Queer Joy
Last year after the “Queer as Folk” screening one of the speakers at the Q&A (possibly the director of the film) spoke about how queer trauma is intertwined in almost every queer story and the challenges of separating queer trauma and joy. As queer people, we all have shared lived story and this Q&A session made me realize that we all experience trauma, either direct or indirect, to some level of degree. Looking back last year there were a lot of really intense documentary and narrative films that left me leaving as a blob of tears.
This year, there were still some hard-hitting documentaries, however, I feel with the films this year there was more of a focus on celebrating queerness, at least with the films I picked to attend. Everyone in the cohort knows that I am a documentary fan, but I was not disappointed with the movies I saw this year at Frameline. With all of the anti-LGBTQ+ legislations being passed, I think this slight focus change was what I and probably many attendees of Frameline needed, weather it was intentional or not. I like to think it was intentional though. Right before one of the shorts programs, we were all able to meet and ask the Director of Programing, Allegra Madsen some questions and they seemed very intentional with most of their selections. As much as I love film, 25 films in two weeks is a lot and so I was ready for Pride when it arrived.
San Francisco Pride is unlike any other Pride celebration I have been too, it is the epitome of queer joy. The night before Pride, I was scrolling through Instagram when I saw that The Hayley Kiyoko was going to be headlining at Pride. The next morning, I told THE biggest Hayley Kiyoko fan, Sam, who was over-the-moon about being able to see her live again. After a full day of attending the festival with the cohort, Sam, Emily, and I secured our spots in the grass to watch the queer icon herself. Before seeing her live, I knew of Hayley Kiyoko but really only in the context of one of the best movies ever, Lemonade Mouth. However, being in a crowd of hundreds of queer people all celebrating their authentic selves while listening to “Girls Like Girls” is a feeling that I will take with me long after this trip. This sense of community is what I need to take with me long after this trip. In my pre-trip blog, I wrote about how I was stressed to graduate and leave this amazing community behind, but this community is all around and I know wherever I end up, I will be able to find it.
Especially right now with the constant bombarding of homophobic and transphobic messages its imperative that we find a balance between activism and celebration. Queer Joy is celebrating nine-months with the most amazing partner (@Emily, I love you!!) in San Francisco. Queer Joy is Q-Fest!
