Gus Van Sant, Donna Deitch Among Filmmakers to Join Screenings of Landmark Films

Filmmakers Gus Van Sant, Donna Deitch, Arthur Dong, Zackary Drucker, Rob Epstein, Jennie Livingston, Jenni Olson, Jan Oxenberg, and Peggy Rajski are scheduled to appear in person at the “Pioneers of Queer Cinema” screenings, spotlighting 33 landmark LGBTQ works beginning Jan. 22 at the Billy Wilder Theater.

The event, from the UCLA Legacy Project as part of the UCLA Film & Television Archive, was postponed from an earlier date to help reduce the risk of a rise in COVID-19. Screenings begin Jan. 22 with “Mala Noche” and “Hide and Seek,” continuing over 12 nights through March 20 (see schedule below).

Admission is free, but tickets are required: click here to register 

“Pioneers of Queer Cinema” is presented in partnership with IndieCollect and Outfest, and made possible by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Andrew J. Kuehn Jr. Foundation and IndieCollect.

“The organizers and supporters of this series hope to introduce and reacquaint audiences with landmark queer works and their makers, while inspiring new conversations and renewed action surrounding the complex obstacles LGBTQ+ communities continue to face,” according to press notes.

The UCLA Film & Television Archive partnered with Outfest in 2005 to create the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project for LGBT Moving Image Preservation. Celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2020, the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project has made a priority of documenting, preserving and exhibiting LGBTQ+ moving images from an inspiring collection of over 40,000 holdings, now the largest publicly accessible collection of LGBTQ+ films in the world.

Since 2010, these initiatives have been augmented by the dedication of the preservationists at IndieCollect and their development of a Queer Cinema Index, which has logged vital information on more than 12,000 LGBTQIA+ titles—creating an invaluable research compendium intended to drive preservation of these works.

Collectively, Outfest, IndieCollect and UCLA are committed to sharing LGBTQ+ moving images to bring diverse communities together to discuss differing, often radical explorations of sexual orientation and gender identity. From this shared vision, the Pioneers of Queer Cinema program was conceived.

The organizers are indebted to The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the Andrew J. Kuehn Jr. Foundation for underwriting many aspects of this ambitious series.

The Billy Wilder Theater is located in the Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles.