TLA announces new LGBT film festival
TLA Entertainment Group has decided upon a name for its new LGBT festival that will debut this summer: Philadelphia Q-fest. The festival will run from July 9-19 at various locations throughout the city.
TLA and the Philadelphia Film Society had jointly produced the annual Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, but the two companies recently split.
TLA will now stage Q-fest and the Philadelphia CineFest, which will run from March 26-April 6, as the Philadelphia Cinema Alliance.
The Philadelphia Film Society’s PIGLFF is still scheduled to run from July 9-21, according to the organization’s Web site, www.phillyfests.com.
For more information on the PCA festivals, visit www.tlafilmfest.com.
Jury selection begins in Kocis trial
The jury-selection process in the murder trial of gay-porn producer Bryan Kocis began earlier this week.
Harlow Cuadra, 27, is facing the death penalty in the January 2007 stabbing death of Kocis. Police allege that Cuadra and his partner, Joseph Kerekes, 35, killed Kocis and then set his house on fire because of a business rivalry.
Kerekes pleaded guilty to all of the charges in December and received a life sentence.
Jury selection, which began Feb. 17, was expected to take four or five days. Two-hundred individuals received summonses to appear for jury duty this week and about 125 were questioned as possible jurors for the Kocis case. As of press time, three jurors had been selected.
The trial is expected to take two or three weeks.
Also this week, Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski denied defense attorneys’ motion to suprress evidence.
Center director earns new term
’Dolph Ward Goldenburg, executive director of the William Way LGBT Community Center, was recently elected for his second consecutive term as co-chair of CenterLink, a national umbrella organization that oversees LGBT community centers around the country.
Goldenburg will serve his one-year term alongside co-chair Lorri Jean, executive director of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, leading the work of the 16-member board.
Goldenburg said he’s looking forward to heading the board during the third annual executive-director summit, which will take place in Philadelphia in September.
“I’m very excited to have 50 of my executive-director colleagues coming here to Philadelphia for this event,” he said.
The Alexander Inn will serve as the host hotel for the event, and the center will provide space for many of the summit’s meetings.
CenterLink currently serves more than 165 LGBT community centers across the nation.
College gossip site shuts down
Earlier this month, college gossip Web site Juicy Campus abruptly shut down. The site had been widely criticized for encouraging students to post salacious stories about classmates and professors, and homophobia ran rampant on there.
When site visitors tried to access Juicy Campus on Feb. 4, they were redirected to the College Anonymous Confession Board, which purports to keep a closer eye on the quality of their members’ discussions.
Juicy Campus creator Matt Ivester posted a blog entry last week saying the site folded because it couldn’t generate enough ad revenue due to the poor economy. Ivester did not make any mention of the numerous lawsuits that had been filed against the company.
The site, which launched in October 2007, fed the rumor mills at more than 500 colleges across the country before its shutdown.
Ideal nonprofit career fair
Idealist.org is hosting a career fair for individuals interested in obtaining employment in the nonprofit world from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. March 26 at The Jake Nevin Field House at Villanova University, 800 E. Lancaster Ave.
The event, free for jobseekers, will feature career opportunities for everyone from recent grads to experienced nonprofit professionals.
For more information or to register for the job fair, visit http://snipr.com/philadelphiacf .
FIGHT launches gay men’s group
Local HIV/AIDS service organization Philadelphia FIGHT recently launched a new group aimed at providing support to gay HIV-positive men over 40.
FIGHT’s “40+ Gay Men’s Group” meets every Wednesday from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at FIGHT, 1233 Locust St., fifth floor.
The group, led by licensed clinical social worker Carmen Altopiedi and care-outreach specialist Allen Howell, has numerous goals, such as “developing and changing social lives, supporting one another with daily concerns and discussing other issues specific to gay men over 40 in a pleasant, friendly environment.”
“The group is designed to empower the lives of our clients who are all experiencing similar challenges,” Altopiedi said.
For more information or to register for the group, call (215) 985-4448 ext. 129.
— Jen Colletta