By Renée Santos
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 4/4/23 – Pulling the curtains down on OUTFEST Fusion 2023 was quite an experience. The night was an expansive bundle of Film Festival magic. Many industry executives and journalists leave town before the closing night of a festival, but I was planted in my seat and honored to be at this amazing event that represented with grace the QTBIPOC community I too am a proud member of; I wasn’t going to miss my people shine their light. Closing a Film Festival can be a major event for many filmmakers and a particularly great audience moment.
The night began with inspirational speeches from the executives of the festival, in particular I was taken aback by Executive Director of OUTFEST Fusion, Damian Navarro. His statement had us all on the edge of our seats and if you have ever been to the Latino Theater Co. @Los Angeles Theatre Center where the event was held, you would know that is a precarious position to put yourself in, where the incline to the stadium seating is quite steep. None of us could avoid the acclivity risk because we were all drawn to his heartfelt testimonial.
He remarked, “Closing night is such a special moment, after coming through the last 3 years with Covid, when festivals weren’t happening and then to be hit with the legislation and the hate and the anger recently, to be able to go to a festival like this, shadows that darkness and provides hope.”
He furthers his statement with a bit of history I found illuminating, “OUTFEST is a renowned organization, it is an International festival that has been covered in so many amazing media channels now, and its really getting back in touch with our roots, our community and things that really made us special back in 1982 when a handful of UCLA graduate students said, “Enough is enough, the industry is ignoring us, we need to come together as a community and talk about this. The Film Festival continued that initial idea but that is where the dialogue began to bring QTBIPOC stories to the forefront of the entertainment industry. It was important for us to share a space and then the conversation, lead to stories, and stories lead to film making and sponsorship and transparency lead ultimately to the festival today.”
The visibility of QTBIPOC Filmmakers was the lifeblood of this festival and Navarro really spoke to that. “Creating memories where QTBIPOC people are seen in cinema is essential, it took a lot of risk when it first hit our industry but the first time we saw ourselves on screen, meant so much to us and to inspire cinema, mixed with mixed media, and drag story time, bring on so much emotion, when I was a little boy and my gay uncles took me to see CATS, “OMG Rum tum tugger!”, that moment was amazing for me. Those are things we hope to inspire decades of motion pictures for years to come.” He concluded.
If the audience wasn’t already enlivened, the night continued with the OUTFEST Fusion Impact Award recipient, Bird Running Water. His award was presented by “Yellowjackets” star Simone Kessell, who’s account of Bird Running Water was a delight to listen to as she humbly bragged. “Bird Running Water served as the head of the Indigenous Program at Sundance for 20 years. He navigated uncharted territories raising the visibility and production value of Indigenous Films. He championed global indigenous voices, prioritized female points of view, in his work, and put the Indigenous voice into the Global Market where they had never existed before. In doing so, he created an International Indigenous film community deeply connected to the Indigenous lands here in the US that have served as gathering places for innumerable storytelling. He leads in collaborating in productions and leading support in getting films made all over the world. He is responsible for the Hulu series “Reservation Dogs” and has made an impact on the television world, recognizing there is so much work to be done, he now is at Amazon Studios hoping to bring his impact to another level.”
Bird Running Water stepped up to the stage, embraced the crystal long tear dropped shaped award and shared his appreciation for being acknowledged for his work.
“I am from the Cheyenne Apache Reservation in New Mexico. I grew up without television so to have a career in television is incredible. I was raised in traditional ceremonial, rigorous world, with medicine people, we sang our women into womanhood in an elaborate ceremony because we consider them to be the future of our tribal nation. I come from a very matriarchal society and that is what informed my view because I wasn’t watching television and being influenced by outside sources, and I have carried that as the center of my work. At the center of our ancestral societies were 2 spirit people, those that we now call queer and trans, 2 spirited people were traditionally the carriers of the culture’s stories, the remembers, the way things are or how they should be. Everybody had a place and was called upon to have a duty on the planet to elevate consciousness. Nobody was “other” each person was necessary. And everyone had a duty to keep the tribe moving forward. All of those teachings are the things I brought to designing the program at Sundance and all of my work.” pronounced Bird Running Water.
The stage was set for an amazing night and it surely it was as it continued with a One-Minute Film Contest with prize money at the tune of $5000. Sheryl Santacruz, senior programing had a great idea, the assignment was pretty simple, grab your camera or your phone and shoot something in 60 seconds or less to the theme “Envisioning Abundance” Not every film could win the prize money, but all were filled with a little hope, sadness, and sass in only a minute. Sheryl commented, “Our stories are important and necessary, enjoy these little nuggets of truth, and help uplift a new amazing voice.”
If you followed this night of films and are chomping at the bit to find out who won, here are the recipients of the cash prizes in the One Minute Film Contest…
JURY GRAND PRIZE WINNER
Abundance of Questions, directed by Todd Lien
JURY RUNNERS UP
Órale, directed by Oscar Alvarez
Trip, directed by Pea Nunez
JURY HONORABLE MENTIONS
The A Bun Dance, directed by Erial Tompkins
The Little Things, directed by Camrin Williams
AUDIENCE CHOICE
Right in Front of You, directed by Nicolas Jara
The closer of all closers to night was the montage of beautiful QTBIPOC people gallivanting down the red carpet with rainbow confidence and poise on their way to the closing night party.
Outfest Fusion is such a critical event to grow in the festival space. This exposition continues to live and thrive, and the hope is that the leaders of this movement will continue to push the envelope by which we hold the entire industry accountable by sharing the stories of QTBIPOC artists. It is so important that QTBIPOC Storytellers be able to redefine the ecosystem in which movie makers find themselves. OUTFEST Fusion 2023 is likely to go down as the moment when the organization took a giant leap forward, that was only made possible with the incredible collaboration of supporters and attendees of this festival.