The University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television’s Professor Beverly Seckinger recently sat down with KXCI to discuss the 30th anniversary of Lesbian Looks, the venerable showcase presenting cutting edge features, shorts, documentaries, experimental films, and new media works.
Seckinger has directed Lesbian Looks since 1993. It was the first public screening program of the fledgling Institute for LGBT Studies at the University of Arizona, and since then Lesbian Looks has presented over 250 films to audiences drawn from campus and the Tucson community. Lesbian Looks also features panel discussions on topics ranging from breast cancer to homeless youth to Israeli-Palestinian politics, LGBTQ refugee resettlement, trans identity, borders and immigration, and queer history.
“It’s been so interesting watching the LGBTQ+ movement evolve over the years” Seckinger reflects. “When we began Lesbian Looks thirty years ago, there was very little media made by and for this audience – there were the occasional ‘special episodes’ on television shows like LA Law, Designing Women and The Golden Girls, and only about a dozen feature films. So from our first event, Lesbian Looks was a film screening that was also a grass roots community-building event. It’s still that. Over time, everything has changed enormously. Films have become more accessible and diverse, and the subject matter has grown from your basic coming out story to every other kind of subject matter imaginable.”
To kick off anniversary celebrations, Lesbian Looks will present a screening of Alexandria Bombach’s It’s Only Life After All on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 7pm at The Loft Cinema. The screening, a love letter to the massively beloved folk-rock duo Indigo Girls, will be free to attend. More information is here.
Listen to the interview at KXCI