Willkommen! And bienvenue! Welcome!
For the uninitiated, our fair city of Columbia bucks tradition and annually celebrates Pride in August, culminating in a two day blow out Mid-Missouri Pride Fest at Rose Music Hall on the 28th and 29th. This year, in concert with the official goings-on, we’re pulling back the black velvet curtains to unveil our Tiny Ragtag Pride Fest — a five film, micro fest with screenings before, during, and after the big party down the road at Rose.
We kick things off tomorrow evening at 7pm as all are invited to Bob Fosse’s legendary, Liza-fueled 1972 musical, Cabaret on an immaculate 35mm print. Cabaret screens as the second entry in our Show Me Series, co-curated and co-presented with The Center Project. Following the film, trans activist and TCP’s own Tracy Davis will be joined by local cinephile-royalty Christianne Benedict and drag performer Lindsay Bryant to dive into the queer canon, history, Pride, and the making of icons.
For the nerds amongst us, this marks the first time since January of 2020, reels — real reels, not digital approximations — are spinning. With white gloves donned, light box on, and loupe in hand, the print is being inspected as we speak… and I’ll be blunt: it looks really really good.
Come back Friday at 10pm for The Leather Boys. Originally banned upon its release in the UK, this important early chapter in queer cinema screens in a shining new restoration courtesy of our freinds at the American Genre Film Archive. The British realist “Kitchen Sink” drama mixes teen angst, biker thrills, and raging emotion wherein young newlyweds fall into crisis as Reggie loses interest in his wife, becoming obsessed with motorcycles... and a biker named Pete. Additional matinee shows are also available through the week. Then, for one night only, Saturday at 10pm we screen the greatest lesbian-conversion-therapy-romantic-satire ever made… But I’m a Cheerleader. See this high-camp gas again — see it for the first time — whatever you do, don’t miss it!
Finally, shows of the outrageous, rough-around-the-edges, ultimate-Udo-Kier-queen-vehicle, Swan Song begin Friday and carry through the week alongside Chillian-filmmaker Pablo Larain’s (Jackie, Neruda) electrifying reggaeton odyssey Ema sets the screen on fire in this declaration of the age-old mantra, BE GAY DO CRIME.
Don’t say we didn’t warn you,
-Ted
