Two words, Long Beach: lesbian musical.
That’s right, Girltrash: All Night Long, will have a special one-night-only screening tomorrow at the Art Theatre before making its world premiere down in San Diego come May 31.
The film tells the tale of five ladies in one epic night of the classic trio that is sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll. It also marks a newly minted mark in film history as it is the first film to be written and directed by a legally married lesbian couple: True Blood, Hung, and The L Word producer Angela Robinson (writer) and her wife, The L Word producer Alex Kondracke (director).
Even more, the production company behind the film, Power Up Films, is the only nonprofit production company in the world that specifically caters to developing, financing, producing and distributing LGBTQ films—and the focus is on women.
“I have been working for free for 14 years,” said Stacey Codikow, producer of Girltrash and co-founder of Power Up. “And we’ve been making movies throughout those 14 years—15 films to be precise.”
Their path to producing full-features started with a plethora of shorts, including the famed D.E.B.S. short—created by the aforementioned Robinson—where its popularity on the film festival circuit (including Sundance) led to it being purchased by Screen Gems. Screen Gems then made a feature-length version of the film that was released in 2004, taking Robinson’s Charlie’s Angels a la lesbian love to a wider level.
After Power Up’s amass of shorts, they finally created their first full feature, Itty Bitty Titty Committee, in 2007. It premiered at the international film festival Berlinale followed by a US premiere at SXSW. Not only was it nominated for best feature at Berlinale, it actually scored the Jury Prize for Best Feature at SXSW. Since then, the production company has continued to strive to make lesbian-centric films that showcase the diversity and underrepresentation of the gay female community.
Girltrash’s showing at the Art Theatre will benefit the nonprofit and host a reception at 7PM before the 8PM screening tomorrow, May 21. VIP tickets are $50—hey, you get two free cocktails—or $20 for general admission.
The Art Theatre is located at 2025 E 4th Street. For tickets, click here.
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