Tag: lesbian

LGBTQ+ Coming-of-Age Film ‘Sweetheart’ Due Digitally Feb. 10 From Film Movement

The LGBTQ+ coming-of-age film Sweetheart will be released via VOD and digital sellthrough Feb. 10 from Film Movement.

The film follows socially awkward lesbian teenager A.J. (Nell Barlow), who begrudgingly joins her family on a seaside vacation. She finds herself constantly at odds with her painfully “normal” mother and older sister, neither of whom can understand why she doesn’t smile more or “dress like a girl.” Her anticipated “week of hell” takes an unexpected turn when Isla (Ella-Rae Smith), a free-spirited and sun-loving lifeguard, catches her eye. Full to the brim with teen angst and romantic fumbling, Sweetheart wryly captures the bittersweet pangs of adolescent yearning, self-realization and personal connections, all against the hilarious ups and downs of the quintessential British family holiday.

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Director Marley Morrison’s feature debut, the film’s accolades include British Independent Film Awards for Breakthrough Performance (Nell Barlow) and Breakthrough Producer (Michelle Antoniades), as well as nominations for Best Supporting Actress (Jo Hartley), Best Debut Screenwriter (Marley Morrison), and the Douglas Hickox Award (Marley Morrison); Frameline SF Int’l LGBTYQ FF nomination for Outstanding First Feature Award; Glasgow Film Festival winner of the Audience Award and Best First Feature; Inside Out Toronto LGBT FF winner of the International Juried Award (Marley Morrison, Hazey Jane Films); L.A. Outfest award for Outstanding Performance in an Int’l Narrative (Nell Barlow); London Critics Circle Film Awards nomination for Breakthrough British Filmmaker of the Year.      

Rotten Tomatoes Partners to Launch LGBTQ Scholarship

GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics and content recommendation resource Rotten Tomatoes have launched The Crimson Honors scholarship.

It’s a new college film and TV criticism scholarship program for LGBTQ women and nonbinary students of color in Southern California pursuing a career in journalism or entertainment criticism.

GALECA will award more than $6,000 in financial assistance, funded by Rotten Tomatoes. 

The Crimson Honors scholarship is open to qualifying community or state college students in the Southern California area who are seeking a career in entertainment criticism. A select panel of GALECA members will review and consider all student submissions of film/TV criticism and/or commentary featured in a campus media outlet in 2022, ultimately honoring three students who demonstrate excellence in their craft.

The grand prize winner will receive $3,000, with two finalists each collecting $1,500. All three winners will also receive $100 Fandango and Vudu gift cards to watch movies in theaters or at home, and a complimentary yearlong GALECA membership, with opportunities to meet editors and Advisory Board members in the group.

Rotten Tomatoes’ support of GALECA’s Crimson Honors scholarship is the latest initiative in the brand’s Grants and Scholarships program, established in 2018 to increase inclusion in entertainment criticism and support the next generation of critics through donations to educational programs, film festivals’ inclusion initiatives, and other industry efforts. 

Eligible candidates — including nonbinary persons or women of color who identify as gay, bisexual, transgender or queer — must be students studying journalism, cinema/TV studies or communications at a public two-year community or four-year state college in the Southern California area.

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Applicants may submit to GALECA up to three reviews or essays relating to film and/or TV, each originally published or posted in 2022 by an official campus media offering (newspaper, magazine, website, radio station, podcast, TV/radio program). In addition, applicants must also include a resume as well as a personal 300-word statement on why they hope for a career as a critic and entertainment journalist. 

Applicants can submit all materials here. Materials must be received by 11:59 p.m. PT on Dec. 31, 2022. All entrants will be notified that their submissions were received with winners being announced on Feb. 27, 2023.  Criteria and rules for the Crimson Honors scholarship can be found here.  

LGBTQ Coming-of-Age Drama ‘The Experience’ Due on VOD, EST and DVD Nov. 5 From Random

The LGBTQ coming-of-age drama The Experience will arrive on VOD, EST and DVD Nov. 5 from Random Media.

The film stars Allison Kove (Rotten), Ava Capri (Little Rituals) Shawn Christian (“Days of Our Lives”), Lou Ferrigno Jr. (“S.W.A.T”), Sabina Gadecki (“Entourage”), Brigitte Nielsen (Beverly Hills Cop II) and Gordon Thomson (“Dynasty”).

Set against the unique backdrop of a tough love wilderness program for the wayward children of the elite upper class, The Experience examines the life of Scarlet (Kove), a teenage girl whose ongoing behavior — partying, piercings and suicide attempts — has landed her at the Hills of Heaven wilderness camp, where she begrudgingly hauls a 40-pound backpack in the sweltering heat of an arid, hilly back country. When a mysterious girl named Dillion (Capri) arrives at camp, Scarlet begins to open up and maybe even fall in love. However, just when the girls are making a meaningful connection, they are forced to reconcile their reality in ways they cannot begin to fathom and question the very fabric of their own existence.

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“The Experience is a powerful and offbeat coming-of-age story that has every emotion conjured for our teenage lead characters,” said writer-director Katerina Gorshkov in a statement. “We are particularly excited to have powerhouse Brigitte Nielson cast in the film, as her role is not her usual action-thriller villain.”