BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A series of LGBTQ film screenings will start on the first day of Pride Month.
The new Lehigh Valley LGBTQ+ Film Series is a collaboration between ArtsQuest and Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center.
- ArtsQuest and Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center are collaborating to put on a new monthly film series called the Lehigh Valley LGBTQ+ Film Series
- The first film in the series is "Desert Hearts," which will be shown on June 1 at 7 p.m. at the ArtsQuest cinema
- The screening of "Desert Hearts" will feature a Q&A and talkback led by the film’s director, Donna Deitch
It will be a year-round monthly exhibition of queer movies, both recent films and classics.
The first film in the series is "Desert Hearts," which will be shown on at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 1, at the ArtsQuest cinema.
“Expanding access to cultural experiences like this film series are vital initiatives that benefit our community.”Ashley Coleman, executive director of Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center
“We are thrilled to be partnering with ArtsQuest to amplify intersectional queer stories in films and create an affirming environment where LGBTQ+ folks can build community,” Bradbury-Sullivan Center Executive Director Ashley Coleman said in a news release
“Expanding access to cultural experiences like this film series are vital initiatives that benefit our community.”
ArtsQuest Senior Director of Programming Ryan Hill agreed.
“ArtsQuest is ecstatic to be working with Bradbury Sullivan to shine an even brighter light on queer cinema,” Hill said in the release.
The screenings will be free to the public. The location of the screening will alternate each month between the cinema at the ArtsQuest Center and the Bradbury Sullivan LGBT Community Center.
Desert Hearts
The first film of the series is the groundbreaking film “Desert Hearts,” a 1985 romantic drama that is rated R.
“Desert Hearts” is about a New York professor who divorces her husband then has an affair with another woman.
The film has come to be seen as an important film in queer cinema history because it was one of the first to portray a lesbian relationship positively.
The event will feature an in-person appearance by the film’s director, Donna Deitch. She will lead a Q&A and talkback after the screening.
The second movie in the series, “Flee”, will be shown at 3 p.m. July 8 in the Bradbury-Sullivan Center.
