LGBT cinema will get top billing next week during the return of the New Hope Celebrates Film Showcase.
The film festival — which runs Dec. 5 and 6 at The Raven, 385 W. Bridge St. — has been reformatted for its second year and is set to present the best of the best in new LGBT films.
The inaugural festival last year included 18 films, a combination of feature-length works, shorts and documentaries.
Stephen Stahl, chairman of the event, said the town’s LGBT organization New Hope Celebrates partnered with the Philadelphia Cinema Alliance and TLA Video to formulate a shorter, but more renowned, list of works for next weekend’s presentation.
The seven films screened in the festival are all feature-length and were the top award-getters at LGBT festivals in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and this summer’s QFest in Philadelphia.
The lineup includes “Fruit Fly,” “Shank,” “Hannah Free,” “The Big Gay Musical,” “And Then Came Lola,” “An Englishman in New York” and “Make the Yuletide Gay.”
“I think there’s definitely an upgrade this year in what we’re presenting,” said Dan Brooks, president of New Hope Celebrates. “In our initial year, we were basically jurying films, but this year, in working with TLA, we are able to offer the top-rated films, ones that were already award-winning in this past year.”
Stahl said there is a good balance between films that center on lesbians and those that focus on gay men, adding he thinks the three women-focused features are the strongest of the set.
However, he said the selections should have a wider appeal to audiences that are not members of the LGBT community.
“I don’t think of them just as gay or lesbian films; I think they all have a universal story to tell and all reach the heart. I think they’ll really captivate people.”
Brooks said the organization decided to branch out from just LGBT media to advertise for the event in mainstream publications, to garner interest from the broad base of straight allies in the regions surrounding New Hope.
“We wanted to spend money locally, in the newspapers in New Jersey and Bucks County and other areas, kind of the ‘everybody’ newspapers,” Brooks said. “We’re hoping that by doing that, we’ll not only reach the gay people who live in these areas but also straight people who would also enjoy these films.”
The Raven’s Oak Roam accommodates about 50 people, and Stahl said he’s hoping each film will play to a sold-out crowd.
Tickets to each film are $5, and a $25 package is available for admission to all of the movies.
“We wanted to keep the prices affordable to keep the events attractive,” Stahl said. “If tickets are $10-$12, which you normally pay to go to the movies now, it might hold some people back. But we want as many people as possible to be able to come in and see the films and learn and understand more about different lifestyles.”
The festival will kick off with a reception from 6-8 p.m. Dec. 4 at The Raven with light fare, film clips and a conversation with Stahl.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.NewHopeCelebrates.com.