Queer Film Series

The IN and OUT: Being LGBTQ on Vashon Island exhibit at the Vashon Heritage Museum has organized a year-long LGBTQ film series for the Island in collaboration with the Vashon Senior Center, Voice of Vashon, Island GreenTech, and Vashon Theatre.  This film series brings together a collective of LGBTQ ally organizations in support of Vashon’s LGBTQ people by screening historic LGBTQ films. The exhibit is an inner look at the Vashon LGBTQ community, the film series turns our focus outwards to look at the broader LGBTQ community. These films continue to share stories of historical, cultural and political significance to Vashon’s LGBTQ people through a glance into the larger LGBTQ rights movement. The series of nine films will run from September through April at The Senior Center and the Vashon Theatre. Look for announcements of each film and please come join us to look into the world of LGBTQ lives through film.

Radical Harmonies (2002) 

In and Out presents the film Radical Harmonies on Wednesday, September 25th at 5:00PM at the Vashon Senior Center with a potluck and discussion to follow. Radical Harmonies is an award winning documentary featuring historic performance clips and contemporary interviews with the titans that created the women’s music scene of the 1970s and 80s. Those of you that enjoyed the recent Ferron/Jamie Seiber/Cris Williamson concert at the Vashon O Space will appreciate seeing those women back when.  The discussion afterwards will include reminiscences of women’s music events, including the Michigan Women’s Music Festival that recently closed down after 40 years of production, and local performances on Vashon Island. 

Torch Song Trilogy (1988)

In and Out’s film series presents Torch Song Trilogy on October 8th at 6:00 PM at The Vashon Theatre.  This film is based on Harvey Fierstein’s play of the same name. The In and Out film series presents this film because of its historical content and because in 1988 this film was significant in bringing gay drama to a wider audience.  The film tells Arnold Beckoff’s (Harvey Fierstein) story of looking for love and acceptance, but as a gay man working as a female impersonator in 1970s New York City, neither come easily. The film portrays struggles of early LGBTQ people’s basic identity and the simple basic on needs of deserving to be loved and parents’ acceptance.  

La Mission (2010)

In and Out presents the film La Mission on Friday, October 18th at 1pm at the Vashon Senior Center.  Filmed in San Francisco’s Mission District the film features the struggles of a tough Latinex father to accept his gay son. The film was produced and directed by Benjamin and Peter Bratt, two Latino sons of the Mission District who proudly present culture and context. Rated R for language, some violence and sexual content.

Better Than Chocolate (1999)

In and Out presents the film Better Than Chocolate on November 19th at 6:00 PM at the Vashon Theatre.  Better Than Chocolate follows a young lesbian named Maggi living in Vancouver, Maggie works in a book store which sells titles about the LGBTQ + community, including guides to safe sex. With this material having been deemed obscene, we witness the prejudice and discrimination towards the LGBTQ community in the era of the AIDs crisis.  The outcome of this discrimination impacts LGBTQ people in their daily lives. The film depicts the 80’s, a historical time in the Lesbian community of Vancouver, BC, centered around Commercial Drive.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)

In and Out presents the film Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil on Friday, December 13th at 1pm at the Vashon Senior Center.  Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a 1997 American crime drama filmed on location in Savannah, Georgia, directed and produced by Clint Eastwood and starring Kevin Spacey and John Cusack. The film examines the hidden-in-plain- sight life of a high-society gay man in the South. Interwoven with a bit of voodoo, a good murder-mystery, and colorful characters, the movie gives a peak into the weirdness of society in an old Southern town. Catherine Swearingen, daughter of the South and Executive Director of the Senior Center will lead the discussion following the film.

TransMilitary (2018)

IN and OUT presents the film TransMilitary on January 21st at the Vashon Theatre. Captain El Cook, who is featured in the film, and is stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McCord will speak before the film and answer questions after the screening. TransMilitary chronicles the lives of four individuals (Senior Airman Logan Ireland, Corporal Laila Villanueva, Captain Jennifer Peace and First Lieutenant El Cook) defending their country’s freedom while fighting for their own. They put their careers and their families’ livelihoods on the line by coming out as transgender to top brass officials in the Pentagon in hopes of attaining the equal right to serve. The ban was lifted in 2016, but with President Trump now trying to reinstate it, their futures hang in the balance again. Around 15,500 transgender people serve in the U.S. military (notably the largest transgender employer in the U.S.), where they must conceal their gender identity because military policies ban their service. 

The Birdcage (1996)

IN and OUT presents the film The Birdcage on Friday, February 14th, at 1pm at the Vashon Senior Center. Scripted by Elaine May, this American remake of the 1978 French comedy La Cage aux Folles stars Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as a gay cabaret owner and his partner who pretend to be straight in order to impress the right-wing, ultra conservative parents of their son’s fiancé. 

Saving Face (2004)

IN and OUT presents the film Saving Face on March 17th at the Vashon Theatre. Written and directed by Alice Wu, the film tells the story of Wilhelminia, a young Chinese American surgeon, her un-wed pregnant mother who has been kicked out by Wil’s grandfather for bring shame on the family, and Wil’s dancer girlfriend Vivian. The film explores issues of coming out among three generations of Chinese Americans.

The Celluloid Closet (1995)

IN and OUT presents the film The Celluloid Closet on Tuesday, April 14 at 6 p.m. at the Vashon Theatre.  Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman and narrated by Lily Tomlin, the film takes us back to Hollywood’s portrayals of queer characters over time.  Based on the book of the same name by Vito Russo, it shows film clips and interviews portraying the sissy stereotypes, coded gay characters, and cruel depictions before more accurate representations appeared in the 1990s.