FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Contact: Craig Burdett at (845) 901-6687
MEDIA RELEASE
HUDSON VALLEY LGBTQ COMMUNITY CENTER
ACQUIRES EXTENSIVE LGBTQ FILM COLLECTION
OCTOBER 3rd RECEPTION AT CENTER
WILL INCLUDE SCREENING OF
HISTORIC THE CELLULOID CLOSET
KINGSTON, NY (Sept. 25) -- Acclaimed screenwriter Ron Nyswaner, author of the award-winning films Philadelphia and A Soldier’s Girl, will join Center leaders to formally announce the acquisition of a vast collection of LGBTQ films for The Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center at a reception on Wednesday, October 3.
The collection, amassed and curated by Barbara Salzman of the former Alternative Video in Woodstock, has been funded through numerous private donations including the naming gift contributed by Ron Nyswaner.
The collection is to be named The Ron Nyswaner Film Archive-Barbara Salzman Collection.
“The movies reflect back to us our place in the world as human beings,” says Nyswaner. “For gay and lesbian people, the images have not always been flattering. For many years, Barbara Salzman assembled an incredible collection representing some of the best, and some of the worst, portrayals of the gay and lesbian community on film. I am honored to participate in making this collection available at the Center. I hope generations will enjoy and learn from these films.”
“As the first large-scale donation to the Center Archive, this collection creates a valuable resource for both the local community as well as researchers and scholars,” explains Center board president Ginny Apuzzo. “It serves as the foundation for what will become a growing and dynamic archive.”
Nyswaner will be joined by Salzman at a reception and formal presentation at the Center, beginning at 6:30 p.m. on October 3rd. Afterwards, Nyswaner will introduce a free screening of the landmark documentary The Celluloid Closet, an exploration of how LGBTQ people have been depicted in the movies, from the days of insulting stereotypes to more compassionate and honest portrayals in recent years. Nyswaner appears in the 1995 documentary, as do Tony Curtis, Whoopi Goldberg, Harvey Fierstein and Armistead Maupin, among others.
The Center will seek grants to digitize all VHS tapes from the collection and make them available for public and scholarly research. The video and DVD collection will become the cornerstone of the Center’s archive.
The Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center was founded in 2005 to support and nurture the LGBTQ community in the Hudson Valley. Since that time, the Center has attracted more than 1100 dues-paying members, purchased a landmark 6,000 square foot building in the historic district of uptown Kingston, and is creating programs to empower the LGBTQ community to achieve their maximum potential.
For more information about the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center visit www.lgbtqcenter.org.
ATTENTION MEDIA: For interviews please call Craig Burdett at (845) 901-6687. Reporters on assignment are welcome to attend the October 3 reception.
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