In collaboration with FRAMELINE A Fundraiser for THE RAFIKI COALITION FOR HEALTH & WELLNESS
- 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm | Reception, 7:30 pm | Screening
- Dress Code: Business Casual
- No-host Concessions
- Complimentary Beverages & Prosecco. 18+ Years Old (I.D. Req'd for Prosecco)
Parental/Legal Guardian (21+ years old) required for any youth under 18 years old. Discretion Advised.
The International Black Women’s Film Festival celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the quintessential chronicle of New York’s early “drag” scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, vogueing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality. The ball was the culmination of celebrating “houses” that doubled as safe havens and families for transgender gay men who used the balls to battle one another through dance, fashion and fierceness.
An early documentary of the intersectionality of race, gender, sexual orientation and class, many of those featured seem to be striving to move beyond their intersectional existence and become a “spoiled, rich white girl” (to quote Venus Xtravaganza), but in reality they were as impacted by the white woman being held as the epitome of femininity and beauty as the rest of society. In fact, many of those featured were quite secure in their racial identity and were clear about the racial discrimination they faced from society and within the LGBTQ community.
To quote the late-Dorian Corey:
“When I grew up, you wanted to look like Marlene Dietrich, Betty Grable. Fortunately, I didn’t know that I really wanted to look like Lena Horne.”
Donations will be accepted for the Rafiki Coalition for Health & Wellness, a Bay Area HIV/AIDS organization directly serving the African American community.
(*A portion of general ticket sales go toward the coalition, or donate directly to Rafiki through the ticket service above.)
