There are only a couple of days left to support lesbian filmmakers and helping them and their critically acclaimed short film Pariah win the Netflix Find Your Voice competition. One of ten finalists out of about 2,000, if Pariah’s filmmakers Dee Rees and Nekisa Cooper land the grand prize, which totals $150,000 in cash, plus production services for a total of about $350,000, they’ll be able to take their award-winning short and successfully turn it into a lesbian feature film.
Only the top five projects advance to the final round to compete for the jury prize. On the jury are Josh Brolin, John Sayles, Stepanie Allain, the two producers from Milk and Dustin Lance Black.
And the community could certainly use quality lesbian storytelling in feature films! So please support stellar lesbian filmmaking and vote for Pariah! There’s not much time left, so go now…
Here’s what Cooper had to say about their film:
PARIAH is a feature-length film about a lesbian teenager juggling multiple identities to avoid rejection from her family and friends. The film seeks to personalize the struggles of gay/lesbian youth of color in such a way that evokes empathy, opens doors to communication, and promotes dialogue within families. In 2007, my partner, Dee Rees (writer/director) and I made a short film of the same name and it has screened in over 40 film festivals around the world and won over 25 awards across the mainstream, LGBT and people of color festival spectrum. We're working on turning the short into a feature film and we would really love your support.
Please see below for a few of our quotes from the industry and educators about the short film:
"Rees' jaw-droppingly good "Pariah" continues to reel in awards. Rees shows stellar talent in both writing and directing with her story of a Bronx high school girl uncertainly trying to explore multiple identities."
Charlie Olsky, Indiewire
"Rees hit home with her story of a Bronx teenager caught between two worlds... the cinematography, by Bradford Young, is layered and evocative. For the audience tonight, and apparently for festival programmers and talent scouts in general, "Pariah" will be remembered as one of Sundance 2008's gems."
Anne Stockwell, The Advocate
"Pariah' packs wisdom and wit into its brief running time... the film deftly sketches the way in which not only does societal bigotry serve as an obstacle to queer self-realization, but so - quite often - do the expectations of the queer community itself."
Ernest Hardy, LA Weekly
"This excellent short fiction film about young black lesbians coming of age is ideal for classroom screening and discussion. It effectively conveys the joys and risks of adolescent coming out while powerfully illustrating the intersections of racial and queer identites."
Estelle Freedman, Professor of U.S. Women's History and Feminist Studies, Stanford University
"PARIAH is an engaging, thoughtful, must-see film about a young Black lesbian confronting the complexities of family, high school and her awareness of her sexual milieu. PARIAH is an enjoyable, well-made, thoroughly delightful coming of age story..."
Jacqueline Bobo, Professor of Feminist Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz
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