Indigo Girls: Celebs Rumors

Passages, the “sexy and sad” romantic drama from writer-director Ira Sachs, and Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovani Project, the festival aims to celebrate the community that’s been there for decades.Other highlights of this year’s festival include It’s Only Life After All, a newly-minted documentary about the Indigo Girls, the Argentinian drama Horseplay, and Nelly & Nadine, a poignant documentary about two women who, after their release from Ravensbrück concentration camp, forged a life of companionship and love.Cinema Art executive director Helen Chamberlin, a native Washingtonian who spent her summers as a youth in Rehoboth, has watched the area’s community evolve over the years. “I remember it was very prevalent that there was an LGBT — or LGB — community here in Rehoboth back in the mid-seventies,” she recalls.“When I looked at the original mini film festival that they did for this community — when I got here, it was called ‘LGBTQ Cine-brations’ — I thought to myself, ‘You know, Pride has become such a huge phenomenon globally…let’s get in the game here.”Getting in the game meant re-branding the festival, scheduling it during Pride Month, maintaining partnerships with organizations like festival co-presenter CAMP Rehoboth, and going after some of the most buzzed-about queer-themed titles to premiere this year at Sundance and Berlin.“When you rebrand something, you have to grow your audience,” says Chamberlin, who stepped into her role at the Cinema Art and the Rehoboth Beach Film Society a year ago.

Nouveau Productions, which Frazier runs with his husband Robert Pullen.All told, the special, star-studded programming to date has been strong in LGBTQ interest and appeal, ranging from an Ella Fitzgerald-themed Christmas show starring Vanessa Williams to the recently launched “Broadway in Concert” series featuring contemporary stars of the Great White Way paying tribute to iconic musicals.None of the specials have been quite as gay, however, as the latest, the explicitly queer-themed True Colors: LGBTQ+ Our Stories, Our Songs.Timed to kick off June’s Pride month, the program features real-life stories of hope, resilience, and triumph from members of the LGBTQ community, including former NBA player Jason Collins and acclaimed Sex and the City star and activist Cynthia Nixon, tied together with musical performances by a hodgepodge of queer talent, accompanied by the APO under Frazier and hosted by transgender Jeopardy! champion Amy Schneider.The performance lineup includes the pioneering lesbian folk/rock duo the Indigo Girls with their chart-topping breakout hit “Closer to Fine,” Drag Race alums Peppermint, Alexis Michelle, and Jujubee giving a spin of “(A Little More) Mascara” from La Cage aux Folles, trans opera singer Breanna Sinclairé covering “Somewhere” from West Side Story, and Tony-, Emmy-, and Grammy-winning stage veteran André de Shields (Hadestown) reviving “The Colors of My Life” from the 1980 musical Barnum.Additional performers include Glee star Chris Colfer, persevering contemporary Christian singer Trey Pearson formerly of the group Everyday Sunday, and young indie-pop artist Morgxn.Premiering Saturday, June 4, on www.PBS.org, the PBS Video app, and select PBS stations nationwide.Local affiliate WETA is