OUT on Blu-ray: BEATS

From Executive Producer Steven Soderbergh, BEATS is the New York Times Critic's Pick - a universal story of friendship, rebellion, and the irresistible power of music set against the backdrop of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994, which banned unlicensed raves across the UK, BEATS follows best friends and polar opposites Johnno and Spanner who, realizing they are destined for different futures, sneak out to an illegal party in pursuit of one last crazy night together.

The Music Box Selects Edition of Brian Welsh’s BEATS will be released on Blu-ray August 1 with an exclusive slip cover design available only via Vinegar Syndrome. A standard edition will be available September 28, wherever Blu-rays are sold.

HERE TV SCORES FIRST EMMY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING SHORT FORM CHILDREN’S PROGRAM

Here TV has scored their first Daytime Emmy Award for their short form documentary series “Girls’ Voices Now”. The award marks not only the first Emmy win for Here TV, but also the first time an LGBTQ+ network has won in the children’s category. The 48th Daytime Emmy Awards for Children’s Programming and Animation were awarded on Saturday, July 17, 2021.

Co-produced by Women’s Voices Now, “Girls’ Voices Now'' is a summer youth program that amplifies the voices of young women from underrepresented communities in Los Angeles by teaching them documentary filmmaking. “Girls’ Voices Now” previously won the Short Title Award at the inaugural OTT.X Impact Awards in December 2020.

“We are so grateful to the Academy for this Daytime Emmy Award. Here TV has social justice in our DNA. We look for opportunities to produce programming that inspire and uplift the human condition,” says Emmy award winning actor-producer David Millbern. “As social media bombards young girls with toxic imagery, we strive to empower these amazing, diverse, filmmakers to share their authentic stories."

The award winning episode, “Girls’ Voices Now: Under the Scarf” follows Mehrin, a 16-year-old Bangladeshi American living in Los Angeles. A teenage girl like any other, Mehrin discusses her challenges of moving to the Unites States at a young age: unable to speak English and communicate with fellow classmates and teachers, being stereotyped for her skin color, and harassed for being Muslim and wearing a hijab. Taking matters into her own hands, she spent 3 months watching Disney Channel shows to learn English fluently. Blessed with her new friends and new life in America, Mehrin hopes and prays that one day the ignorance and hatred towards immigrants will extinguish.

Tickets Now On Sale for Denver Mod

Denver Mod is a non-stop mid-mod party that celebrates mid-century finds, collectibles, enthusiasts, and vehicles of the era!

Get ready to “get away” to a nostalgic blast from the past in an open-air hangar, at our new location! With new ownership, Denver Mod is ready to jet-set with you and some of the very best mid-mod vendors and artists from across the Rocky Mountain Region and beyond.

Whether you like vintage cars, airplanes, decor, fashion, food, or music, this event is for you!

The Art Students League of Denver Presents Summer Art Market August 28 & 29

On Saturday, Aug. 28 and Sunday, Aug. 29, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the West Washington Park neighborhood, the Art Students League of Denver (ASLD) will host the 28th annual Summer Art Market (SAM), presented by Meininger Art Supply. The event features nearly 100 visual artist booths, artist demonstrations, kidART programming and food and beverage vendors.

 

Summer Art Market, held between E. 1st Avenue and E. 4th Avenue and between Logan Street and Sherman Street, features a range of media, including ceramics, fiber arts, mixed media/book art, painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, jewelry and sculpture. High-quality artwork from ASLD faculty and students is available for sale. The event includes six first-time exhibitors.

 

“We are thrilled to have Summer Art Market return in 2021, after canceling last year’s event due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Tessa Crisman, ASLD’s communications specialist. “SAM is ASLD’s largest event, showcasing the work of our incredible artist community and inviting individuals to connect with the artists and discover all that ASLD has to offer. We invite the public to join us in this celebratory, art-filled event to support local artists and build a personal art collection.”

 

Tickets cost $5 for adults; children 12 and under are free. Advance ticket purchase is encouraged through the ASLD website, beginning Aug. 1. Following a challenging 2020, including canceling the annual SAM event, the ticket cost supports ASLD’s continued mission to provide an inclusive art community where professional artists guide individuals of all abilities to reach their highest potential.  

 

Throughout the event weekend, families can partake in kidART workshops, sponsored by PNC Bank. With the guidance of ASLD faculty, young artists are invited to participate in a community mural and decorate items such as masks and paddle fans.  

 

ASLD professional faculty will offer two free art demonstrations per day in a range of media, including printmaking, painting, and more. Demonstrations will take place in the community garden on the Art Students League of Denver grounds. Presenting sponsor Meininger Art Supply will have a booth where attendees can make their own tie-dye creations.

Gravity is Heartless Imagines a World on the Cusp of Climate Catastrophe

What will the world look like in 30 years — just one generation from now — if drastic measures are not taken to mitigate the devasting effects of climate change?

 

In the year 2050 imagined by Sarah Lahey in her thought-provoking new book, Gravity is Heartless, automated cities, vehicles and homes are now standard; artificial Intelligence, CRISPR gene editing and quantum computing have become a reality; and climate change is in full swing — sea levels are rising, clouds have disappeared, and the planet is heating up.

 

Quinn Buyers is a brilliant female scientist who developed a climate model two decades too late. By 2050, the population is “over” climate change. Quinn is about to be married, but she would much rather be studying the clouds than planning her wedding day. When an unexpected tragedy causes her to lose everything, including her famous scientist mother, she embarks upon a quest for answers that takes her across the globe ― and she uncovers friends, loss and love in the most unexpected of places along the way. 

 

Lahey’s story is a meticulously researched, futuristic adventure with romance and intrigue that explores the realistic impacts of climate change, the potential technologies of the future, our relationships with robots and AI, and perhaps more importantly, what it means to be human and how the subconscious mind works.

 

Gravity is Heartless is bold, speculative fiction that sheds a hard light on the treatment of our planet even as it offers a breathtaking sense of hope for the future.

Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters

 

Kino Lorber is proud to present CAN YOU BRING IT: BILL T. JONES AND D-MAN IN THE WATERS co-directed by Rosalynde LeBlanc and Tom Hurwitz. The film celebrated its world premiere at DOC NYC and has gone on to notable festivals including Frameline San Francisco International Film Festival and Inside Out Toronto. The film opened on July 16th in select theaters and virtual cinemas including New York, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Houston and Seattle, expanding to Los Angeles and nationwide on July 23rd.

SYNOPSIS – CAN YOU BRING IT: BILL T. JONES AND D-MAN IN THE WATERS brings to life the creative process that culminated in choreographer-dancer-director Bill T. Jones’s tour de force ballet D-Man in the Waters, one of the most important works of art to come out of the AIDS crisis. In 1989, D-Man in the Waters gave physical manifestation to the fear, anger, grief, and hope for salvation that the emerging Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company (both partners at the time) felt as they were embattled by the AIDS epidemic. As a group of young dancers in the present re-interpret the work, they deepen their understanding of its power – exploring what is at stake in their own personal lives in order to commit and perform it successfully. Through an extraordinary collage of interviews, archival material, and uniquely powerful cinematography, this lyrical documentary uses the story of this iconic dance to illustrate the power of art and the triumph of the human spirit.

What We Carry With Us: LGBTQ+ Refugee Storylab now available online

Frameline was honored to present the world premiere of What We Carry With Us during Frameline45. These 6 micro-documentaries were created in refugee storylabs and produced by Citizen Film, with support from the Creative Work Fund and the San Francisco Arts Commission.

Now, the full suite of short films are available on Frameline's social channels! Like, comment, & share to raise awareness of this important project.

Karman Project Announces New Effort to Foster Cooperation in Space

The Karman Project has launched a documentary film experience titled ‘The Space That Makes Us Human’, featuring some of the leading figures in today's international space ecosystem. It aims to attract new voices to the global space conversation in a critical moment for humanity, and to accelerate efforts to cooperatively build a future that explores and leverages space for the common good.

The Karman Project and its community of highly influential members have set the groundwork for strategic discussions on the future of space cooperation for positive impact. This initiative seeks to transmit this message of impact to a global audience by bridging science and the arts to resonate with space enthusiasts, global leaders and the greater public alike.

The documentary film experience focuses on important issues such as space technologies as critical enablers of education, connectivity and advances with respect to climate mitigation, as well as space governance and diplomacy. Viewers journey through four chapters exploring the deep relationship between space and humanity, curated by the Karman Community to reflect key space topics that they’ve committed to championing.

The project features a number of space leaders, including space diplomacy pioneer Jean-Jacques Dordain, former NASA Associate Administrator and current SpaceX VP William Gerstenmaier, current International Space Station astronaut Thomas Pesquet, social business investor Karen Hitschke and space entrepreneur Chris Boshuizen, who is using space technology to impact life on earth.

The documentary film experience features over 15 intimate interviews with interdisciplinary leaders and four artistic short film interpretations to be released on a bespoke digital platform built by renowned motion designers, creative coders and editors from around the world.

The initiative was brought to life by Berlin-based strategic creative and production agency Impolite Culture GmbH. The project was led by Executive Creative Director & Executive Producer Lorenzo Musiu and Creative Director & Strategist Elisa Amelia Bausch, in collaboration with a global team of over 200 people. It will premiere on the 19th July 2021, to an audience of around 2 million people on NOWNESS.

Do You Want To Reach Denver's Gay Community? Advertise With Denver's Best Gay Blog!

Do you want to advertise to Denver’s gay community? Of course you do, it’s the 7th largest in the United States! And the best way to reach them is with MileHighGayGuy – Colorado’s Best Gay Blog.
 
Just click the Advertising page or email sales@milehighgayguy.com to get started today.

RENEE GOUST presents her new trans-activist norteño track EL CORRIDO DE SYLVIA RIVERA (FT. LA BRUJA DE TEXCOCO)

Renee Goust presents her new single "El Corrido de Sylvia Rivera", (featuring La Bruja de Texcoco), a jazz-tinged norteño tribute to one of the mothers of the LGBTQIA+ movement, the legendary trans rights activist Sylvia Rivera. In this song, Renee tells the story of the Stonewall uprising. This neo-corrido introduces queer liberation narratives into a typically conservative and chauvinistic music genre.

"Sylvia Rivera was a hero, a true fighter for the rights of queer and trans folks. To me, praising her tenacity and her struggle in the form of a corrido seemed like a necessary musical transgression. I really believe in reclaiming the genres that have been denied to us in a culture that has tried to deem us invisible. Collaborating with La Bruja de Texcoco has been wonderful. Hearing the voices of two gender-bending Mexican musicians sing together in praise of Sylvia feels so powerful to me."

El Corrido de Sylvia Rivera was produced by Renee Goust herself, tracked and mixed by Grammy-nominated engineer Jeanne Montalvo, and mastered by 2 time Grammy-award winning engineer Margaret Luthar. Both "El Corrido de Sylvia Rivera" and “RESISTER”, her debut full-length album are now available on all digital platforms.

Renee Goust was also selected as a Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. Department of State’s program American Music Abroad.

“It’s exciting to have the opportunity to share my music, skills, and knowledge with people abroad via the U.S. Embassy. I’ll be able to collaborate with artists from a foreign country (yet to be assigned), learn about their culture and teach them about mine. I’m particularly interested in doing work with LGBTQIA+ communities, women, girls, and the elderly,” the songwriter commented.

Apple Music Celebrates 300 Episodes of Elton John’s Rocket Hour Radio Show

Apple Music will celebrate 300 episodes and 6 years of Elton John’s Rocket Hour, one of the longest running radio shows airing on Apple Music radio, with a multi-day celebration featuring special interviews and programming on Apple Music 1, Apple Music Hits and Apple Music TV, leading up to the milestone episode.

"Elton John's Rocket Hour has been a truly groundbreaking music experience," said Zane Lowe, Apple Music's co-head of Artist Relations and radio host. "Everyone who knows Elton knows how dedicated he is to artists and new music. To hear him talk about it is so inspiring because he speaks from the experience of his legendary career, but without losing that feeling of being a fan. This milestone really touches my heart, congrats my friend!"

Special guests — including Andrew Watt, Arlo Parks, Chad Smith, Channel Tres, Elton’s husband David Furnish, Dua Lipa, Mike Kerr from Royal Blood, Sam Fender, SG Lewis and Rina Sawayama — will call in or share voice memos during Zane’s interview to take part in the celebration. Tune in to Zane’s conversation with Elton on Apple Music 1 tomorrow, July 15th at 10:00a PST at apple.co/_Zane.

As part of the festivities, Apple Music 1 will host Rocket Day and will encore several of Elton’s favorite episodes of Rocket Hour leading up to the big 300th episode, which will feature guests Yola, The Weather Station and Jake Wesley Rogers. Spotlighting the new talent Elton John has continuously made a point to champion — from Teyana Taylor to Channel Tres, Lorde and Billie Eilish — Rocket Day’s retrospective programming will include Rocket Hour’s Dance, Soul or Disco Specials, and episodes co-hosted by Brandi Carlile, Q-Tip and more.

Apple Music 1 and Apple Music TV will also encore additional Rocket Hour episodes, and Apple Music Hits will play Elton’s biggest songs across Friday and Saturday, with an Elton John Essentials special airing just before Rocket Hour’s 300th.

Tune in to the Rocket Day special programming and Elton John’s Rocket Hour Episode 300 this Saturday, July 17, on Apple Music 1 at apple.co/am-1. 

Act Fast! Dekkoo Announces The Happy Endings Short Film Competition

After a year of global hardship, Dekkoo is committed to giving back and inspiring creativity. To help creators, Dekkoo is launching their second annual one-week short film challenge. Creators could win a cut of $10,000.00 in prizes!

After a year and a half of challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic couldn't we all use a happy ending? A small token of joy to celebrate life, happiness and the promise of what is to come? Therefore the theme of the competition is Happy Endings. We want you to shoot and submit a 10-minute maximum length short film telling a story from a Queer perspective that offers a happy ending.

Voting will end Sunday, July 25 at 11:59PM PT. Winners will be announced July 28.
Complete rules and guidelines here.

APHA applauds passage of bill providing significant public health agency funding increases

Statement from APHA Executive Director Georges C. Benjamin, MD

 

The American Public Health Association strongly applauds today’s House Appropriations Committee passage of major funding increases for key public health agencies and programs included in the FY 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.

 

Importantly, the legislation would boost funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by nearly $2.7 billion in fiscal year 2022, for a total of more than $10.5 billion. This funding will help strengthen the nation’s public health infrastructure and workforce as we continue to combat COVID-19 and also support other critical programs to address many of our most pressing public health challenges including environmental health threats, violence prevention, opioid abuse and overdose and health disparities and inequities. APHA welcomes all of the important investments made in this bill including:

• $1 billion in new flexible funding for state and local public health infrastructure needs and $106 million, a $50 million increase over FY 2021, for strengthening the public health workforce;
• $110 million for CDC’s Climate and Health Program, an increase of $100 million over FY 2021;
• $25 million to conduct gun violence prevention research. The National Institutes of Health would also receive $25 million for gun violence prevention research for a total of $50 million, double the FY 2021 level;
• $153 million to address the social determinants of health, an increase of $150 million over FY 2021;
• $664 million for opioid overdose prevention and surveillance, an increase of $188 million over FY 2021; and
• $150 million for the ongoing effort to modernize data systems at CDC and state and local health departments, an increase of $100 million over FY 2021.

The bill would also provide an increase of $1.6 billion for the Health Resources and Services Administration for a total of more than $8.7 billion in FY 2022. Key increases for HRSA include:

• $1.8 billion for the Health Centers program, an increase of $148 million over FY 2021, including an increase of $45 million to support school-based health centers;
• $2.7 billion for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, an increase of $231 million over FY 2021;
• $1.2 billion for programs to improve maternal and child health, an increase of $214 million over FY 2021;
• $400 million for the Title X Family Planning program, an increase of $113.5 million over FY 2021;
• $1.6 billion for HRSA’s Bureau of Health Professions programs to support health workforce development, an increase of $341 million over FY 2021.

Adequate funding for these programs will help ensure a robust, well-trained workforce, a critical component of responding to public health emergencies like COVID-19 and ensure we are better prepared for the next pandemic.

 

We are also pleased that the bill does not include the so-called Hyde amendment language that has prohibited women who rely on federal Medicaid coverage from accessing abortion services in most cases, a policy that disproportionately impacts low-income women and women of color.

 

We thank Chair Rosa DeLauro for leading the effort to provide these important increases and we thank all of the members of the committee who supported the bill. We look forward to working with the House and Senate to ensure the highest possible funding levels for CDC, HRSA and other important public health programs as Congress continues its work on the FY 2022 appropriations process.

Paper Highlights Lessons Learned While Training Ugandan Healthcare Workers in SGM Care

A new paper published in the Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS) outlines some of the successes and challenges discovered while training healthcare workers in Uganda on the needs of sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations. Ensuring that healthcare workers are proficient in providing affirming and comprehensive care for SGM patients is critical for ending the HIV epidemic worldwide. SGM people, particularly men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women, experience disproportionate HIV infection across the globe. The paper, titled Healthcare worker training to improve quality of care for sexual and gender minority people in sub-Saharan Africa: learning from efforts in Uganda, highlights the facilitators of and barriers to SGM health training efforts for healthcare workers in Uganda.

“Based on our experience working in Uganda with local partners, the purpose of this article was to synthesize facilitators of and barriers to SGM health training for Ugandan healthcare workers, in order to inform potential priorities, strategies and next steps for advancing culturally responsive SGM healthcare across Uganda and sub-Saharan Africa,” said Dr. Alex Keuroghlian, Director of Education and Training Programs at The Fenway Institute and one of the authors of the paper.

The areas of focus for these trainings included sexual and gender histories, sex-positive HIV counselling, sexually transmitted infections, HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and gender-affirming hormone therapy. SGM communities in sub-Saharan Africa have often experienced discrimination, persecution, incarceration and physical violence, and they encounter unique barriers to engagement in sexual health services and HIV prevention and treatment.

The lessons learned from healthcare worker training efforts in Uganda can be used to inform future outreach initiatives and care best practices to better meet the needs of more SGM communities in the region. Evaluation of SGM health training programs to determine the impact on HIV viral load suppression and sexual health outcomes will be critical for identifying strategies that may support advancing HIV epidemic control for SGM communities in Uganda and across sub-Saharan Africa.

“This special issue of the Journal of the International AIDS Society highlights the reality that as programs to engage young African heterosexuals in HIV prevention have scaled up, key populations have not received the same attention,” explained Dr. Kenneth Mayer, Fenway Health Medical Research Director, Co-Director of The Fenway Institute, and another paper author. Dr. Mayer was also a co-editor of the special JIAS issue this paper appears in, Key Populations: the Future of the African HIV/AIDS Pandemic?

“As a result, their rates of new HIV infections are increasing. Part of the solution is health care worker training to provide culturally competent care to at risk people,” Dr. Mayer said. The full paper can be accessed here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jia2.25728

Denver Zoo to Celebrate 125th Anniversary with Performances from Denver's Most Exciting Cultural Organizations

Throughout its history, Denver Zoo has been fortunate to partner with many of the artists, individuals and organizations that make Denver one of the country’s most creative and colorful cities. To celebrate its 125th anniversary, the Zoo invited its Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) peers to collaborate for on-site performances throughout July and August. These performances will give the SCFD organizations a unique venue to ply their respective trades and connect with new audiences, and enhance the experience for Zoo guests and members. Participating SCFD organizations include (in order of appearance at the Zoo):

MEXICAN CULTURAL CENTER

Tuesday, July 13 from 10 a.m. to Noon

Guest speakers from the Mexican Cultural Center will give a talk about the lifecycle of the Monarch butterfly and their annual migration process, and incorporate the cultural significant of the species through interactive family activities.

CLEO PARKER ROBINSON DANCE

Thursday, July 22 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

Performers from the internationally-renowned Cleo Parker Robinson Dance will share "Yemanja" from their diverse repertoire that is based in the traditions of the Diaspora. This exuberant performance celebrates the joy that our relationship with the world's oceans can bring to us all!
Please Note: This performance takes place during our Adulting with the Animals event.

AUGUSTANA ARTS (STRATUS CHAMBER ORCHESTRA)

Saturday, Aug. 14 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Stratus Chamber Orchestra presents a family-friendly concert: “Splash, Slither, Stomp & Soar into Arts.” Prepare to be taken on a journey as you introduce your little ones to classical music in an atmosphere that is fun and welcoming. Guests will hear music such as Carnival of the Animals, Flight of the Bumblebee, Haydn Symphony no. 82 “The Bear,” and others, performed by Stratus musicians.

COLORADO DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL

Sunday, Aug. 15 from 9 to 11 a.m.

Colorado Dragon Boat Festival will be on-hand to provide Zoo guests with an interactive experience with paddling demos, live performances and more. Guests will have the opportunity to try out a paddle apparatus and get a sense for the ancient Chinese sport of dragon boat racing.

COLORADO BALLET

Friday, August 20 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Colorado Ballet presents an evening of dynamic dance that will feature two original contemporary works choreographed by our Artists. Join us and experience Sean Omandam’s thought-provoking work Yeah, It’s About That and Sara Thomas’s upbeat piece Embrace It or Erase It, performed with passionate precision by Artists of Colorado Ballet.

Performances from all participating SCFD organizations are included in the price of daily admission to Denver Zoo. For more information and tickets, visit DenverZoo.org/Events.