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To Be Takei (2014)

Name: To Be Takei (2014)
Start: 2015-12-17T19:00:00-05:00
End: 2015-12-17T21:00:00-05:00
Location: Dreamland

December 17, 2015 @ 7:00 pm– 9:00 pm EST

Directed by Jennifer M. Kroot, staring George Takei, Brad Takei, Leonard Nimoy & William Koenig, USA, 2014, 94 Minutes

Hosted at: Dreamland Art Studio, 387 Franklin St. Buffalo, NY 14202

Over seven decades, actor and activist George Takei boldly journeyed from a WWII internment camp, to the helm of the starship Enterprise, to the daily news feeds of five million Facebook fans. This documentary film reveals the struggles that George and husband Brad faced as they remained a “closeted” gay couple for years to the warm sensibilities that George’s character embodies that have appealed to the masses, young and old. To be Takei, was an official selection at Sundance Film Festival 2014, Frameline San Francisco International Film Festival 2014, Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2014, and received the Audience Award at Fantasia Film Festival 2014.

A unique blend of camp and conviction, “To Be Takei” deftly showcases George Takei’s eclectic personality and wildly disparate achievements, from “Star Trek” crewmate to gay-rights activist. Arguably more famous as himself than he was as Sulu, Takei goes from Comic-Con conventions to Congressional hearings, with stints as Howard Stern’s announcer in between. As with her delirious 2009 documentary “It Came From Kuchar,” director Jennifer Kroot grants her subject’s past and present endeavors equal vitality, effortlessly jumping backward and forward, and creating an alternate continuity that owes little to straight-ahead chronology. Results should wow auds of various persuasions. -Ronnie Scheib of Variety

About Reel Queer Film Series:

REEL Queer is more than just a film series…it’s a community! Since establishment in 2013, REELQueer has promoted works produced by LGBTQ filmmakers and/or highlight issues relevant to the LQBTQ community. The series has recently undergone a change in venue, from Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center to the freshly 501c3 inaugurated Dreamland Studio & Gallery at 587 Franklin Street, Buffalo, NY. The series is co-sponsored by Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center with support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Dreamland is a safe space for Queers, Women, and Trans*folk. Dreamland’s mission is to provide a cultural alternative for artists and patrons of the Arts in the Greater Buffalo area that nourishes avant-garde philosophies in various artistic mediums. Using models of various cooperatives (co-op housing, “D.I.Y” and punk spaces, art collectives); Dreamland strives to be an inclusive safe space, that is both accessible and comfortable to minorities (sexual, gender-based, racial, physical) and those of disadvantageous economic abilities.