2012 GAY FILM WEEKEND
OCTOBER 18-21, 2012

Screenplay Finalists! Short Film Program! Panels!

CENTER ON HALSTED'S HOOVER-LEPPEN THEATER
3656 N HALSTED ST, CHICAGO, IL 60613

$10 Individual Tickets
$45 Weekend Pass

Pride Films and Plays' Gay Film Weekend will feature enhanced staged readings of the Five Finalists in the Great Gay Screenplay Contest, panels on the history and creation of LGBT film, and a Queer Shorts Film Program guest curated by Indie Boots Film Festival.

Tickets for the screenplay readings and Queer Shorts Film Program are each $10. The panels are both free. A Gay Play Weekend Pass allowing admission to all events is $45. Tickets for individual events can be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com, or calling 1 800 838 3006. Weekend passes can be purchased at 773 250 3112 or www.pridefilmsandplays.com

The schedule for the weekend is:

Thursday, October 18
- 7:00pm - Visalia, directed by John Nasca
- 9:00pm - Opening Night Reception

Friday, October 19
- 7:00pm - Fr. Frances

Saturday, October 20
- 3:00pm - Barrio Boy, directed by Kyra Morris
- 5:00pm - Panel "The Evolution of LGBT Cinema"
- 7:00pm - A Friend Of Dorothy's, directed by Chuck Berglund

Sunday, October 21
- 2:00pm - Snowmen, directed by Alex. St. John
- 4:00pm - Panel "Making LGBT Films in a Changing World"
- 5:00pm - Queer Shorts Film Program
- 7:00pm - Closing Night Reception

Each screenplay reading, and the Queer Shorts Film Program, will be followed by a discussion.

The Great Gay Screenplay Contest is a contest for screenplays with LGBT characters, history, or themes. The finalists include Barrio Boy by Dennis Shinners, Father Frances by Thomas Ziegler, A Friend of Dorothy's by Jim Piazza, Snowmen by Ethan Steers and Visalia by Dennis Nivens. The five screenplays will be performed as enhanced staged readings (with movement and design elements) by Artistic Ensemble Members of Pride Films and Plays.

The Queer Shorts Film Program is guest curated by Indie Boots Film Festival. From award-winning festival favorites to brand new Chicago premieres, this 90 minute glimpse into the world of LGBTQ cinema has something for everyone, with comedy and drama, animation and documentary, traditional storytelling and experimental, funded projects and micro-budget, and even a musical.

The Queer Shorts Film Program features:
- Half (2012 Indie Boots Audience Award Winner), directed and written by Alex Bohs
- Fluid (2012 Indie Boots Honorable Mention), directed and written by Dara Sklar
- Skallamann, directed by Maria Bock, written by Lars Jacobsen and Maria Bock
- Tuesday Night Make-Out, directed and written by Richard Paro, with segment direction and writing by Cyra K. Polizzi and Breahan Eve Pautsch and additional segment direction by Katie Jones
- Lee, directed and written by Roland Wiryawan
- Reverse Cowgirl, directed and written by April Faith Hirschman
- Marimacho, directed by Elisha Lim, written by Coco Riot
- Bedfellows, directed and written by Pierre Stefanos
- Last Kiss, directed and written by Charles Lum
- Heartland Transport, directed and written by Cody Stokes
- Make A Mate, directed and written by Jennifer Jordan Day
- both/and - Trailer, directed by J. Paul Preseault, written by Jamil Khoury

For more information about the films, please visit www.IndieBoots.org.

Synopses of the screenplays and bios of the screenwriters:

Barrio Boy by Dennis Shinners, New York, NY
Barrio Boy is the story of a closeted, sexy, young Latino barber who falls hard for a newly arrived, handsome, and charming Irishman during a scorching summer in a tough Brooklyn hood. These uncontainable desires eventually test the seams of the relationships with his friends, family, and ultimately, the bond between him and the new love in his life.

Dennis Shinners grew up in New Jersey, attended NYU's film school and is a writer, producer, and director of on-air promos who has done award-winning campaigns for Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Spike TV, Discovery Channel, Disney Channel, TV Land, and the Oxygen Network. He recently completed two short films, Area X and Go-Go, which have enjoyed both domestic and international festival runs and distribution deals. He wrote Barrio Boy as his feature directorial debut.

Father Frances by Thomas Ziegler, Christianland, Virgin Island
When a tough Catholic bishop appoints a rookie priest as pastor of a violent, crime- ridden parish, he's sure the young man lacks the cojones to do the job. Turns out he's right. Although unaware of it, his rookie pastor is actually a woman passing as a man. After Father Frances succeeds in turning the parish around, the question remains, did she owe her achievement to being a woman or, as people saw her, a man?

Thomas Ziegler was born, raised, and educated in the Chicago area. He holds a B.A. from Lewis University in Lockport, an M.A. from Northern Illinois, and has had two plays produced off-Broadway, including Grace & Glorie, starring Estelle Parsons and Lucie Arnaz. He later co-authored the Hallmark Hall of Fame teleplay of the same title which aired on CBS. Other plays of note include Mrs. Kemble's Tempest, Sundays at Eleven, and Servantissimo. His other screenplays are Say Goodbye to Boris and Subway Series.

A Friend of Dorothy's by Jim Piazza, New York, NY
In the winter of 1967, addled showbiz legend Judy Garland goes missing. Wild twists and turns have led her to a secret refuge -- the suburban bedroom of a troubled teenage fan. His family is none the wiser until Judy inevitably misbehaves and chaos ensues.

Jim Piazza's play collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winner James Kirkwood Jr. launched a writing career that has included best-selling books on film, essays in OUT, The Village Voice, and The New York Times, and a bio of Elvis, "The King."

Snowmen by Ethan Steers, Norwich, NY
Fresh-out-of-high schooler Logan falls in love with a gruff and outdoorsy man several years his senior, causing him to question his dreams and plans for his life.

Ethan Steers hails from the small town of Norwich, NY, and has been writing films for four years. He currently studies film and television at NYU and is enjoying it tremendously. He is extremely interested in the horror genre, but is starting to become increasingly more focused on drama.

Visalia by Dennis Nivens, Hermosa Beach, CA
In a 1950s California small town, a high school football coach and a police officer fall in love and face prejudice and harassment. When the coach is falsely accused of being a pedophile, his lover must risk both of their careers and their future together to set the record straight

Dennis Nivens lives in Hermosa Beach, California, where he does boring technical work when the surf isn't pumping. He has freelanced feature articles on outdoor sports and adventure travel to various publications, and was a contributing editor to a surf culture magazine for a period of four years. Visalia is his first attempt at a screenplay.

About Center on Halsted
Center on Halsted is the Midwest's most comprehensive community center dedicated to advancing the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) community and securing the health and well being of LGBTQ individuals. More than 1,000 community members visit the Center every day, located in the heart of Chicago's Lakeview Neighborhood. The diverse programs offered range from volleyball, yoga and cooking classes to free rapid HIV testing, group therapy, vocational training and comprehensive senior and youth programs. For more information, visit www.centeronhalsted.org.

For more details on the Great Gay Screenplay Contest, or any of PFP's writing contests or productions, visit here for more information.







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2011 GREAT GAY SCREENPLAY FINALE

"We started with more than 100, and now are down to five," says PFP Executive Director David Zak. "We have had a tremendous outpouring of exciting and fresh new writing submitted." And thus five new screenplays with LGBT themes or characters have been named finalists in the 2011 Great Gay Screenplay Contest sponsored by Pride Films and Plays.

The five screenplays named as finalists are:
Bre'gan's Fist by Tom Emerick, Chicago, IL
Easy on the Eyes by Kevin Michael West, Los Angeles, CA
Wandering the Elysian Fields by Richmond Weems, Clayton, NC
The Way Shim Likes It by James Palmer, Los Angeles, CA
Welcome to LA by Howard Casner, Los Angeles, CA

Tickets for each reading are $12, or a five-play pass can be purchased for $45.

Industry and student tickets are $6. Tickets can be purchased at Brown Paper Tickets, or by calling 1800 838 3006.

The 5 scripts move on to the next round of judging, and each will be performed as a staged reading in our Great Gay Screenplay Finale Weekend at the Hoover-Leppen Theater at Center, 3656 N. Halsted, October 21 to 23.

The performance schedule is:
•ä Easy on the Eyes, Friday, October 21, 7:30 pm
•ä Welcome to LA, Saturday, October 22, 4:30 pm
•ä Wandering the Elysian Fields, Saturday, October 22, 7:30 pm
•ä The Way Shim Likes It, Sunday, October 23, 1:30 pm
•ä Bre'gan's Fist, Sunday, October 23, 4:30 pm

Bre'gan's Fist by Tom Emerick, Chicago, IL
Bre'gan's Fist is the story of two people, one a human, the other a Mage, who have both suffered personal loss. As they comfort each other, a crisis emerges that threatens the entire Earth itself. Can they repair the damage done to their shattered lives and save the planet in the process?

Easy On The Eyes by Kevin Michael West, Los Angeles, CA
Ethan (a neurotic playwright) and Jake (a hunky actor) are best friends who decide to become friends with benefits. Unfortunately, the arrangement triggers a lot of emotional consequences that neither one counted on. It's a "When Harry Met Sally..." for gay men.

Wandering the Elysian Fields by Richmond Weems, Clayton, NC
A hard-boiled, gay private detective must reflect on his own relationships and his misanthropic behavior as he tries to solve a murder case that no one wants solved.

The Way Shim Likes It by James Palmer, Los Angeles, CA
When Jamie's private tutor dies unexpectedly, this intersex teenager defies father's wishes and enrolls in public school to achieve popularity "like the kids on TV." The Way Shim Likes It follows Jamie as she/him/shim poses alternatively as a boy and girl, fools the whole school, and breaks a few hearts.

Welcome to LA by Howard Casner, Los Angeles, CA
In this black comedy, Adam's first few days in Los Angeles are greeted by a continual discovery of dead bodies in his building; an amorous police officer who wants to have sex with him, then wants Adam to read his screenplay; and a mentor whose main advice is not to masturbate more than once a day.

Author Bios

Howard Casner (Welcome to LA) moved in 2001 from Chicago to Los Angeles, where he has earned a reputation as a script consultant as well as providing coverage for several screenplay competitions and Here! Networks/ Regent Entertainment. His plays have been seen in Chicago, New York, and L.A. In 2002, he received a GLAAD nomination for best L.A. production for A Cold Coming We Had of It. Find more info here.

Tom Emerick (Bre'gan's Fist) is an aspiring screenwriter and playwright. He also enjoys writing poetry, short stories, and songs, and holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Detroit Mercy. Originally from Detroit, he currently resides in Chicago.

James Palmer (The Way Shim Likes It) is gay and a comedy writer (in that order). Originally from New Jersey, he now lives in Los Angeles. When not writing scripts or blogging, he's scouring press releases for his name.

Richmond Weems (Wandering the Elysian Fields) is a published short story writer, and DVD reviewer. His work has appeared in Necrotic Tissue, Aberrations, Absent Willow Review, Every Day Fiction, and other print and online venues.

Kevin Michael West (Easy On The Eyes) is currently an MFA student at USC, studying film directing. His gay-themed play Top and Bottom performed to sold- out houses in L.A., N.Y. (off-Broadway), and Provincetown. His film A Very Fair Deal screened at the L.A. Shorts Festival.