As queer kids there weren’t many examples, or cinema, accessible to us youngin’s, especially in Baltimore when you barely left your zipcode. As a young girl, I remember vividly searching for queer and gay life on the television screen, and never really finding the spectrum in which I was a part of. I especially want this series to prioritize a multiplicity of queer and gay narratives. - SHAN Wallace
Baltimore Living Archives Artist in Residence SHAN Wallace is a nomadic award-winning visual artist, photographer, and educator from East Baltimore. She is inspired by the nuances of day-to-day life of her surroundings in Baltimore, not as fixed narratives but a multiplicity of experiences. She uses her lens, collage and one site installations as the basis of her work, demonstrating the cultural and political narratives of black life, confronting oppressive politics and histories within communities of the African diaspora, and challenging ideas surrounding existing collections, culture and archives of Blackness. During the month of September, Wallace curates a series of films called The Queer Agenda featuring some of her favorite queer classics.
Portrait of Jason Synopsis
On the night of December 2, 1966, Shirley Clarke and a tiny crew convened in her apartment at the Hotel Chelsea to make a film. For twelve straight hours, they filmed the one-and-only Jason Holliday as he spun tales, sang, donned costumes, and reminisced about good times and bad behavior as a gay hustler and aspiring cabaret performer. The result is a mesmerizing portrait of a remarkable, charming, and tortured man who is by turns hilarious and heartbreaking.
"Jason Holiday is a mesmerizing subject filmed in black and white. The laughter, the drinks, the smoke from the cigarette, all accompanied by recounted stories of his life are a pleasure to watch. I feel like he’s talking right to me." - SHAN Wallace
Preceded by Reluctantly Queer directed by Akosua Adoma Owusu (2016, 8 min)
This epistolary short film invites us into the unsettled life of a young Ghanaian man struggling to reconcile his love for his mother with his queer identity amid the increased tensions incited by Ghana’s anti-LGBT politics. Focused on a letter filled with hesitation and uncertainty, RELUCTANTLY QUEER questions what it means to be queer for this man in this time and space.
I admire how this journey of this young Ghanian man unfolds especially as many of us often come face-to-face with homophobia and uncertainty around LGBTQ rights and politics. I chose this film for hoping we all can celebrate our sameness and differences. - SHAN Wallace
Baltimore Living Archives is a collective place keeping project that builds community and civic engagement, centered around the sharing of stories through film and media co-produced by The SNF Parkway Theatre and the Enoch Pratt Library. Baltimore Living Archives is an artist residency that invites Baltimoreans to craft and showcase media-based stories alongside two Baltimore artists with archiving practices, SHAN Wallace and Lawrence Burney. SHAN and Lawrence will develop their own work and work with the community, sharing skills and stories through a number of participatory programs. Members of the community will be invited to share their stories, explore and contextualize archives, and enjoy the findings of SHAN and Lawrence.
This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Anonymous Foundation. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
COVID-19 POLICIES
- Face masks are required at all times in the SNF Parkway except when consuming concessions in your seat.
- Patrons are strongly encouraged to avoid the theater if they are feeling unwell or have had a recent unmasked exposure to someone who tested positive. Email info@mdfilmfest.com with any questions.