''Between the Shades'' is a 2017
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
directed by
Jill Salvino. The film is focused on interviews and covers aspects of
LGBTQ+
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is ...
culture.
Synopsis
The film includes over 50 interviews of varying ages, sexual orientations, genders, and races.
[ Interviewees featured in the film include Beth Malone, ]Kathy Najimy
Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ar, كاثي ان نجيمي ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Soapdish'' (1991), ''Sister Act'' (1992), '' Hocus Pocus'' (1993), ''Hope Floats'' (1 ...
and Andrew Tobias.[
]
Production and release
''Between the Shades'' was inspired by conversation Salvino had with friends.[ It was funded through ]Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
.[
The film premiered at the Soho International Film Festival, and Salvino then took it to several other festivals, including the Queens World Film Festival,][ the Dances With Films Festival, and the Oxford Film Festival.
After Salvino partnered with a distributor, more than 200 public libraries and universities have licensed the film.][
]
Reception
In the ''Los Angeles Blade'', John Paul King writes, "The speakers are engaged, passionate, proud of who they are and the journeys they have made – and the honesty of their truth-telling, coupled with the director's skilled shaping of their group narrative, keeps our interest riveted throughout."Tara Parker-Pope
Tara Parker-Pope is an American author of general-audience books on health and personal wellness. In April, 2022, she joined the Washington Post as editor of the newly formed wellness department.'
Parker-Pope was previously at ''The New York Times ...
writes in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', "Since watching the film, I've asked the question “How gay are you?” or “How straight are you?” to many of my friends, starting some interesting dinner conversations. But it's a conversation that feels right for the times in which we live."[ Glenn Dunks of ''The Film Experience'' said ''Between the Shades'' had interesting aspects but that "in attempting to show the world what the L, G, B, T, Q and I is all about, Salvino's film misses too much."][ Amyana Bartley, writing for ''Film Inquiry'' called the film a "conversation" and said it "opens the door to seeing LGBTQ+ people as exactly what they are. Human."][
]
References
{{reflist, refs=
[
{{cite news
, last = Dunks
, first = Glenn
, date = June 5, 2018
, title = Doc Corner: Dances with Films Festival
, url = http://thefilmexperience.net/blog/2018/6/5/doc-corner-dances-with-films-festival.html
, work = The Film Experience
, location = Los Angeles
, access-date = 2023-07-24
][
{{cite news
, last = Bartley
, first = Amyana
, date = July 11, 2017
, title = BETWEEN THE SHADES: Exploring The “Shades” Between Gay & Straight
, url = https://www.filminquiry.com/between-the-shades-2017-review/?expand_article=1
, work = Film Inquiry
, access-date = 2023-07-24
][
{{cite news
, last = Keogh
, first = Tom
, date = April 25, 2019
, title = Between the Shades
, url = https://videolibrarian.com/reviews/documentary/between-the-shades/
, work = Video Librarian
, location =
, access-date = 2023-07-24
][
{{cite news
, last = Guzmán
, first = Rafer
, date = June 7, 2017
, title = Kerry Washington, Eva Longoria team on film comedy ‘24-7’
, url = https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/movies/kerry-washington-eva-longoria-team-on-film-comedy-24-7-w31708
, work = ]Newsday
''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
, access-date = 2023-07-24
[
{{cite news
, last = Parker-Pope
, first = Tara
, date = Apr 23, 2019
, title = How Gay Are You?
, url = https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/23/well/live/how-gay-are-you.html
, work = ]New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
, access-date = 2023-07-24
[{{cite news
, last = Guzmán
, first = Rafer
, date = Mar 15, 2018
, title = Ramon Rodriguez joins 'The One and Only Ivan': Dix Hills filmmaker brings "Shades" to Queens; "Rockaway" heads to Florida fest.
, url = https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/movies/movie-buzz-k02587
, work = ]Newsday
''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
, access-date = 2023-07-24
[
{{cite news
, author = TransFamily of NWPA
, date = July 2018
, title = TransFamily of NW PA Between the Shades Film Screening Pride Kickoff on June 29
, url = https://www.eriegaynews.com/news/article.php?recordid=201807betweentheshadesscreening
, work = Erie Gay News
, access-date = 2023-07-24
]
2017 documentary films
2017 films
2017 LGBT-related films
American LGBT-related films
American documentary films
American LGBT-related documentary films
BayView Entertainment films