LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMP Film: |
by Joe Bilancio |
If this was The Advocate, Genre, Instinct or Out, this article would start out like this: I met JEB (The director also known as Joan E. Biren) at the uber-chic lounge at the poolside deck of the Standard Hotel. Dressed playfully in a linen outfit accentuated by her exuberant personality, we sipped Cape Cods and talked about her newest film the multi-award winning No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon. Thankfully this is not one of those magazines and we can put aside all the pleasantries and really talk about what is important...a GREAT film, with a GREAT story about two GREAT women, directed and co-produced by a GREAT director who happens to be a GREAT person...sound GREAT? It really is.
The Great Person Who is this woman on whom I heap great praise? She is more than just words that make up the bio, but as means of introduction: JEB (Joan E. Biren), is an internationally recognized documentary artist, who began chronicling the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people over 30 years ago. Videos have been broadcast on public television and her photographs are in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, the Schleisinger Library at Harvard University and the Academy of Arts in Berlin, Germany. JEB is president of Moonforce Media, a non-profit video production company that specializes in serving progressive communities. As the video producer for the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation, JEB was responsible for the giant screens on the Mall, a satellite feed to viewers around the world and A Simple Matter of Justice, the official March on Washington tape. With the Mautner Project for Lesbians with Cancer, she produced the first lesbian video funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Removing the Barriers, used throughout the nation to train health care providers. She is the author of two groundbreaking volumes of photography. Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians (1979) is the pioneering photographic book that made lesbian existence visible as never before. Making a Way: Lesbians out Front (1987) is a vigorous affirmation of lesbian lives that portrays 125 women. In 1997 George Washington University organized a retrospective exhibition of her photographic work, Queerly Visible: 1971-1991, which subsequently traveled around the country. The Great Film The film tells the story of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon who have been partners in love and political struggle for fifty years. With incisive interviews, rare archival images, and warmhearted humor, this documentary reveals their inspiring public work, as well as their charming private relationship. It is a delightful way to meet these legendary lesbians, known as the founders of the modern lesbian civil rights movement. When they courageously launched the Daughters of Bilitis in 1955, it became the first public organization for lesbians in America. This documentary follows their story through half a century, tracing the emergence of lesbians from the fear of discovery to an expectation of equality. No Secret Anymore shows Del and Phyllis creating coalitions that took on the prevailing belief that lesbians were illegal, immoral and sick. Phyllis and Del did the groundbreaking work on lesbian mothers, sex education, family violence, and more. Always working both from within and outside the institutions they sought to change, Del and Phyllis were able to advance the rights of women, lesbians, gay, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) people. Today these unapologetic and unstoppable activists are educating both the GLBT and aging movements on the needs of senior lesbians. The Great Conversation I was fortunate enough to speak to JEB about the film. Her enthusiasm and love for the subject matter, and the subjects, was evident from the start. When asked why she made this film, she stated, "They are the mothers of the Lesbian movement and there was nobody else like them in the world and nobody had done what they did." JEB had known the ladies and met them briefly, but it was the encouragement from others who knew them well that pushed JEB to do the film. When approached, Del and Phyllis were initially reluctant for two major reasons. First of all, many directors had started a film and not finished, giving them reason to think this may be another one of the same. And secondly, JEB's past work included some political beliefs that are very different from those held by Del and Phyllis. So what began as a relationship with no immediate trust between subject and filmmaker evolved into a 4-year process of mutual admiration and respect, culminating in love for all involved. Thematically, the story had a difficult line to walk as she tried to tell two basic stories simultaneously. "Was it a political story or a love story and which came first?" JEB said. In the end she felt that the film accurately portrayed both and is quick to point out the terrific job of editor, Gary Westphalen, in helping with the unification of the stories. When asked if there were any common responses to the film, JEB stated "While there are no typical questions or comments, they tend to say thanks for helping them to understand the importance of who they are." Some have lived through the time period and are happy to see the film bring more detail to the subjects, while many younger viewers are happy to hear about the history of the movement. A benefit screening of No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon will be held August 22 in the screening room at the Movies of Midway, located on Route One in the Midway Shopping Center. A meet and greet reception with Director Joan E. Biren will begin at 7:00 p.m. with scrumptious hors d'ouevres provided by Queenz Quizine. The film will be shown at 8:00 p.m., with a question and answer session immediately following. Tickets: $10 for members of The Rehoboth Beach Film Society and CAMP Rehoboth's Founders' Circle, and $15 for the general public, are available at CAMP Rehoboth, or by calling 302-227-5620. Joe Bilancio is Programming Director for the Rehoboth Beach Film Society. He may be reached at Joe@rehobothfilm.com. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 13, No. 11, August 8, 2003 |