On June 10, the DGA LGBTQ+ Committee commemorated its first year of creating visibility, building community and empowering the voices of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer members of the Guild when it hosted DGA Pride! The inaugural LGBTQ+ Pride Month celebration featured a double-bill screening of Andrew Ahn’s 2022 film, Fire Island and Kimberly Peirce’s 1999 film, Boys Don’t Cry.
Following a pre-event reception in the Guild’s Los Angeles headquarters atrium, the attendees gathered in the theater for a welcome from DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter.
“Today we celebrate Pride Month and we acknowledge the courage, perseverance and accomplishments of our many LGBTQ+ DGA members who continue to bring forth thoughtful, empathetic, important, distinct and visionary voices from the Director’s chair as well as on the Directors team,” said Glatter. “I know this is just the beginning and there is still so much to do, but I guarantee you that your Guild is an ally. We broke ground last year through the formation of this important committee and I look forward to setting up those meetings so we may march together in our collective goal toward more equitable, inclusive hiring practices for years to come.”
Glatter then turned the podium over to LGBTQ+ Committee interim Co-Chairs John Krokidas and Kimberly Peirce — who alongside interim Co-Chair Jeremy Podeswa and others — have been instrumental in moving the Committee forward.
“The LGBTQ+ Committee is devoted to strengthening the position of our community within the Guild, to developing the skills of its members, and to forging partnerships between the community and the entertainment industry, with a focus on supporting diversity and inclusion and fostering opportunities for those who are underrepresented,” said Pierce. “It also aims to ensure that workplaces are safe from discrimination, harassment and abuse.”
After Krokidas gave a brief description of the films that were being screened that evening and the work of their Directors, Peirce reminded the audience that DGA members can now self-identify as LGBTQ+, Transgender or Non-Binary via the DGA website and that the Committee will be announcing leadership elections later this year.
About the Committee
The LGBTQ+ Committee was founded in 2021 as a provisional committee to explore ways to educate, inform, address the concerns of and create opportunities for members who identify in these categories. At the DGA National Board meeting on January 8, 2022, the Board voted make the LGBTQ+ Committee an official standing committee. Members can receive information about the Committee by updating their email subscription preferences in their online accounts on www.dga.org.
- For more information about LGBTQ+ Committee, please contact DGA Assistant Executive Director, Diversity & Inclusion, Mayra Ocampo at (310) 289-2006 or email mocampo@dga.org.