It was a very queer in Park City, Utah during the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival.
From January 18-28, Sundance presented films, panels and events that painted a portrait of what we can expect from the world of cinema and entertainment — and GLAAD was on the ground representing.
On January 18, GLAAD teamed with prominent LGBTQ film festivals Frameline and NewFest for the first time to present “Cheer Queers” which celebrated queer filmmakers, creatives and the community at the Acura tent, a prime spot for events at the fest.
The event also included the “Queer Film is Activism” panel moderated by GLAAD’s Anthony Allen Ramos and featuring Alok Vaid-Menon, filmmaker Alex Hedison (director of the short film ALOK), Allegra Madsen (Director of Programming at Frameline), David Hatkoff (Executive Director at NewFest), DaShawn Usher (Director of Communities of Color and Media at GLAAD), and Natalie Jasmine Harris (director of the short film Grace). During the panel, the participants spoke about the LGBTQ films being celebrated at Sundance and discussed the importance of having authentic queer representation on camera as well as behind the scenes.
In addition, Real Housewives of Salt Lake City‘s Meredith Marks partnered with GLAAD for a celebration at her boutique located in the Sundance epicenter of Main Street. In addition to Alok Vaid-Menon, who kept the party going from the “Cheers Queers” event, guests included Joel Kim Booster (Fire Island, Chrissy & Dave Dine Out), Alex Blue Davis (Grey’s Anatomy), Carl Radke (TV Personality, Summer House), Cobbie Yates (Costume Designer), Chris Colfer (Actor), Darkwah Kyei-Darkwah (Artist), Dylan Mulvaney (Influencer), Florido Basallo (Celebrity Hairstylist), and more.
On January 22, GLAAD hosted “Spotlighting Transgender Storytellers”, two fireside chats at the Sundance venue, the Box. One featuring GLAAD’s Shar Jossell in conversation with Oscar nominated filmmaker Yance Ford, whose film Power was making its debut at the fest. The documentary pulls back the curtain and puts a glaring light on the American policing system and shows how it has exploded in scope over hundreds of years and how it has impacted certain communities more than others.
“The more that we put things under the category of ‘crime’, the more we designate police to be the solution to those ‘problems’,” Ford told Jossell.
After calling out Utah for for advancing the anti-trans bill HB 257, GLAAD’s Director of Transgender Representation and producer Alex Schmider, moderated a conversation with Moi Santos (manager, EIB, Sundance Institute), River Gallo (actor/screenwriter/producer, Ponyboi), and Sav Rodgers (Chasing Chasing Amy director & Founder, Transgender Film Center). Schmider led a insightful discussion about the impact of authentic personal filmmaking and their work creating opportunities for more.
Gallo, whose film Ponyboi premiered at the fest spoke about making the film directed by Esteban Arango. tells The story is personal for Gallo and tells the story of of a young intersex sex worker who must run from the mob after a drug deal goes sideways, forcing them to confront their past. Dylan O’Brien, Victoria Pedretti, Murray Bartlett, and Indya Moore star alongside Gallo in the pic.
GLAAD also represented at HBO Documentary Films‘s yearly dinner; the Asian Pacific American Film Experience, as well as Sunrise Collective‘s Multicultural Dinner which brought together all the “houses” at Sundance including NAACP, MACRO, The Latinx House, Illuminative, MPAC (Muslim Public Affairs Council), PEAK (Pasifika Entertainment Advancement Komiti), The Blackhouse, Pillars Fund, RespectAbility, 1497, Define American, 3AD, Gold House, TAAF (The Asian American Foundation), and more.
Alessandra Lacorazza‘s film In The Summers starring Lio Mehiel, Sasha Calle, Leslie Grace, and René Pérez Joglar (aka the musician Residente) rose to the top during the fest, winning the U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic. The slice of life family drama is told in chapters and follows two siblings over the course of a handful of summer visits to their father. As the kids grow up (and in Mehiel’s character’s case, transition) we see their relationship with their father pivot, shift and some times erode in this poetic film about family.
“This film snuck up on us — like many great films do,” said the Sundance jury in a statement. “We didn’t know where the journey would lead us, but by the time we landed on the final frame, we knew we had experienced something truly mesmerizing. This film tells the story of a family that is broken but refuses to give up on each other. A film like this can easily slip through the cracks, and for that reason we have chosen to shed light on this beautiful piece of cinema and we hope it finds the audience it so well deserves.”
On top of that, the film also earned Lacorazza the the Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic.
Other awards given to LGBTQ films at Sundance included Carla Gutiérrez‘s FRIDA, spotlighting the queer artistic icon. The documentary earned the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary. In addition, Jules Rosskam‘s conceptual trans identity documentary Desire Lines was awarded the NEXT Special Jury Award.
Rose Glass’s queer noir thriller Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian was a hot ticket at the fest, making its world premiere in the Midnight section. The pic comes from A24 and follows a romance between a lonely gym owner (Stewart) and a body builder (O’Brian) who end up entangled in a murder while mulletted Ed Harris and Dave Franco look on with toxic masculinity. It definitely caught the attention of the Sundance audience.
Filmmaker Amrou Al-Kadhi made their feature film debut with Layla starring Bilal Hasna in a breakout performance as the titular drag queen who finds love for the first time trying to find acceptance within their own community and with their family. Audiences also fell in love with Josh Greenbaum‘s Will & Harper, which takes us on a road trip with Will Ferrell and his lifelong friend Harper Steele, who recently came out as a trans woman.
Other documentaries like Seeking Mavis Beacon and Love Machina have queer people telling stories about iconic typing tutor software and AI, respectively while the short Bust starring Lux Pascal left us wanting a full feature about a trans cop busting drug deals. In Finnish-British writer-director Mikko Mäkelä‘s Sebastian, we follow an author navigates his new life as a sex worker — while writing a book about it. And John Early takes us back to the anxiety and wild uncertainty in the quarantine-set dramedy Stress Positions.
There were queer-centric stories all throughout the fest including Better Angels: The Gospel According To Tammy Faye, which gives more love to the titular queer icon as well as the comedy Between the Temples which features acclaimed actresses Dolly De Leon and Caroline Aaron as the mothers to Jason Schwartzman‘s character. Dawn Porter’s documentary Luther: Never Too Much spotlights the music’s legend including his musical genius, impact on the industry and even touches on his sexual identity.