Today, Seattle Pride named two more Marshals for the Seattle Pride Parade happening Sunday, June 29, 2014 joining the previously announced celebrity marshal, George Takei and local honorees Aleksa Manila and Zachary Pullin.
Three Dollar Bill Cinema, the producers of the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival since 19996 as well as other cinema programs throughout the year including the upcoming 9th annual Translations Film Festival featuring films by and for the Trans* community (tickets HERE), is surprisingly being honored for the first time as a community marshal. (Surprisingly because we figured they surely must have been recognized for their fine work LOOOOONG ago…) Here at Seattle Gay Scene we are thrilled our friends at Three Dollar Bill are being honored for their dedication to both the LGBTQ community and queer film. We congratulate Executive Director Jason Plourde and his current (and past) teams for 18 years of great work.
We’re also delighted to see another community trailblazer being honored as a marshal: DANIELLE ASKINI, a longtime community activist best known as a fierce advocate for Trans* causes including helping create and currently acting as Executive Director of Gender Justice League, Seattle’s vital new organization that created last year’s very successful Trans Pride event in Cal Anderson Park.
Here’s more info on both of these announced honorees:
Danielle Askini is a social worker and internationally influential trans* activist. Based in Seattle and Stockholm, Danielle is the founding Executive Director of Gender Justice League, Washington State’s trans* and allied activist collective. Danielle has served as Program Manager for Q-Law, the National Program Director for GSA Network and is currently the Policy Director for Basic Rights Oregon. Her work has also spanned to Sweden where she helped RFSL – The Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights – change the 1972 law “regarding sex-changes in some circumstances” that required trans* people to undergo forced sterilization. Danielle’s work has spanned a number of progressive causes including safe-schools work and reforming HIV/AIDS policy, though the underlying focus has always been on elevating trans* community and experiences.
Three Dollar Bill Cinema strengthens, connects, and reflects diverse communities through queer film and media. In addition to presenting the Seattle Lesbian& Gay Film Festival every October since 1996, the organization produces the free outdoor cinema in Cal Anderson Park each summer along with Translations: The Seattle Transgender Film Festival. Translations will return for its 9thyear, running from May 8-11th, 2014. Three Dollar Bill Cinema also runs Reel Queer Youth, a filmmaking and media literacy program for LGBTQ and allied teenagers. Coming this fall, Three Dollar Bill Cinema will be even more visible in the community when they move to their new home at the highly anticipated 12th Avenue Arts building in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Again, congratulations to both honorees. Two more organizational and two more individual marshals remain to be announced.
WHO will it be?!?!?
(Cue dramatic music…)