DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — ONE Queer Film Fest is an afternoon of short films from the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives being screened at the Downtown Independent on Sunday, May 23. While organizers refer to it as an “afternoon of queer culture on the big screen,” the chosen selections hint at the direction films on gay culture have evolved over the decades.

Activism and conflict are subject matter in 1971’s Liberation of Griffith Park by Matt Spero, documenting some Los Angeles history when the urban park space was taken over for a “Gay-In.” 1975’s Tea Room Scene by Richard Silverthorn is about a USC student struggling to accept himself in that same decade, while Some of Your Best Friends is a 1971 documentary by Ken Robinson telling the story of the Gay Liberation Front holding the first Pride Parade in Los Angeles.

More recent films show how gay culture interacts with other cultures.

Chicks in White Satin is the 1994 Oscar Nominated documentary by Elaine Holliman and Jason Schneider that follows a Jewish lesbian wedding. El Abuelo is a 2008 short film by Dino Dinco that shows contrast, as a heavily tattoed Latino man carefully irons a crease in his pants as part of his identity. Queerer Than Thou is a short 2008 comedy by Kalil Cohen and Tera Greene that simply throws down the gauntlet, asking “Who is the queerest of them all?”

Proceeds from ONE Queer Film Fest and an after-party held on the roof of the Downtown Independent will benefit the ongoing work of ONE Archives.

ONE Queer Film Fest / Sunday, May 23, 3-5 PM / Downtown Independent Theater (251 S. Main)