Jun 14, 2024
In this bonus episode, meet and
get to know Frameline Film Festival's Executive Director
Allegra Madsen. Allegra was born and grew up in
southern Virginia. As she says, "It was hot, it was humid, it was
Southern." From a young age, she fell in love with movies because
it was so hot outside. She'd escape to theaters, where she could
bask in the AC and watch movies all day long.
She left that area as soon as
she could. That meant Chicago for college. She wanted to be a
writer. Columbia College in Chicago was known as more of a film
school, which meant she was on the periphery of movies in her time
there.
After college, it was on to Los
Angeles, "as everybody does." Allegra worked in some art galleries
and museums, with the goal of trying to get to San Francisco always
in the back of her mind. As a kid growing up, she read a lot of
Beat Generation writers (where were the women of the Beat era?).
CCA was the draw that got Allegra up to The Bay. She studied
contemporary art curation, focusing on how you can use art to build
community.
That was 20 years ago, and
she's been here ever since.
Then our conversation shifts to
Frameline and its nearly half-century of history. It is the largest
and longest-running queer film festival in the world. It's also the
largest film event in California (hear that, LA?). It all began in
1977 on a bedsheet in the Castro. It was a time when there
were no prominent images of queer people in media.
Frameline 48 will take place all over the Bay Area.
Check their website for a complete lineup.
Allegra goes through a few of the events that she's excited about.
The one I'm perhaps most hyped up for is next week's Juneteenth
Frameline kick-off block party. In addition to many other aspects
of the evening, the Castro Theatre's blade will be re-lit for
the first time since that building underwent
renovations.
See you all at Frameline
48!
We recorded this podcast over Zoom in May 2024.
Image courtesy Frameline