The Online Film Festival From Alima Lee Is Now Live
Featuring queer Black artists Rhea Dillon, Sarah Nicole François, summer fucking mason, and Jerome AB.
At the point where most of the world’s populace has spent several months in isolation, the desire to escape the reality becomes more and more prevalent with each quarantine-ridden day. To satisfy our desires for interconnectivity while keeping one another safe, Los Angeles based multi-disciplinary artist and filmmaker Alima Lee has curated a series of films under the “Films for Escapism” topic. Launched on June 11 and presented by The Women’s Center for Creative Work, the digital film festival explored the work of four black queer filmmakers who take a closer look into themes of digital intimacy, hyper surveillance, dismantling the gaze and healing of the community.
Week 1 of the festival in full swing with Sarah Nicole François’ 2019 film Soft — an animated “tale of cyborg love” available to stream on the festival website. Up next is Rhea Dillon’s The Name I Call Myself — a digitalized two-screen multi-sensory installation that ponders the questions of ‘what it looks like to be black and be part of a problem?’ and ‘what happens when the safe confines of the community are compromised from within?’
From June 26 to July 2, summer fucking mason’s Velvet Rain (2019) will be on view. Shot and directed by UC Berkeley graduate, this project is described as a “conceptual zombie collage” which centers the eminent violence Black folk experience amidst white surveillance.
The festival will end with Jerome AB’s short Masculine Ken on the Secrets We Share (2018), screening from July 3 to July 9. The 14 and a half-minute film explores protagonist Ken’s journey for healing through “the misinformation of overstimulation, toxic masculinity, prayer and balance.”
Visit the “Films for Escapism” website for screening access, or for more information on the filmmakers and films.
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