Mark Your Calendar for the Cinema Q Film Festival Kickoff Event

Join DGP and the Denver Film Society this month as they celebrate queer cinema with the sixth annual Cinema Q Film Festival taking place at the Sie FilmCenter.

Cinema Q presents the best of the best in film that covers every aspect of the LGBTQ community and introduces new visionaries, pays tribute to iconic staples, tells stories from around the world and connects us all with a common message of identity and understanding.

Cinema Q Film Festival Starts Tonight

From Denver Film Society:

"Join the Denver Film Society this summer as we celebrate queer cinema with the fifth annual Cinema Q Film Festival taking place at the Sie FilmCenter July 18th - 21st. Cinema Q presents the best of the best in film that covers every aspect of the LGBTQ community and introduces new visionaries, pays tribute to iconic staples, tells stories from around the world and connects us all with a common message of identity and understanding."

Cinema Q, ONE Colorado Screening of 'Trans' Packed the House at the SIE FilmCenter

Cinema Q and ONE Colorado's screening of Trans played to a packed house last night at the SIE FilmCenter, F/K/A the Denver FilmCenter.

Described as "an up-close and very personal journey into the transgender world through the memorable stories and the unusual lives of a remarkable cast of characters," the movie was well-received and elicited both laughter and tears from the audience. 

After the screening there was a panel discussion featuring several prominent local members of the trans community including award-winning author, activist, and teacher Matt Kailey, Matthew's Place Youth Blogger Samantha Logan, activist Nicole Garcia, Keshet of the Rockies' Rafi Daugherty, and One Colorado's Kyle Inselman.

Members of the panel

Panelist Matt Kailey, DGLCC Professional Woman of the Year Kate Bowman, & GLBT Historian Brent Everett

Denver Film Society cutie-pies Keith Garcia and Karla Rodriguez

Cinema Q and ONE Colorado Present 'TRANS' Screening Tonight

Trans (Trailer) from The Film Collaborative on Vimeo.
Cinema Q and ONE Colorado present Trans this Tuesday, November 27. Trans is an extraordinary documentary feature about men and women, and all the variations in between. The movie starts at 7pm and there will be a panel discussion afterwards featuring award-winning author and MileHighGayGuy columnist Matt Kailey.

Cinema Q and One Colorado Present 'Trans'

Trans (Trailer) from The Film Collaborative on Vimeo.
Cinema Q and ONE Colorado present Trans this Tuesday, November 27. Trans is an extraordinary documentary feature about men and women, and all the variations in between. The movie starts at 7pm and there will be a panel discussion afterwards featuring award-winning author and MileHighGayGuy columnist Matt Kailey.

Cinema Q: We Were Here

This powerful documentary about the rise of HIV/AIDS in San Francisco in the early '80s is presented by Cinema Q and will be playing Denver from December 2-8. Don't miss it!

Cinema Q Film Festival

Join the Denver Film Society this summer as they celebrate queer cinema with the third annual Cinema Q Film Festival taking place at the Denver FilmCenter/Colfax July 14th - 17th. Cinema Q presents the best of the best in film that covers every aspect of the LGBTQ community and introduces new visionaries, pays tribute to iconic staples, tells stories from around the world and connects us all with a common message of identity and understanding.

Tickets are on sale now!

Cinema Q: The Mormon Proposition

Cinema Q presents 'The Mormon Proposition' July 2-8 at the Starz Film Center.

Director Reed Cowan initially planned on making a documentary about gay teen homelessness and suicide in Utah but soon realized that the homophobia that prompts otherwise loving parents to kick teenagers out of their homes is deep-seated in current Mormon ideology.

Cowan, with his fellow filmmakers, experienced first-hand what it was like to grow up gay in Utah in the Mormon faith, then turned their attention to the historic campaign by the Mormon Church to pass Proposition 8 in California believing that it was the cornerstone of an ideology that has worked for decades “to damage gay people and their causes.”

Cinema Q: The Mormon Proposition

'The Mormon Proposition' comes to DFS' Cinema Q film series at the Starz Film Center on July 2-8.

According to the film's official website, director Reed Cowan initially planned on making a documentary about gay teen homelessness and suicide in Utah but soon realized that the homophobia that prompts otherwise loving parents to kick teenagers out of their homes is deep-seated in current Mormon ideology.

Cowan, with his fellow filmmakers, experienced first-hand what it was like to grow up gay in Utah in the Mormon faith, then turned their attention to the historic campaign by the Mormon Church to pass Proposition 8 in California believing that it was the cornerstone of an ideology that has worked for decades “to damage gay people and their causes.” The film is their emotional outcry to what they found.

Cinema Q: Word is Out

'Word is Out' opens today at the Starz Filmcenter as part of the Cinema Q film series.

In 1978, 'Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives' startled audiences across the country when it appeared in movie theaters and on television. The first feature-length documentary about lesbian and gay identity made by gay filmmakers, the film had a huge impact when it was released and became an icon of the emerging gay rights movement of the 1970s. It has since become a landmark in the history of documentaries.

Things to do in Denver when you're gay: Cinema Q - Word is Out

In 1978, 'Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives' startled audiences across the country when it appeared in movie theaters and on television. The first feature-length documentary about lesbian and gay identity made by gay filmmakers, the film had a huge impact when it was released and became an icon of the emerging gay rights movement of the 1970s. It has since become a landmark in the history of documentaries. In honor of its place in our collective history, 'Word is Out' was selected for restoration for the Legacy Project for GLBT Film Preservation by Outfest and the UCLA Film & Television Archive. 'Word is Out' comes to Denver as part of the Starz Filmcenter's ongoing gay film series Cinema Q December 18-24.

Cinema Q: Straightlaced

As part of Starz Theatre's Cinema Q gay film series, 'Straightlaced' comes to Denver through October 23-29.

'Straightlaced' includes the perspectives of teens who self-identify as straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual or questioning and represent all points of the gender spectrum. With courage and unexpected humor, they open up their lives to the camera: choosing between “male” and “female” deodorant; deciding whether to go along with anti-gay taunts in the locker room; having the courage to take ballet; avoiding the restroom so they won’t get beaten up; or mourning the suicide of a classmate. It quickly becomes clear that just about everything teens do requires thinking about gender and sexuality.

Coming of age today has become increasingly complex and challenging; 'Straightlaced' offers both teens and adults a way out of anxiety, fear and violence and points the way toward a more inclusive, empowering culture.

Cinema Q: The Country Teacher

When a gifted and well-qualified young teacher takes a job teaching natural sciences at a grammar school in the country, he makes the acquaintance of a woman and her troubled 17-year-old son. The teacher has no romantic interest in the woman but they quickly form a strong friendship, each recognizing the other's uncertainties, hopes and longing for love. When the teacher's ex-boyfriend comes to visit from the city, he quickly realizes that nobody in the village knows that the teacher is gay and harbors a secret affection for the teenage boy. His jealous actions set in motion a series of events that will test the inner strength and compassion of the teacher, the woman and her son to a breaking point.

Catch it at the Starz Filmcenter through July 16 as part of Cinema Q, Denver's only ongoing GLBT film series.

Cinema Q Film Festival

The Denver Film Society along with The GLBT Community Center of Colorado and OutFront Colorado are proud to present the first annual Cinema Q: A Festival Of Queer Cinema.

The festival takes place over four days beginning Thursday, May 28, through Sunday, May 31, 2009; an official kickoff to June Pride Month. Featuring a host of uncompromising documentaries and feature films, the first annual Cinema Q: A Festival of Queer Cinema will premiere 'SEX POSITIVE', Daryl Wein's urgent plea for sex education and the values of the forgotten heroes who have helped pave the way,as its opening night celebration. 'SEX POSITIVE' will be followed by a reception on May 28th at the Starz FilmCenter.

Cinema Q Film Festival

Cinema Q: A Festival Of Queer Cinema comes to Denver May 28-31 as an official kick-off to PrideFest.

Of the festival, Denver Film Society Executive Director Bo Smith says, "A festival of this sort is a cultural celebration that enables people of Denver to see films that look at issues especially pertinent to the trans, bi, lesbian and gay communities of our area."

In 2006 the Denver Film Society at the Starz FilmCenter launched Cinema Q as a monthly program aimed to fill the void of quality GLBT cinema in Denver.

"The films showcased will represent a wide swath of the cultures that permeate every color of the GLBT rainbow and will be a mixture of American and foreign titles," said DFS Programming Manager Keith Garcia.

The festival will screen a total of 11 films over four days including: THE AMAZING TRUTH ABOUT QUEEN RAQUELA, Director Olaf de Fleur Johannesson (Iceland/Philippines), BI THE WAY, Directors Brittany Blockman, & Josephine Decker (USA), TEN MORE GOOD YEARS, Director Michale Jacoby (USA), CHICA BUSCA CHICA, Director Sonia Sebastian (Spain), EQUALITY U, Director Dave O'Brian (USA), SOUNDLESS WIND CHIME, Director Wing Kit Hung (Hong Kong), DRIFTING FLOWERS, Director Zero Chou (Taiwan), CHEF'S SPECIAL, Director Nacho G. Velilla (Spain), IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH, Director Pilar Prassas (USA), MY SISTER, MY BRIDE, Director Bonnie Burt (USA).

'Of Time and the City' premieres at Cinema Q this Friday

From the original voice of British auteur Terence Davies ('Distant Voices, Still Lives') comes a visual poem about the director's life in Liverpool from 1945 to 1973- 'Of Time and the City'. It is a very personal portrait of Liverpool, beyond its Beatles and its football clubs, the home of the writer's birth, where youth and inspiration weave his own story into the recent history of the city with fascinating found footage and a lyrical soundtrack. The visual poem is played out against a backdrop of densely packed urban living and backbreaking domestic labor. But Davies counterpoints the slums with beautiful, soaring music and lifts us into the world of fantasy and collective emotion which makes the misery of life bearable. For lovers of Davies' previous work many of his themes from his earlier narrative pieces thread through this film—Catholicism, homosexuality, violence, death, loss, the glory of cinema, outsiderness and childhood. Narrated by Davies.

Local sci-fi thriller 'Ink' premiers at Starz on Friday the 13th

This looks like it could be good.

"Ink" screens tomorrow night at the Starz FilmCenter, and it was shot and produced entirely in Denver.

Starz is also noted for its Cinema Q program, one of the few, if not the only, ongoing GLBT film series in the country.

The next film coming up for Cinema Q is 'Of Time and the City' starting on March 27.

Cinema Q at Starz

Queer Lives. Queer Voices. Queer Visions. The Denver Film Society at Starz is proud to present them in all their diversity via one of the only regular showcases for GLBT cinema in Denver. Here's what's coming up for January:


WERE THE WORLD MINE - held over through January 8

If you had a love potion, who would you make fall madly in love with you? Timothy, prone to escaping his dismal high school reality through dazzling musical daydreams, gets to answer that question in a very real way. After his eccentric teacher casts him as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, he stumbles upon a recipe hidden within the script to create the play's magical, purple love-pansy. Armed with the pansy, Timothy's fading spirit soars as he puckishly imposes a new reality by turning much of his narrow-minded town gay, beginning with the rugby jock of his dreams. Ensnaring family, friends and enemies in this heart wrenching chaos, Timothy forces them to walk a mile in his musical shoes. The course of true love never did run smooth, but by the end of this moving musical comedy of errors based on director Tom Gustafson's prolific Award-winning short film, Faeries, the bumpy ride comes to a heartfelt conclusion. with vibrant imagery, a first rate ensemble cast and innovative music rivaling the best of pop/rock and contemporary Broadway, Were The World Mine attempts to push modern gay cinema and musical film beyond expectation.



OTTO; OR, UP WITH DEAD PEOPLE - January 30 - February 5

Otto is a handsome, sensitive, neo-Goth zombie with an identity crisis. He wanders the streets of the city, never sleeping, until one day he auditions for a zombie film. The director, revolutionary Medea Yarn, is convinced that Otto is the personification of the effects of advanced capitalism on individuals. Medea begins making a film about Otto, while simultaneously shooting a film about a gay zombie revolt against consumerist society. As Medea directs the final, orgiastic scene of her film, Otto struggles to access the human emotions buried beneath his zombie exterior. Director Bruce LaBruce toys with genre conventions, combining different media, and making use of Medea's humorous film-within-the-film, while creating a new, sexy, hyper-politicized zombie mythology.

Cinema Q: Which '90210' alum co-stars in 'Cthulhu'?

Next up at Cinema Q is 'Cthulhu'. Adapted from a story by H.P. Lovecraft, a Seattle history professor, drawn back to his estranged family on the Oregon coast to execute his late mother's estate, is reaquainted with his best friend from childhood, with whom he has a long-awaited tryst. Caught in an accelerating series of events, he discovers aspects of his father's New Age cult which take on a dangerous and apocalyptic significance.

Now I'm pretty up on my Lovecraft and didn't recall a whole lot of gay themes so I got Denver Film Society's Keith Garcia on the horn and asked him about 'Cthulu's' gay elements.

"The main character of the film is gay," said Garcia. "He returns home to a seaside town that has connections to the underworld with the usual Lovecraftian elements but a lot of the things that happen in the movie are directly tied into his past relationships and gay identity."

But wait, it gets better!

"The other gay element is Tori Spelling. She's in the movie and she's actually pretty interesting in this. I'm kind of surprised by her."














Queer Lives. Queer Voices. Queer Visions. The DFS is proud to present them in all their diversity via one of the only regular showcases for GLBT cinema in Denver. Don't miss limited first-run releases like Jonah Markowitz' Shelter or or encore presentations of genre pioneers such as Gus Van Sant's 'Mala Noche' or Gregg Araki's 'The Living End'. Presented by The Center and Out Front Colorado.

'Cthulhu' plays at Starz from September 26 to October 2.

Stay tuned to MileHighGayGuy.com for a chance to win tickets and a possible interview with Donna Martin herself.

Cinema Q: Cthulhu

Next up from Cinema Q is 'Cthulhu', adapted from a story by H.P. Lovecraft. A Seattle history professor, drawn back to his estranged family on the Oregon coast to execute his late mother's estate, is reaquainted with his best friend from childhood, with whom he has a long-awaited tryst. Caught in an accelerating series of events, he discovers aspects of his father's New Age cult which take on a dangerous and apocalyptic significance. 'Cthulhu' will play at the Starz Film Center from September 26 - October 2. I'm definitely gonna check this one out. I'm a Lovecraft fan from way back but don't recall any big gay themes in any of his work. Maybe I was just too young. Time to dust off the old paperbacks and do a little re-reading.

Queer Lives. Queer Voices. Queer Visions. The DFS is proud to present them in all their diversity via one of the only regular showcases for GLBT cinema in Denver. Don't miss limited first-run releases like Jonah Markowitz' Shelter or or encore presentations of genre pioneers such as Gus Van Sant's 'Mala Noche' or Gregg Araki's 'The Living End'. Presented by The Center and Out Front Colorado.