on festival logistics, including selecting the final films from a master list of more than 100 LGBT-themed films from around the world. The students made their choices using criteria such as country of origin, represented identities and cultural themes, and diversity of genre. This year’s festival even includes a horror film, “The Blue Hour.”
Upcoming screenings are listed below. Please note that the films contain mature subject matter and language. All will be screened at 6 p.m. in the Benes Rooms of Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware. Free popcorn will be served.
- Feb. 9 – “The Blue Hour” (Thailand, 2015). After meeting at a haunted swimming pool, bullied teenager Tam enters into a sexual relationship with the mysterious Phum.
- Feb. 16 – “Eyes Wide Open” (Israel, 2009). A married, Orthodox, Jerusalem butcher and father of four falls in love with his handsome, 22-year-old male apprentice, triggering the suspicions of his wife and the disapproval of his Orthodox community.
- Feb. 21 – “Born This Way” (Cameroon, 2013). A portrait of the underground gay and lesbian community in Cameroon, where homosexuality is illegal.
- March 2 – “Cloudburst” (USA, NR, 2011). A woman breaks her female partner out of a nursing home, and they drive to Canada to get married.
Learn more about the International Queer Film Festival at www.facebook.com/owuiqff and more about Ohio Wesleyan’s Spectrum Resource Center at www.owu.edu/spectrum. Festival organizers may be contacted at iqff@owu.edu.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 90 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through Ohio Wesleyan’s signature OWU Connection program, students integrate knowledge across disciplines, build a diverse and global perspective, and apply their knowledge in real-world settings. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives” and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.