Urban Ch@os, Queer Spaces & Other Places

Urban Ch@os, Queer Spaces & Other Places A night of film, spoken word & indie/punk sounds Friday, February 22, 2002 Spike00 productions present a benefit for Paper Tiger TV, New Neutral Zone and Fierce! ATA, 992 Valencia St. @ 21st, San Francisco, CA 94110, tel. (415) 824-3890 7:30 pm - 12 midnight, all ages, $5-$10 (sliding scale), refreshments available http://www.spike00.com/urbanchaos Schedule of events: 7:30 pm: dj Spike spins indie and punk sounds 8:00 pm: Introduction by Jacob Laurent and films screenings 10:00 pm: Spoken Word with Alan Reade and Seeley Quest 10:45 pm: dj Jacob spins indie, electronica and punk Films: Karen bout Karen (Aaron Park, QFC, 2001, Seattle, WA, USA, super8, color, sound, 5 min.) Scenic Seattle (Trever Smith, QFC, 2001, Olympia, WA, USA, video, color, sound, 4 min.) Holy Matrimony?! (Trever Smith & Kristi Shaefer, QFC, 2001, Olympia, WA, USA, super8, color, sound, 4 min.) QFC (queer film club) is DIY filmmaking challenging stereotypical queer images. Promoting local and national queer filmmakers, we hold open screenings in Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA. FENCED OUT (Paper Tiger TV/New Neutral Zone/Fierce, 2000, USA, video, color, sound, 20 min.) This tape documents the fight for the Christopher St. pier - one of the only places in New York City where youth of color, low income, homeless andl/g/b/t/q youth can hang out. In the summer of 2000, fences were built onthe spot where the kids congregated, for construction for a new state park. Now in the summer of 2001 most of the space has been taken over by thisdevelopment. Not only are city developers interested in "fencing out" thekids, neighbors with apartments overlooking the water want these kids toleave as well. The youth have noticed an increased police presence that isnot intended to keep them safe but as one officer stated quite bluntly "youare lowering the property value". At first, upset that they will lose thepiers the producers of the documentary interview pierets about how importantthe piers are in their lives. To further explore their connection to thepiers, the producers interview older l/g/b/t/q activists about the historyof the piers and its connection to the gay liberation movement of the 60s. In turn they become more politicized and see how their struggle to savetheir public space connects to a larger historical and social movement. Asthe video come to a conclusion, the young filmmakers' anger and sadnessabout losing the piers develops into a plan of action to save them. Produced by Paper Tiger TV in partnership with New Neutral Zone, a drop in center for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, two-spirited and questioning youth and FIERCE a community organizing project for lesbian, gay, bisexual, Two Spirit, transgendered and questioning (LGBTSTQ) youth in NYC. Turning Tragedy Into War (Paper Tiger TV, 2001, USA, video, color, sound, 28 min.) Turning Tragedy into War counteracts the corporate media's war driven and racist spin on the recent events. The show critiques the media's coverage while providing a background of the U.S. involvement in the Middle East. Turning Tragedy into War uncovers the ways that the media takes advantage of the fear and confusion in US public opinion and offers a look at the anti-retaliation movement. The program includes studio commentary from Robin Andersen, professor at Fordham University, and Kamran Rastegar of Columbia University. The commentary is inter-spliced with numerous interviews and scenes from the streets of NYC from the week following September 11th. Produced by Paper Tiger Television on September 23rd. Spoken Word: ALAN READE Alan Reade is a writer and performance artist whose work examines how body image, language, and mass media are internalized. He examines how individuals in a culture so focused on sex, food, technology, and television can assimilate large cultural ideas into the components of singular identity. His central focus has always been the body--both the literal body and the symbolic body expressed through video talking heads, Barbie dolls, or even images in tarot cards--and how that body is shaped by and is shaping American culture. Alan's solo and ensemble work has been presented at, among other places, the Jon Sims Center for the Arts, 848 Community Space, Theatre Rhino, and Artists’ Television Access (ATA) in San Francisco; the Pyramid Club, The Knitting Factory, Dixon Place, the Cherry Lane Theatre, and A Different Light Bookstore in New York City; and On The Boards, New City Theatre, AFLN Gallery, Tugs, and 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle. One of Alan's latest shows, Bear-A-Go-Go! was featured in the 2001 National Queer Arts Festival, as part of the Best of AIRspace series. This show was developed in summer 1999 at the Jon Sims Center for the Arts in San Francisco. Alan's new show, Touched by a Monster will premiere nationally in spring 2002, in conjunction with the release of a new spoken-word CD entitled "4 Seasons in a Day" on Kuma Chan Records. Alan is a member of the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture. SEELEY QUEST Seeley Quest speakin words, bustin tunes, dancin hot and provokin political art possibilities. Art of the grotesque, stuff about naked and clothed desire, drag, story vignettes, audience participation and always boundary-pushing. Here's to making art, love and revolutions in a time of war, and queering/queerupting the f*ck out of everything