Kathy Wolfe – Taking LGBT movies to the world

If you’re feeling alone or isolated, struggling to find your identity or place in the world, movies can have a transformative impact.

There is nothing more powerful than seeing characters on the big screen that you identify with, stories that somehow reflect your own journey, or insights into communities and worlds that you only dreamed existed.

For the LGBT community, finding those movies can sometimes be a bit of a challenge.

Wolfe Video has been one of the key distributors helping to share LGBT movies with the wider world.

On the 30th anniversary since they were founded in 1985, we caught up with Kathy Wolfe – the woman who started it all – to share some memories as well as talk plans for the future.

When did you first begin to realise that the mail order service that you were initially setting up was tapping into a demand from the LGBT audience?

The mail order business was an immediate success. Of course, this is based upon a very small need for profit as I was working out of the basement of my home. Low overheads, in every sense of the word, allowed me to grow slow and steady.

What was the breakthrough moment when you knew that Wolfe Video had a place in the market?

In 1992 we released the Lily Tomlin collection featuring The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. Lily’s work helped us break into the national distribution network and open direct relationships with Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, and Tower Records. After that we were able to release hundreds of titles into the mainstream and access the over 27,000 video rental stores operating at the time.

What’s been the most popular movie of all time that has been distributed through Wolfe Video?

Big Eden. It was hugely popular and we sold over 75,000 DVDs.

Are you still excited by movies?

Being part of the LGBT movie business is full of satisfaction. I love watching movies and meeting filmmakers. I love helping and sharing with them all that we have learned over the past 30 years.

Mostly I feel like we have made a difference both in the lives of our community but also in the world at large. We have always considered ourselves pioneers in visibility.

With increasing equality in many countries, is there still a need and an appetite for a specialist distributor of LGBT movies?

Our global streaming platform – WolfeOnDemand.com – is a lifeline to thousands desperately in need of community. It reminds me of the late 1970s when being in the closet was the norm here in the USA.

How is developing media technology changing the way that Wolfe Video operates?

When it comes to technology, a business like ours must adapt. We have gone from VHS, DVD, Blu-ray and now streaming. Technology has been great for us but it’s also added the concerns of internet piracy. I’m sure that readers of Gay Star News will understand the connection between not paying for their viewing and ultimately not getting quality filmmaking. Clearly, when we support our artists they can support us.

How will Wolfe Video continue to stay relevant in the crowded media market place?

Wolfe is a major supplier of LGBT content to all the players including Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, HBO, Showtime and beyond. Our films grace the screens of film festivals around the world and conversely Wolfe brings foreign films home for us to enjoy and learn from. We sell public performance rights to colleges and universities. In addition, our pay-per-view service WolfeOnDemand.com is one of the largest collections of LGBT streaming content available anywhere, including classics as well as new releases.

Read more from Gareth Johnson

Read more movie reviews and interviews

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Gareth Johnson

www.gaystarnews.com/article/kathy-wolfe-taking-lgbt-movies-to-the-world/

Artist Spotlight: Ludwig von Hofmann

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Christopher Harrity

www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/art/artist-spotlight/2015/07/18/artist-spotlight-ludwig-von-hofmann

Anti-gay-marriage Sweet Cakes bakers raise over US$350,000

Aaron and Melissa Klein, owners of now-defunct Sweet Cakes by Melissa have raised a record-breaking US$352,500 in two months via crowdfunding website Continue to Give.

This is the second fundraising effort created in support of the couple since an Oregon judge ruled in April that they must pay Rachel Bowman-Cryer and her wife, Laurel Bowman-Cryer, US$75,000 and US$60,000 in damages respectively for rejecting their cake order in 2013.

On July 2 the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) handed the couple a final order for the same amount.

In April 2015, the couple raised nearly US$110,000 in donations via GoFundMe before the campaign was shut down by the site.

The company said the campaign was disabled as they were found to be in violation of Oregon state law concerning discriminatory acts. It said at the time the Kleins will be allowed to withdraw the funds they have raised.

GoFundMe soon after changed their policy to include a ban on ‘claims of heinous crimes, violent, hateful, sexual or discriminatory acts’ to make it easier for the company to remove campaigns for Christian-owned business owners fighting discrimination charges after declining to provide services for gay weddings.

The Washington Times reports that the Kleins started their fundraising campaign on Continue to Give on May 5 after their GoFundMe page was disabled.

Jesse Wellhoefer, the founder of Continue to Give which bills itself as ‘a faith-based giving platform,’ told the Washington Times that the Kleins have already broken the three-year-old site’s record for highest total raised and is continuing to raise funds.

He added that while his company has received ‘lots’ of complaints about the crowdfunding campaign, he will continue to host the campaign on his website.

‘Our response has been, “Thank you for your concern, have a great day and God bless you,’” he said.

The Kleins are expected to appeal the labor commissioner’s July 2 decision to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

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Sylvia Tan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/anti-gay-marriage-sweet-cakes-bakers-raise-over-us350000/

California police lieutenant suspended over anti-gay-marriage letter

A high-ranking police lieutenant in California has been officially placed on paid administrative leave after a letter he wrote to a newspaper strongly condemning the US Supreme Court’s ruling to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide was published.

Lt Toby Will, who has served the city of Stockton for two decades, signed the letter with his rank and employer and confirmed with the newspaper editor that is how he wanted it to appear in print, according to media reports.

His letter, which appeared in the Stockton Record on Wednesday, began with a biblical passage that condemned homosexual behavior.

The letter continued: ‘Man’s rebellion, ungodliness, and unrighteousness in rejecting the truth in order that he may live according to the vile and sinful passions of his corrupt heart is going to be met with the wrath of God.’

A day after the letter was published, the newspaper reported that the letter has ‘received special attention’ as it was written by a ‘high-ranking officer with the Stockton Police Department’.

In his correspondence with the newspaper, Will said he is aware that the letter which is signed with his public position might ‘have a negative impact on an otherwise impeccable police career.’

He said, ‘I feel very strongly regarding this issue. Much (not all), but much of the media leaves the public with the sense that this recent turn of events is being embraced by the broader public, as well as most spheres of professional society. This is not the case; and I would just like to be one voice, as a lieutenant of a moderate sized police agency that makes it very clear that I operate from a biblical world view, not a pop-culture one.’

Police department spokesman Officer Joe Silva clarified on Wednesday that Will ‘does not speak for the Police Department, and regarding his use of his police position, it is under administrative review.’

Following the publication of the letter, Police Chief Eric Jones also made a call to the San Joaquin Pride Center ‘to reassure them that Will does not speak for the Police Department,’ the spokesperson said.

The centre has conducted LGBT sensitivity training for the police department.

Renee Hall, chairwoman of the Pride Center board of directors, expressed her dismay with the letter saying that while everyone has the right to express their beliefs, there is a ‘fine line, especially when you are a police officer.’

‘How can you be a police officer when you don’t believe in the law? How are you going to be able to do your job? Are my wife and my child going to feel comfortable calling the Stockton police knowing he is not wanting to help us?’

Hall’s wife and partner of 33 years Susan Eggman, who represents Stockton in the California Assembly and previously served on the Stockton City Council, was equally distressed by the letter.

‘I think Lt. Will has put the city of Stockton and the Stockton Police Department in a very uncomfortable position in that he insisted that his title be used and going on record that he does not believe in the law,’ she was quoted by the Record as saying.

‘It is doubly sad that he insisted to be identified with one of the best police departments in the state of California.’

‘I think he crossed the line when he started using language like vile and debauchery. As far as being representative of the city, as an LGBT person, if I see a letter like that signed by a public official, I would be appalled and I don’t know if I would want to spend my money in Stockton.’

The newspaper printed several letters from readers in support as well as those who agreed with Will.

One reader wrote, ‘I resent this man with real authority insinuating his law enforcement position into this discussion.’

The post California police lieutenant suspended over anti-gay-marriage letter appeared first on Gay Star News.

Sylvia Tan

www.gaystarnews.com/article/california-police-lieutenant-suspended-over-anti-gay-marriage-letter/

Chelsea Manning Defense Fund Flooded With Donations

A legal defense fund for Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence worker sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking secret documents to WikiLeaks, has been flooded with donations, exceeding its goal with more than $125,000 in 48 hours.

“The level of grassroots support for this campaign has been truly impressive. Close to 1,100 donors in just 48 hours made their voices heard for Chelsea’s cause,” Trevor Timm, executive director of Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement. “It really shows how small donations can add up to something huge. Because of this success, we’re raising our goal to the full amount Chelsea Manning’s attorney has estimated will be needed to bring the case through oral arguments in the Army Court of Appeals. We’re confident, with your help, we can get there.”

Nancy Hollander, Manning’s attorney, said contributions to the crowdsourced fund are “beyond our wildest dreams.”

“We are grateful for this outpouring and continued support as we travel down this long road,” Hollander said.

Manning, 27, is imprisoned at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas for giving hundreds of thousands of government files to WikiLeaks, including information on U.S. operations in Guantánamo Bay and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Formerly Pfc. Bradley Manning, she will be eligible for parole in about 2020.

Manning began the process of transitioning to a woman last year, and was approved for a gender-reassignment hormone therapy in February. It was the first time the Defense Department has authorized such a treatment for an active service member, and followed a lawsuit pressing the military to allow Manning’s transition.

Manning and her legal team are pursuing an appeal of her conviction, with the hope of reducing her prison term. Prior to the fundraising campaign, Manning had collected about $40,000 in donations to cover legal fees.

First Look Media, the news organization created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, announced the campaign on Wednesday, and pledged to match $60,000 in donations. According to the statement, $10,000 of the match will come from First Look’s prominent investigative journalist, Glenn Greenwald, who has led coverage of former National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden’s disclosures of government spying on ordinary citizens.

Greenwald explained the campaign in a post for First Look’s investigative news outfit, The Intercept:

“Whatever else one thinks of Manning, she should not face limits in her ability to pursue her legal rights with full zeal, nor should her already difficult circumstances be exacerbated by worries over how to pay legal fees,” he wrote. “Her actions redounded to the benefit of all of us, and it’s incumbent on those who are able to do what they can to help her defend her legal rights. It’s in our collective interest to ensure that whistleblowers are able to receive a full, vigorous defense of their rights, and that the government’s pernicious anti-transparency theories be contested.”

 The campaign continues to accept donations, which can be made here.

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