Queer noun (kwîr) Homosexual,
or, a lesbian, gay man, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) person
Loungenoun (lounj) A
public room where one can sit or recline comfortably
A
superlatively hip, laid-back, welcoming space…Queer Lounge is
a smash hit, backing up its mission to queer filmmakers with fellowship
by day and hot-and-cold running queer parties every night.
— The Advocate
QUEER LOUNGE…
A HOME AWAY FROM HOME
Queer Lounge, a non-profit organization, creates a physical
venue supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and other queer-identified
film professionals and festival-goers at major, mainstream film festivals.
By establishing "Queer Lounges" at the top film festivals in the
world and creating a public forum where all attendees can access panel discussions,
networking events and Queer Lounge's comprehensive LGBT Film Guide to the
Festivals, Queer Lounge maximizes opportunities for the cross-awareness
of films and creative talent important to the LGBT community.
WHY QUEER LOUNGE? WHY NOW?
Despite the unprecedented success of
queer-content television show such as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, The
L Word and Will and Grace, this awareness and success has not
translated across the board to queer-cinema. One problem is that queer film
is often perceived as lacking a universal appeal while having a "narrow
appeal." Mainstream audiences steer clear of films whose honest depiction
of LGBT lives they feel they cannot identify with. Major studios, production
companies and film distributors rarely make films with LGBT-content fearing
that the films will lack mainstream crossover and generate little box-office.
The result is a vicious cycle: Lack of financial resources
for LGBT film affects the quantity and quality of these films, limiting them
from reaching broad audiences, and LGBT films are unfairly lumped into one
genre--"gay film"--and the richness, diversity, uniqueness, characters
and tone in LGBT films and the lives they portray are often overlooked. Queer
Lounge will be a force for change to overcome the stigma that queer film
lacks broad appeal.
Queer Lounge will educate the broader community and provide
access to queer-themed and queer-made film while strengthening the core of
the LGBT film community and building bridges to the mainstream.
HISTORY & FUTURE
Queer Lounge is the brainchild of former feature film executive,
Ellen Huang, and was launched in January 2004 during the Sundance Film Festival, the top film festival in the U.S. In its inaugural
year, the Queer Lounge supported over 50 films and 4000 film festival-goers
who attended a party, panel or press conference at the Lounge. Queer Lounge
plans to expand its operations to the Toronto International and Cannes Film
Festivals, the top film festivals in the world.