This Charlotte film festival explores diverse themes and common ground
“You stand in the presence of a legend,” famed author and activist Janet Mock tells a cheering audience in the opening scene of the documentary “Mama Gloria.”
Mock is referring to Gloria Allen, a 75-year-old icon in Chicago’s LGBTQ community who started a charm school for homeless trans youth and famously said: “The only time I ever went in a closet was to pick out a pair of shoes.”
“Mama Gloria” is having its N.C. premiere at this year’s CineOdyssey Film Festival, an annual three-day event showcasing diverse, contemporary films from communities around the world that are reflected in Charlotte.
This year’s festival, CineOdyssey’s fourth, runs Nov. 5-7 and features work by filmmakers from the African, Caribbean, Latino, Asian and Native American diasporas and has adopted several measures to be social distance compliant amid the coronavirus pandemic while preserving the spirit of common ground.
Every year, themes seem to organically emerge from the submissions. This year it’s relationships — fitting, given that 2020’s quarantines, shut downs and social distancing have encouraged more quiet time to ponder our interconnectedness.
“We’re showcasing a block of films called ‘It’s Complicated,’ ” said CineOdyssey founder Tre’ McGriff. “They explore unconventional relationships and encourage conversations about sexuality, friendship and social norms.”
Drive-in movie night
The opening night feature is “Two Weeks in Lagos,” a lighthearted piece about unexpected love that sets off the whole “complicated” relationship theme, with the bustling Nigerian city functioning as both backdrop and a main character.
Other films deal with fantasy and Afrofuturism, a burgeoning genre of sci-fi fantasy that centers Black people in the future. “Black Baptism,” by a Greensboro filmmaker, is a psychological thriller.
“Dead Talks,” a humorous, creative film, centers around a preacher and a hippie who are stalled at the pearly gates by Lucifer, who gives something of a TED Talk about heaven being overrated.
Due to COVID-19, this year’s festival consists mainly of digital screenings.
However, CineOdyssey will host a one-night drive-in movie screening Nov. 7 at The International House, 1817 Central Ave. For a few hours, attendees can enjoy a collection of films on the big screen, practice social distancing in their cars and purchase snacks from a food truck.
“People right now are suffering from virtual burnout.” McGriff said. “They want to be with their families and their tribes, so I wanted to make sure at least one part of the festival allowed them to come together. There’s still nothing better than being in a dark theater and seeing a film on the big screen, but it’s a way to inject a sense of normalcy into these times.”
‘Mama Gloria’
The festival is screening 45 films, including four feature-length films and two documentaries. The most decorated is “Mama Gloria.” It just completed its world premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival. The N.C. debut is only its second screening. PBS recently acquired broadcast rights to show the film in 2021.
Directed by Luchina Fisher, “Mama Gloria” tells the story of how Allen emerged from the Chicago drag ball scene years before the Stonewall riots or pop culture acclaim of television shows like “Pose.”
Allen grew up with her mother and grandmother in the 1950s on Chicago’s South Side. Her mother, a former showgirl, and her grandmother, a costume designer for drag performers, protected her fiercely. That support inspired her to start a charm school in 2012 to help homeless trans youth who congregated in her neighborhood, putting on what she described in the film as a floor show.
“They’d shake and shimmy,” Allen said, and attract negative attention. With the charm school, something normally relegated to debutantes, Allen hoped to promote lessons she’d learned as a child: how to set a table and have conversation over meals, the etiquette of a bygone generation. Once or twice a week, she taught classes, cooked meals and encouraged students to share about their lives.
Fisher, the film’s director, said the popular narrative surrounding Black trans women’s lives is one of pain and rejection. “I wanted to tell this story of a mother’s love; which Gloria’s mother had for her and the love she had for her chosen children,” Fisher said. “The community needs a sense of balance and to know that we’re not just trauma.”
Fisher connected to Allen’s story on a personal level as well. Fisher’s daughter Gia came out as trans at age 15, only two years before Fisher began working on the documentary.
McGriff said he is proud to present “Mama Gloria” and other stories at this year’s festival.
“We’re presenting people of color in all of their glory and nuance, still seeking out stories that break the norm and providing a platform for the under-represented,” he said. “Those things will never change, and hopefully we can be an inspiration to open up other film festivals to be more reflective of what our neighborhoods look like.
“We’ll just keep pushing the envelope.”
CineOdyssey
What: A three-day virtual film festival that showcases works by filmmakers of color from the African, Caribbean, Latino, Asian, and Native American diasporas, as well as the U.S.
When: Nov. 5-7
Tickets: $20.20
Details: cineodysseyfest.org
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This story was originally published October 28, 2020 at 1:36 PM.