“Pride Arts Spring Film Festival” reviewed by Edie Reese

From the poignant to the bizarre, from films focused specifically on the LBGTQ community to issues that affect everyone; the Pride Arts Spring Film Festival has an offering for every taste. The first week of the month-long festival (scheduled to begin March 14 and running through April 11) focuses mostly on dance as it relates to and interprets the LGBTQIA experience. The entire festival is streamed on Vimeo, and may be accessed at https://www.goelevent.com/pridearts/e/Search

There are some international offerings which are either dubbed in English or offer subtitles.

Of the standout offerings in the first series, my favorite was “A Circle of Diamonds,” featuring the late marriage equality activist Edie Windsor. In a flashback scene, Windsor witnesses a proposal to her younger self by a young Thea Spyer, her partner. When Edie and Thea were young, same sex marriage was illegal in the United States, and they would have suffered social and career ostracism if they had worn wedding rings. Edie therefore wore a diamond circlet “next to her heart.” The entire proposal is sung, and the two actors who play young Edie and young Thea (Jillian Louis and Nicole Van Giesen, respectively) are Broadway bona fides and perform the song to perfection. Edie Windsor hugs the two actors at the conclusion of the film. She passed away a year after the film was made. The film is directed by Michael Biello, Dan Martin and B. Proud. It is written by Michael Biello and Dan Martin.

“Unspoken,” directed by William Armstrong, is for anyone who has lost someone without the opportunity to say goodbye. Choreographer and former Artistic Director of the Netherlands Dance Theatre Paul Lightfoot lost his father during the pandemic. He was not allowed to visit him in hospital. Lightfoot collaborated remotely with Sebastian Hayes, soloist dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet to construct an homage to Lightfoot’s father. The first half of the film focuses on the creation of the dance and the second half of the film is the performance of the dance itself. The musical piece is not credited, but the wistful piece is well-matched to the choreography and Hayes’ elegant, longing movement. My own dad died suddenly in 2015, and this piece nearly brought me to tears.

In “The Space Between Us,” dancers, teachers and activists Sarah Crowell and Keith Hennessy have a true collaborative discussion and dance encounter about race, sexual orientation, fear, vulnerability and communication. These two icons of the San Francisco dance scene have known each other for years but have never collaborated until now. At the beginning of this very short piece the two are wary of each other. However, they are able to use the language of dance to eventually touch, which opens up the discussion and makes for a real connection.

For sheer campy silliness with a message, you can’t beat “Eat the Rainbow,” a mini-musical about an odd blue man (Bayani, played by co-author H. P. Mendoza) who moves into a somewhat boring suburban neighborhood. Because he looks and acts differently, unscrupulous realtor Lobelia Gerber (played in a gleefully over-the-top performance by April Kidwell) tries to evict him by turning the neighborhood against him because he is different. However, Cousin Wonderlette (Director Brian Benson’s alter-ego) falls in love with him and opposes the evil Lobelia, eventually convincing the neighborhood that a little variety (and tolerance) is good for the soul. The songs (written by Marco D’Ambrosio, Brian Benson and H.P. Mendozo) have a delightful, goofy bounciness to them. The film is directed by Brian Benson.

There are six other offerings in this first week’s series. They are:

“At Water’s Edge,” directed by Sean Dorsey
“Homo Pol,” directed by Amadeus Pawlica
“Love Song,” written and directed by Claire Marshall
“Sebastienne,” written and directed by Jose Alberto Andres Lacasta
“The Sixth Borough,” directed by Morgan Marcell, written by Reed Luplau
“Undercover,” directed by Razieme Iborra, written by Ching Kai Wang

The public can access these films by going to https://www.goelevent.com/pridearts/e/Search.

If you would like to view only one week’s worth of films, the cost is $10. To view the full four-week festival, which runs through April 11, a pass is $25. If you buy a one-week program, you will need a separate password for each week. A season pass will give you one password for the entire series.

Founded in 2010, PrideArts reflects the diversity of the LGBTQIA community by producing pays, musicals, cabarets and other works of art. Pre-COVID, PrideArts earned or was nominated for 39 Jeff Awards. PrideArts is supported by The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at The Richard Driehaus Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council, City of Chicago’s City Arts Fund, the Elliott Fredland Charitable Trust, The Pauls Foundation, The Heath Fund, The Service Club of Chicago, the AmazonSmile Foundation, Arts and Business Foundation, Tap Root Foundation, Arts and Business Council, and Alphawood Foundation. For more information or t donate, visit pridearts.org or call 1-773-857-0222.