Painting the Spectrum 12, SASOD’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) film festival comes to a close next week with Spectrum Night, screening of Fit and the customary painting the spectrum.
According to a SASOD press release, tonight SASOD hosts its first party in Region 3, dubbed “West Side Pride Party,” at Aracari Resort’s banquet hall in Versailles, West Bank Demerara.
It starts at 7 pm. There is no charge for admission and finger foods will be provided free of cost. There will also be free, on-site HIV counselling and testing all night, which is supported by Peace Corps Guyana.
Spectrum Night is billed for Tuesday, June 28. It is a special evening where persons are invited to take the stage to showcase their talents through performances in the form of poetry, song, dance, fashion and music.
Thursday, June 30 will see the screening of the film Fit from the United Kingdom. Produced by the campaigning group Stonewall for distribution in secondary schools, and supported by governmental bodies including the Mayor of London, this film aims to tackle homophobia. The main characters are at school – though the actors mostly look a bit older than that – and they are gay, straight and bisexual. Writer-director Rikki Beadle-Blair does an interesting job of showing that, though race and class prejudice seems to be relatively dormant, ugly homophobia is alive and kicking, and “gay” is the ubiquitous term of abuse, the release said.
Meanwhile, as is customary after the final screening, the traditional painting of the spectrum will follow to bring the festival to a close. This activity is a form of creative expression for Spectrum’s attendees to leave their marks of support, messages of hope and inspiration for a Guyanese society which is more accepting and respectful of sexual and gender diversity. In this twelfth year, SASOD will be taking patrons on a journey through the years by displaying the messages of encouragement and hope left by attendees from previous Spectrum film festivals over the years.
There is no charge for admission to attend the film festival. Drinks and snacks will be on sale. In this last week of the festival, the bar will also feature special Spectrum-themed cocktails and mocktails. All proceeds go towards SASOD’s LGBT Emergency Shelter and Community Centre Fund.
The film festival also offers free, on-site HIV counseling and testing every night, which is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – Advancing Partnerships and Communities (APC) Guyana Project.
The films are intended for mature audiences. Person must be 18 years and over to attend. SASOD reserves the right to refuse admission to persons who do not have identification to prove that they are not minors.
