TAMPA | The Tampa Bay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (TIGLFF) launched its virtual screening platform TIGLFF Online May 14, days after welcoming new program director Derek Horne.
Virtual programming is a first for TIGLFF, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2019. Horne, a Sarasota native who lives in Los Angeles and Maryland, has worked with film festivals for more than two decades.
He follows the nine-year tenure of former program director KJ Mohr, who left to spend more time with her family. “We’ll miss her, but we understand and wish her all the best,” newly-minted TIGLFF President Rob Akins says.
Akins assumed TIGLFF’s presidency ahead of this year’s 31st outing but is no stranger to the festival. He first became a board member in 2004 and actively returned in 2018 to chair events and serve as vice president through its 30th anniversary.
“Derek has an exciting vision for the future of TIGLFF programming, where we will showcase, fun, exciting, touching, raucous, meaningful and even some edgy LGBTQ cinema,” TIGLFF shared May 10. Akins says the festival’s new virtual programming is a key part of that.
“With the many changes to movie watching in recent years, virtual screening is something we’ve discussed, but now with the COVID-19 pandemic we quickly made the move in order to continue providing LGBTQ cinema to the Tampa Bay area,” he explains. “We’ll be able to provide a variety of films to entertain our diverse audience more frequently. Now people can watch where and when they like.”
That began with a retrospective of short films called “Laughter in Lockdown,” available via TIGLFF Online now through May 20. For no cost but with the option to donate to support the organization’s efforts, viewers can stream a number of festival favorites.
The collection begins with a video introduction from Horne, not-so-incidentally in a stream.
“I’m here in Maryland but looking forward to joining you all real soon as the new director of programming for TIGLFF. We’re on this weird, strange journey together into the unknown – we’re just going to follow the currents and see where it takes us, whether that’s upstream or downstream or anywhere but the mainstream. But join me while we stream some videos together.”
The collection includes the TIGLFF 2010 audience award-winning short film “GaySharkTank” directed by Guy Shalem, whose musical short film “Something Real” closes the program. The latter was the opening night short for TIGLFF 2013.
Also included are “Waffles” by Foster Wilson, which won the TIGLFF 2018 audience award, “Gayby” by Jonathan Lisecki and Daniel Moshel’s “Me Tube” shorts. TIGLFF alum Brian Bolster’s documentary “One Year Lease” and “Spunkle,” fellow alum Fawzia Mirza’s collaboration with Lisa Donato are also included, as is the award-winning “Spoilers.”
“They say necessity is the mother of invention and so I am excited to be joining TIGLFF at this time of huge societal change and explore the creative possibilities,” Horne says. “The TIGLFF board has given me the bandwidth to experiment and the new board president Rob Akins has been a great partner in brainstorming and researching new technology solutions.”
He adds that TIGLFF Online, streamed utilizing Eventive, provides the festival with flexibility while being user-friendly. He views “Laughter in Lockdown” as a gift to the community and “an appetizer to the main course.”
“We are just whetting your appetite for a year-round schedule of screenings,” Horne teases.
For more information about TIGLFF and its 31st festival, visit their website. You can learn more about TIGLFF Online by clicking here and reserve your free ticket to “Laughter in Lockdown” through May 20 here.
For the latest updates about COVID-19 and its impact on the LGBTQ communities in Tampa Bay and Central Florida, view Watermark’s frequently updated coverage here.
