Rainbow Reels Queer Film Festival 2008

We are very pleased to announce that Natalia Zuckerman will be joining us on March 8th for a special performance at QFF.

With her music recently featured on The L Word and NPR, Natalia’s “come-hither sultriness” and “slinky, earthy vocals” have made quite a stir on the music scene. Natalia’s lyrics have been hailed for their imagery and intelligence while her versatility on the guitar has been a pleaser to fans and critics alike. With three albums under her belt, One thing’s for certain about Natalia - this girl can play.

Here’s what others say about her:

“Natalia Zukerman, comes from a family of noted classical musicians (her mother, Eugenia, is a flutist; her father, Pinchas, is a violinist; and her sister, Arianna, is an opera singer), but she has chosen to forsake grand performance halls for a dusty resophonic slide guitar in small clubs. She has nimble fingers capable of picking upward of thirty notes per measure, and when she sings she can switch from scat to swoon in the course of a glissando.”
The New Yorker

“.. insightful lyrics and impressive acoustic guitar work of Natalia Zukerman, who would land somewhere between Joni Mitchell and Ani DiFranco on the female singer-songwriter roster. It was a terrific performance for Zukerman…edgy and engaging…”  
Lynn Saxberg - The Ottawa Citizen

This is one performance you don’t want to miss out on.

When: 7pm Saturday March 8th
Where: King Street theatre Centre
Admission: With festival pass or film ticket to Nina’s Heavenly Delights

For more information please visit www.nataliazukerman.com/music.html

We are very excited to announce that Erica Iris Huang will be performing at our opening Gala Thursday March 6th.

Toronto-native Erica Iris Huang developed as a musician since the age of seven, when she began her eight years with the world-renowned Toronto Children’s Chorus. Gaining exceptional vocal and performance training, she toured with the chorus throughout North America and Europe. For four consecutive years since 2003, Erica was offered a choral position in the European Music Festival Stuttgart under the direction of Helmuth Rilling, performing at many distinguished concert halls and churches in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. She completed her BMus in Vocal Performance at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario and is currently in their Opera Diploma Program under the tutelage of Kimberly Barber. When she’s not buried in her operatic scores, she loves investing her time in photography, cooking, and hammering through great jazz tunes.

Thursday March 6th, come out to the King Street Theatre Centre and celebrate the opening of the 8th Annual Rainbow Reels Queer Film Festival!

2008 is the festival’s inaugural year in our new downtown location The King Street Theatre Centre and it is such an exciting space we want you come and enjoy it with us. Get a peak behind the scenes of the theatre and feel like an artist in the know as we party in their studio space with an operatic twist. After the screening enjoy a complimentary drink and hors d’oeuvres and look forward to prizes and live music.

Dress to impress (as if you’re headed to the opera) and from 7pm come and walk the Red Carpet to Rainbow Reels Festival Opening Night screening and Gala. Get ready for an evening of culture and cheekiness - Opera singers, red wine, contests and a chance to enjoy the company of the community.

Before the film explore the Love Makes a Family photo exhibition while enjoying a drink from the theatre’s cash bar.

Screening at 7:30pm Puccini for Beginners defies categories and expectations while delivering plenty of unconventional romantic comedy. When it’s over we know you won’t want to go home so stay and celebrate the festival as excitement builds for a week of films that tell stories while pushing boundaries and portraying the queer community in all its fantastic diversity.

Who: You and all your friends
What: Rainbow Reels Opening Gala
Where: King Street Theatre Centre (Downtown Kitchener)
When: Thursday March, 6th, 7pm till late
Dress: Cocktail Party Chic

Tickets $10 with the purchase of a pass, $15 without a pass.

Waterloo, ON - We are excited to announce the Rainbow Reels Queer Film Festival has partnered with the King Street Theatre Centre in downtown Kitchener.

Michael Schmidt a festival organizer is looking “to connect this years festival with the local LGBT community and to present images of gay and lesbian lives and issues.“ He believes that these films “will encouraging local artists, critics and audiences to participate in discussions surrounding the multicultural identities that make up the queer community.”

A bit of history, this will be the festivals 8th year. WPIRG (Waterloo Public Interest Research Group) founded the festival in 2000 to encourage diversity and oppose oppression. Raj Gill the coordinator of Projects and Organizational Development says “the festival came out of the belief that stories that affected the queer community were not being told by mainstream media. We wanted an opportunity to showcase this diversity to the community itself. “

This year’s festival will launch close to its roots, the University of Waterloo, on Wednesday March 5th with a campus preview kick-off evening for students. The Gala Opening will take place on Thursday the 6th at King Street Theatre. A mostly black tie affair, this night will include a theme connected to the evening’s movie. Drinks, hors d’oeuvres and a silent auction will finish the evening.

Nine films and a number of shorts will be shown over the course of the festival; their stories addressing such issues as trans-gendered rights, relationship complications, queer identity in the Asian community, and something as simple as how to be fabulous!

Festival passes are now on sale and are available for purchase at the King Street Theatre Centre box office, the WPIRG office at the University of Waterloo., or by phone 519-571-0928

The 8th annual Rainbow Reel Queer Film Festival is requesting short film submissions. The film festival, put on by the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group (WPIRG), is building on the success of previous years by opening up the festival to short film submissions from Canada’s best film schools.

WPIRG looks to promote social justice and diversity within the community and short film submissions should aim to keep these objectives in mind. The festival committee is looking for films that span a variety of media, styles, and subject matter.

All submissions are due on or before February 1st, 2008 by e-mail or post. More information about short film submissions can be found at www.rainbowreels.org, and more information about WPIRG can be found at www.wpirg.org. Additional questions may be addressed to RainbowReels@wpirg.org.

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