Posted to MediaSyndicate.com (Oct 23, 2008 - 10:44 AM) :

How Do I Look earned three additional distinctions for its socially-conscious themes.

New York, NY -- The award-winning documentary How Do I Look, which continues to be screened at film festivals and special events around the world, has recently received three additional honors:

* In October 2008, the Outsiders Film Festival recognized How Do I Look for its smart, compassionate filmmaking: "…The story of the queer black underground drag ball scene lives on, with talent, colour, imagination - and Love."

* On August 2, 2008, filmmaker and activist Wolfgang Busch received an honorary award from the Harlem Ball community itself for presenting a positive image of the Ball community. Cited was the documentary he directed, How Do I Look.

* In July 2008, 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."

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 from the exciting new off-Broadway play, Wig Out!

About the Outsiders Film Festival:

Outsiders Film Festival is the most successful film festival ever staged in Liverpool. Now in its fifth anniversary, Outsiders screens films with a lesbian, gay, bi, queer, trans, inter, emo, goth, punk, bi-curious, and straight appeal. Outsiders also takes an activist approach to community involvement: at its events, the film festival provides the Liverpool community with safe sex kits and anti-hate crimes information. For more information, please visit Outsiders Film Festival’s official website.

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, 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 has 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!, was directed by Tina Landau and won an admiring review from The New York Times. 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.

About the Black International Cinema Film/Video Festival:

The Black International Cinema Film/Video Festival screens cinema from Africa, the African Diaspora, and varied intercultural backgrounds or perspectives. The festival aims to create harmony between people from various backgrounds in order to "reduce prejudice and support a peaceful and respectful living together in our multi-faceted societies." To learn more, please visit Black International Cinema Film/Video Festival’s official website.

About How Do I Look:

How Do I Look received the 2007 Pill Award for best documentary in New York City and received several website awards for its educational content. 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. The documentary inspires people from all walks of life and touches people’s hearts. 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. Earlier this month, How Do I Look was screened to a standing room only crowd at the PRO qm bookstore in Berlin. And in September, How Do I Look was screened in connection with the Underground Railroad Film Series of the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival in Seattle. 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 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