New City, New Films, Same Emotional Jade
Hey everyone, my name is Jade as you all (I’m sure) are aware, and this is my first Q-Fest blog. This blog is a pre-trip blog, so I’m just going to talk about what I believe this immersion might look like. I am going to be seeing a total of 35 films… I am now realizing that might be a lot—even for me.
I am super excited, though, to visit Alcatraz on our day off. Even with the current president making lots of false promises, there is always a possibility that he will follow through with the reopening of Alcatraz, so I’m super excited to see it before/if that happens. I am also just generally really excited to be in California. I think it’ll be pretty life changing in the view of how queer people just are. One thing that I’m a little nervous about is how much I am going to need to learn with navigating a new city for the most part on my own. In the past, I have always traveled with at least a group of 3 or 4. I definitely see myself kind of ending up in a pseudo-leadership role in the second week of the immersion just due to how comfortable I am within traveling generally. I am sure I’ll be anxious the first couple of days, but that always seems to wear off faster than I expect. Another thing: I am super excited to get to spend so much time with friends who I want to get to know better. Shoutout the 2025 Q-Fest Cohort!
Moving onto films, the first film that I will see is “Jimpa.” This will be a film that the entire cohort will be seeing as well. The second film that I’ll be seeing is Plainclothes at 5:30pm (EST) at the Vogue Theatre. One thing that I feel is important to mention is that I feel very connected to queer films in ways I didn’t even know existed. For example, when we watched (any media really) in our pre-trip meetings, I cried at every one… Listen… I know, I know. I’m emotional, but who’s surprised here? One of my favorite things about queer films is how each person can take away something completely different—though I suppose that can apply to any film really.
A great example of this is “Sinners,” directed by Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan in a DUAL ROLE! I know, crazy. I went and saw Sinners five times in theaters, and I even drove up to Madison to see it the fifth time and got my entire friend group to see it too (shoutout y’all fr).
One important thing to note, though, is before I was in college, I wasn’t super into movies in such a way that I am now. It’s always been something that I was interested in, and I always enjoyed looking deeper at just about everything, but when I was younger, I never really had the opportunity to do that with films. Once I got into college, I found that I really could just watch what I wanted to, when I wanted to. I think there’s a lot of beauty in how everyone interprets media differently. It’s always been something that I’ve found interesting. For example, I watched Interstellar again (now that I’m not a child anymore) and it really is such a groundbreaking film. However, I think the beauty of how different directors and filmmakers can take media and form a message through videography is incredible. I just love it so much. Moving on to a completely different subject now.
I am super nervous about San Francisco regarding navigating the interpersonal relationships within living with my peers. I’ve had some pretty messy living situations in the past, so I just hope that people are transparent in how they live so we can avoid any drama. To be honest, I cannot handle anymore drama regarding living situations. Anyways, I am super excited for California, especially because I’ve never been there before. Though I keep getting told it’s going to be colder than I think it will be, which is scary to hear ‘cause I want to wear cute summer outfits! So, it sounds like those outfits are just gonna have to wait until back in Wisconsin. Well, that about wraps up my first blog. The next time you read this, I will have already watched 17 films… which is an absolutely bonkers thing to think about… Thanks for reading, have a wonderful day!!
