Sissies cause controversy in Stillwater
by Robin Dorner
Editor in Chief
Stillwater, Oklahoma is to say the least an antiquated little town. Her nickname is “Cowboy Country,” so to have a film like Del Shores’ Southern Baptist Sissies come to town might, as you could imagine, cause a stir.
The Red Dirt Film Festival held their first International Film Fest in Stillwater this past weekend, bringing the vibrant energy of more than 100 films to town. Their goal was to give attendees a variety from children’s films to western films, classics, indie’s and, yes - gay pop culture.
Oh, dear. And remember, we’re in Stillwater….Cowboy Country.
One of the venues for the festival was the Ibiza Bar. Southern Baptist Sissies was scheduled for 8-10:20pm last Friday night. In the middle of the film, just as two boys were kissing on screen, the film was mysteriously shut down. As the film was terminated, “smoke filled the room from a machine, laser lights came up and loud music started playing,” according to several accounts.
“We had told the Ibiza owners to expect every manner of film, and that they could expect any type of films from animated children’s films to comedies, just about anything,” said Damon Blalack, co-director of the film festival. “We mentioned the fact that the bulk of the material would more than likely be edgy because it was a nighttime screening location.”
Southern Baptist Sissies is a film which ‘exposes the painful journey of growing up gay in a church that preaches it is a sin. It has been produced by over 30 theatre companies across the country, and won countless awards for Del Shores productions and for other productions as well, including the GLAAD Award for Best Los Angeles Theatre. In 2006, a national tour starring Leslie Jordan, Dale Dickey and Delta Burke played to sold out houses across the country.’
“I was in contact with Leonardo, co-owner of Ibiza, about a week before the event just to confirm the plans and we’d be by with the stack of films,” adds Blalack. “I helped the volunteer get set up, then I went to another venue - we had eight. Then, I got a panic call from the volunteer saying they had turned the film off and started playing dance music.”
Blalack soon went back to find the film had been shut down completely. The volunteer was purportedly so upset she just took off with all the equipment before Blalack had even returned.
But bar owner Luiz Garcia says it’s not like that at all. “It was a lot of poor planning and we had to get back to our regular club scene,” said Garcia. “The movie got stopped not because of its content, it was a business decision.”
Garcia insisted his decision had nothing to do with two men kissing on screen, had nothing to do with the content of the film and said he supports gay rights completely. In fact, he says his bar is perhaps the most progressive bar in Stillwater and even hosts the college SODA group (Sexual Orientation Diversity Allies).
“I admit it was poor timing on my part to schedule that film at that time in my bar [Friday night] and I made the snap decision to cut the film off when I did. I would not do that again. However, I would play the movie again in my bar. Just not at the same time of the week. It was just poor planning on both of our part.”
Blalack admits, “It was a communication breakdown between us and the bar owner.” However he also said when he arrived at the Ibiza, there was just one customer, so he does not agree that the film playing at that time was driving away customers. There were four films scheduled to show at the bar on Friday night, beginning at 6pm and continuing to midnight. “I would have thought the place would have been packed if he was going to shut the film off and play music.”
Despite the controversy, the film won two awards at this festival: Best Feature Drama and Best Lead Actor for Emerson Collins. It’s the first jury win for Drama, and first win from a straight film festival and first acting win for Collins. Awards are selected by jurors of the film-fest, so the film not being shown in its entirety at the venue had no bearing on the awards.
“I am very happy that despite what happened it did win a couple of awards,” concluded Blalack.
The Gayly contacted Del Shores, writer and director of Southern Baptist Sissies.
“The irony of the bar owner shutting the film off [the venue where they were showing the film] is that we went on to win the jury prize for Best Film and Best Actor, but the film was not entirely shown at the Red Dirt Film Festival. The festival was wonderful and it's important that they be credited as a champion of the film. They were horrified that the venue chose to kill the film during the kiss of the two young men.
He also added that the film has been doing amazing on the festival circuit.
If you are intrigued enough to see the show, Cathedral of Hope OKC is proud to offer a free showing of Southern Baptist Sissies on November 8th, at 7:30pm. The showing will be at Mayflower Congregational UCC, located at 3901 NW 63rd St. in Oklahoma City, OK.
Some content may not be suitable for children. Parental discretion is advised. For more information, please visit www.cohokc.com or contact Cathedral of Hope at (405) 232-HOPE.
November 1, 2013