SASOD’s 1st virtual film fest tonight

The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) has commenced the 16th edition of its annual film festival – “Painting the Spectrum.”
“Painting the Spectrum” is SASOD Guyana’s annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ+) film festival. In its sixteenth year, the festival is hosting its first virtual edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival started last Saturday, October 10, and runs for four consecutive Saturdays, ending on October 31.
Tonight, the festival will screen Queer Coolie-tudes – an award-winning documentary feature by Guyanese-Canadian filmmaker, Dr Michelle Mohabeer. Queer Coolie-tudes is a creative essay documentary and queer ethnography which traces the intergenerational lives, histories, identities, familial relations and sexualities of a diverse range of subjects (academics, artists, and activists) from the Indo-Caribbean diaspora in Canada.
Some are mixed race, including dougla (Indian-African mixture), callaloo (creole mixtures), genderqueer, persons with disabilities, persons engaged in AIDS activism, and performers of drag identity.
Queer Coolie-tudes is the first documentary feature by a queer woman of colour on the topic.
The creator, Dr Mohabeer, is a Guyana-born Toronto-based, award-winning filmmaker/media artist and photographer.
The documentary which was released on February 1, 2019, is her first feature. Her prior work includes experimental documentaries: Blu In You (2008), Coconut/Cane & Cutlass (1994); shorts: Echoes (2003), Tracing Soul (2000), TWO/DOH (1996), EXPOSURE (1990); and the experimental narrative Child-Play (1996).
These films have been exhibited worldwide at over 400 festivals, conferences and galleries, and collected by university libraries across the Western Hemisphere and Australia.
“Painting the Spectrum” is the longest-running film festival of its kind in the Caribbean. “Spectrum” creates the opportunity to showcase the lives, diversities and experiences of LGBTQ+ persons through the art of film and facilitates access to LGBTQ+ films which are not accessible through mainstream media in Guyana.
To host this year’s virtual edition of the festival, SASOD Guyana has partnered with Studio Anansi, which is an online platform created specifically to make Caribbean films available worldwide.
The films screen at 18:00h and there is no charge to view them. Screenings take place through Kosmi, followed by discussions. The Kosmi link for tonight’s screening can also be found on SASOD Guyana’s Instagram and Facebook pages: https://app.kosmi.io/room/ybaqsj