SARAH WATERS’ AFFINITY COMES TO THE SILVER SCREEN
OIA Newswire

HARTFORD, CT: 12/30/08: Fans of Tipping the Velvet (2002) and Fingersmith (2005) won't want to miss the remarkable new book-to-screen adaptation of acclaimed writer Sarah Waters' latest novel Affinity, set in turn of the century London. The film is scheduled to appear on the silver screen at the beautiful Cinestudio Theater on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford on Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. Proceeds benefit non-profit organizations Out Film CT and Cinestudio.

The screening of the film Affinity is part of the recently announced Out Film CT Series, an initiative to increase the number of LGBT films shown in Connecticut. Out Film CT director Shane Engstrom states, "We're extremely happy to present Affinity as the first in our new LGBT film series. Hartford audiences have always loved film adaptations of Sarah Waters' novels, with Tipping the Velvet winning the Audience Award at the 16th Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Film Festival."

Film synopsis: Mystic Selina Dawes has landed herself in prison, Millbank prison, Victorian London's grimmest jail. While the circumstances that led to her incarceration can only be described as peculiar, her path soon crosses with Margaret Prior, a young upper class woman who has decided to volunteer her time and "do good" with her Charity work. As a "lady visitor" it is Margaret's job to visit the inmates and set an example for the prisoners. Initially skeptical and cautious of Selina's supernatural mystery powers, a sequence of unusual events suggests to Margaret that Selina is gifted and is in fact innocent of the crimes she is charged with. As the prison visits increase, repressed passions burst to the surface, sending Margaret into a tailspin as she works on a desperate plot to secure their joint freedom.

Dir. Tim Fywell, United Kingdom, 2008, 120 min. [source: www.mglff.com]

Out Film CT is a nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to presenting outstanding LGBT cinema and other theatrical events throughout the year, culminating in the 9-day Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Film Festival held May 22-30, 2009 in Hartford. As Connecticut's longest-running film festival, it has become a distinctive fixture in our state's cultural landscape, bringing the community together to introduce, celebrate and rediscover the ideas and values that make the LGBT community unique.

Founded by students in 1970, Cinestudio is a single-screen repertory cinema that presents cinema as it should be -- in a classic theater with state of the art technology. Offering both first-run and classic films, as well as foreign films and festivals, non-profit Cinestudio is a Hartford cultural gem. [1/5/09]

www.jointheimpact.com

THIS IS A NATIONWIDE EVENT - ALL US STATES HAVE AT LEAST 1 PROTEST LOCATION!

Date: Saturday, November 15, 2008

Location: Nationwide

Street: Your City Hall - Check the Site for Locations-

http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/?t=anon for Locations

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Be part of the next Civil Rights Movement - Be part of history - Join the National Protest / March for Equality on November 15th!

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WE NEED VOLUNTEERS! Now is your chance to be a "community organizer"! Go to the website and post if you are willing to volunteer to help get out the word in your city. We need 3 or 4 dedicated volunteers in each town to contact the clubs and organizations in your area and to print/distribute flyers to get a turnout in your town.

This is not a California issue. This is an issue of equality across America. Stand up and make your voice heard. Visit the website www.jointheimpact.com.]

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SATURDAY NOV 15TH -

10:30AM WEST COAST

11:30AM MOUNTIAN TIME ZONE

12:30PM CENTRAL TIME ZONE

1:30PM EAST COAST

PRINT OUT THE SIGNS - TAKE THEM TO THE PROTEST

Prop 8 Protest: A Call to the LGBTQ Community, Friends, & Family

I’m sure all would agree that with the election of Barack Obama, this week has been one of amazing wins in the world of equality! Still, Tuesday night was a bitter-sweet celebration. We came together to witness the first black man who will become our president, yet watched in sadness as Florida, Arizona, Arkansas, and California all voted down equal rights for all citizens. Pundits and bloggers alike have put their focus on Proposition 8, trying hard to find an explanation for the anti-gay wins in the face of a huge swell of support for equality elsewhere. Some have blamed the voters, others blame religious groups, and even others blame the LGBTQ community for not being able to mobilize on a larger enough scale. And you know what? There is truth in each argument.

As a community, we have to admit to the fact that we are polarized in various ways. Honestly, I’m not sure what community isn’t and I believe that our polarization is proof to our humanity - we are no different than anyone else, regardless of color, creed, or sexual orientation. Still, our polarization has hindered us from mobilizing as one strong voice. We all come together in the month of June to celebrate Gay Pride, but few of us are even aware of why Gay Pride exists. Gay Pride is a celebration to commemorate the Stonewall Riots of 1969. Many say that the Gay Rights Movement began in 1969, which means that we are still a young movement and have accomplished a great deal in such a short amount of time. The generation that fought for us in 1969 deserves our gratitude and respect. This is a generation of amazing people who fought for our ability to hold hands in the street, to speak out against hate, to dance to our own “thumpa thump”, witness television shows with a queer cast, and come together in the streets celebrating for an entire month! This is the generation that opened the doors for us to even have a conversation about gay marriage, and this is the generation that deserves our help and our voices now. On June 27th, 1969, this generation came together in protest, jumping from closets, taking to the streets, and mobilizing in ways this country had never seen before! And what happened? The country was forced to respond. The Queer identity was forced onto the front pages and coffee tables of people’s worlds and people had to once and for all accept that we are human too!

Now, almost 40 years later we NEED to come together again. We need to show this nation that we are ONE LOUD VOICE THAT DEMANDS TO BE HEARD! We need to be one organized unit. Our gay pride shouldn’t be something we celebrate one month out of the year. Our gratitude towards the ones who came before us shouldn’t be ignored and wasted away with one party after another. We beg to be given a right that requires responsibility and commitment, yet we, as one strong community, have not proven to this nation that we deserve to be taken seriously! The gay pride parade has become a great party, but it has lost the memory of Stonewall and therefor given the nation another reason to cast us aside as irresponsible. It’s time we come together for debate, for public recognition, and for LOVE! Let’s move as one full unit, on the same day, at the same hour, and let’s show the United States of America that we too are UNITED CITIZENS EQUAL IN MIND, BODY, SPIRIT AND DESERVING OF FULL EQUALITY UNDER THE LAW!

On the steps of your City Hall on November 15th at 10:30am PST / 1:30pm EST, our community WILL take to the streets and speak out against Proposition 8 and all of the other pro-equality losses that we have faced in our lifetimes, in our parents’ lifetimes, and for many generations before us. WE CAN’T DO THIS ALONE! WE NEED YOUR HELP! We need organizers in every major city to work with us and get out the protest! I know you’re all tired from all of the work you’ve done for this great election year, but I’m asking for one more push! Let the country hear our voices together. Let them see that we are a strong, adamant, and powerful community that deserves equal rights, and CAN’T BE DEFEATED!

Send this post to everyone! We have one week and must react to the pro-hate votes cast against us! Let’s help our LGBTQ friends, families, neighbors, and each other to IMPACT this country with a demand for our basic human rights! Join the cause, join the voice, and JOIN THE IMPACT!

November 15th

1:30 PM East Coast

10:30 AM West Coast