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arts+entertainment<br />
CELEBRATING 20 YEARS!<br />
OUTFLIX<br />
FILM<br />
FESTIVAL<br />
by Will Batts, President of OUTMemphis<br />
The annual Outflix Film<br />
Festival is a program of<br />
OUTMemphis: The LGBTQ<br />
Center for the <strong>Mid</strong>-<strong>South</strong>.<br />
OUTMemphis believes that it<br />
is vital for us to see images<br />
of lesbian, gay, bisexual,<br />
transgender, and queer people<br />
that are not often visible in<br />
commercial movie theaters.<br />
Outflix seeks to correct that<br />
by highlighting our history,<br />
our loves, our losses, and our<br />
triumphs –stories ABOUT us<br />
told BY us.<br />
The first film festival,<br />
founded by Brian Pera, was<br />
held in April 1997, and was<br />
called “Twinkie Museum: First<br />
Annual Queer Experimental<br />
Film Festival.” As Brian<br />
explains,<br />
“I liked Twinkie Museum<br />
because like a lot of queer<br />
lingo it had refracted<br />
meanings, a sort of code logic,<br />
and because it was flippant<br />
but had hidden depths. I knew<br />
the name was provocative, but<br />
hoped that would create the<br />
possibility for conversation. To<br />
me the more important thing<br />
was the title’s reference to<br />
Harvey Milk and the story of<br />
the Twinkie Defense used by<br />
lawyers for Dan White, Harvey<br />
Milk’s assassin.”<br />
For the first few years, the<br />
film festival was held on the<br />
University of Memphis Campus<br />
in the Psychology Auditorium<br />
and tended to show more<br />
experimental shorts and<br />
features. During the second<br />
year, local filmmaker Ira Sachs<br />
premiered his movie THE<br />
DELTA to the largest audience<br />
in the early years of the<br />
festival.<br />
Beginning in April 2001,<br />
Outflix screened some films in<br />
a commercial theater as well<br />
as at Media Co-Op, formerly<br />
in the First Congo basement.<br />
The festival struggled with<br />
sponsorships and ticket sales<br />
and due to a lack of funds and<br />
leadership in 2004, no festival<br />
was held.<br />
In August 2005, Outflix<br />
experienced a rise from the<br />
ashes! With new leadership<br />
and an enthusiastic committee,<br />
the Outflix Film Festival<br />
screened 14 films over a fourday<br />
event in the make shift<br />
church basement theater.<br />
Though the budget was small,<br />
the attendance exceeded<br />
expectations<br />
In 2006 & 2007 the Outflix<br />
revenue quadrupled and<br />
attendance tripled as it moved<br />
out of the church basement<br />
and into the Muvico multiplex<br />
theater in downtown Memphis.<br />
Due to potential closing of<br />
the downtown theater, the<br />
2008 Outflix Film Festival<br />
Committee decided to move<br />
the event once again. One of<br />
the oldest and most historic<br />
theaters was chosen to be<br />
the new home of the festival,<br />
Page 28 / focusmidsouth.com / SEP+OCT <strong>2017</strong> / Imagine
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