2024 Queer black voices awards & screening fundraiser

AN EVENING CELEBRATING QUEER BLACK VOICES IN FILM

aGLIFF’s Queer Black Voices Fund Committee will host a special evening in the Draylen Mason Music Studio at KMFA on Thursday, August 22, 2024, awarding grants to the three filmmakers at PRISM 37, celebrating their work, and raising money for future queer black creatives. Guests will have an opportunity to meet the filmmakers, view their short films, and hear from each on the inspiration behind their films and creative process.

• 5:30pm - 7pm: Red Carpet & Cocktail Reception

• 7pm: Dinner, Screenings & Live Filmmaker Discussions

The evening includes Red Carpet arrivals and a cocktail reception beginning at 5:30 p.m. A buffet-style dinner will be served by Mashae’s Catering followed by the awards presentations and screenings.

*Prism 37 Badge receive one complimentary ticket to the Queer Black Voices Awards & Screening Fundraiser. General admission tickets are $100 and include the red carpet cocktail reception, dinner and program.

2024 QUEER BLACK VOICES INDUCTEES

To ensure that queer Black creatives are represented as part of the Prism Film Fest every year, aGLIFF launched the Queer Black Voices Fund in 2020. Created in response to the recent events surrounding the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Javier Ambler, among other incidents between police officers and African Americans, the QBV Fund will cover the costs associated with submitting and showing qualified films as part of Prism and aGLIFF’s year-round programming.

The 2024 QBV Awardees are:

in the interval | USA | 2024 | 23 minutes

Writer/Director/Producer: æryka jourdaine hollis o’neil | Cast: æryka jourdaine hollis o’neil

Both an intimate family portrait and cinematic collage of Black and trans collective memory and (be)longing, meditating on themes of safety, bodily autonomy and generations of compounding loss across time and media.

æryka jourdaine hollis o’neil (She/They) is a multidisciplinary scholar, writer, and artist. Utilizing an assemblage of narrative, documentary, experimental, personal and performative modes of address, their work convenes, and questions related themes of racialized gender, sexuality, desire, kinship, enfleshment and embodied capital, personhood, violence and belonging.

æryka is a concurrent Ph.D. Candidate in Black Studies and MFA student in Documentary Media at Northwestern University with specializations in Gender and Sexuality Studies and Critical Theory. They also hold a Master of Arts in American Studies and a Graduate Certificate in Documentary Filmmaking from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

MISS HONEY: THE CATSUIT | United States | 2024 | 6 minutes

Director: Brandon R. Nicholas | Cast: Moi Renee, Brandon R. Nicholas

Miss Honey: The Catsuit is the story of how Fashion Designer and Ballroom Icon Douglas Says created his legendary cut-out catsuit and how Caribbean Artist Moi Renee came to wear it for a televised performance of his song, "Miss Honey."

Brandon Nick is a queer Afro-Caribbean filmmaker, portrait photographer, and podcaster. His art is a pursuit towards joy, reclamation, understanding, and pleasure in service to butch queens, femme queens, Black queer folx, and queer folx of color.

He uses non-fiction storytelling to amplify the images and stories of Black LGBTQ folx. Brandon does this through Let's Get Back to Queer, a mixxy audio documentary podcast that explores the forces that shape and break LGBTQ communities; and The Each-Other Project, a digital media platform he co-founded that fosters and celebrates community for queer and trans people of color through art and advocacy. Brandon is also a part of the inaugural GLAAD Equity in Media and Entertainment Initiative cohort.

MÉLANGE | USA | 2024 | 15 minutes

Writer, Director, Executive Producer: Deshon Leek | Cast: Miles Cameron, Bereket, J.R. Yussuf

Two men reconnect in a jazz bar after a period of estrangement. When sharing a dance stirs up old feelings, the pair attempts to run away from acknowledging their intimate past. Mélange is an exploration of fear and desire for intimacy uniting.

Deshon Leek is a writer, director, and Emmy® Award-winning producer. He received a bachelor's degree in film at Morehouse College before relocating to New York City. Deshon's work often focuses on challenging conventional notions centered around black manhood, queer identity, and mental health. He is a recipient of the 2024 En Foco Media Arts Fund and Tongal x Black Film Space Grant Award Finalist. His latest film, Mélange made its world premiere at the 2024 Rio LGBTQIA+ International Film Festival.

2024 QUEER BLACK VOICES MENTOR

ABOUT THE QUEER BLACK VOICES FUND:

The Queer Black Voices Fund was created in response to the events of 2020 surrounding the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Javier Ambler, among other incidents between police officers and African Americans. The fund has been set up to ensure that queer Black filmmakers, directors, writers, and actors are represented as part of aGLIFF programming every year. The organization began awarding grants to cover costs associated with submitting and showing qualified films as part of PRISM 34 and aGLIFF's year-round programming. The fund also will be used to cover travel expenses to bring filmmakers to Austin for special events surrounding the festival when possible.

Past aGLIFF board member, Lenore Shefman of Shefman Law gave the fund a jump start by pledging to match donations made to the Queer Black Voices Fund up to $5,000, which was matched during the 2020 festival. The fund has raised nearly $20,0000 to date and aGLIFF continues to fundraise as part of its ongoing commitment to future Queer Black filmmakers.

"These inspiring films from Black Queer Artists speak from the heart, weaving tales of courage and authenticity," said Queer Black Voices Chair Meail Flowers. "These films not only highlight the unique perspectives of Black Queer creatives but also encourage others to demand and carve out their own space in the film ecosystem. We look forward to gathering all of these talented filmmakers at this year's festival to nurture a future where our collective voices echo through generations."

This fund has been set up to ensure that queer black filmmakers, directors, writers, and actors are represented as part of aGLIFF programming every year. This year's recipients will be given $500 with aGLIFF covering all costs involved with submitting and showing their films as part of PRISM 37 including attending the festival and screenings, participating in live forums, Q&A sessions and other special events.

Waivers and Fees:

aGLIFF does not grant waivers under any exception. Submissions must be uploaded by the deadline dates for which the paid entry fee applies. aGLIFF will NOT pay rental or screening fees for submitted and programmed works. NO EXCEPTIONS!