New doc PROUD in a Pandemic announces pink carpet premiere
DTLA PROUD announces the premiere of PROUD In a Pandemic, an unflinching and inspiring feature documentary that examines the experiences of 22 community leaders through this historic time and the lessons learned from their forebears of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, including the use of “Expanded Access,” championed during the AIDS crisis by ACT UP” for Covid-19 vaccines.
Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti, and California Governor Newsom announced their respective shutdowns within an hour of each other. And just like that, the world changed. But our community had seen this all before. For those who identify as Queer, LGBTQ+ this was a story without end. Our community has been going through the pandemics of racism, homophobia, HIV/AIDS & now CoVID 19, and though each left scars, they also fostered the development of muscles and the strength to thrive despite adversity. The documentary is an examination and celebration of that fighting spirit.
“For those who live in and around DTLA – downtown Los Angeles, the queer scene is more than just bars & clubs” says Andrés Rigal, creative director of DTLA Proud, “as Queer people, we’ve been kicked out of churches and our own families, for some these places are the only safe spaces, but when we lost these, during lockdown we had nowhere else to go.”
Director Scottie Jeanette Madden and Executive Producer Oliver Alpuche led an entirely volunteer crew through the challenge of filming the project during the lockdown, “The crew were the most dedicated I had worked with in my 40-year career,” says Ms. Madden, “we had to invent COVID protocols before the Hollywood unions had a chance to produce their “White papers (institutional union protocols for safe production) we knew we were literally risking lives.” The interviews were conducted all before the first vaccines were even available.
“When the lock down forced us to cancel our annual Pride festival,” adds Mr. Alpuche, “We switched gears. We knew we had to tell our story, we had a responsibility to our immediate community, but also to our past & future generations. This was our time to step up.”
From the original song by Daisy O’Dell, Purple Crush and Kinsey Dulcet, featuring the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, to Elton’s John’s anthem, “I’m Still Standing” the film is “at once intense, infuriating and inspiring,” according to director Madden, “we all saw unprecedented callousness, social unrest and loss — but we had a playbook – our forebears taught us, ‘community, compassion, creativity,’ these are the virtues we can offer the straight world.”
“We are excited to show the world our film” says Executive Producer Alpuche, “but we are still reeling from the losses of the pandemic. We kept waiting for an end, but that isn’t coming anytime soon, so now we believe the message is the inspiration we all, queer and straight need to come together and go forward.”
Proud In A Pandemic premieres with a Pink Carpet screening February 8 at 6:30 pm at The Fonda Theatre and includes a Q&A with the filmmakers and a Rooftop Afterparty immediately following.
To purchase tickets to the screening click HERE.
