QBurgh: A historic election is brewing in one of Philadelphia’s most iconic, and queer, districts. Deja Lynn Alvarez, an activist and Co-Founder of Home For Hope, launched her campaign earlier this month and announced her run for State Representative for the 182nd district, which includes the iconic Philly Gayborhood. If elected, she would become the…
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Metro Weekly: In the campaign video, created by award-winning queer filmmaker Hansen Bursic, Titus talks about attempting suicide twice before the age of 16, and how they eventually overcame various hardships and odds to create a better life for themself, and — through their commitment to public service — others.
QBurgh: Erie, Pennsylvania might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of groundbreaking political change, but Dr. Tyler Titus would be quick to challenge that perception. In 2017, Titus sent shockwaves through Pennsylvania when they became the Commonwealth’s first out trans person to be elected to public office, serving on…
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CinéSPEAK: Let’s face it: horror is a queer genre. While it’s important to note the genre hosts some of the most problematic depictions of queer and trans people in film, true horror fans are hard pressed not to see how much the genre has built itself around LGBTQ+ stories and themes. Yet, the majority of…
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Temple News: Hansen Bursic is taking viewers back to the 1980s to tell an important story about the transgender experience “Halloween 1987” tells the story of Cory, a gender-questioning teenager whose girlfriend, Meg, wants them to wear a couple’s costume to a Halloween party. Because Cory presents themself as a boy, Meg comes up with…
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CinéSPEAK: If you have been paying attention to LGBTQ news media in the past three months, then you might have noticed LGBTQ “coming out” headlines have been having a moment. First High School Musical director Kenny Ortega “confirmed” Sharpay’s brother Ryan is gay, then Nickelodeon made headlines for including Spongebob from Spongebob Squarepants in their…
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CinéSPEAK: When we see only pain in a community, liberation can feel so distant. It is because of this, celebration and appreciation are some of the most powerful tools against oppression. In Philadelphia, we have come together to mourn the tragic murder of Dominique Fells, a Black trans woman who lived and died here in…
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Temple News: I started the Queer Film Collective in the fall of 2017 to create a community of LGBTQ and allied filmmakers at Temple who felt passionately about queer stories. I kept saying to myself, “There is no reason we couldn’t create a space like that here.” A year later, we hosted DiamondQ, Temple’s very…
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Temple News: Hansen Bursic was at work the day he received a congratulatory email notifying him his documentary “The Toothmans” had been accepted into San Francisco-based Frameline42, the largest and oldest LGBTQ film festival in the world. “My boss just saw me completely break down,” said Bursic, a junior film student with a concentration in…
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Philadelphia Gay News: At 20 years old, queer filmmaker and activist Hansen Bursic will be one of the youngest directors in attendance this weekend when his award-winning documentary “The Toothmans” screens at the nation’s oldest and largest LGBT festival, held annually in San Francisco. A documentary short with an eight-minute runtime, “The Toothmans” chronicles the…
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