ARTSQUEST’S LGBTQ+ FILM SERIES RETURNS WITH 2020’S ‘AHEAD OF THE CURVE’

Free screening Tues., April 26, features special introduction by ArtsQuest’s President and CEO Kassie Hilgert, panel discussion afterward

ArtsQuest’s Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas (FBAC) will feature its next installment of the LGBTQ+ Film Series at 7 p.m. on Tues., April 26, with the 2020 biographical documentary Ahead of the Curve, to coincide with National Lesbian Visibility Day. ArtsQuest’s President and CEO Kassie Hilgert will give opening remarks for the introduction of this screening. A panel discussion will be hosted post-screening with musician Dian Hall and student advocate Sky Bela. Tickets are free and can be reserved at steelstacks.org/film or by calling the ArtsQuest Box Office at 610.332.3378. 

Ahead of the Curve is based on the true story of Franco Stevens, founding publisher of Curve Magazine, a leading international lesbian lifestyle magazine, from its founding in the 1990s through its current uncertain future. Only 23 when she funded the magazine with the winnings from a day at the racetrack, Stevens helped build a foundation for many movements being led today in the face of threats to the LGBTQ+ community and is now considered one of the most influential women in Queer history. Ahead of the Curve also features interviews with Denice Frohman, Amber Hikes, Melissa Etheridge and Jewelle Gomez. It premiered at the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival in the summer of 2020 and has since received the Audience Award for Best Documentary at The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival, Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and Connecticut LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

The LGBTQ+Film Series, curated by Catherine Ford, Alessandra Fanelli and Adrianna Gober, aims to explore and uplift a wide and diverse scope of LGBTQ+ issues and stories by highlighting selections from the rich, enduring history of Queer cinema. The series will showcase comedies, dramas, documentaries, mainstream and independent as well as international films both new and old, spotlighting Queer filmmakers, screenwriters, actors and themes. The LGBTQ+ Film Series has previously featured Swan Song, But I’m a Cheerleader, Buddies and The Watermelon Woman.