Eight feature films with commentary rooted in GLBT themes will be shown at a three-day event at the Wexner Center for the Arts.
The fourth Annual Out@Wex Film Festival will feature films from all around the world, along with the Out@Wex Celebration Party.
The event is held every year in March. This year’s event will feature director, Su Friedrich. Friedrich will be introducing two of her films, “Seeing Red” and “Hide and Seek.”
Chris Stults, assistant curator for Wexner Center Film/Video, said Friedrich rose to prominence in the ‘80s because she was one of the strong voices that helped pioneer lesbian filmmaking. The two films that Friedrich will be showing are a nice mix of her older and newer works, he said.
The event will also be showing “Spring Fever.” Chinese filmmaker Lou Ye made the film, and Chinese censors have banned it. Stults said the lives of gay people aren’t really discussed in Chinese films, and this film deals with portraits of people’s lives that aren’t usually seen.
The Wexner Center shows films with this theme all throughout the year, but Stults said that when they are concentrated in one period of time they tend to draw larger audiences.
Stults and his co-workers look for films during the year that they feel will be best to view during the festival, he said. They look for a variety of films that will cover several genres.
When the series first began, GLBT issues were not discussed as widely as they are now, Stults said. He said that back then the series was making a statement, but now the festival covers more mainstream films that discuss these topics.
The reception, Out@Wex Celebration Party, will be held between the viewings of Friedrich’s films. There will be a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres served. Stults said that the party would allow people leaving the first film to have time to socialize and people arriving for the second film to have time to eat before the late night viewing.
“It offers people a chance to come together, spend some time and drop into each other’s lives,” Stults said.
The Out@Wex Film Festival is March 4 through 6. Tickets for each viewing are $7 for the general public and $5 for students, members and senior citizens. Information on the festival and tickets can be found on the Wexner Center’s Web site. Each screening will be held in the Film/Video Theater at 1871 N. High St.
