Down N Dirty..the Intimate World of Queer Filmmaking..new series..at Femina Potens

Femina Potens Gallery
465 South Van Ness
San Francisco, CA 94103
femina_potens [at] yahoo.com
http://www.feminapotens.com
415/217-9340
March 18th, 2006 8PM.
Following dates TBA; $5 – No One Turned Away for Lack of Funds

Femina Potens Gallery, in conjunction with Shani Heckman of Shanestar
Productions, presents its innovative new Quarterly Film Series entitled
Down & Dirty: the Intimate World of Queer Filmmaking beginning Saturday,
March 18th, 2006.

This ongoing series features film and dialogue with Bay Area Queer
Filmmakers as part of Femina Potens 2006 Film Screenings. Celebrate and
promote local queer, trans, and women video artists as we feature
intimate conversations with local filmmakers, a shot-by-shot analysis of
the filmmaking process, stories from behind the scenes, and the inside
scoop on San Francisco's filmmaking community and scene followed up
by Q & A from the audience.

A Night With Shawna Virago, the first in the series, showcases the
black-and-white short films of the trans-fox rock star, activist,
filmmaker, co-founder Of TrannyFest, and writer Shawna Virago. Reared
in the diy tradition, Virago's work harkens to that of Goddard and
early Scorcese. "Almost Human" features a compilations of
stills and political satiric while "Shut Up, Josephine!" is a
punk-rock homage to Goddard's early 1960's work.

Shani Heckman is a long-time activist, publicist and creator of
Shanestar Productions, recipient of the Film Arts Foundation's STAND
grant 2003 and is a second year film student at City College. Her recent
short doc, WRONG BATHROOM has been broadcast on National TV and is
currently touring the festival circuit.

Shawna Virago was dubbed "the sex symbol laureate of the burgeoning West
Coast trans rock music scene" in Eros magazine. Her band, The Deadly
Nightshades, are one of the hottest rising bands in the Bay Area. Ms.
Virago is also co-director of TrannyFest, a film festival dedicated to
supporting work made by and for transgender and genderqueer people. She
is a founding member of TransAction, the police accountability group and
she was the first trans woman to serve on the board of directors for San
Francisco Woman Against Rape (SFWAR).

Femina Potens is a nationally recognized art gallery and performance
space dedicated to the advancement of women and trans-folk through art.
Sponsored by Sister Spit and the Queer Cultural Center, with support
from the San Francisco Arts Commission and the Sisters of Perpetual
Indulgence, Femina Potens is one of the leading queer organizations in
San Francisco. Femina Potens has been featured on the Australian
television show, Out and About, Q-Television, the documentary TranArchy,
Japan's Foil Magazine, Bitch Magazine, and the San Francisco Guardian,
which called Femina Potens a crucial bit of justice.