Still from HD Video - Bug Davidson DP
From World Premiere at Frameline Film Festival: 

Valencia the novel put the experiences of an entire generation of lesbians on paper through the lens of one hard-loving and hard-drinking dyke. Punk rockers, riot grrls, and simple, artsy freaks suddenly had a heroine to look up to and a mecca to head toward. This highly anticipated film adaptation ofValencia gives a whole new generation of fabulous, artsy, genderqueer folks an opportunity to reinterpret and reinvent the tales of this iconic novel one chapter at a time. 

Valencia lives on the same edge as its characters, by taking an anthology structure; each chapter is told by a different director and cast, and each “Michelle” conveys a different element or feel of the story and the community. The “Michelles” come in every shape, race, style, and gender—and by the end of the film, the wide swath of performances come together showing how “Michelle” and the stories of Valencia itself represent a universal experience. From falling in love to bonding with your exes’ exes, the film captures a moment in time in San Francisco, while also capturing the universal experience of being young, heartbroken, and ecstatic, and discovering the magic of who you are — all at once. 

In its 18 segments the film features a veritable who’s who of San Francisco icons like Lynn Breedlove, Annie Danger, Lil Miss Hot Mess, and writer Michelle Tea herself, directed by infamous queer filmmakers including Silas Howard, Peter Anthony, and Cheryl Dunye. 

Valencia directors: Hilary Goldberg, Silas Howard, Cheryl Dunye, Aubree Bernier-Clarke, Lares Feliciano, Dia Felix, Alexa Inkeles, Jerry Lee, Peter Anthony, Sharon Barnes, Cary Cronenwett, Bug Davidson, Samuael Topiary, Olivia Parriot, Jill Soloway, Courtney Trouble, Michelle Lawler, Sara St. Martin, Chris Vargas, Greg Youmans 2012 USA 100 min

This film is a Frameline Completion Fund recipient. 


Still from HD Video - Bug Davidson DP
 


VALENCIA: The Movie is an epic, ambitious, utopian and radically creative collaboration between 21 autonomous filmmakers and one freewheeling author. Each filmmaker has accepted the challenge of translating a chapter of the cult queer classic novel Valencia into a 7-minute interpretation, bringing their own vision, obsession and aesthetic to the tale of a twenty-something baby dyk’s tumble down the rabbit hole of San Francisco’s Mission district circa 1995, earnestly chasing the urban adventures of love, sex, drugs and activism with urgency and wonder. Bringing together a team of filmmakers, installation artists, photographer and video artists, Valencia author Michelle Tea will help to oversee the entire production but will put no creative reigns on the artists, encouraging them to merge their vision with her own, adapting closely or turning the narrative on its head. Each filmmaker will assemble their own cast and crew, resulting in 21 different takes on the Lambda-Award winning novel. Once completed the string of films can and will be shown together as one sprawling, kaleidoscopic tale, as well as stand on their own as a narrative short, creating 21 new lesbian-centric shorts that operate together to tell a wide and energized story.
Still from HD Video - Bug Davidson DP
Q and A at the Castro Theater, San Fransisco Premiere June 2013 - Photo by Ana Grillo

Articles and Links to Valencia

Titles at the Castro Theater, San Fransisco Premiere June 2013 - Photo by Ana Grillo
Photo: Amber Rademacher
http://amberrademacher.tumblr.
Photo by http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wildun-Photography/2Photo by 
Photo: Amber Rademacher
http://amberrademacher.tumblr.
Still from HD Video - Bug Davidson DP
Still from HD Video - Bug Davidson DP
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