Once again SpringOut has been invited to programme the lesbian interest films at the Shropshire Rainbow Film Festival and we are delighted to announce our film selection

Friday 17th October 2014 Opening Night starting with a bit of a launch party, then:

Two Girls Against the Rain – a beautiful 10 minute short film from Cambodia. The Director, Sao Sopheak is totally delighted that we are screening it.
After almost 30 years of civil war and the genocide committed by the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia is still one of the poorest countries in the world. Traditional values and customs such as arranged marriages are upheld. This short film is the first locally produced documentary, which gives a voice to members of the lesbian community.

Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf – In this eccentric all-female romantic comedy, charismatic filmmaker Anna, who we first meet dressed in a giant vagina costume, is facing a crisis. She has neither job nor girlfriend, and lives in her friend’s garage in Los Angeles. Just when she’s about to throw in the towel, she meets Katia who becomes her muse, sending her into a self-reflective, and semi-self-indulgent, navel-gazing spiral in which she decides to make a film in order to woo her!
She is inspired to write and direct an all-female remake of Edward Albee’s Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf? the film of the play that tracks the excruciatingly painful breakdown of George and Martha’s marriage in a claustrophobic domestic drama.
Surrounded by beautiful women as cast and crew including, Anna destroys everything to get to the bottom of what is truly stopping her from love and life. The film’s epigraph, “for beyond the difficulty of communicating oneself, there is the supreme difficulty of being oneself”—a quotation from Virginia Woolf—epitomizes Anna’s storyline. She is struggling with the classic work and (love) life balance. Can she ‘have it all’ or has she ‘had it all’ all along? Who is she and what is she supposed to be.

WAVW is dark and parodic and exquisitely intelligent at the same time with sharp yet subtle nods to past literary and pop cultures, performed by the wonderfully talented ensemble. As one critic raves ‘Guinevere Turner playing a lesbian actress playing Elizabeth Burton playing Albee’s Georgie is flat-out phenomenal; she nails the deadpan satire of the Hollywood actress’. You can buy tickets here: Opening Night

Saturday 18th October 2014

We are so totally delighted to have found a couple of films about the lesbian movers and shakers in our lifetimes to screen at this year’s Rainbow Film Festival – wow are they amazing! You can buy tickets here: Saturday special

First off – No Secret Anymore – Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon were partners in love and political struggle for over fifty years. With incisive interviews, rare archival images and warmhearted humor, No Secret Anymore reveals their inspiring public work, as well as their charming private relationship. It is a delightful way to meet these legendary lesbians, known as the founders of the modern lesbian civil rights movement. When they courageously launched the Daughters of Bilitis in 1955, it became the first public organisation for lesbians in America.
Here’s a sneaky preview:

Followed by a chat with the ever popular Chair Jane Traies and then the second half of the double bill:

Some Ground To Stand On – This film is so rarely seen – and hard to get hold of – that the only copy we can get starts with a little shake but you’ll be pleased to know it settles down. There is no trailer available so you’ll just have to trust us that it is worth a watch.
Screening as part of a double bill with No Secret Anymore, this compelling documentary tells the life story of Blue Lunden, a working class lesbian activist whose odyssey of personal transformation parallels lesbians’ changing roles over the past 40 years. Starting with Blue’s experience of being run out of the 1950’s New Orleans gay bar scene for wearing men’s clothing, interviews photos, and archival footage trace her experiences: giving up her child for adoption and getting her back; getting sober; and coming into her own as a lesbian rights feminist, and anti-nuclear activist. Filmed when she was 61 and living in Sugarloaf Women’s Village, Blue reflects on aging, activism, and a life spent “doing what she wanted” in this touching, inspiring look at a generation’s struggle for a lesbian identity and consciousness.

Sunday 19th October 2014
The Children’s Hour (AKA The Loudest Whisper) – An old black and white classic for a Sunday matinee, starring Audrey Hepburn and Shirley Maclaine – quite pioneering for its day and based on a Scottish experience.
Karen and Martha are best friends, fresh out of college and establishing a new private girls’ school. Everything seems to be working out – until some of the pupils overhear an argument where Martha’s Aunt Lily accuses her and Karen of an “unnatural relationship”. Mary, a troubled and vengeful child, hears the story and tells her guardian grandmother who spreads the gossip further. Soon all the parents withdraw their children from the school and the fight begins.The future of the school is brought into question, and Karen faces losing her fianceé (James Garner).
Based on the 1934 play of the same name by Lillian Hellman, the story is inspired by the 1809 account of two Scottish school teachers whose lives were destroyed when one of their students accused them of engaging in a lesbian relationship, though they eventually won their case. At the time of the play’s premiere (1934) in New York State, the mention of homosexuality on stage was illegal, but authorities chose to overlook its subject matter when the Broadway production was acclaimed by the critics.

You can buy tickets here: Classic Sunday Matinee

For the full festival programme, including information about the two sessions dedicated to shorts check out the Shropshire Rainbow Film Festival website