Posted to MediaSyndicate.com (Jan 29, 2009 - 05:33 PM) : How Do I Look, a documentary about a trendy gay subculture, breaks new ground by crossing-over into straight, Black Film Festivals.

New York, NY -- How Do I Look, the inspiring and award-winning documentary about the gay Harlem Ballroom scene and the origins of the voguing dance style, will be screened on January 31 at the 2009 San Diego Black Film Festival. This notable selection continues the documentary’s trend in being programmed at ever-increasing numbers of straight and African-American film festivals.

“I am very pleased to see that the film festival circuit is acknowledging the authenticity of How Do I Look by making it seem like a favorite among so many straight, Black film festivals,” said Wolfgang Busch, the documentary’s director. “Because the 2009 San Diego Black Film Festival has chosen to screen How Do I Look, I see this as a sign that the film is crossing-over into more mainstream audiences.”

How Do I Look has previously been selected by the Underground Railroad Film Series of the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival in Seattle, the 15th Annual African Diaspora Film Festival in New York, the 23rd Black International Cinema Film/Video Festival in Berlin, and the Tenth Anniversary Africa in the Picture Film Festival in Amsterdam.

Ten years in the making -- and with a budget of under $20,000 -- How Do I Look is about the Harlem Ball community, which you know from Madonna’s video Vogue and documentary Madonna - Truth or Dare, from the movie Paris Is Burning, and last year’s critically-acclaimed off-Broadway play, Wig Out!

About the 2009 San Diego Black Film Festival:

The 2009 San Diego Black Film Festival, originally known as the Noir Film Festival, was established in 2004. The event is a yearly fundraiser for the Black Historical Society of San Diego, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. The Black Historical Society of San Diego is the largest black historical society in the country. The San Diego Black Film Festival features the best in independent black films and is one of the fastest growing film festivals in the country. For more information about the San Diego Black Film Festival, please visit the official list of 2009 film selections.

About the Harlem Ball community:

The Harlem Ball community originated in the 1970s in Harlem and is an off-shoot of the legendary Harlem Drag Balls from the 1920s. This African American and Hispanic Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community is best known for its worldwide influences in dance, fashion, runway, and music -- inspiring Madonna with her hit music video Vogue, fashion designers Thierry Mugler and Marc Jacobs, and the music of RuPaul and Kevin Aviance.

Continuing its history of setting new trends, the Harlem Ball community inspired the playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney to create Wig Out!, a play that tells the story of “competing houses of drag queens and the loves, loyalties and dreams within each.” The New York production of Wig Out!, earned an admiring review from The New York Times and was directed by Tina Landau. After having its limited run extended at New York’s Vineyard Theatre, Wig Out! is expected to open in November at the Royal Court - Jerwood Theatre in London’s West End, where How Do I Look inspired the director and cast of the London production during the play’s rehearsals.

About How Do I Look:

The 23rd Black International Cinema Film/Video Festival recognized How Do I Look with an award in the category of Best Film/Video on matters relating to the Black Experience/Marginalized People. And in 2007, How Do I Look received the 2007 Pill Award in New York City from the trendy downtown community for best documentary. The documentary has also been acknowledged by the Harlem Ball community, local politicians, national community-based organizations, and AIDS agencies. Members from the cast and the director were invited for screenings with lectures at Yale University, New York University, the Door, and Hetrick Martin Institute. High school, college, and university students use the documentary for their thesis and research, and members from the cast have been empowered artistically and have benefited financially.

How Do I Look was released by Art From The Heart LLC in July 2006, to bring the spotlight to the underserved artistic Harlem Ball community. How Do I Look touches people’s hearts and inspires people from all walks of life, such as Mo’Nique from The Parkers TV show, Boy George, and Randy Jones from the Village People. The media response has been positive: How Do I Look has been featured in The New York Times, BBC TV in England, the LOGO cable channel, and on the Star and Buc Wild radio show.

About other screenings and where you can buy How Do I Look:

How Do I Look continues to be screened in film festivals and special events around the world. For more information about selected past screenings of How Do I Look, please visit the Blog Movie Junket.

The How Do I Look DVD is available for purchase on www.HowDoILooknyc.org, on Amazon.com, and through selected retail stores: at Kim’s Video in New York City, at Giovanni’s in Philadelphia, and at A Different Light Bookstore in Los Angeles.

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For more information, please contact:

Wolfgang Busch
Art From The Heart LLC
(718) 726-0831
WolfgangBusch@earthlink.net

or

Louis Flores
Augmenter la Connaissance
(347) 237-1727
LouisFlores@LouisFlores.com

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