Author: Hansen Bursic

We Need To Talk About “Coming Out” Headlines For Classic Characters

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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August 20, 2020 0

Don’t Just Mourn Black Trans People, Celebrate Them: A Tribute Watch List

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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July 2, 2020 0

Queer film and the community that empowered me

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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October 8, 2019 0

Film student’s documentary about a rural transgender teenager’s transition shows at international LGBTQ film festival

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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July 27, 2018 0

Student director screens trans youth documentary set in rural PA

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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June 14, 2018 0

Documentary film about transgender youth living in rural Pa., selected for film festival

Penn Live: A documentary film about the experiences of a transgender teenager set against a rural Pennsylvania backdrop has been selected for screening at a national LGBT film festival. The documentary, “The Toothmans,” was produced by Temple University film student Hansen Bursic and has been selected to screen at the Frameline42 film festival. The film centers on Cooper…
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June 6, 2018 0