Nederlands
Humans of Film Festival is proud to announce our collaboration with the new Queer Pride by Queer Amsterdam this year. Queer Pride centers queer people of color, transgender and non-binary people, and queer people with disabilities. We have chosen Alejandra Ortiz, writer (her book: “The Truth will set me Free“), grassroots activist and guest curator Queer Currents 2023, to select two films (that will be screened at Melkweg and Studio/K) and to decide the topics that she wants to discuss during the panel discussions after the films.
Alejandra Ortiz, is a published author, researcher, and community builder. A brown Mexican trans woman with a history of marginalization and violence and she has been living in the Netherlands since 2015. Alejandra has devoted her activism to the visibility and empowerment of marginalized communities with projects by organizations and collectives such as Transgender Network Netherlands, Trans United Europe, TranScreen Film Festival, Queer Network Alliance, Transgender Europe and her collective; Papaya Kuir. In 2022 her memoirs “The Truth will set me Free” was published by Lebowski Publishers.
She first arrived in an asylum seekers centre in a town called Echt and since 2018 she has been living in Amsterdam. She has collaborated in the making of different campaigns (such as the access of hormones for trans refugees at the asylum seekers centres, and an anti violence campaign with Transgender Network Netherlands). As well as reports to bring to light the issues BIPOC communities face in Amsterdam (funded by the Amsterdam Municipality), as well as The Situation of Migrant Sex Workers in The Netherlands. Due to her work and activism, Alejandra has been nominated for the 2020 Roze Lieverdje award. More recently she was featured in the documentary De Roze Familie (2020, Michiel van Erp) where she talks about the needs of the migrant trans community. Alejandra is a regular guest speaker for different events in the country, such as International Queer & Migrant Filmfestival (IQMF), Amsterdam Pride, TranScreen Film Festival and Humans of Film Festival 2022, among others. In 2023 she was awarded the Winq Community Award by Winq.nl for her work on behalf of the communities she represents and is part of.
Which is reason enough for Humans of Film Festival to collaborate with such a rising star, with an excellent taste for film. That is why, in this colloboration, Humans of Film Festival asked Alejandra to choose the films she would like to have screened during Queer & Pride by Queer Amsterdam, and choose the topics for the panel discussions she is going to moderate. Next to that she has chosen several transgender panellists from the community to come talk with her and the audience.
26 july 2023 | Film screening Studio/K: Cada vez que Muero (2022) + after talk with Alejandra Ortiz
During the Queer Amsterdam film program we screen Cada vez que Muero (2022), a film by Raúl Vidales Bohórquez, at Studio/K. Cada vez que Muero, meaning Every Time I Die, is a hybrid feature film that combines documentary with fiction. The feature film approaches cinema as a ritual of symbolic transformation in the death experiences of seven trans women. After the film, Alejandra Ortiz will moderate a panel discussion with panelists and trans activists Alexandra R. Ruiz (México) and Alma Betancur (Colombia). The conversation will be about the artistic world that often serves as the only space of acceptance, where transgender people can empower themselves and the community.
*disclaimer: some pornographic images*
27 july 2023 | Film screening Melkweg: Queen of Lapa (2019) + after talk with Alejandra Ortiz
The next day we show another beautiful film, Queen of Lapa (2019), a film by Theodore Collatos and Carolina Monnerat, at Melkweg. Queen of Lapa is about the amazing Luana Muniz, actress, activist and proud sex professional. She created a new reality in her hostel by providing a safe working environment for several generations of young transgender women and girls in the neighborhood of Lapa in Rio de Janeiro. Alejandra Ortiz also moderates a panel discussion after this film. This time with panelists and trans activists Ana Paula Lima (Brazil) and Anancy (Portugal). During this conversation, topics such as family rejection, sex work, differences between the West and the global south, but also migration are discussed.
So don’t forget to save the date, buy your tickets and join us for a good conversation.