Cinema Diverse: The Palm Springs LGBTQ Film Festival

Michael Carroll Green has been the managing director of Cinema Diverse for five years now. The festival itself has been running for nine years with the guidance of The Palm Springs Cultural Center. Here, for The Rage Monthly, Michael shares his insights into how the films are chosen, the manner in which specific films are awarded and some highlights on just two of the many films presented for the event which runs from Thursday, September 22 through Sunday, September 25.

I would have thought the festival was older than nine years old.

No, actually there was a prior film festival in Palm Springs before that called "Out on Film" and then it went out of business. So, there wasn't one for a little while, then, the Cultural Center started up the festival again in 2007.

You have to screen every film presented before it runs.

Yes, absolutely. I have a team of people who screen films but I do also look at all of them. I have three different groups who volunteer to review films. I take their input into consideration and we come to a consensus on what the lineup is.

I have a specific group of people who reviewed all the films that were trans-oriented and another group that looked at films that were lesbian-focused films, and then another group that looked at films that were gay male-focused. All together there's probably twenty people. All of the people did not watch all of the films.

In the past nine years, how do you think the evolution of LGBTQ cinema has evolved?

I definitely think that LGBTQ cinema has become more varied than it used to be, as a genre. There are more films about different kinds of subjects and very different storylines. I think the quality of LGBT filmmaking is amazing
now. I would put it against any independent filmmaking period, and I think it's of excellent quality. It's kind of, if you will... grown up.

Does Cinema Diverse present awards to specific films of merit?

We do. Our awards are audience-based. The attendees vote on the films when they see them and we tally up the votes and we have "festival selects" that the audience chose as their favorite films. We feel strongly that it should be the audience who chooses the favorites. They are the ones who are spending the money and coming to see the films.

That's great. What is the percentage of attendees who watch all of the films presented? It's like a movie marathon, so do people do that still?

Oh, yeah! There are people who come and stay the bulk of the day throughout the entire festival. They will come and take a break to have lunch or to have dinner, but the rest of the time they are at the theatre the whole time because they want to see all the films. I think for a lot of LGBT film festivals... if it weren't for having us, there would not be an opportunity for most people to see these films.

Green elaborates on the screening of "Retake" on Sunday, September 25 at 5:45 p.m.:"It's a real thriller, because you really are not sure what's going on and why this guy is hiring this guy to play this role. It's a real suspenseful movie. It's really interesting. Again I think it just proves that LGBT movies can go into any genre."

Michael shares his thoughts on the closing night film "Stonewall: The Movement" screening at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 25: "It's a documentary of the history of it. and it takes us from the time of Stonewall up to the present. There are lots of interviews with people who were actually at Stonewall and participated in the riot. So, you're actually seeing interviews with the people today, as well. It's really just a nice, historical piece."

For a complete lineup of featured films, short films and more information, go to cinemadiverse.org