Written by Colleen Miller, Image courtesy of XY
Eight short films were presented at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival’s “Shorts Spotlight: Pride Parade.” Each encompasses the complex and colorful diversity of LGBTQ+ communities and the individual struggles and strengths of its members. But more than telling the stories of individual characters, these short films tell the stories of thousands of real people around the globe. Some even tell mine.
While I’ve never experienced finding love on a train as in “Steam!” or the violence of “Purpleboy,” I have felt the acceptance of a true friend like Lísa (Hafrún Arna Jóhannsdóttir) in “XY.” Sometimes I relate to Peugeot’s (Kaitlyn Akinpelumi) story in “That Girl, Peugeot” feeling like I’m living as an inauthentic version of myself. Some days I fear being outed like the characters in “We’re Not Here” and other times I have the courage to be myself like Hen’s (Richard Eagan) journey toward self-acceptance in “Old Hen.”
Even before admitting my queerness to myself, I always found a sense of kinship with LGBTQ+ characters in films. As I grew and buried myself deeper under the piles of dirty laundry in my personal closet, I still yearned on family movie nights to point to the screen and tell my parents: “Look, it’s OK.”
Before coming out, I yearned to be myself, not a caricature of someone who was bisexual or queer. If nothing, these films show queer identities do not exist inside a box. These identities belong to the young and old like Cypress and Reuben in “Birds of Paradise.” They belong to septuagenarians, geriatrics nurses, artists, skaters, and members of parliament. “I Want to Make a Film About Women” explores the life of constructivist filmmaker, Esfir Shub (Victoria Haralabidou). The film’s narrator says, “People often ask me if Shub was gay, but the question is kind anachronistic, and I wonder, why is that what history wants to know?” LGBTQ+ characters and people are shaped by their identity, but it is the intersection of so much more that makes us who we are.
In much the same way, the short films presented at “Shorts Spotlight: Pride Parade” attempt to tell just a small piece of the great chronicle of the LGBTQ+ existence. It’s their common themes, though, that bind them together. Acceptance, rejection, bravery, morality and authenticity. Perhaps, this is why before I found a physical community of LGBTQ+ people, I found comfort and acceptance through the stories of queer characters in books, TV and of course, films.
Characters like those presented in the eight shorts continue to teach me that self-discovery is a journey. My queerness is not something that needs to be hidden away but is rather part of a larger narrative. LGBTQ+ representation in media teaches patience and self-acceptance.
In fact, everyone (regardless of their sexuality) builds empathy and understanding by hearing the stories of others’ existence. Anton (Pekka Strang) couldn’t have been further from the truth in “We’re Not Here” when he said, “You can’t change things if you aren’t in power.”
Each of us has the intrinsic power — and might I say duty — to accept themselves and others. Watching films like those presented at “Shorts Spotlight: Pride Parade” is just one step towards total acceptance. And this would be the greatest change of all.
