“We focus on the 'Three Es': entertainment, education, and engagement,” says founder DR Mann Hanson.
The series is hosted by The Texas Theatre, best known as the place where Lee Harvey Oswald hid after assassinating President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The series began as a spin-off, a continuation of the boycotts of the novel Ender's Game in 2013 after its author, Orson Scott Card, made a string of viciously homophobic remarks publicly over the years. This led to an LGBTQIA backlash when the film version of Ender's Game was released in 2013.
Hanson, who lived in New York before returning to Dallas and opening Common Ground games with his husband, was inspired by the New York nonprofit group Geeks Out, which led the boycott.
"Geeks Out wanted to provide alternative events," says Hanson. "The only thing movie producers look at is money, so they wanted to have something else to show. Barak [Epstein, co-owner of Texas Theatre] was very supportive of the idea.”
The film the Hansons chose was the 1997 cult classic The Fifth Element, starring Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich. It takes place in a fantastical 23rd century where a cab driver and a mysterious woman have to recover magic stones to save Earth. The movie was selected as a substitute sci-fi outing and because of its connection to queer culture. Gay fashion icon Jean-Paul Gaultier designed the costumes (for which he was nominated for both a César and a Saturn Award), and Chris Tucker plays a deliciously vibrant gender-being character called Ruby Rhod.
Dallas Is Burning
Texas Theatre helped Hanson put up a green-screen photo station where visitors could take pictures within scenes of the film. It was such a resounding success that Epstein asked the group to start doing a monthly series starting in January 2014.This is how CinéWilde came to be and showed the first film in the series, Paris Is Burning, a 1990 documentary about ball culture in New York City and the LGBTQIA+ people involved in it. For this screening, Hanson set a new template that CinéWilde was followed for the next decade. The movie was preceded by a talk with community activists, film nerds and anyone else who could give the movie context, and a small party followed.
One of the people there that first night was drag king Buck Wylde, sometimes known as Trigger Mortis. Wylde is, in no particular order, a roller derby athlete, comedian, singer and performer with the longest-running Texas drag troupe, Mustache Envy.
Wylde thinks that bringing these films people might not otherwise see and giving them community understanding is an important part of building a strong queer culture.
"Every time I see Paris Is Burning there’s always people who say they’ve never seen it before," says Wylde. "They didn't know the history, and they came out to see what it’s all about."
Wylde recounts some of his favorite CinéWilde events from over the years. There was the screening of John Waters' Hairspray, which was followed by an American Bandstand-style dance show emceed by Wylde. Another perennial favorite is Auntie Mame. While the 1958 comedy doesn't have any explicitly queer themes, the title character has become a gay icon and a stand-in for accepting parents so many LGBTQIA+ youth are denied.
"From my generation, there was this experience of having an older queer fairy godmother who would find you and bring you home to watch Auntie Mame," says Hanson. "To be able to do that on a big screen was really neat."
Auntie Mame also illustrates the most important evolution of CinéWilde over the years. A screening of the film resulted in a backlash from the community because it features a racist caricature of an Asian person. The kindest thing you can say is that it's not as bad as Mickey Rooney's character in Breakfast at Tiffany's, which was released three years later.
Hanson welcomed the chance to have people come together to discuss both the offensive stereotype and why the film is still important to queer history.
"Come talk to us," he says. "Tell us why you’re uncomfortable. I want people to engage with us in a curious way. If we only operate from a place of defense or righteous anger, we’re never going to get anywhere. We need actual engaged conversations."
A willingness to reach out beyond closed queer spaces is why Hanson feels the work is important. Living in New York, he often felt he was preaching to the choir, though he says he definitely ran into homophobia there as well. He feels that Texas is "where the fight is," and that the screenings are a chance to reach the mainstream.
Wylde concurs.
"They make it fun to learn," he says. "It’s easy to just say, 'It’s too tough for the queer scene, fuck [Governor] Greg Abbott, I'm out.' SB12 happened, and all these things keep popping up. They’re very oppressive, and it would be so easy to pack up and leave. That's why it’s so important to have orgs like CinéWilde, who are here to let everyone know it's OK to be here. We’re doing the work, helping the community — especially for the youth."
In January this year, CinéWilde screened Paris Is Burning once again. This time, Hanson himself was a guest of honor in the pre-show presentation, taking the opportunity to talk about what he and the group have learned. Hanson is proud of the fact that as recipients of a City of Dallas ArtsActivate grant, CinéWilde is now able to acquire the films instead of relying on The Texas Theatre — with a little extra at the end of the year to pay volunteers for their time. He knows the burden of screening queer film during a historic anti-LGBTQIA+ backlash.
"I didn’t feel the weight of what we’re doing when we started, but now as I'm getting older and seeing people in power get bolder with their beliefs, the weight is starting to get heavier," Hanson says. "My life will be more valued here by letting young queer people see what we've built. Then they won’t feel so alone."
CinéWilde presents Problemista at 9 p.m., Saturday, March 23, at The Texas Theatre, 231 W. Jefferson St. Tickets are $13 and can be purchased at TheTexasTheatre.com.
