Support Queer Cinema Representation…Support Three Dollar Bill Cinema

They’re slowly getting there but Three Dollar Bill Cinema, who produce so many LGBTQ+ cinema events in Seattle like the Seattle Queer Film Festival and the Translations Film Festival still could use some financial support in these difficult financial times. Their former executive director (and current public relations person) Rachel Brister wrote this essay encouraging folks to support Three Dollar Bill and why it’s so important for the queer community.

Check it out below and donate at https://donorbox.org/support-queer-film

My name is Rachael Brister, and I was the Executive Director of Three Dollar Bill Cinema from 2004 to 2012. I am writing to share my history with this organization and why I always say Three Dollar Bill Cinema left an indelible mark on me, one I wear and show off proudly.

That decision to volunteer also changed my career path. I was planning to go to grad school, but my experience working with ImageOut opened my eyes and my heart to the power and impact of queer film and queer representation both in front of and behind the camera. Then, in 2004, I decided it was time for a change and started applying for jobs in the nonprofit arts sector. Three Dollar Bill Cinema was looking for a new executive director. I jumped at the chance to apply and got the job. I was 27 and was given the opportunity to move across the country to continue doing something I loved. Lucky does not begin to describe how I felt. I was Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s Executive Director for eight years, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we accomplished in those years. And I mean to say we. Some of you reading this were right there with me. I also say ‘we’ because so much of my community and my chosen family are part of my life because of Three Dollar Bill Cinema.

Now, over a decade later, I still believe in these words. For the past six years, I have been Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s publicist, ensuring the Greater Seattle community and beyond is aware of all this organization offers. As an audience member, I still witness the community that comes together to celebrate queer film and have a fabulous time doing it. I know lifelong friends who have volunteered together for more than two decades, films that have been made because of the support of Three Dollar Bill Cinema, couples who met at a Three Dollar Bill Cinema program (and are still together!), and the many people who have had that experience of what it feels like to see your life reflected on screen.

These connections, community building, and representation are all vital to our community.

Can you find queer film via the many digital platforms that now exist? Sure, you can.

But can you find that community, that energy, those essential connections on your laptop or in your living room?

I can’t imagine a Seattle or a national queer film community without Three Dollar Bill Cinema, The Seattle Queer Film Festival, or TRANSlations: The Seattle Transgender Film Festival. I can’t imagine my life without Three Dollar Bill Cinema.

Please make a donation to keep Three Dollar Bill Cinema alive and thriving so more and more people can find those connections and see themselves reflected on screen surrounded by community; So vital queer representation on screen and behind the camera can continue to have a home in Seattle.