The Appalachian Queer Film Festival celebrated its tenth anniversary at Shepherd University’s Frank Arts Center on Sept. 27 and 28.
The event was hosted by queer activists J. Gallienne, Jon Matthews, and T.J. West III, mentioned in Vice’s 50 LGBTQ Activists in 50 States list who worked to provide a wide range of films reflecting the spirit of empathy, love, joy, and collective liberation within the queer Appalachian community
The festival featured short films, documentaries, and narrative shorts centered around queer and trans experiences in and outside of Appalachia.
“As our name suggests, we really put a lot of emphasis on both the Appalachian and the queer part of it,” T.J. West III said to the Shepherdstown Chronicle. “…We really want to provide an outlet for Appalachian queer filmmakers and trans filmmakers of all varieties to sort of showcase their work.”
The festivities began with a two-hour showcase. Among the films featured were The Queen vs. Texas, and Desire Lines.
The next day from 11:00 p.m. to 9 p.m, the festival presented narrative shorts, documentary shorts, and long shorts, with Q&A’s discussions in between each session of films.
The festival program briefly delved into the topic of attacks against LGBTQ+ community and the present climate.
One attendee said, “It’s important to show our support when we can for these things. There’s so much hate, we need to show love.”
An after party at Alma Bea concluded the event from 9:30 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. with free refreshments and trivia.
An author panel and book signing was presented in partnership with the festival at Four Seasons Books in Shepherdstown for the book Trans Kids, Our Kids on Sept. 29 at 1:00 p.m.
The organizers of the festival, Gallienne, Matthews, and West III declined to comment about the two-day event to The Picket.