“I Am Divine” Opening Film For SLGFF 2013

Some secrets CAN be revealed.

We’ve been given the ok to leak the exciting info that the Opening Night Gala Film for the 18th Annual Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival will be the eagerly awaited documentary, I AM DIVINE. The film, from acclaimed filmmaker Jeffrey Schwartz, examines the life of Divine, aka Glenn Milstead, the plus sized actor and muse to celebrated cult filmmaker John Waters and the star of such films as Waters’ “Pink Flamingos”, “Female Trouble” and the original “Hairspray”. I AM DIVINE debuted at SXSW earlier this year, and has been screening at film festivals all over the country, with scheduled stops coming soon to San Francisco’s Frameline this coming Sunday, June 23rd, and to Los Angeles’ Outfest in July. The Seattle premiere will open the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival on Thursday, October 10, 2013 at Capitol Hill’s Harvard Exit Cinema. The festival, produced by Three Dollar Bill Cinema, runs through October 20, 2013. More information on the DIVINE event, including the location for the after party, will be released in a few months.

Check out the trailer:

SQUEE!!!!!!

Divine has been a much beloved gay icon for nearly 40 years, as a fierce symbol of queer subversion, but also for an “in your face” performance style that never held back from being shocking or perverse. The actor initially won fame in the Waters’ films, but also appeared in several plays in New York, and toured extensively around the world as a singer and performance artist. Divine’s subtle performance as Edna Turnblad in the original “Hairspray” seemed like it would be the role that would shoot the actor into the mainstream, but the star’s sudden death in 1988 at the age of 42 tragically cut short the career of a performer who pioneered the way for future out queer artists.

The documentary, several years in the making, examines the entire life of the performer and includes the final interview with Divine’s mother, Frances Milstead before her death:

As outrageous and fun as its subject, I AM DIVINE will combine movie clips, rare home movies and photos, television appearances and live performance footage with brand new interviews with John Waters, Ricki Lake, Mink Stole, Tab Hunter, Holly Woodlawn, Michael Musto, Bruce Vilanch, mother Frances Milstead (who provided her final interview just months before she passed away), and many more of Divine’s family, friends, colleagues, and devotees.

For more information on Three Dollar Bill Cinema, (including the schedule for this year’s outdoor screening series in Cal Anderson Park) and this fall’s Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, head over to their website.