Queer/Art/Film: Luna Luis Ortiz presents Before Night Falls

Join us for a special screening in conjunction with Museum of the City of New York with guest presenter Luna Luis Ortiz whose photos are currently featured in the exhibition AIDS at Home. WHAT: Luna Luis Ortiz presents BEFORE NIGHT FALLS WHEN: Monday, October 2, 8PM WHERE: IFC Center - 323 6th Ave at W. 3rd St. BEFORE NIGHT FALLS 2000. USA. 133 min. Directed by Julian Schnabel. 35mm. Julian Schnabel’s riveting adaptation of Reinaldo Arenas’ memoir follows the gay Cuban poet and novelist (portrayed by Javier Bardem) from childhood to death. Stops along the way include copious amounts of sexual exploration, fighting with Castro’s rebels, and an escape from prison (with a cameo assist from Johnny Depp in drag). His struggles continue when he arrives in NYC at the dawn of the AIDS crisis. For our guest presenter, photographer Luna Luis Ortiz, Arenas’ life story echoes his own experiences as “being gay, an artist, Latino and living with HIV." Ortiz’ photos are currently featured in the exhibition AIDS at Home at the Museum of the City of New York. As always, our screening will be followed by drinks and discussion at Julius Bar (159 West 10th St. at Waverly), the oldest gay bar in New York City! LUNA LUIS ORTIZ Luna Luis Ortiz is a Latinx artist/activist and a mighty force who has been empowering QTPOC youth in New York City for over thirty years. His provocative photography, portraits of friends and peers, show young queer individuals of color through a vibrant, sensual, and vulnerable lens. In his self-portraits Luna is radiant and revelatory with his emotions within very intimate settings. Luna's poignant photographs and compelling story have been featured in The New York Times, The London Observer, The Advocate, among others, and he has spoken about his HIV experience at NYU, Cornell University, Yale University, etc. In 2015 he was awarded the William Orlander VAVA Voom Award by Visual AIDS, has been recognized by the City of New York and various New York City Mayors on numerous occasions. LUNA LUIS ORTIZ ON BEFORE NIGHT FALLS "I was invited by a friend to see a film called Before Night Falls without a clue of what the film was about, and when I was sitting there in the dark watching this film I was surprised at the content and the visuals of the film. Part of the film echoed my own personal life from being gay, an artist, Latino, and living with HIV. The film was haunting and visually had beautiful images that moved me as I watched. Javier Bardem as the Latino novelist Reinaldo Arenas was an extraordinary performance and watching Johnny Depp in drag was an added piece of the celluloid fantasy of the reality of Arenas. After watching the film I ended up buying most of Arenas books because I was emotionally moved by a man I did not know anything about." QAF FALL 2017 SEASON QUEER|ART|FILM returns to the IFC Center in Greenwich Village this season with an eclectic mix of independent, experimental, and Hollywood cinema, presented by a multigenerational mashup of queer punks, poets, photographers, and cinema legends. Our December program, which has been organized in conjunction with Leslie-Lohman’s retrospective exhibition “Barbara Hammer: Evidentiary Bodies,” will also include the announcement of the winner of the first-ever Barbara Hammer Lesbian Experimental Filmmaking Grant! Organized by QUEER|ART and curated by filmmakers Ira Sachs, Adam Baran, and Vanessa Haroutunian, this season of QUEER|ART|FILM is intimate, provocative, inspiring… and like nothing else out there. Queer|Art|Film is presented by HBO www.hbo.com