Starline Lounge :: 6:00pm :: Thursday, September 18

black./womyn.:
conversations with lesbians of African descent

  • $7.00
  • Director: Tiona M.
  • 2008, USA, 97min

This revolutionary documentary about lesbians of African descent serves as a rare and intimate portal into the lives of women often shunned by society and all but forgotten by the media.

A groundbreaking and highly important film, black./womyn.:conversations with lesbians of African descent finally gives voice to a potent and diverse community ignored by the mainstream media. Eager to address this deficit in representation as a queer black woman herself, up-and-coming Philadephia-based filmmaker Tiona M. interviewed 49 “out” black lesbians between the ages of 18 and 60 to describe their experience in a world that rejects unconventionality. Using their voices to address issues of sexuality, religion, coming out, marriage, media visibility, discrimination, the lesbian lexicon, and the hotly debated butch/femme roles, these women unabashedly share their stories in an effort to enlighten and uplift. Even as they carry the burden of three oppressed groups, these women refuse to commit to a life of self-hatred. Fraught with both agonizing honesty and joyous personal celebration, this extraordinary work is a remarkably balanced dialogue about what it means to meet the triple challenge of race, gender and sexuality head on in order to become one’s authentic self. Featuring the powerful voices of Def Poet Staceyann Chin, poet/activist/scholar Cheryl Clarke and filmmaker Michelle Parkerson -- just to name a few -- this candid exploration of extreme otherness will move, inspire and indelibly mark the hearts and minds of anyone willing to hear these women speak their truths. -- Lissette Villanueva, Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

Winner: Audience Award:  Best Documentary Feature, Philadelphia IGLFF

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