ITVS Hosts Queer X-Change for LGBT Filmmakers

As part of ongoing efforts to bring young and emerging talent to public television, ITVS recently hosted an invitation-only event for four filmmakers from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Each were nominated by veteran producers who attended 2007’s LGBT Filmmaker Summit, a meeting that addressed issues related to the LGBT community. The ITVS Queer X-Change was hosted by the Programming Department’s Richard Saiz and Jonathan Archer and featured a case-study from ITVS-funded filmmaker Johnny Symons, who gave feedback to the presenters along with ITVS-funded filmmaker Charlotte Lagarde. Attendee Andy Blubaugh offers his take below.

Andy Blubaugh discusses his film THE ADULTS IN THE ROOM at the ITVS Queer X-Change.

I’ll admit, I was skeptical when I was invited to the Queer X-Change, an event aimed at encouraging emerging LGBT directors to produce for public television. My own film, THE ADULTS IN THE ROOM, seemed like a stretch for public television, both in its content and its execution. Worse, I had become wary of the effort that’s required to even be considered for ITVS funding. The Open Call process, while rewarding for the films that make it through, is arduous and time consuming. I wasn’t sure if I had it in me to try again.

But when you get an invitation to attend something like this, you don’t hesitate. You pack your bags, burn a ton of DVDs, and get excited.

As we gathered at the ITVS headquarters in San Francisco, I started to get nervous. Was I even ready to show my project in front of these people? These were, after all, the most important decision makers in public television that I’ve ever been in a room with. I felt outgunned.

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Tags: bisexual, gay, lesbian, transgender