Shorts Program: Memento Vivere

It is important to remember, especially now, that Queer Life is not new, it is not a fad or a phase, and it is eternal; memento vivere—remember life, remember to live. These shorts remind us where we came from and who we have to thank for our progress; our queer ancestors and our friends. HERE, QUEER AND ON TV (dir. Cassandra Herrman, Kelly Whalen; U.S.) before YouTube, "Lavender Lounge" lit up public access TV with a '90s queer and trans dance party and groundbreaking show, capturing San Francisco's first Dyke March and the first official Pride video. Thirty years later, creator Mark Kliem brings rare footage to light, reuniting the original crew with younger generations when queer history is again under attack. PLENUM (dir. Charlene A. Carruthers; U.S.) is an experimental reconstruction of the 1995 Black Nations/Queer Nations Conference, focusing on the experience of siblings Ajani and Tracy, as they make their way from Chicago to New York City. THE GLORIA! PROJECT (dir. Kelly Burkhardt, Kemar Jewel; U.S.) is a short documentary exploring the life and legacy of queer Latinx civil rights leader Gloria Casarez. Produced over the course of a decade, the film traces Gloria’s journey from her childhood in “the Badlands" of Philadelphia, to grassroots organizer in the anti-poverty and HIV/AIDS movements, to her historic appointment as the city’s first Director of LGBT Affairs. Rooted in architectural research methods such as ficto-criticism and site-writing, ONCE UPON THREE FEMISITES (dir. Regner Ramos, Josh Anton, José Vélez-Arocho; Puerto Rico) is narrated from the imagined voice of a Google Maps Geopoint, marked as a “sculpture,� and witness to the unresolved story of Neulisa “Alexa� Luciano, a Black trans woman murdered in Puerto Rico in 2020. Finishing off with THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANS ELDERS (dir. Ashton Culp; Canada), Jack Gray and Kitty Cane Harry discuss their experiences as older transgender individuals and the struggles they faced growing up and accepting themselves in a world that believed their identities weren't valid. Join us after the screening for a live discussion! Iona Bodem will moderate an exclusive conversation with director Kelly Burkhardt and editor Alex Albers of The Gloria! Project Co-Presented by Gerber/Hart LGBTQ+ Library & Archives