Tower Of Terror at Broadway

José (he/they/them) identifies as a queer, Mexican, immigrant, educator, and film-buff. They currently serve as the Assistant Director for Community Engagement at the Thayne Center, Salt Lake Community College, where they help connect students to the many opportunities for service and engagement through community partners, and also oversee basic needs programs like the Bruin Pantry. In their free time, José can be found ingesting copious amounts of television, throwing a dinner party for their family and friends, traveling, camping, and of course catching the latest indie flick at the Broadway.
“Growing up as an undocumented, queer, brown kid in Utah has not always been rainbows and butterflies. Media representations, especially in movies, of my life experiences have been hard to come by especially when I was coming out of the closet as an undergrad at the University of Utah. I would fill the evenings in my dorm room watching queer movies I had inconspicuously rented from the Tower Theater—ok, now I’m dating myself!
This is why Salt Lake Film Society has always had such a special place in my heart; it unlocked stories of what it meant to be queer, plus it gave me a community where I could feel safe to be myself and talk about the films I love. But it would be hard to list all the impactful queer films I’ve seen with SLFS, so I’ll just choose “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue”.
In terms of something old, in January 2006 after having wrapped up my first semester of college, I started hearing about a “controversial” film that some theaters in Salt Lake City were refusing to show. BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005, dir. Ang Lee) was a pre-marriage equality film with two Hollywood stars (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal) really going at it rough and raw—all puns intended. This immediately piqued my interest, not to mention that SLFS was proudly showing the film in their theaters.
Although I was horrified by the brutal ending which depicted a violent hate crime ultimately leading to the protagonist’s death, this was one of the first times I had seen same-sex love and sex on a big screen. From then on, I wanted more stories that depicted something closer to my lived experiences.
A new film I look forward to experiencing again on the big screen is ROTTING IN THE SUN (2023, dir. Sebastian Silva). During its Sundance premiere which I saw at the Broadway, this film’s penis and gay sex filled scenes were all the buzz. Well, it did not disappoint! Be ready to see every kind of penis under the sun in the first 30 minutes, before making a sharp left and being delivered into a thrilling story about the cover up of an accidental murder.
Playing a frenzied domestic worker, Catalina Saavedra thrusts this film forward— I could not help but to think of my mom who has worked various housekeeping jobs in the city— and provides the perfect foil to the nihilistic, suicidal protagonist. Queer or hetero, young and old, everyone who has seen the film has been captured by its whacky charm (and hopefully SLFS is able to pick it up when it comes out in September!).
For something borrowed (again from Sundance) and something blue, I want to celebrate how far the diversity of lived experiences has come in queer cinema. TANGERINE (2015, dir. Sean Baker) and MOONLIGHT (2016, dir. Barry Jenkins) each touched my heart in different ways. TANGERINE tells a story of true friendship through the eyes of two transgendered Black and Brown sex workers in the streets of L.A. Not only was this movie completely filmed on the streets with iPhones, but Sean Baker has gone on to make extraordinary, award-nominated, indie films about people living on the edge, including THE FLORIDA PROJECT and RED ROCKET.
With melodic, blue delivery, MOONLIGHT takes us through different stages of the protagonist’s life as he is met with violence for being his authentic self. The liberation he experiences through vulnerability against a hyper-masculine, homophobic society is a lesson that I continue to enact in different ways in my own life.
Queer cinema has come a very long way from the cliché coming of age stories with cisgender, white, male protagonists having oh so many will-they-won’t-they moments. Salt Lake Film Society creates a space and community for folx like me to feel seen and heard. The exploration of gender, sexuality, and identity through film is one with growing voices and perspectives, and I’m excited to keep coming back to the big screen as we continue to celebrate queer, trans, BiPoC independent stories for queers to come!”
At Salt Lake Film Society, we are proud to exhibit a wide variety of queer cinema and stories to our Salt Lake City community, both during Pride month, and during all the other months too.
If you value these kinds of stories, and your community’s access to them, please consider supporting us! All donations received before July 15th will be matched through a generous offer from a local family foundation. Donate or join the Red Carpet Club during this matching period and see your support of SLFS and queer cinema doubled during this matching period!
Like any engaging form of art, film is a medium that is often defined and disseminated through its most classic works. Whether defining the genre of the time and influencing works of the future, or achieving renown only in hindsight after being popularized by the next generation, “classic” movies have always existed as vital storytelling pieces for everything from entire countries, to entire generations.
At Salt Lake Film Society, repertory films and classic movies are a crucial part of our programming repertoire. While there are incredible independent films being released all the time (many of which we are lucky enough to show at the Broadway), for many people, classic movies are the driving force behind their love of film and the impactful connection they have with it. And what better way to re-experience the magic of these classics than how they were intended: on the big screen?
Keep reading to learn why seeing a classic movie on the big screen matters (or click here to view our Summer Showdown schedule of classic movies at the Broadway this summer!). And don’t forget; until July 15th, all donations will be matched through a generous offer from a local family foundation. So if you value access to independent film and things like seeing classic movies on the big screen, this is the perfect time to show us your support! Click here to see our progress so far, and make your own contribution!
While there is no official definition, it’s not exactly easy to qualify what is considered a classic. It could be an Oscar-laden adventure trilogy integral to pop-culture, or a dated love story full of big-name stars during their younger years, or even a low-budget horror flick that achieves “cult” status in the modern Internet age.
The definition of a “classic” movie is often defined less by its content or fame and more by its staying power through the years, both in our minds and our culture. It’s the iconic stories, whose themes and outcomes still feel relevant even upwards of 70 years after a film’s release. It’s the iconic performances from Hollywood legends or unknown actors announcing their skill to the world. It’s the extremes, both the extremely good and the extremely bad, that still get parodied on sketch shows and quoted between colleagues.
There is no reliable formula for making a classic movie, especially when it comes to cult classics, as they seem to become popular despite themselves, which makes their nostalgic success even more unpredictable. Even the very nature of a classic means that people won’t definitively know if it qualifies as a classic until years later, and like with any art form, ambiguity and personal taste play a big part. Similarly to how the Supreme Court defined pornography in 1964, it’s hard to describe and specifically define, but many people know it when they see it.
However, like any classic in any other artistic medium, watching a classic movie now, and trying to “recapture” the authentic magic and the power it brought to both initial and later audiences isn’t so easy. For example, while many of us know works of art from the Renaissance era, most of us have only seen a photo of the Mona Lisa painting or the Michaelangelo statue of David, and only in a digital era long past the widespread fame of painting and sculptures.
While the era of film fame is alive and well today, the power of the big screen and a packed audience in a dark theater is unfortunately much easier to miss out on. And trying to experience the authenticity of a classic film when it’s streamed to your TV in your living room is akin to appreciating the Mona Lisa through a small image on your phone.
Getting to watch (or more likely, re-watch) these cinematic milestones on the big screen, sharing in a nostalgia trip with total strangers, and for many, re-living the magic of watching a classic when it first came out (and when it wasn’t even a classic yet) can be a powerful, and even emotional experience for many people. Classic movies have always been something that we have shared with both those close to us, and with those we don’t even know. Their staying power in our society and our communicative culture has always had the capacity to bring us closer together. And SLFS is proud to offer these classic movies in theaters to our Salt Lake City community.
If classic movies are as important to you as they are to us, come down to the Broadway on a Friday or Saturday this summer, and see a film on the big screen that will take you on a little trip down memory lane. Or if you haven’t seen some of these classics before, there is truly no better way to experience them than on the big screen! Vote for your favorite film of our summer selections with your ticket purchase to the film, or any film-specific donations you want to provide by finding the poster in the Broadway lobby, scan the QR code of your favorite film, and donate if you want to see that film win!
And don’t forget; until July 15th, all donations will be matched through a generous offer from a local family foundation. So if you value access to independent film and things like seeing classic movies on the big screen, this is the perfect time to show us your support! Click here to see our progress so far, and make your own contribution!
Join us at SLFS in May 2023 for our Music May retrospective series is curated by musician John Doe from the band “X” every weekend on Fridays and Saturdays starting May 5.
John Doe is a founding member of the legendary punk rock band X, who released ALPHABETLAND in April 2020. His eleventh solo record, Fables in a Foreign Land (Fat Possum Records) was released in May of 2022. He has appeared in over 60 films and television productions, some of his most notable roles have been in Road House, Georgia, Roadside Prophets, Great Balls of Fire, Pure Country and Roswell. His most recent film effort is playing the lead, Frank Bigelow, in a period correct, re-imagined version of the film noir, D.O.A. So far it has won several film festival awards including Best Picture & Best Actor. He currently lives in Austin, Texas.
Showtimes may vary. Tickets will be on sale at www.slfstix.org.
MAY 5: CHULAS FROTERAS
MAY 6: X: THE UNHEARD MUSIC
MAY 12: I’M NOT HERE
MAY 13: BIRD (1988)
MAY 19: BLACK ORPHEUS
MAY 20: SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN
MAY 26: THE GIRL CAN’T HELP IT
MAY 27: THE HARDER THEY COME
Salt Lake Film Society partners with University of Utah department of Film and Media Arts and KUER’s RadioWest host Doug Fabrizio to bring you a conversation about THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS. This month’s special guest will be University of Utah Associate Professor of Film Studies Sarah Sinwell. Admission includes a screening of the film followed by a live panel discussion.
Join us for this one night only special event! Tickets are now available here.