1 minute read
ESTHER NEWTON MADE ME GAY
In Competition
92 min | 2022 | USA | English | Documentary Feature | Asian Premiere
Drawn to the drag scene as a student in the 1950s and identifying as both butch lesbian and between genders, Esther Newton has spent seven decades writing about and forging queer communities; and her 1972 book ‘Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America’ is noted as the first rigorous academic and anthropological study of queer community in modern history. This film gives us a rare look at queer history and gender studies through a living lesbian icon, encompassing amazing archival footage peppered with Esther’s other passion— dog training poodles.
Festivals & Honors:
• World Premiere, Best of Fest - BFI Flare London LGBTQIA+ FF, 2022
• Audience Award - Provincetown International Film Festival, USA, 2022
• Best Documentary + Audience Award - Bologna Lesbian FF, Italy, 2022
• Jury Award - OUT at the Movies Int’l FF, Winston-Salem, USA, 2022
Jean Carlomusto
Jean Carlomusto is a director, producer, editor, cinematographer, activist, and interactive media artist whose work explores the complex nature of unique individuals and marginalized populations. In 2022, she was a recipient of the Visual AIDS Vanguard Award for her pioneering work in the AIDS activist video movement. Her filmography includes critically acclaimed works such as her Emmy-nominated documentary Larry Kramer in Love & Anger; Sex in an Epidemic; To Catch a Glimpse, L Is For The Way You Look; and Offerings.
