20 Jun A Space of Our Own: Queer Filmmakers are Seeking a Creative Oasis

BY GABE CASTRO

This article is part of a column by Gabe Castro called “Reel Impact: From Screens to Streets.” The column explores contemporary film through conversations with Philadelphia-area community members and organizers. This column is funded with support from Bread and Roses Community Fund.

“I think there should be a queering of filmmaking.” – angel edwards

Philadelphia boasts a vibrant queer scene that celebrates a rich diversity of identities. The 2024 Pride celebrations have been historic, with record-breaking events such as the largest progress rainbow pride flag adorning the iconic “Rocky” steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and a Guinness World Record for the largest drag queen story hour. 

Despite these achievements, the local queer film scene lacks a dedicated space to facilitate an environment of growth and community. Philadelphia’s qFLIX film festival was such a space before postponing in 2022. The cancellation of the festival left a crater, an absence of outlets for queer film in the city. In other large cities, these festivals thrive. New York has New Fest, San Francisco has SF Queer Film Fest, Atlanta has Out on Film, and Boston has Wicked Queer. While many of the independent and community film organizations in Philadelphia are led by and support queer filmmakers, there is no dedicated, intentional space for these films and filmmakers. 

cinéSPEAK spoke with two local queer filmmakers seeking and building community in Philly to learn more about their experiences and perspectives on the queer film landscape in our city. Dancer and artist angel edwards channels their performance energy into film celebrating and embracing Black and queer bodies, while video artist Eva Wu aims to create a space for the nuanced identities within the queer/trans community. In these creative endeavors, they build community and foster a sense of belonging. While Philadelphia has a tight-knit and supportive community of filmmakers, carving out an intentional space for queer art is necessary.

angel edwards began their creative career in the world of dance, naturally developing their skills behind the camera by capturing dance performances and photographing their fellow dancers. In 2018, they decided to step out of their comfort zone to create a more intentional film piece, enlisting the help of many Black queer artists in the city. The resulting film, This is For Us, is a beautiful, delicate work that embraces viewers with warm soft pink imagery. It uplifts Black queer and femme joy, siblinghood, and intimacy, beginning with a comforting slumber party scene that highlights Black hair, skin, soft touches, and the “magic in our melanin,” as spoken in edwards’ poem within the film. The film evolves into a coordinated dance, accompanied by edwards’ words, a poem on intimacy and a “heaven without cis men.”

The cinematography is by Kayla Watkins, a documentary filmmaker in Philadelphia whose work focuses on liberation and highlighting the experiences of Black femmes. The dreamy synth music, created by local Black queer musician Jacqueline Constance and award-winning musician Cvgebird, guides viewers through the dance sequence as edwards shares a poem: “Here, I know that I love and am loved. And that I am Black, queer, femme, and alive.” edwards expresses a desire for softness, saying, “I wanted to make something purple, periwinkle, and pink. Black, brown, and cozy.” Inspired by a song by H.E.R. titled “Focus,” edwards envisioned a Black person free falling through the air and landing on something soft and kind. They were transported to a time when they felt a true embracing of their queer identity: “It was about a moment where I was dancing with another Black queer person and reveling in that moment of touch, where I felt safe. Making this film, I felt I was taking on my queerness as a creative aesthetic. Not only that, but in centering my queerness, my Blackness, I found a sort of ethical anchor. And I knew then that I wanted to have this project include only Black queer people from head to toe.”

During this production, edwards found their filmmaker stride and is looking forward to expanding their skills. They continue to learn and grow their community of filmmakers through collaborative projects and are currently working on a documentary titled Let ‘im Move You about a Black queer intergenerational J-Sette dance collective of majorettes. Despite their diligent work in cultivating a safe community for queer filmmakers, edwards feels a need for more intentional spaces. They suggest film salons, festivals, or collectives where filmmakers and creators can safely navigate the intersections of their identities while supporting and uplifting others. “Philly has a robust creative scene, hard stop. Whether it’s dance, film, poetry, all of it. So I definitely think it’s there. We just need to find it,” edwards shares in hopes of discovering such a community.

Eva Wu, a Philadelphia-based visual artist, has been creating kinky, artsy, and experimental media for the past decade. Her video art–consisting of collage, GIFs, photography, and animations–expresses desires and beauty within a community often misrepresented and ignored. As a porn artist involved in the queer/trans community, Wu found inspiration and need after attending a DIY porn festival in Berlin with collaborator Heart Byrne. “I was really blown away by the films themselves but also by the community. There were a lot of sex workers and the entire festival was slutty, sex-positive, horny people that were so embracing and lovely,” Wu shared. She realized the unique value of queer independent porn, noting the lack of cultural, familial, political, or financial support for such work. This lack of support means the work is risky, often not shared with family, winning awards, or leading to job opportunities. With this risk comes daring freedom, allowing the artists to be true to themselves, baring themselves (often literally) to the audience, and fostering a sense of connection and acceptance.

The festival experience was transformative for Wu. She and Heart Byrne returned from Berlin in 2016 to create the Hot Bits Film Festival in Philadelphia. Through their residency at 40th Street AIRSPACE in West Philly, they hosted a two-day festival featuring queer kink films, light snacks, performances by the Raspberry Royale burlesque troupe, and a small audience of around 40 people each night. Wu highlights one of the most significant aspects of the festival: “I feel like watching the films is healing. The most significant part is the public aspect of watching these films, together with other people in a shared space, and seeing other people’s reactions to something that you enjoy or don’t enjoy. It breaks down the shame that we’ve inherited and internalized from society, the AIDS epidemic, our religious backgrounds, our families, and more. I just really feel like Hot Bits’ screening of queer porn in public gives our community a space to start to break down that internalized shame.” 

Following the success of this intimate festival, Wu expanded Hot Bits into a larger event, collaborating with creators from Philadelphia and neighboring cities, Baltimore and Boston, as well as play party organizers, harm reduction organizations, and vendors of sex accessories to design a space that is fully sex-positive and supportive. The festival became an annual event, traveling from Philly to Baltimore, Boston, Austin, and beyond. Last year’s festival focused on Black trans experiences, with Icon Ebony Fierce hosting. Fierce shares how it impacted them as a queer Black performer: “Last year we featured a lot of trans feminine people, which felt important to me. I had noticed that in the past, even in queer spaces, trans women, especially Black trans women or nonbinary folks, were being left behind and excluded. It feels like people don’t think we are in that world. When they think of Black, trans, feminine people, they think of ballroom, but there is quite a range of performers and genres for them. So it felt really special for the audience to see that range up close.” 

Hot Bits Film Festival has evolved into a bi-annual event, taking this year off as the volunteer team, consisting of many established creators in Philadelphia, focuses on the festival and their own projects. Wu reflects on the festival’s impact and the need for more queer art spaces, saying, “It’s really rare to have a space where our sex-positive, sexual, kinky, pleasure-oriented sides are welcomed and centered in an adult-only kind of artistic, creative, community-oriented space. There’s really no other space like this.” Wu’s most recent film Bunny X Gator, made in collaboration with Ian Clotz and porn artist Swamp Daddy, Evie Snax, is making the rounds in various DIY porn festivals. The film is surreal and otherworldly and embraces bodies and kinks through smoke and pink clouds. Her next endeavor is a film called Mommy with movement artist Manon Praline, a follow-up to her 2018 film, Baby. The film is an educational and emotional personal story about the neo vulva bottom surgery for trans feminine folks. 

When asked about existing spaces in Philadelphia that cultivate queer art, both Wu and edwards highlight the Leeway Foundation as an amazing resource for Trans and femme artists. Leeway has long supported queer artists with a multitude of grant opportunities, artist residencies, and awards that foster a community of queer creators, organizers, and activists, elevating the rich culture of Philadelphia. Melissa Hamilton, Deputy Director at Leeway Foundation, weighed in on the importance of funding and supporting queer artists in the city, stating, “In 2021, for every $100 dollars awarded by U.S. foundations, only 28 cents specifically supported LGBTQ communities–with even less supporting LGBTQ artists. With that in mind, funding and supporting queer and trans art in Philadelphia is not only incredibly important, it’s necessary work, especially if funders want to support visionary changemakers in the struggle for justice. Imagine our city without queer and trans art. What a cavernous, palpable absence there would be. Funding queer and trans art is the lifeblood for our city.” 

Leeway’s Media Artist + Activist Residency application deadline is June 24th, 2024 and is open to women, trans, and gender nonconforming media artists working in close collaboration with social justice/cultural organizations to document, reframe, and/or amplify the issues and campaigns addressed by the organization.

In addition to the Leeway Foundation, edwards praises Scribe Video Center and PhillyCAM as invaluable resources for burgeoning filmmakers. They also commend the many brilliant film festivals in the city, such as BlackStar Film Festival and the Philadelphia Latino Arts and Film Festival, which are very welcoming to queer films and filmmakers. However, outside of Leeway and Hot Bits Film Festival, specifically curated queer art spaces are unfortunately lacking. The Gayborhood’s history of racism has made an event like Hot Bits a necessary oasis. By rejoicing in these spaces, being free, and rewriting the alienating narratives of mainstream media, Wu and their collaborators are paving the way for the next generation of queer creators.

Where do queer creators go during Hot Bits’ off-year? How can Philadelphia create a “queering” of filmmaking, as edwards suggests, that embraces queer filmmaking practices, addresses larger film community concerns, and fosters an environment for further growth and stimulation? As we celebrate Pride this month, we can keep dreaming and building the spaces that allow this community to be seen and celebrated.

Edited on June 25, 2024 to update that qFLIX was postponed in 2022.

*Featured Image: Image from Hot Bits 2023. Photo credit: Ty Burdenski.

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Gabe Castro is a Philadelphia-based Latiné multimedia professional specializing in the horror genre. Gabe believes media can be used as a tool to bring social change and works in all she does to create impactful and inspiring media. Gabe is a former cinéSPEAK Philly Beat Fellow.