Some Thoughts on the State of Lesbian Filmmaking in the US (part 5 of 5)
CONCLUSION
To read all 5 parts of the article, click on the links below:
Some Thoughts on the State of Lesbian Filmmaking in the US (part 1 of 5) INTRO (2018)
Some Thoughts on the State of Lesbian Filmmaking in the US (part 2 of 5)(2018)
Some Thoughts on the State of Lesbian Filmmaking in the US (part 3 of 5) LGBTQ FILMS/ INFLUENCES (2018)
Some Thoughts on the State of Lesbian Filmmaking in the US (part 5 of 5) CONCLUSION (2018)
Or read the article in its’ entirely by clicking on the link below:
Some Thoughts on the State of Lesbian Filmmaking in the US (part 1–5) (2018) (Original Article in its’ Entirety.)
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CONCLUSION
And I personally think this is really, really important, this low budget aspect of it, because it is what makes these niche films, about a very underrepresented part of society, the LGBTQ community, possible at all. I think this is truly something to keep in mind, and to even strive for, to stay within the low budget realm of filmmaking, not only because it is creatively challenging in the best ways possible, but because the LGBTQ community doesn’t get the same funding opportunities than our heterosexual filmmaking counterparts, and this is something we should be very conscious of and it should not stop us from making films that represent us.
While Americans in general, and the minority groups among American society, love their superheroes, (which I, as a European, can’t get all behind,) I think we should keep making and supporting low budget, independent LGBTQ films, because we need to stay on the map, as an underrepresented and undervalued demographic in American filmmaking and American society in general. Our livelihood literally depends on it.
Our visibility is of crucial importance, as it doesn’t just pertain to art and entertainment, but to our very lives and rights.
Film as art, and as opposed to entertainment, is of crucial importance to any society, as it is a testament to our humanity, and this is exactly why totalitarian regimes throughout history attack and erase artists and free thinkers before anyone else to begin with, it is of utmost importance to the LGBTQ community.
It is of utmost importance that we financially and mentally and emotionally support and invest in each other, because not only we will inspire newer generations to live their lives out and proud, and often in ways we couldn’t, but this is one of the few things we can do to ensure our survival at all, (art, and history and science and legislation are four of the most important things to ensure our livelihoods, our continuance, our safety and our equality under the law.)
We cannot afford to sit by idle and passive and hope for someone to give one of us a massive sum to make some superhero film for us, (which again doesn’t attract me in the slightest but which apparently means a lot for many of Americans,) but must make art with whatever money we have available at all, through filmmaking, writing, music, photography, etc., continually represent our stories and our identities, both our desires and fears, our in the closet stories, our out of the closet stories, our free from any closets stories, as all represent us and all are valuable in our LGBTQ history.
We have to create and foster artistic communities, share our knowledge and our creative tools and lend each other a helping hand at every turn of the way if we are to survive. Our filmmaking history and artistic history in general was never a luxury but sprung forth out of a vital, crucial need to document our lives fully and accurately in a society which has always been intend on vilifying us and erase us. And so we have to keep our costs low and our creative output high in order to able to do this at all.
On a final note, if art, which is by nature idealistic, does not correspond to one’s sense of reality at all anymore, one can not relate to it. What’s worse, one becomes desensitized to reality, to truthfulness moreover, and the art itself, as well as one’s reaction to it, becomes delusional, which is actually dangerous. When art is no longer an inquiry into the true nature of things, of people, of our human condition, and is pure escapism, for escapism’s sake, we lose touch with reality and our purpose in life, which is to interpret reality so we can somehow live in it.
A good example is the current state of the US altogether. The US’ recent presidential election has shown us pretty clearly what happens when the rather elitist and liberal few, mostly on the West and East Coasts, have no sense of the reality of all others living in the rest of the US anymore. And now we are left to deal with the wreckage, and many of us feel overwhelmed and unprepared.
This is exactly what happens when we have been fed too many lies through entertainment, and the news itself has become a form of entertainment, and so biased.
We, as a whole, as a population, have lost our critical thinking skills and our desire to even think things through. We have been fed sarcasm, shock value, and real time “news,” on such a continuous basis, we cannot sit still, quiet our brains and our feelings, and understand life on a deeper level anymore. As a result we feel we need to log off from our electronic devices, unplug our entertainment and go back to nature for periods of time, in order to detox from all the delusional noise.
Art is supposed to do the opposite of this, it is supposed to bring us closer to ourselves and each other, to understand our universal dilemmas and our deepest insecurities, and to provide us some objective, universally understood knowledge and from that knowledge a sense of peace. Art should feel truthful, urgent and highly necessary, not mind numbing and desensitizing.
I am for a filmmaking art that fulfills this purpose.
I propose nothing less than a movement, a queer female filmmakers movement, if the state of lesbian and gender nonconforming film is to change for the better.
(But more on this some other time.)
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My name is Gabriella Bregman, I am a Hollywood-based Writer, Filmmaker and Producer, currently in production of a Feature Documentary about LGBTQ US-Immigration Exclusion-Policy, including my personal story of US immigration discrimination during DOMA, (Defense Of Marriage Act, of 1996–2015,) titled ‘The Queer Case for Individual Rights,’ through my film production company Bregman Films.
The 2001 John Cassavetes Film Retrospective ‘Gena and John: A Cassavetes Retrospective’ at the Laemmle Theatres in Los Angeles is a Bregman Films Production.
I am also the Founder of a Nonprofit Film Organization Queer Female Filmmakers Los Angeles — A Media Site & LA Film Mixers (2018.)
In 2018 I am publishing my story and essays in a book, titled ‘The Queer Case for Individual Rights & Other Essays.’
I identify as a Gender Nonconforming Lesbian, “non-op” Trans-Masculine, and Bi-Racial, from the Netherlands, Los Angeles-based.
My pronouns are: they/them/theirs.
Please check out my other articles on LGBTQ- and Immigration Issues, the State of Women and LGBTQ People in Film, and Lesbian/Queer Film as well as Queer Female Sexuality and Gender Identity at medium.com/@gabriellabregman
A few titles:
Resume/FILM BIO: Gabriella Bregman (2018) (2018)
2018 Update on Documentary ‘The Queer Case for Individual Rights’ (2018)
A Note on the State of Women in Film (2016)
A Few Notes On LGBTQ Filmmaking (2017)
Some Thoughts on the State of Lesbian Filmmaking in the US (part 1 of 5) (2018)
John Cassavetes Film Retrospective (2001) (2018)
On ‘Moonlight’ and the Subject of Positive Representation (2017)
My 2018 Oscar Pick for Best Picture (2018)
In Defense of Rationality (2018)
In Defense of Individual Rights (2018)
A Few Notes on US Immigration Exclusion Policies Towards Women- and LGBTQ Immigrants (2014)
The Root Cause Of Misogyny, And The Necessity Of Free Will (Gender Binary System notes, part 1 of 7) (2016)
The Male And Female Brain, And The “Cause” Of Transgenderism (Gender Binary System notes, part 2 of 7) (2016)
The Gender-Binary System Was Created For Population Control And Slavery, Including Sex Slavery (Gender Binary System notes, part 7 of 7)
All Articles Written by Gabriella Bregman (TM). All Pictures Owned by Gabriella Bregman (TM). All Rights Reserved (2018)
