09/28/18, Vol. 9 Issue 16

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EDITORIAL

Editor: Berlin Sylvestre bsylvestre@thegavoice.com Editorial Contributors: Cliff Bostock, Katie Burkholder, Melissa Carter, Aidan Ivory Edwards, Conner Emery, Jim Farmer, Dawn Felton, Morgan Nicole Fletcher, Cemberli Grant, Ryan Lee, Joseph Miller, Allison Radomski, Jamie Roberts, Catharine Romero, Craig Washington

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www.thegeorgiavoice.com

Is It Really “Your Pleasure”?

FORGIVE ME, FELLOW LGBTQ, FOR I HAVE SINNED. When the wireless went out at my house, I packed up my little workstation and hauled it to the closest place with WiFi. Don’t crucify me, but I live in a small town on the outskirts of the bustling city, and the nearest place was (here it comes) Chick-fil-A. I was surprised that I didn’t burst into flames upon entrance. Rather, I was jolted by the shrill cries of kids in the play area. Fine, I told myself, I can handle this long enough to write and upload some stories. I spotted a table upon which an empty cup and some sandwich debris sat and slid into the booth, hoping the employees would think I’d enjoyed a meal, that it would go unnoticed that I was just here to mooch some WiFi. So far, so good. For three hours, I do some research, make a few phone calls, pen some pieces, then go to upload to our website.

“Hmm. We’re having trouble finding that

site.” (Is that so, Firefox?) That’s odd. I try another browser, just to see. Same message. I shoot a text to GV’s art director and ask if the website is down. Nope. I try every other bookmark just to see if it’s my connection.

Nope. I take my phone out, make sure I’m using data and not their WiFi, and I look us up. Boom. There we are. Hmm, indeed.

So I meekly ask a manager, who’s making the rounds to see if everyone’s okay: “Why can’t I pull up this website using the WiFi?” The individual seems perplexed, says there’s not much [individual] can do about blocked or unavailable sites. I’m not much of a rabblerouser and the place was packed. I went back to work, gently simmering, but understanding that I walked in here as a big, gay mooch. It’s give and take, I reckon.

What’s serendipitous is that I stayed a while longer, cleaning up copy and checking emails.

It wasn’t long before a young, black teen and his

tiny white girl-friend (friend who’s a girl) took up a spot at the booth in front of mine. Before long, their conversation turned to him being gay and how he would’ve killed himself after a series of disgusting text messages from a fellow classmate had it not been for Mr. ____, a teacher at his high school. She offered her sympathies, but sprinkled in, “I don’t care if people are gay.

Just don’t hit on me, is all.” (Naturally, I looked up. No clue why that got me. That’s for another day.) But there they were, same side of the booth, two young ones just figuring things out on their own. At Chick-fil-A. Funny that one of the stories I was penning had to do with understanding between the LGBTQ community and the community of faith, as though they’re two completely separate entities that, like dessert and your entree on the same cafeteria plate, can never touch. I feel like these communities could make this work, if they truly wanted to … that they could see one another as goofy little beings running around on a giant rock trying to make sense of it all. And maybe get some free WiFi in the meantime. Anyway ...

September 28, 2018 Editorial 3

NEWS

Weathering the Storm

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A PRE-OP TRANSWOMAN POSTS A GENDER-REASSIGNMENT GOFUNDME IN A SMALL, GEORGIA TOWN? Berlin Sylvestre bsylvestre@thegavoice.com The pictures tell the tale: With her beautiful baby niece in her lap, Nikki Hammond knows there is a such thing as unconditional love. What about unconditional support from her small town?

On Sept. 19, Nikki, 27, posted to the Spalding County and Griffin Discussion Page on Facebook, a 17,000-strong community forum that gets lots of traction from people roughly an hour south of downtown. She included a link to a six-month-old GoFundMe account that asked for assistance in her transition.

In it, her story, which has been edited with permission for clarity: “Hello, everyone. My name is Nikki Caylin Hammond. I am 26 years old and am transgender (male to female). I was born July 21,1991 as a male and lived my life that way until 2015. When I finally had the confidence to come out, I did. I had always felt like I was born in the wrong body. I was scared to tell anyone for years because I felt like no one would understand. I was fearful of losing my friends and family. The first person I told was a long-time friend. Next, I had to tell my mom, dad, and sister. They told me if that’s really what I wanted and was 100 percent sure, then ‘We will support you.’ Last, I told the rest of my family and friends … most of them have supported me. In July of 2015, I made my first appointment and started hormone therapy.

My body started to change and so did my confidence. Most of y’all may not know how expensive this transition is. I am ready for

4 News September 28, 2018

me “thatIt upsets people are so

closed minded and unaccepting of how the times have progressed.

”

the next step: gender-reassignment surgery.

This will complete my process. If anyone can or is willing to donate toward the cost of my surgery, it would mean the world to me.

Love, Nikki.”

Comments poured in. [Unedited:] “How about do the world a huge favor and move to a desert island I don’t want my kids growing up with this stupid shit. All y’all haters call me what you want but people like this need to be banned from living in america.”

“As the world gets sicker this is what it’s come to.

Asking for money to change what God made you.

Donating to someone sick in the head is not helping them. There are important things going on that deserve help and donating to. What a disgrace.”

“There are so many better things to give money to than this ridiculous shit. If you want to chop off your wiener and balls then pay for it yourself.”

“Generally people talk behind my back, not directly to my face,” she tells me via Facebook

Messenger. Smartly, she didn’t want to meet up with someone she didn’t know. She continues: “It upsets me that people are so closed minded and unaccepting of how the times have progressed.” The comments, once roaring, halted suddenly.

group and received the following response [unedited]: “Im sick and my wife has cancer. I have put the group on auto admin right now. Any post that gets more than 10 flags will be removed, at 12 the member removed at 15 you get the ban.”

“I posted it maybe six months ago to my [personal Facebook] page, but yesterday was the first time I posted it to that group page,” she tells me, adding that “they blocked me from the page.”

She responded that she’d broken no rules.

“Today I got added back, so I posted it back on the page.” That’s reassuring, because it calls to mind the other side of Small Town, Georgia …

She sent a request to the admins of the

CONTINUES ON PAGE 5 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

NEWS

protecting our hearts can’t wait one more second.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 4 of people who don’t comment as often as trolls, but when they do, they make your head turn.

[Unedited]: “I wish you the best of luck & I want to let you know that I think you’re so brave for being true to yourself in a town that makes that very hard for anyone who exists outside the comfort zone of the more closed-minded among us. keep being you!”

“Nikki, congrats to you and good luck on your journey, our household wishes you the best. Also, don’t worry about the negative crap you see from people. There is always something worse happening or more important happening in the world, but those don’t erase or negate everyone else’s issues. If their not interested in helping or sharing a good word, then they should keep scrolling, if they seek you out and decide to spew filth, it only speaks true to their character.”

“I dont personally know you, but I want to tell you I’m proud of you for being your true self and wish you the best. As long as you are happy with yourself and being the real you, that’s all that matters!! No one needs to live their life not being who they truly are. Just remember you have to ignore all the negativity you will receive, noones opinion matters but your own!!” www.thegeorgiavoice.com

There are lots of ‘likes’ on the supportive comments. It’s these that Nikki takes comfort in. “I am so happy that people support me,” she tells me. “I didn’t really expect I would get that much, but I’m happy there are people out there who care.”

She says she’s looked into the genderreassignment surgery with a specific doctor in mind — Dr. Christine McGinn of the Gender Wellness Center in Pennsylvania. “I have a consultation on March 4, 2019 with her,” she writes. “My mom is going with me and I am super excited.”

“What happens if you don’t raise the money?” I ask her. In her unfaltering, upbeat demeanor, she tells me she’ll: “Just keep on saving up and one day, I’ll have it done!”

Everyone in Atlanta has the right to breathe smoke-free air.

We need your help to ensure their rights are protected.

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If there be a true test of character, it’s being able to weather the storm that certain small minds in certain small towns can render. In passing that test, something tells me that one day, Nikki Hammond’s future will pan out exactly as she sees it in her mind.

At the time of printing, only $70 has been raised toward her overall goal of $25,000.

To support Nikki in her transition, go to GoFundMe.com/zz6h6d-genderreassignment-surgery.

www.smokefreeatl.org @sftal

September 28, 2018 News 5

NEWS

Will Your Vote Actually Count in 2018?

Jason Rhode

What isn’t seen can’t be counted.

Over the last two years, a number of significant stories have appeared in the media concerning voter suppression. Suppression typically affects marginalized populations, and among these oppressed groups, of course, is the LGBTQ community.

And there are other ways to turn down the vote. In June, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute.

The Husted case was concerned with Ohio’s voter registration. Under Ohio electoral law (which was upheld), a voter’s inactivity can be used as a reason to remove them from the registry. Justice Sotomayor’s dissent in Husted noted: “Communities that are disproportionately affected by unnecessarily harsh registration laws should not tolerate efforts to marginalize their influence in the political process, nor should allies who recognize blatant unfairness stand idly by.”

Close analysis of voting suppression patterns suggests there isn’t a single way of discriminating against community members. Rather, dissuading LGBTQ voters from going to the polls is apparently the proverbial death by a thousand cuts.

For example: In one indirect and infamous instance, the Trump Administration decided to exclude LGBTQ Americans from registering their status on the 2020 National Census and the American Community Survey. Without relevant questions on these surveys, LGBTQ Americans will have minimal demographic input.

Granted, the U.S. Census Bureau will allow for respondents to differentiate between opposite-sex and same-sex partners. That’s a small improvement — but not enough, say advocates. The Census is used to account for policy-making and research, and can affect the boundaries of voting districts.

6 News September 28, 2018

Purging the rolls is a long tradition in politics. As think-tank Dems argue, such restrictions disproportionately affect queer people of color, and trans persons: “Strict voter ID laws, for example, are particularly burdensome for those who don’t identify or present as the gender marked on their identification documents, and voter registration requirements can present similar impediments.” The Williams Institute estimates that due to stringent identification laws, November 2012 saw nine American states disenfranchised to the estimated tune of 25,000 transgender people.

According to the LGBT Bar, there are

numerous other devices governments used to reduce LGBTQ turnout. Among these: requiring ID for all voters, removing chances for flexible or early voting, or having elaborate or needlessly complex residency requirements.

Finally, there is felony disenfranchisement.

At current, 48 states (with D.C. among them) block incarcerated felons from voting.

As well, 35 of these states stop paroled felons from voting. Due to a lack of legal protection against employment discrimination (and high rates of homelessness), roughly 16% of trans persons have been subject to incarceration. Many members of the LGBTQ community are forced to relocate multiple times in their lives, with some people having no fixed address.

Margaret Arnett, an Indivisible activist who teaches classes about voter registration, says that Atlanta and Georgia were having noticeable problems with suppression.

Among these, she notes a rejection of “voter registration forms for seemingly minute errors or omissions.” She says that all too often, Georgia won’t have “forms in other languages available.” Arnett notes that the state engaged in “purging voters from the voter rolls. The claim is that they are maintaining the voter rolls, but we are hearing stories about people who’ve never moved and who’ve always voted

being placed on inactive status.”

Finally, says Arnett, the state often engages in “closing/changing polling places that cause confusion and can be burdensome on those with transportation or mobility issues.” As to how these activities work against LGBTQ voters, Arnett says that “current Georgia voter-registration forms only list two choices for gender question: ‘male’ or ‘female.’”

She adds: “We have seen a higher rejection rate of those trying to register to vote if the person has a hyphenated name.”

Each of these obstacles add up. In 2016, the advocacy group Lambda Legal asked 4,813 Pride attendees if they planned on voting in their upcoming local elections and in the presidential contest. Yes results? 77.87%.

No results? 14.77%. The remainder added no opinion.

The people who didn’t vote in 2016 had multiple reasons: almost a fifth had citizenship concerns; some said they suffered from law-enforcement disenfranchisement; some respondents said photo ID laws were problematic; others said they remained unregistered. In Georgia, as in the rest of the United States, it is claimed the people rule.

Which people, exactly, remains the area of contention. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

NEWS

LGBTQ-Friendly Priests Aren’t Pedophiles PEDOPHILES ARE PEDOPHILES.

homosexual priests from public ministry within [Atlanta’s] archdiocese.”

Berlin Sylvestre bsylvestre@thegavoice.com

Their reason? To “shed light on activities, events, and personnel issues within the Archdiocese of Atlanta that are supportive of the LGBT agenda and lifestyle.” They say the Archbishop’s support of LGBTQ issues is a “grave source of confusion and scandal for the faithful of Atlanta (and beyond) and greatly diminishes the dignity of those who struggle with same-sex attraction, transgenderism, and related struggles.”

For whom the bells toll on a downtown Atlanta thoroughfare is for anyone — meaning everyone — looking for a place to bow their heads in worship without judgment of being LGBTQ. *** 1,700 signatures.

As of late September, one-thousand, sevenhundred people saw fit to put their names on an online petition that cast not just one damning, digital stone at Atlanta’s Archbishop Wilton Gregory, but a second sharp and specific one at Monsignor Henry Gracz, both of whom are key figures for our city’s Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, a long-beloved staple of MLK. Concerned Catholics of Atlanta started the Change.org petition with the hopes of reaching 2,500 people. Sadly, they’re not far.

Though the number may feel like a punch to the heart of these gentlemen, it’s just over a third of what the Fox Theatre, shining right around the bend, holds on a slow night.

It could be safely assumed that, given the billions-strong reach of the internet, those 1,700 are the “miniscule minority” we can always expect to show up, misdirected hostility in place with hair-trigger keyboards at the ready. But on the other side of the wafer, the insinuations are egregious, unwarranted, and too close to home.

The Aug. 19 petition is/was directed at “the laiety” of the Catholic faith, those laymen (and women) who comprise the body of people who show up during times of worship. So says the petition, these same people, the laiety, “[should] remove prowww.thegeorgiavoice.com

The petition has been spread by other antiLGBTQ websites, making a startlingly false connection between LGBTQ-acceptance and an unfortunate pattern of pedophelia that has plagued the Catholic faith for generations.

Without a modicum of evidence that their targets — Atlanta Archbishop Wilton Gregory and Monsignor Henry Gracz — have any outstanding accusation against them but to support our community during Pride and to accept us openly to worship within their halls of God, the campaign of defamation continues.

“A bishop in Georgia is aiding the gay agenda,” accuses one website (ChurchMilitant.com) on the issue. A LifeSiteNews.com post, written

by Lisa Bourne, goes on to claim: “The U.S. Church’s own studies have shown that the overwhelming majority of abuse in the Church’s sex abuse crisis has generated from homosexual clergy.” This is just beneath a banner asking for money to fund its nebulous cause, decrying in its next breath that it’s being targeted on social media for its hopefulness on regressive policies in a “cultural war.”

But where, whom, and what is the culture in this war? That we turn a nation of believers against one another? That we cast stones at a House of God? Since when did Jesus Christ speak against the gay (or LGBTQ) community at all, but most importantly, at large? If Christ is at the root of Christianity, one could reason that we haven’t been targeted by him at all, but rather by a bristly

ARCHBISHOP WILTON GREGORY PUBLICITY PHOTO

portion of His followers.

Those who know Monsignor Gracz say there’s nothing to be concerned about.

“I purposefully chose to have my daughter baptized at Shrine because of Monsignor’s beliefs,” Catherine Scavone tells us. “I have enjoyed going to a church that believes in all people and supports all members.”

Catherine is fond of the event. “I remember at the mass my daughter was baptized, he spoke in support of the march in Atlanta for immigrant rights.”

“I have attended several masses at Shrine of the Immaculate Conception,” says Catherine. She tells us several in her family are members of the Shrine. “Monsignor Gracz baptized my daughter and all of my nieces and nephews.”

When she found out about the online petition, Catherine tells us she “was extremely upset. I think that Monsignor Gracz is doing everything he can to support and carry the Catholic faith.”

Catherine isn’t the only one concerned.

“I have spoken with others, including my neighbors who were married by Monsignor Gracz and I know of several people who are

upset with this group’s petition,” she says.

“Everyone that I know who has attended mass with Monsignor Gracz or has received Sacraments from him always speaks of him in the highest regard. Our Catholic faith needs priests like Monsignor Gracz to positively promote our faith for all people.”

Nevertheless, the petition remains, growing in numbers — however small — by the day.

Perhaps a forgiveness is in order, in spite of the hubris that refuses to see itself in need of forgiving. It’s within the nature of Jesus to forgive those who “know now that they do” when they attempt to drive people away from His houses of worship.

Regardless, the bells on 10th ring and they call for those in need of guidance, of healing to bring their weary souls in for a drink of mercy on a summer’s day. Is there an equivalent gesture of kindness and love from those who aim to tear down Atlanta’s Shrine of the Immaculate Conception? We hold out faith.

Peace be with you, Archbishop Gregory and Monsignor Gracz … and also with your dissenters.

At the time of printing, neither the Concerned Catholics of Atlanta nor members of the Shrine’s clergy have responded to requests for comment.

September 28, 2018 News 7

OBITUARY

In Memoriam:

Lewis Covington Jason Rhode Lewis Covington, a daytime manager at Friends on Ponce, media figure, and beloved part of LGBTQ Atlanta, passed away on Sept. 6 at the age of 66. Friends said he died from cardiac-related causes.

The effects of Covington’s death were felt throughout social media. On Wednesday, Los Angeles-based artist Daniel Henigman tweeted: “RIP Lewis! One of my biggest encouragers and supporters during my 10 years in Atlanta.”

Covington had been a gay Atlanta fixture for three decades. Friends on Ponce, a longtime Midtown LGBTQ nightspot, featured Covington on their site as one of their “Friendly Neighborhood Bartenders.” The bar, which styles itself as “A place for everyone,” was certainly a place for Covington, friends said.

“He was beloved,” said Ken Williams, a manager at Friends. “He was the daytime office manager and bookkeeper here. And he was a super wonderful person.” Williams said he had worked with Williams previously.

“He’s been in Atlanta for a long time.”

As manager, Covington was a pillar of Friends.

During the tenth anniversary of the bar in 2014, Covington described the early years, which were challenging: “It is just very difficult to get established and conform to the many, many rules and regulations that the city and county place on new businesses, especially bars.”

Building a following through diverse entertainments — including poker tournaments and talent contests — the bar flourished. Covington described himself as “proud” of Friends. “We’ve got a wildly diverse crowd here and it’s just a wonderful mix of everything. What’s so special about it is everybody gets along so well.”

Covington first made his mark on Atlanta as 8 Obituary September 28, 2018

“OneRIPof Lewis! my biggest encouragers and supporters during my 10 years in Atlanta.

”

a member of the media. ETC Magazine, a now-defunct LGBTQ media publication, was founded in 1985. Covington, who was hired by co-owner James Heverly, soon became a well-known part of the periodical, featuring as a writer and pundit in its pages. A Covington piece could touch on multiple topics. One feature opened with the words “Energy and enthusiasm fairly flows when speaking to choreographer Margo Sappington.”

Shortly after ETC shuttered, Covington began managing bars in the Atlanta area, beginning with the Metro. Richard Eldredge, an editor, journalist, and one-time colleague of Covington’s, shared his thoughts on the man: “Writing for ETC magazine in the early 1990s was an unbelievable adventure. Sure, it was mainly distributed in the city’s gay nightspots, but thanks to the dedication of people like Lewis, editor Jack Pelham and James Heverly, the magazine had wit, sass and style and was filled with great content.

Whether I had anything in that week’s issue or not, I couldn’t wait to pick it up.”

Eldredge described Covington’s insight into the culture. “Lewis had an uncanny knack for knowing precisely where the pulse of the city’s LGBTQ community was and what we wanted to read.” Covington knew his history: “Lewis and the others at the magazine inspired the

younger staffers who were just learning about Stonewall to seek out their favorite quotable films from Hollywood’s golden age, to read the books by James Baldwin, Andrew Holleran and Armistead Maupin and learn your disco divas from the 70s. There would always be a pop quiz later and you wanted to be prepared.”

Williams said that the news of Covington’s death hit everyone pretty hard. “It was sudden, and they think it was a heart murmur.

That’s what we think, we don’t know for sure. That’s what his Mom said.” He said that Covington had had a “really good week.

He was in a good mood.” Williams said that the before his death, Covington said he “he

wasn’t feeling awful, but he didn’t show up for work the next day.”

Williams told Georgia Voice that a remembrance of Covington was planned.

“We’re going to having a memorial here in a couple of weeks. I don’t know the date.” Like Henigman, Eldredge eulogized Covington as a wise teacher: “I’m not sure if in today’s queer culture we still prioritize that mentorship and bringing the next group along and making sure they know the importance of our shared history.

Lewis knew the value of that and he took the time to pass along those lessons.” www.thegeorgiavoice.com

VOICES

What It Is: Marlon Riggs “Black Is, Black Ain’t” (For Uncle Alfred) Craig Washington

for the masterpiece that followed.

As a child, I was nurtured by a stream of black film and literature that reinforced the pride my elders passed on. But as my queerness, that widening difference between me and other boys grew more evident, those moorings loosened. The elders who raised an eyebrow at the angle of my wrist and the dangle in my hip did not acknowledge James Baldwin as a model to which I might aspire. I had little evidence that who I was and what I was becoming was okay. At the edge of 19, I discovered Baldwin’s “Just Above My Head,” which featured a love story between two black boys like me. It evoked my longing to be loved, and to have that kind of love rendered as a natural thing.

There were no such accounts in any film I had seen. The first offering featuring black gay men in unapologetic self-determined fashion was “Tongues Untied.” In 1994, the documentary broke ground by showing black gay men in our fullness exalting each other. It paved the way

More than any film before or since its 1995 release, Riggs’ final work “Black Is, Black Ain’t” explored the diversity of black identity positing the black LGBTQ experience as no less black, no less real. Through spoken word, song, dance, and narration, divergent insights about culture are presented. Commentary is provided by some of the brightest artists and intellectuals including Rigg’s friend/collaborator Essex Hemphill, Michelle Wallace, bell hooks, Bill T Jones, and Cornel West. This last work is his most personal. It had the most meaningful impact of any film upon my own vision.

Riggs refuses to reserve the disclosure for some climactic exposé. The timing honors the many who waited too long to tell, those whose lives and deaths were swept under the rug. It is the film’s most subversive aspect in that Riggs places front and center the most stigmatized health condition of its time as embodied by the director himself, without buildup or delay. His soft timber exudes acceptance. I am captured by that voice as he shares how AIDS forced him to consider the purpose of his living. Every time I watch this scene, I am held in awe by his steadiness in the face of real mortality. It is one of the most stunning depictions of black gay men with AIDS on film.

In its opening, Riggs notes that his weight and his T-cell count are the same. Within the first minute, Riggs inserts his struggle with AIDS within the larger exposition on blackness, troubling notions of authenticity and respectability. It is a thread that he stitches throughout the rest of his survey. By going there so soon in the journey,

The work Riggs left behind — especially “Black Is, Black Ain’t” — offers distinctive blueprints. He dedicated his tremendous talents to a particular scope of enlightenment.

“Black Is Black Ain’t” does not rest at demonstrating black achievement to disprove inferiority. It upends tightly held traditions,

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

calls out routine sexism, and homophobia perpetuated by pastors, Afrocentric activists, and popular artists. It challenges us to examine our cultural dysfunctions and reframe how we regard difference. Riggs insisted on including black queer experience in the conversation he was having with blacks through his medium.

James Baldwin once noted, “It comes as a great shock to see Gary Cooper killing off the Indians, and although you are rooting for Gary Cooper, that the Indians are you.” By the age of 12, I had already been taught that I was the Indian, but until then, I thought I was safe within my Indian village. When I realized that I carried another marker that set me apart from my family, I was shocked to learn that I was the Indian among Indians. The case made by “Black Is, Black Ain’t” exposes the lies and hypocrisies that I swallowed as a boy because I had neither the knowledge nor courage to refute them. I thank Marlon for setting a standard of truth telling and purposeful disclosure for all of us who picked up his weapons.

September 28, 2018 Voices 9

OUT ON FILM

Out On Film in

The No Spoiler Zone Steve Warren Can you trust a film festival to keep delivering the goods after 30 years? In the case of Out On Film, I’d say yes. (Make that a hell yes.)

At 31, this year’s lineup is as good as it gets.

With “Hearts Beat Loud” and “Love, Simon” in theaters this year, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Boy Erased,” and “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” on the way, and “Pose” on cable, plus LGBTQ characters in just about every TV series (the ones I watch anyway), you can raise the old argument that we don’t need an LGBTQ film festival anymore. For the 31st edition, Out On Film Director (and Georgia Voice contributor) Jim Farmer has scoured the earth to find 128 features and shorts, most of which will be hard to see anywhere else.

Judging from the more than two dozen features I was able to preview, I’d say the quality is better than ever. Having so much mainstream competition has obviously raised the bar. I might feel differently in Awards Season, but I started watching festival films during the summer, when there were only a handful of decent movies in theaters. The combined budget of all the festival films was probably less than that of “Skyscraper,” but don’t get me started on who benefits from the federal tax cut. They’re not all great, but most are better than the “Fifty Shades” trilogy, and each has the power to make some reader of this paper say, “Hey, that’s my story on the screen!”

This year’s festival runs Sept. 27–Oct. 7, primarily at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinemas. Alternate locations are noted in the reviews below, but it’s always wise to check the festival’s website (OutOnFilm. org) for last-minute changes.

The following films are rated on a four-star scale.

10 Out On Film September 28, 2018

WHEN THE BEAT DROPS PUBLICITY PHOTO

WHEN THE BEAT DROPS (***) (Sept. 27, 7pm) This Atlanta-filmed documentary is a lot like “Pose,” without the advantages of a bigger budget and more time to develop characters.

In the early ’90s, gay African Americans in the South created bucking, a synchronized dance style based on cheerleaders’ moves. The film includes plenty of spectacular examples, plus personal stories of Atlantans including Anthony Davis, who formed a group of buck dancers, Phi Phi, and organized some competitions, including Atlanta’s Live the Dream. Much of the final half-hour is devoted to a competition.

Director Jamal Sims gives Atlanta its place in the spotlight as the epicenter of the craze.

SODOM (***) (Sept. 27, 9:15pm) One night in Berlin, Michael (Jo Weil) finds

Will (Pip Brignall), a visiting Englishman half his age, handcuffed to a lamppost. Michael frees Will and invites him home, where you can guess what happens, even though Will is engaged to his childhood girlfriend. In one of the most intimate films ever, the two sit or lie around talking and drinking mescal all night, which will be too much for many viewers. You can see and feel the totally committed actors falling in love. Could it mean they remain together? No spoilers here.

MY BIG GAY ITALIAN WEDDING (***) (Sept. 29, 12:45pm) Antonio (Cristiano Caccamo) and Paolo (Salvatore Esposito), Italians living in Berlin, are in love. Antonio proposes to Paolo and invites him home to meet his parents in the scenic small town where his homophobic father is the mayor. His mother, however,

immediately starts planning the wedding — but with conditions that would be impossible to meet if this weren’t a screwball comedy.

There’s seriousness, too (Italy still hasn’t approved same-sex marriage) but enough silliness to turn the balance in the direction of fun. The big climactic musical number is in English, so you can sing along.

SNAPSHOTS (**1/2) (Sept. 29, 4:45pm) I’m just not woman enough to appreciate a movie like “Snapshots.” Rose (Piper Laurie in one of her career-best performances) is hosting her conservative daughter Patty (Brooke Adams) and troubled granddaughter Allison (Emily Baldoni) at her lake house for a weekend. Old photos trigger flashbacks to CONTINUES ON PAGE 11 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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1960, when young Rose (Shannon Collis) was wooed and eventually won by “free spirit” Louise (Emily Goss) while both were married to men and the couples hung out together. Based on a true story, “Snapshots” comes off as soapy, and seems long and repetitious for its 95-minute running time.

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1985 (***) (Sept. 29, 7pm) It’s Christmastime 1985 and Adrian (Cory Michael Smith) has flown from New York to pay his first visit in three years (and probably his last) to his conservative Texas family. His teenage brother shows signs of following in his light-in-the-loafers footsteps, but their parents (Virginia Madsen, Michael Chiklis) are still clueless about both of them. Adrian’s farewell tour may keep you on the verge of tears throughout. A lack of drawls lessens the regional authenticity but nothing can take away from the film’s emotional authenticity, which packs a real wallop. It’s another winner for gay filmmaker Yen Tan. STUDIO 54 (***) (Sept. 29, 9:05pm) When a time machine is invented, this documentary will make Studio 54 (1977– 1980) a top destination. The creators of the Manhattan disco tell the tale. Steve Rubell, who died of AIDS in 1989 and is seen in old interviews, was the face of the club, a gay man who loved celebrities and celebrity. Ian Schrager, with whom Rubell became friends in college, was the brains, the man behind the curtain — in recent interviews, he says he’s discussing those days for the first time.

Be warned: This is largely a sad story of those happy times and their aftermath.

DYKES, CAMERA, ACTION! (***1/2) (Sept. 30, 5:10 p.m.)

It’s amazing what you can cram into an hour when you know what you’re doing, and Caroline Berler obviously does. This course in the History of Lesbian Cinema begins in the ’60s, when Hollywood required queers to meet a grim fate. In the ’70s, Barbara Hammer and Su Friedrich made experimental films, while lesbian vampires became a thing in horror movies. The ’80s brought lesbian narratives by men with big budgets and women with smaller ones. The New Queer Cinema of the ’90s was all male at first. Interviewees include filmmakers and scholars who sound intelligent www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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but not dry and intellectual.

CANARY (KANARIE) (***) (Sept. 30, 7pm) In South Africa in the mid-80s, a smalltown boy (cue Bronski Beat) is drafted into the (white) army. Because of his musical talent, Johan (Schalk Bezuidenhout) gets into a special military/religious chorus, the Canaries.

Enough of the members are gay that most of the others don’t care, but Boy George-idolizing Johan isn’t sure what he is. The army makes a man of him — a self-loathing homosexual man — in this fine musical drama with elements of comedy and romance. You may get whiplash from the plot’s sharp turns, but it’s worth it.

JUST FRIENDS (***) (Sept. 30, 9:30pm) Being gay is no longer an issue in much of the world, so potential fictional lovers need other obstacles to overcome. The mother of Dutch Jew Joris (Josha Stradowski) wants to

build a wall to keep Syrian immigrant Yad (Majd Mardo) out of her son, even though her own mother (Jenny Arean) played Cupid to bring the guys together. An extraneous scene of real-world problems suggests an area of incompatibility that’s shrugged off as something else for love to conquer for a happy ending. As long as Stradowski displays his bod, gay viewers won’t care what else happens.

FREELANCERS ANONYMOUS (**1/2) (Oct. 1, 7pm) As I watched this lesbian comedy, my critic side started noticing little flaws in the script that kept getting bigger. Billie (Lisa Cordileone), who is planning to marry Gayle (Natasha Negovanlis), quits her miserable job. Discovering Freelancers Anonymous, a purposeless group, Billie pushes them to develop an app to connect people with jobs, then plans a launch party to coincide with her wedding. While the film is watchable and sometimes enjoyable, someone should have pointed out to writers Cordileone and Amy

Dellagiarino and director Sonia Sebastián that the script wouldn’t get a passing grade in Screenwriting 101.

EVERY ACT OF LIFE (***) (Oct. 1, 7:05pm) Theater queens, gather ’round! Jeff Kaufman packs an amazing amount of information about gay playwright Terrence McNally into this documentary, with a more starstudded cast than the average Tony-Award telecast in interviews and performance clips.

Born in 1939 and raised in Corpus Christi, McNally was out from Day One when he hit New York. Not so for his first two serious lovers, playwright Edward Albee and actor Robert Drivas. “The Ritz,” “Love! Valour!

Compassion!” and “Master Class” are just three highlights of a career as awesome as Kaufman’s ability to include so much without seeming to rush or overwhelm you.

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RIOT (***) (Oct. 1, 9pm) Australia’s LGBT history gets thrown onto the barbie in a film similar in tone to last year’s “BPM.” Confrontational Lance Gowland (Damon Herriman) falls in love with the more conservative Dr. Jim Walker (Xavier Samuel). Leading the lesbians is outspoken Marg McMann (Kate Box). Their personal dramas are set within the larger context of the political movement between 1972 and 1978. It builds to the first Gay Mardi Gras in Sydney, which the police turn into the riot of the title. The main characters are real people who were involved in creating the event, which has continued annually ever since.

GOOD MANNERS (***1/2) (Oct. 2, 7pm) The main character’s a lesbian and has some love scenes early on, but “Good Manners” is a horror movie, potentially a classic of the genre. Rich, white, and pregnant Ana (Marjorie Estiano) hires poor, black Clara (Isabél Zuaa) to be a nanny when her son is born. Meanwhile she moves Clara in as housekeeper, cook, and companion. But when the moon is full Clara learns other things about Ana that set “Good Manners” apart from other Brazilian interracial lesbian romances. The second half takes place seven years later, when sex is less important than survival. Horror fans, don’t miss it!

AFTER FOREVER (***) (Oct. 2, 7:05pm) The surprise ending of the first (of eight) episodes of this web-series establishes the premise. After a party for Brian (Kevin Spirtas) and Jason’s (Mitchell Anderson) 15th anniversary, we learn Jason died of cancer a year ago. We still see him, in flashbacks and Brian’s memories and fantasies — and sometimes as a guardian angel, watching over Brian and helping him move on.

Brian’s resistance to moving on and how it’s gradually worn down is the series’ main thrust, with friends and even Jason’s parents trying to fix him up. Bingeing on the first season will whet your appetite for a second.

MARIO (***) (Oct. 2, 9:10pm) Leon (Aaron Altaras, whose big brown eyes will haunt my dreams), a German, faces some resentment when he joins a Swiss 12 Out On Film September 28, 2018

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soccer team as a stepping stone to the pros; but he and Mario (Max Hubacher) make a great offensive team-within-a-team, so things are cool until a (true) rumor that they’re teaming up off the field as well catches them in a jock’s trap. Professional sports is one of the last frontiers where coming out is risky, so the lovers in this overlong but solid Swiss drama may be forced to choose between a career and each other.

MAN MADE (***) (Oct. 3, 7pm) The category is … Transgender Bodybuilding!

A different, probably better documentary than you’re expecting, “Man Made” profiles four contestants in the 2016 Trans FitCon, the world’s only all-transgender bodybuilding competition, held in Atlanta since 2014.

The contest is anticlimactic here. The wonderful part is getting to know Dominic, Rese, Mason, and Kennie — four guys from different parts of the country and in different stages of their transitions — in the preceding months. Collectively they’ll answer most of the questions you have about transgenders, especially FTMs. Each could be the subject of their own movie. Incidentally, director T Cooper is also FTM.

MALILA: THE FAREWELL FLOWER (**1/2) (Oct. 3, 7:05pm) This Thai drama for the nichest of audiences breaks into two roughly equal halves, though explaining why would be a spoiler. The first half, a gay love story, begins by exploring the impressive Thai art of flower weaving, here called Baisri. The weaver, Pich, is visiting the jasmine plantation of his old friend Shane, who proposes they move in together after he serves a short time as a monk in hopes of curing Pich’s cancer. In the second half, Shane the monk wanders through the countryside, meditating while staring at rotting corpses. If that’s for you, check it out.

HARD PAINT (***) (Oct. 3, 9:10pm) If the festival’s gotten too PG for you, here’s the movie with male nudity and gay sex.

That’s all I’m sure of, because when you think you know what you’re watching, it becomes something else. Shy, antisocial Pedro (impressive actor Shico Menegat) makes a living in front of a webcam, smearing himself with fluorescent paint, dancing and masturbating in an erotic chatroom as NeonBoy. When he starts losing viewers to a competitor, Boy25/Leo (Bruno Fernandes),

they meet, become a doubles act, and fall in love. But with Pedro’s mental instability, anything can happen — and you’ll want to see what does.

FRIENDS IN LAW (**1/2) (Oct. 4, 7:20pm) Like a bad TV movie, this Indian romcom solves all the world’s problems in an hour and a half. An opening number suggests a Bollywood musical, but there are no more. It’s at the wedding of the straight son of a well-to-do Indian family. His exiled gay brother demands their mother, Indu (Shreedevi Chowdary), visit him in Bangkok. He’s delayed in New York so his boyfriend Steve (Ashlin Harris) meets Indu at the airport, shows her around, and wins her heart. “Friends in Law” could help India accept its LGBTQ citizens, and that’s more important than any technical flaws.

A MOMENT IN THE REEDS (***) (Oct. 4, 9:10pm) Two hot young men fall in love and get acquainted in this Finnish drama. That means a lot of talking (mostly in English), CONTINUES ON PAGE 13 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

OUT ON FILM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 and so “action” may be filmed too tastefully for some tastes. Finnish blond Leevi (Janne Puustinen) visits Jouko (Mika Melender), his widowed, homophobic father who’s hired a handyman to work on their country house.

Tareq (Boodi Kabbani) is a recently arrived Syrian refugee, which doesn’t sit well with Jouko either. The acting’s fine, the story’s relatable. If you can handle the languid pace, you’ll probably fall in love with one, if not (as I did) both leading men.

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DEVIL’S PATH (***) (Oct. 5, 9pm, Out Front) For some time, you wonder whether “Devil’s Path” is going to get good; then it does and – wow! Noah (Stephen Twardokus, terrific) tells us he has always felt safe in the woods but not around people. But the part of the woods he hangs out in is a notorious gay cruising spot. One day romantic Noah meets cynical “Patrick” (JD Scalzo), his polar opposite, and they wind up lost in the woods. Forget all that, because most of it isn’t true. It’s a setup that sets you up for the twists to come in this little indie that could … and does.

TRANSMILITARY (***) (Oct. 6, 3:15pm, Out Front) By the end of the slick, professional “TransMilitary,” you’ll feel you’ve met four trans persons — two FTM and two MTF — and gotten to know them pretty well. You’ll share their victories and disappointments, and maybe shed a tear or two. All four (Senior Airman Logan Ireland, Cpl. Laila Villanueva, Capt. Jennifer Peace, and 1st Lt. El Cook) serve honorably in the military, or did during most of the filming, between 2014–16, when they were still forbidden to serve openly. That changed, then changed back, and the issue is still bouncing around in the courts.

THE QUEENS (**) (Oct. 6, 5pm, Out Front) The award for Most Hyperactive Editing Ever goes to “The Queens,” a documentary about Chicago’s Miss Continental USA pageant for female impersonators. Not wanting to leave anything out, director/ editor Mark Saxenmeyer bombards us with images (as many as 15 onscreen at one time, for a few seconds) and ideas faster than the human brain can process them. There are clips from almost 40 years of pageants and interviews with contestants, including www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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Atlantans, leading up to the “current” contest, which turns out to be 2011’s. A lot of good material, but it’s 30 pounds of movie stuffed into a five-pound bag.

IDEAL HOME (***) (Oct. 6, 7pm, Plaza) For 10 years, Erasmus (Steve Coogan), who hosts a TV cooking show, and Paul (Paul Rudd) have been loving each other and bickering constantly. Enter a 10 year old (Jack Gore) whose father was fathered by Erasmus in the ’80s. Dad’s in jail and he needs a place to stay. Yes, our guys warm to the kid, but things don’t get nearly as sappy as they usually do in these comedies, partly due to all the hard-R dialogue, much of it really funny. Based on his own experience, out writer-director Andrew Fleming entertainingly makes the point that same-sex couples can raise children.

WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY (**1/2) (Oct. 6, 7pm, Out Front) Nobody puts a dick in Dickinson in Madeleine Olnek’s story of the Bull of Amherst. Molly Shannon plays the older version of the reclusive poet in somber, ghostlike fashion, leaving the real acting to Susan Ziegler as Susan, Emily’s sister-in-law and lover. Adapting her own play, Olnek incorporates wonderful bits of subtle

humor while the main plot wanders in time, taking too long to explain how the narrator, Mabel (Amy Seimetz) fits in. It’s not as dull as I found Terence Davies’ Dickinson-centric “A Quiet Passion,” but not as original as Olnek’s marvelous “Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same.”

FOR IZZY (***) (Oct. 7, 1pm, Out Front) Dede (Michelle Ang) is a high-functioning addict (and lesbian) and Laura (Jennifer Soo a lower-functioning autistic. They’re in the Selfie Generation, so we get a lot of their story via blogs, cell phones, etc. When they become neighbors, a romance develops between Laura’s father (Jim Lau) and Dede’s mother (Elizabeth Sung), both natives of Hong Kong.

A friendship between the younger women happens more slowly, with Dede learning responsibility and Laura independence. The climax strains credibility but gets us where we want to go. It’s hard to imagine a woman creating better female characters than writerdirector Alex Chu has done.

CALL HER GANDA (***) (Oct. 7, 3pm) Director PJ Raval’s artfully assembled documentary examines the 2014 murder of

Filipina trans woman Jennifer Laude and its aftermath. The accused killer, U.S. Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton, met Jennifer in a bar and took her to a hotel, where discovering her male genitalia enraged him.

Until then, no American had been convicted of crimes against natives on Philippine soil; so in addition to “Justice for Jennifer,” some demonstrators demanded the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from their country.

Raval helps you process the many facts and opinions by slowing down periodically to focus on people or scenery while soothing music plays.

TUCKED (***) (Oct. 7, 8pm, Out Front) A drag queen as old as her jokes, Jackie (Derren Nesbitt) is dying of cancer, with weeks to live. A straight cross-dresser, he’s a widower estranged from his daughter, with no friends. That changes when he offers Faith (Jordan Stephens), the new kid in the show, a place to stay. In their brief but beautiful friendship, Faith proves to be the perfect companion, nurse, and occasional sparring partner. The movie hits most of the right notes in just the right way, staying on the good side of the fine line between sentimental and maudlin.

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The Midtown Art Cinema: A Home For Film Lovers Aidan Ivory Edwards I take my film experiences seriously. It’s to the point that it alienates me from my friends and family — they’ve stopped sending invitations my way but I don’t hold it against them; I’m not there for the social aspect anyway. I tend to go by myself to the last showing of the evening during a weekday. They’re aware of my unrestrained hostility toward those who interrupt such a luxury with bothersome actions such as chewing anything loudly, whispering about the Kardashians, checking a phone (it’s just Cindy), or sniffing every 30 seconds. Yes, I count. Leave the germs at home. They usually aren’t prepared for my confrontation that consists of me offering them a tissue, a doctor’s reference, and every type of alcohol-free cold medicine known to man.

Nor am I someone who is overly engrossed by the next step forward in technological advances.

Surround sound and three dimensions in real life are all that my fragile, anxiety-riddled mind can muster. I need a quiet environment that’s comfortable but resembles the dollar fifty theater that I grew up with in Upstate, New York. No ridiculous La-Z Boy chairs with four

cup holders, a dinner tray, a diaper-changing table, and a vape charger. When I walk in, I don’t want see an entire candy station with rows of tall cylinders of everything a manboy like me could ever dream of. I have two cavities from stress eating Sour Patch Kids this semester. Stop it. Don’t do this to me.

For these reasons, I have been a loyal guest to the Midtown Art Cinema, also known as The Landmark Theater. This theater is a hidden gem in the city. It’s located off right off Monroe and 8th Street in Midtown, residing

in the back of the Midtown Promenade. It has a quiet ambiance, a vintage appeal, but cuts through the boiling-over pretentiousness that art theaters get a bad rap for. You are in the company of genuine film lovers who aren’t going to be upset if you haven’t seen “Donnie Darko.” It has served as a home away from home for regulars such as myself. The staff know their guests by name, and the guests knows theirs just the same. The theater is always showing the film you can’t seem to find anywhere else in the city, the theater’s seating is large enough where you don’t have to sit

next to your stepdad, Todd, and everyone has the decency to put their phone away.

I love to hide out there when I feel like going to live in my van down by the river.

But this doesn’t necessarily mean the establishment is always a quiet getaway — in fact there are nights where it’s quite the contrary. They’ve become host of major premieres as well as local premieres, happily accommodating Atlanta filmmakers’ work.

In the auditorium, a standing poster board displays all their special events by the film title, time, and speaker. For a couple of years, the theater’s done special showings on Tuesday evenings of classics that a lot of us may have missed. After the showing, it’s followed up with an in-depth, post-film analysis and Q&A. The examination isn’t your typical college mushroom trip inside of dorm room, surrounded by philosophy majors. Landmark collaborates with actual professors, and well-accredited film critics from all over Atlanta to discuss the evening’s showing. Do yourself a favor before you get your hummus from Trader Joe’s, and go catch a film at the Midtown Art Cinema.

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The Starlight: Keeping Atlanta in the Dark Since 1948 Morgan Fletcher At dusk all across America, people pile their families in the car to go to the movies. These are not the movies you have to walk through the mall to get to; these are the movies that became a symbol of the American Dream and are now quickly on their way to becoming an American memory.

Drive-in theaters rose to popularity during the 1950s reaching about 4,000 locations nationwide. When you think of America and the ’50s, those large, beautiful, boatlike cars come to mind — plenty of room for your nuclear family to get comfy and head out. Interestingly enough, the first sign of the decline of the drive-in was the gas crisis of the 1970s. Families began to trade in the Bel-Airs and the Thunderbirds

for the less comfortable, fuel efficient, and hideous models — think the Chevy Nova and Pontiac Ventura. Simply enough: Why would you sit in your uncomfortable car, when you could sit in the plush seats of the theater? The second hit to the industry was the rise of the multiplex. Access to multiple movies at various times throughout the day was something in which most driveins were not able to compete. To combat these changes, many drive-ins shifted from the family night out toward a venue to anonymously watch slasher movies and a variety of not-so-family-friendly films.

Despite the changes, The Starlight DriveIn on 2000 Moreland Ave. has not only thrived, but has maintained its place in Atlanta. First opened in 1949 with a single screen, the Starlight, through a series of

Atlanta community can climb into their car to experience this classic pasttime.

Ready for a night at the Starlight? This is what you need to know: Adult tickets are $9; children ages 5–9 are only $1; those under five are admitted free. Your admission includes the double feature of the night and spots are first come, first serve. The Starlight no longer uses the metal speakers that you had to prop on your window, so a working FM radio is an absolute necessity.

metamorphoses, is not going anywhere.

In 2013, the Starlight upgraded from the traditional film projection to digital, again adapting to the changing film industry.

Seven nights a week, on six screens, the

As of 2016, there are only 336 operational drive-in theaters left in America. My childhood is littered with the memories of sitting on top of my mother’s car, watching a movie. Thanks to the Starlight’s continued efforts to change with the industry, my own children will gather some of these memories too.

16 Out On Film September 28, 2018 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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OUT ON FILM

Mettle & Pluck Are At It Again THE ATLANTA GAY- AND LESBIAN-OWNED PRODUCTION COMPANY HAS A SECOND DOC IN THE WORKS. Jamie Roberts Heather Provoncha and Leo Hollen, Jr. are the founders of Mettle & Pluck, the local film production company that produced the film “Queer Moxie,” now available to view on Amazon.com. Leo was inspired in childhood in Ohio by movies such as films

by Stanley Kubrick, Disney’s Ursula in “The Little Mermaid,” and later “Dazed and Confused.” By middle school, he was writing screenplays. Leo made his first documentary in high school, interviewing friends and strangers and editing it on equipment his mom bought for him. When he saw people in tears over his film at its first exhibition, he was hooked. He later took film theory courses at Georgia State University. He craved to see himself on screen, see stories like “boy kiss boy.”

Heather, originally from Vermont, began her career in social services as an expression of her high regard for people. She also enjoys film and art that celebrate and uplift people, especially those on the margins overcoming adversity. She recalls the first lesbian film that really touched her as “When Night Is Falling.”

She found herself in the close-knit LGBTQ community in Burlington, where she became a stage manager for local drag shows, as well as host to open-mic competitions. She moved to Atlanta looking for a city with more people, diversity, and weather.

When she got to Atlanta in 2003, she noticed how segregated our queer spaces were by gender and race. She was inspired by all the various queer groups and events in town like The Dixie Pistols, The Atlanta Kings, the Femme Mafia, the organizers and 18 Out On Film September 28, 2018

performers of MondoHomo, and spokenword artists like Theresa Davis. Sometime around 2009, Heather began dating a burlesque dancer. As the relationship developed, Heather cut her hair, wore suits, found her ‘inner gentleman,’ and began performing onstage as “Danny.”

Heather started to record footage of performances at the Moxie Cabaret scene at the time, at first to help her girlfriend and other performers see what they were doing. She enjoyed being invited backstage, as well as being part of the audience. She also enjoyed comedy and spoken-word performances that were part of the scene.

A concept for portraying this diverse community formed in her mind by “flipping the script” and featuring performers of color, trans performers, drag kings, and other queer artists rather than simply drag queens. “I hit record and started,” she tells us. “I didn’t know how I was going to get there.” Fueled by coffee and supporters along the way, she learned the business as she went.

The company began several years ago in 2013, after Heather and Leo met at a coffee shop in Virginia Highland. Leo told her about his film experience and agreed to film some footage for her at a performance at the Jungle. Leo’s ability to write and edit added new momentum to the “Queer Moxie” project. They began releasing trailers for the film in 2014 and wrapped production on the film with their last interview of Georgiaborn punk legend Jayne County in 2016 at the Earl. Leo regards it as a love-letter to the community, a film that “is truly an independent movie … self-funded, written, edited, directed, distributed.”

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Their company, Mettle & Pluck, emerged near the end of post-production for “Queer Moxie.” In the middle of post-production, the computer Leo was using quit working as the movie was so big, it outstripped the capacity of his computer’s processor. Therefore, one of the first purchases they made as a company was a computer with the capacity to finish the editing. They realized that they worked great as a partnership, and sought to formalize that relationship. As they brainstormed synonyms for the word “moxie,” they came up with “mettle” and “pluck.” They joked “Moxie, Mettle, and Pluck – that sounds like a law firm!” They name seemed to encapsulate what it takes for outsiders to get on stage and take up space. Heather sums up their mission: “We intend to have an impact on the world as much as to tell a story.”

Their idea for their new feature documentary, “XOXO: For the Love of Football,” began from a specific interview during the production of “Queer Moxie.” During an interview of Sir Kam’ron, an accomplished pageant artist, they noticed a lot of medals and trophies behind him. They asked him if they were his, and he said that they were part his, but the rest of them belonged to his

girlfriend who not only won many of them in beauty pageants, but also from playing tackle football. A friend of theirs made the immediate comment, “Now that’s a story I’d like to hear!” Leo and Heather agreed.

Following a tour of film festivals for their first film, they met Carla “Smiley” Odum, who introduced them to the sport and became crucial to creating their narrative of the film.

They went to national tournaments and met gold-medal Olympians who participate in the sport.

Leo says that XOXO isn’t meant to prove that women can do anything — “We already know that. What it’s showing is how amazing they are at what they do in their game, in their life, and presenting it to the world.” The film is set to premiere in spring of 2019. Lee and Heather also produce a podcast, now in its second season called “Double D” with Destiny Streeter and Dylan Walters. “They’re really funny people, one an entrepreneur, one an artist.

They talk about their lives, pop culture, as two Southern queer women.”

You listen to the Double D podcast at their website MettleAndPluck.com. www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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ACTING OUT

New Documentary Drops With the Beat Jim Farmer

Atlanta native Anthony Davis has always had a love for dance. From a young child, the passion was in him, prompting him to take dance classes.

Davis is the central focus of the new documentary “When the Beat Drops,” opening at Out On Film’s 31st annual film festival Sept. 27. The film charts the history of the underground dance form known as bucking and Davis’ involvement in it. It’s directed by noted choreographer Jamal Sims, who is about to move to the area himself, where his husband lives.

Although Davis doesn’t have an exact date when bucking began, it had origins at Jackson State University, where girls on cheerleading squads would dance in a form later called bucking.

“It derives from a horse — the prancing, the thrusting, the marching, all with the grace of a horse,” he says. “They would mimic that. Guys who went to school with these girls wanted to do what the girls were doing but were not allowed on the teams. So they went to the clubs and began mimicking what they saw. It had been happening in the clubs for years but there were not teams. People came together and started doing routines.” Competitions grew from there, mostly in the South.

At the time, he was at Morris Brown College, in the school band, and became enamored.

“Having a love of dance and liking what they were doing took me to the level,” he says. “From there it stuck with me. At the time, though, people did not know what it was. Voguing had just got to the South and now you had this.”

The dancers who perform, however, have to be somewhat discreet. “A job can let you go because you are not a perfect fit,” Davis says.

“You know how Georgia can be. It can be fickle and they don’t have to have a reason to let you go. They can say, ‘We’ve seen some 20 Columnists September 28, 2018

DETAILS

“When the Beat Drops” Sept. 27 Landmark Midtown Art Cinema 7pm

pictures’ and you have no leg to fight them on. [There is fear] of that in the South.”

Davis’ own dancing career got a jolt in June 2002 when he was shot at Kroger late one night by an assailant who tried to get his car keys. Davis drove himself to the hospital and surgeons couldn’t remove the bullet because it had broken into fragments. He credits his faith with getting him through a long rehab. He was very depressed and it took friends and family to get him through the ordeal. He can dance to a certain extent, but not at the same level.

He is content now to be a mentor and head up his own team full of young dancers. Yet he has firm rules for them. “I let them know you have to be working or in school or both,” he says.

“This is extracurricular. Your livelihood comes first. How are you going to do this if you don’t have an education to fall back on? Those are things I try to instill in the kids on my team.”

There used to be one team per city, but

several teams now exist the Atlanta area.

Davis’ new team will make their debut at a competition over MLK Weekend 2019.

Five years ago, Davis heard that a director was interested in meeting with him to talk about doing a film. He had already been approached by other networks and felt that if this story was going to be told, the natural origins needed to be included and the film couldn’t make a mockery of it or make the dancers look foolish. “We met with Jamal and I originally thought ‘no,’” Davis says. “Other people who wanted to do it, they wanted the drama but not the real life stories of who we are. We are not just guys in tights running around without a life in clubs every night. That is not who we are. We are well-educated people with ideas of who we are and who we wanted to be. Jamal mentioned he was a dancer and he was kind of like us. He might not want to tell everyone he was gay because he might not get a job. That was what a lot of us were going through. He got a rough draft of what he was trying to do and we got aboard.”

Having the film come home is special, especially because a majority of the film was shot in Atlanta. “It is a place I grew up,” says Davis. “A lot of people have made Atlanta home. It is a hub where bucking has become really popular.

To have people see it here means so much.” www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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September 28, 2018 Ads 21

EATING MY WORDS

Summer Bodies Are Made in Winter

(Or at Nam Phuong in Autumn.)

Cliff Bostock Autumn allegedly arrived last week and you know what that means: Soon your body will start gathering fat to protect you from the winter cold and feed you during your hibernation at Manifest and Flex. So, this week, let’s hit a healthy choice, Nam Phuong in Chamblee (4051 Buford Highway). The Vietnamese cuisine here, like the original on Jimmy Carter Boulevard, is widely regarded as unsurpassable in our city.

Why do I call the food here healthy?

Vietnamese food employs lots of fresh herbs, very little fat, vegetables, rice noodles, and lean meats. Then again, Nam Phuong allows you to compensate by eating gigantic portions. It offers a remarkable deal of huge dinners for two to five people that include enough dishes to cover your entire table for barely $15 per person. I opted out but my two friends jumped on the deal. Their meal included macrophallic summer rolls, that looked like they were wrapped in glossily lubricated rice-paper condoms; a huge bowl of mainly sweet but also sour soup with shrimp and vegetables; a plate of rib nubs; and a giant serving of salty green beans with shreds of sautéed beef. As if this

22 Columnists September 28, 2018

were not enough, they added an enormous papaya salad and a slice of paper-thin steak submerged in broth.

I bugged the kitchen to make my favorite, which I’ve never actually found on any menu besides the one at the departed Chateau de Saigon. After several visits to the table by the manager, she said the chef agreed to make it. It’s simple, actually. It’s rice cooked in a pot until it’s crunchy and then topped with a meat of your choice. I wanted the classic pork cooked until caramelized in a hot pot with fish sauce. It was, no joke, the best I’ve ever had. Please order it. (I did report a few months ago that Anh’s Kitchen in Midtown made me a version with healthier chicken.) The price was $10–$15 for the meat and $5 for the rice. Like everything else here, it was a huge portion.

Nothing failed to please, except maybe some meh eggrolls. The menu, which is welltranslated, is absolutely gigantic, and includes the faddish pho which you can wait to eat in late winter to start melting the fat away.

ELSEWHERE: Friends and I now and then go to Café Lapin (2341 Peachtree Road) in Buckhead. It’s a classic place to mingle with Ladies Who Lunch on tuna and chicken

salad. No matter how old you are, you’ll still likely be the youngest person there. The lunch menu is all sandwiches, soups, salads, and quiche, and it’s all pretty good. I love the grilled pimento cheese with bacon and tomato. I order it with the caprese salad.

The restaurant specializes in cakes and the coconut is regarded by many as the best in town. Café Lapin is also open for dinner, but the food is equally prosaic but pricey.

In my last column, I mentioned The Baker

Dude Bakery Café in the Beacon Atlanta (1039 Grant Street). You must go. I’ve devoured their cupcakes and specials like lasagna and a pear quiche. If you go Friday evening, you can catch drag performer Stiletto in a cabaret performance with pianist Robert Reeb. Call ahead to confirm. I love the place.

Cliff Bostock is a former psychotherapist now specializing in life coaching. Contact him at 404-518-4415 or CliffBostock@gmail.com.

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BEST BETS Our Guide to the Best LGBTQ Events in Atlanta for September 28- October 11 FRIDAY, SEPT. 28

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

Keira Knightley stars in the lesbian-themed “Colette,” opening in area theaters today, with various showtimes.

Sunday in the Park At Oakland is a free annual Sunday in the Park event, now in its 40th year.

Historic Oakland Cemetery Noon–6pm

Every Friday at midnight, it’s time to slip on those fishnets and makeup for the greatest live troupe in the city, Lips Down On Dixie, Inc., for a righteous party in front of the big screen for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Plaza Atlanta Midnight

Amy Schumer brings her rebellious sense of humor to Atlanta.

Fox Theatre 7pm The Michelle Malone Band plays tonight.

Michelle’s new record ‘Slings and Arrows” is upbeat, defiant, and jubilant, flush with the raw energy, emotion, and slide guitar that’s always been a part of her signature sound all while nudging her deeper into some personal new territory. These songs speak to desire and disappointment, optimism and awareness, all with a driving and fiery conviction. Michelle describes “Slings And Arrows” as a “Georgia record,” due to the fact that the musicians, studios, and even those responsible for the visual art are all Georgians.

Eddie’s Attic 9:15pm Enjoy the KINKED hardcore leather night with DJ Eric.

The Atlanta Eagle 10 pm Do you remember the old variety shows like “The Carol Burnett Show,” “The Muppet Show,” or “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour”? Did you/do you always dream of being in the audience and being a part of the show? Atlanta’s all LGBTQIA+-

24 Best Bets September 28, 2018

TUESDAY, OCT. 2

David Byrne brings his American Utopia Tour 2018 to The Fox Theatre tonight with special guest, Tune-Yards.

8pm

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 3

The Auburn Avenue Research Library will host former federal prosecutor Paul Butler who will discuss his latest publication “Chokehold: Policing Black Men.” In his no-holds-barred style, Butler uses new data to demonstrate that white men commit the majority of violent crime in the United States.

7pm

SATURDAY, SEPT. 29

It’s Georgia Voice day at Out On Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ film festival, with men’s and women’s and trans shorts, the lesbian drama “Snapshots,” the AIDS drama “1985,” and the acclaimed documentary “Studio 54” and more.

Midtown Art Cinema 11am–12:30am

and families of LGBTQ children meets today at the Atlanta International School from 7:30pm–9 pm.

identifying comedy group, Queeriety, has just the show for you. Come see The Queeriety Variety Show on the last Saturday of every month. Each show will be jam-packed with improvisation, live sketch comedy, stand-up comedy, puppetry, and drag performances.

The Village Theater 11pm

SUNDAY, SEP. 30

Serving Ovahness is the special guest at Xion starting at 3 am.

Back before cities built public parks, people would bring a picnic basket and some musical instruments (and maybe a few adult libations) to the local cemetery and revere the dead by celebrating life in what was often one of the only patches of public space in town. Sunday in the Park At Oakland is a free annual Sunday in the Park event, now in its 40th year. As part of the event, you can explore how the cemetery, surrounding neighborhoods, and the city have changed over time and celebrate the local communities that make Oakland what it is today.

Historic Oakland Cemetery Noon–6pm The High Museum of Art’s touring exhibition “Outliers and American Vanguard Art” closes today. The show

brings together more than 250 diverse works by more than 80 trained and untrained artists, and includes sections and featured works by artists including Greer Lankton, Zoe Leonard, Forrest Bess, and Henry Darger that examine sexuality and gender. Together, the works on view offer an unprecedented overview of the profound impact of American self-taught artists on the evolution of modern and contemporary art over the past 100 years. They also reveal how these artists galvanized the mainstream art world to embrace difference and diversity across race, region, class, age, and gender.

MONDAY, OCT. 1

Chloe Sevigny and Kristen Stewart star in the new drama/thriller “Lizzie,” about Lizzie Borden, featuring Sevigny as Borden, an unmarried woman of 32, and Stewart as a new maid who is attracted to her, in spite of her way with an axe.

TBD theaters Trans and Friends is a youth-focused group for trans people, people questioning their own gender, and aspiring allies, providing a facilitated space to discuss gender, relevant resources, and activism around social issues.

Charis Books and More 7pm–8:30pm The PFLAG support group for parents

The Atlanta Opera’s “Yardbird,” about Charlie Parker’s tragically short life and the women who influenced him, continues tonight (through Oct. 7) at Le Maison Rouge.

THURSDAY, OCT. 4

Building on the activist tradition of consciousness raising groups, each month Charis invites community members to join The Personal is Political: Feminist Vent, to talk about personal issues or societal issues they are trying to deconstruct.

The group will use intersectional feminist strategies as tools to talk through these issues.

Charis Books and More 7:30–9pm

FRIDAY, OCT. 5

DJ Tron spins at Bulldogs tonight.

Celeste Holmes, with special guests Brigitte Bidet, Shawnna Brooks, Angelica D’Paige, Lena Lust, and Chavon Scott join forces for Celestial.

Blakes on the Park 11pm

SATURDAY, OCT. 6

In a setting that even Shakespeare himself couldn’t have imagined, the Alliance Theatre will produce a whimsical, outdoor production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at the Atlanta Botanical

CONTINUES ON PAGE 25 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

BEST BETS

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 10

Do you have a taste for terror?

Then take “Carrie” to the prom. WUSSY mag presents the 1976 horror classic.

Plaza Theatre 7pm

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 24 Garden tonight, running through October 21 starting at 7:30pm.

Join Princess Charles for the rowdy Pop! Karaoke.

Midtown Tavern 9pm

SUNDAY, OCT. 7

Don’t miss Tossed Salad with host Brigitte Bidet with DJ Wulf, DJ Ressie Cups, and DJ Ksquared.

My Sister’s Room 10pm

MONDAY, OCT. 8

Expect a huge crowd as Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms hosts the City of Atlanta’s Inaugural Mayor’s LGBTQ Reception tonight as part of Pride week!

Atlanta City Hall 6–8 pm T-Time Atlanta Trans Youth holds their weekly meeting tonight.

St. Anne’s Episcopal Church 7:30pm

TUESDAY, OCT. 9

Dammit, Janet! It’s time for a one-way ticket to Transylvania to experience a bingo night that is truly out of this world, baby.

That would be the Rocky Horror Drag Queen Bingo.

Lips Atlanta 7:30 pm Come out and enjoy trivia with Dewayne Morgan.

The Atlanta Hideaway 8:30pm

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 10

Do you have a taste for terror? Then take “Carrie” to the prom. WUSSY mag presents the 1976 horror classic. The screening will be hosted by 2018 Prom Overlord Molly Rimswell. A pig blood’s punch drink special will be available and prizes will be given for best 70s highschool jock, mean girl, or Sissy Spacek “bloody prom look.”

Plaza Theatre 7pm TEN Atlanta will once again transform

www.thegeorgiavoice.com

from a crowded dance club into a cozy NYC Cabaret for consecutive Wednesday nights tonight with Boys Night “OUT” on Broadway, a one-hour musical and comedy revue written by Broadway veteran performer Robert Ray. TEN Atlanta 7pm and 9pm Maggie Thrash presents her novel “Lost Soul, Be at Peace” with Atlanta Pride.

It’s the follow-up to her acclaimed “Honor Girl,” which dealt with first love at an all-girls camp and its subject’s subsequent heartbreak and depression.

Charis Books and More 7:30pm–9pm

THURSDAY, OCT. 11

It’s BlackOut Night at Manifest! Be there at 8pm.

Are you afraid of the dark? If not, take a gamble on Serenbe Playhouse’s “The Sleepy Hollow Experience” – in an acclaimed new adaptation by artistic director Brian Clowdus – which continues its run tonight at 8pm through Nov. 4

UPCOMING

Integrity Atlanta will host its 30th Annual Pride Eucharist on Thursday, October 11, 2018. The Eucharist will take place at All Saints’ Episcopal Church at 7:30pm.

FRIDAY, OCT. 12

Atlanta Pride officially kicks off with its annual aquarium party.

Georgia Aquarium 7pm–11:30 pm

SATURDAY, OCT. 13

It’s SEC Day at Woofs Atlanta. Check in at noon and watch football games all day long.

Join Miss Terra Cotta Sugarbaker for a special Pride edition of Drag Queen Storytime at the 48th Atlanta Pride Festival. Enjoy stories, crafts, and lots of fun. The event will be in the Family Fun Zone, hosted by Turner.

Piedmont Park 4pm Join your neighbors and friends to Light Up the Lake in Avondale Estates.

Kick off the night by displaying your lantern creations during the monthly ArtWalk that begins at 5pm and later enjoy food and drink in downtown Avondale’s local restaurants or at several food vendors.

“Backstage & Other Stories” stars Terry Burrell, a hugely accomplished Broadway musical actress who resides in Roswell and performs for top theater companies around the country. Her Broadway credits include starring roles in major productions of “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and “Dreamgirls.” “Backstage & Other Stories” is an evening of memories and melodies that offers a rare and candid glimpse of life as a performer on the Great White Way and will include special arrangements from Terry’s illustrious career, including tributes to Lena Horne, Barbra Streisand, Ethel Waters, Eartha Kitt, and Judy Garland.

Roswell Cultural Arts Center 8pm

September 28, 2018 Best Bets 25

THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID

Melissa Carter I was privy to a conversation the other day at work. However, I ended up being more surprised by the reaction of the comment than the actual topic itself.

First, you must know that our office allows casual dress and many employees represent their favorite college teams on Fridays. A gentleman in the office, who is in his 60s, relayed the fact that his wife had apologized to him for not ironing his Georgia T-shirts in time for him to wear them one particular Friday.

We can stop there and discuss the fact that there are still women ironing their husband’s shirts, and even apologizing when the job is not completed. I should note: My colleague wasn’t complaining; he was honestly just surprised by her apology and obviously didn’t realize until that moment that she cared so much about his Friday attire.

Once he mentioned his wife’s efforts, there were several colleagues — both men and women who were in their 30s — who commended what she did and that he had ‘found a good one.’ Yes, Millennials who were raving how lucky he was to have found a ‘woman like that.’

If the #MeToo campaign is to truly thrive, we have to first determine as women where we want to be. Is it safe? Ambitious? Equal?

Honored? Yes, sexual assault needs to end and straight men need to adhere to two rules I was given by guy friends long ago for Mr. Carter when he was born: If you have

Saying Sorry

to force it or pay for it, you’re doing it wrong.

Men need to put the time and effort into obtaining a woman’s affection, and women need to see themselves worth the effort.

I always felt that, as a lesbian, I had an opportunity for more freedoms in my relationships. As two women, we can create our own dynamic and don’t have to adhere to the social constructs that sometimes strangle straight couples and keep them from being truly happy. However, some habits are hard to break and I see gay couples who take on certain gender roles where there are none.

I think subtle comments like the ones I heard at work still permeate into people’s subconscious, that to be a good wife means to serve the other ahead of yourself. To be a good husband means to work and allow your partner to know that your effort in doing so allows you from having to deal with certain responsibilities that are now theirs.

On my podcast, “She Persisted,” I constantly remind listeners that learning who you are and truly realizing your likes and dislikes regardless of others’ opinions of them is key to finding your own happiness. As able adults, we each need to learn how to be selfsufficient — both financially and emotionally — and stop relying on others to fill the gaps in our lives. To do that would get us to the place that famous movie line advised: “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”

One of the first out radio personalities in Atlanta, Melissa’s worked for B98.5 and Q100. Catch her daily on theProgressive Voices podcast “She Persisted.” Tweet her! @MelissaCarter

26 Columnists September 28, 2018 www.thegeorgiavoice.com

SOMETIMES ‘Y’

The Family That Enables Together …

Ryan Lee Before he was a multi-Oscar winner, Tom Hanks gained Hollywood fame through goofball flicks like “The ’Burbs” and “Joe Versus the Volcano.” In 1984, he starred in the fratboy classic, “Bachelor Party,” which has been stuck in my mind since seeing the most recent TV ad for Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp.

A romantic couple in the movie is desperate for some alone-time in the hotel overtaken

by Hanks’ raucous farewell to singledom.

They retreat to their car, unaware that the film’s antagonist has been stripped nude and dropped from a window above. As the lovers lean into each other for a kiss, the antagonist’s bare ass falls into the car’s sunroof, their lips sandwiching his butt cheeks.

Team Kemp re-created that scene when it enlisted the candidate’s wife, Marty Kemp, to try and convince Georgians that the looniness they saw from her husband during the Republican primary — in which he pointed a shotgun at a teenager and toyed around with dynamite and chainsaws — was not simply him hamming it up for the campaign cameras.

“When Brian decided to run for governor, I told him he was too honest for politics,” Mrs. Kemp said. It’s tricky to speculate about conversations between spouses, but not hard to assume she’s lying.

The governor’s race is not Brian Kemp’s first foray into politics: He served four years in the Georgia Senate, ran a losing campaign for state agriculture commissioner in 2006, and was appointed Secretary of State in 2010. I’d challenge Mrs. Kemp to identify a single instance from any of those campaigns or her husband’s decade in elected office where he said anything more provocative than he likes sugar in his grits.

Not one news cycle of this campaign has included (let alone been dominated) by Kemp making some instinctive, off-color remark. The www.thegeorgiavoice.com

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snappyservices.com Snappy Makes Homes Happy! only “shoot-from-the-hip” moment was when Kemp talked about using his pick-up truck to round up illegal immigrants, a comment so rehearsed and feigned that Kemp tried to assure viewers in his goofy drawl, “Yup! I jus’ said dat!”

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In truth, Kemp has been an ordinary cuttaxes-and-love-Jesus Republican his entire career, with no habit of making inflammatory, or even impolite, statements. The defining gaffe of his time in public office is not a verbal one, but the bureaucratic faux pas of exposing the private information of 6,000,000 Georgia voters to identity thieves in 2015.

ANY SERVICE CALL, NEW & EXISTING CUSTOMERS

Four years ago, Kemp might have considered Donald Trump an amoral loudmouth, and even after Trump secured the GOP nomination in 2016, the strongest praise Kemp could muster was, “We got the candidate we got.” Now, Kemp’s pathetic imitation of Trump has made him the Republican nominee for governor.

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Whenever looking back at the more depraved eras of human history, it’s common to wonder where the sane people were, or how an entire society could sign onto the malignant worldview espoused by strongmen. Kemp’s transformation from a standard-issue conservative into a bad-boy wannabe is a terrifying case study in how an ambitious man is willing to forsake a lifetime of decency (along with the future shame of his daughters and grandchildren) to capitalize on the current pining for degenerate leadership.

Shamelessly, he’s even got his wife on TV in order to help him kiss President Toad’s ass.

September 28, 2018 Columnists 27