The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: CRGS

  • QTBIPOC Film Coalition hosts first annual film fest

    QTBIPOC Film Coalition hosts first annual film fest

    by Camille Delany

    Originally printed April 26, 2023

    The first annual QTBIPOC Film Festival on campus Saturday, April 15, centered the work of student filmmakers from communities rarely represented on the festival stage. The festival was hosted by the newly-formed QTBIPOC Film Coalition and the Cinema Club. Featuring work by QTBIPOC (Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and non-film students, it was a much-needed opportunity for artists from diverse majors to share their work in a festival setting.

    The fest was programmed by Danny Garcia, a Critical Race, Gender and Sexuality Studies (CRGS) senior, and Matthew Mason, a senior in the Film program. They had gained experience in festival programming from attending both the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) and SXSW in Austin.

    “I rediscovered the joy of film through these festivals where I got to see representation that actually resonated with me, and I thought about how to bring this back to the people,” Garcia said. 

    At SBIFF they were inspired by the representation of Trans and Indigenous communities they saw on the big screen.

    “I saw films that I would never have expected to get the spotlight,” Garcia said. “That sparked my interest as a CRGS major in the potential of film as a liberatory medium.”

    The QTBIPOC Film Festival showcased films ranging in length from less than two minutes to thirty minutes, and included experimental dual projections as well as longer films including documentaries and narratives.

    Garcia collaborated with filmmaker and computer science major David Yaranon to write “What a Waste,” a thirty minute narrative critique of misogyny that follows a stalker. Production took place over the span of a week, and involved many of Yaranon and Garcia’s close friends both in front of and behind the camera.

    “I would love to make more films with these guys,” Yaranon said. “This idea was kind of locked in, but it would be great to hear from other people, different ideas and talk about how we can make something meaningful and with a message behind it.”

    Garcia screened their short “i am chicano,” which they produced for Professor M. Cartier’s Fall 2022 class Representation in Film Matters. Among other films that had been produced for the class and screened at the QTBIPOC Film Festival was Lake McLeod’s “I AM,” an experimental short in which the filmmaker reads an original poem.

    Also in the experimental category, Mason showed his 2022 production “Woman in Gold,” starring McLeod and Raelynn Davis, in which a mysterious protagonist follows a woman through a dark forest, and is in turn pursued by a masked stranger.

    Mason welcomes the opportunity to show his work outside of the class it was produced for, because he values the outside viewpoint that the audience brings.

    “Everyone has a different reaction and takeaway from it,” Mason said. “People can see the same thing but take away infinitely different meanings.”

    The QTBIPOC Film Festival encapsulated art created in a pivotal moment for rights and representation of QTBIPOC people.

    “Right now we’re going through a cultural change. Things are shifting. Film still needs to catch up,” Garcia said. “At the forefront of the industry, representation is real and they’re putting money and resources towards it.”

    Disclaimer: The author of this article showed a film at the festival

  • Uncomfortable identities explored

    Uncomfortable identities explored

    An event is only defined by its memory or lack thereof. The two-day symposium (Un)Comfortable Identities: Representation of Persecution at Humboldt State University examined the effect of persecution on memory, identity and culture of ethnic groups. The convention held on Oct. 20 and 21 addressed topics of race, sexuality, religion, disability, and gender.

    HSU professors and scholars from across the nation presented research and studies in various disciplines pertaining to displacement, persecution, and memory.

    Organized by United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM,) the event is part of an ongoing outreach to bring Holocaust studies into North American education via symposia, lectures, and workshops.

    Since attending a faculty program hosted by USHMM, Humboldt State Critical Race and Gender Studies (CRGS) professor Maral Attallah and Native American Studies instructor Kerri J. Malloy have been working to bring this type of event to HSU.

    “We wanted this to be an opportunity to develop relationships for HSU student internships, for research, and for more faculty to participate in these seminars,” Malloy said.

    W. Jake Newsome of the USHMM says this event has been in the works for almost two years. “[Symposiums] are tailored to the local community, so they can be more impactful,” Newsome said. Speakers were selected per panel to complement each other both by USHMM and HSU.

    “We worked closely with [Attallah and Malloy] to bring on leading experts on race, identity, and activism,” Newsome said. “We brought in educators from across the country to talk about some of the challenges, strategies, and rewards of teaching topics students might find problematic.”

    Ramona Bell, CRGS associate professor at HSU spoke on the persecution of black athletes. “I wanted to show today that they are change agents,” Bell said. “They are resilient and not passive.”

    Bell says that getting these topics to be talked about starts with “a realization of your own code of ethics.” Whatever the issue might be, “do you care?” Bell said.

    The event was open to the public and brought together an audience of local community members, students, and faculty. “Even if this is happening at Humboldt, it’s benefiting a much larger audience,” Malloy said.