Summary Graham Kolbeins and Jonathan Andre Culliton, founders of the 29 Queer Film Fest, discuss their backgrounds as filmmakers and the inspiration behind the festival. They talk about the films being showcased, including world premieres and queer horror shorts. The festival is designed to create a space for queer stories and foster the filmmaking community in the high desert area. They also discuss the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community in the area and the support they have received from local businesses and organizations. Visit the webiste HERE Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 04:10 Inception of the 29 Queer Film Fest 06:01 Film Highlights and Gala Events 08:35 Festival Schedule and Venues 11:31 Attending the Film Fest: Tips for Newcomers 13:46 Future Plans and Fostering the Filmmaking Community 15:01 Acceptance and Support in the High Desert 17:28 Closing Remarks and Event Details Danny (00:01.779) All right, Graham Cole Beans and Jonathan Andre Coliton. Coliton, thanks for being on the Highway 62 podcast. How are you guys today? Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (00:02.208) Yeah. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (00:10.902) Thank you for having us. great. Yeah, we're doing good. Danny (00:16.915) Awesome. And you guys are the founders, right, of the first ever inaugural 29 Queer Film Fest that's happening in September the 20th and 22nd. Before we get into a little bit about the actual Film Fest and kind of what it's all about, give me just a brief little background on each of you. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (00:24.214) Thank Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (00:40.758) Sure. So we're both filmmakers and I'll just start talking about myself. I'm mostly a documentary filmmaker though I've recently started doing some narrative filmmaking. I shot a short film here in 29 Palms in June called Outage that I'm currently in post -production on. Danny (00:50.707) Ha Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (01:07.688) I'm pretty deeply involved in film and when we came out here... Can I roll that back a little bit? Okay, great, I just lost my train of thought. Sorry. Yeah, so I'm a filmmaker, a videographer. Danny (01:20.669) Sure. I can edit anything too, it's fine. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (01:33.654) and I'm a queer person in 29 palms and those all informed co -founding this festival. I'm also... Sorry? Where are you originally from? I was born in Vancouver, Canada. Danny (01:43.315) Where are you originally from? Danny (01:48.648) Where are you originally from? Danny (01:53.467) Okay. Right on. I love Vancouver. I was just, I was just in, I've been to Canada a lot lately. I was in Toronto last weekend and the weekend before I was in Edmonton. So I spent a lot of time in the Kenyatta. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (01:57.504) Yeah, that's a great place. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (02:06.143) I'm cool. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (02:10.142) Nice. What were you doing in Toronto? Danny (02:13.043) I play in a band, so we're playing some festivals up there. But yeah, we do a lot of Canadian shows. Graham, what about you? Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (02:16.319) Awesome. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (02:21.11) me? You mean Jonathan, yes. That's okay. No, I'm a born and bred Bostonian with all the details. But yeah, I'm also a filmmaker. Currently I'm rolling out a couple of films. Danny (02:24.967) Jonathan, I'm sorry, your buys are both Canadian. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (02:43.542) Spookable which played at the Maryland Film Festival in frame 48 and is about to play at Prism 37. And then I have Will It Justice Drag Queen Private Eye which is showing, both of those films are showing actually at the 29 Queer Film Festival and that film stars Lady Shalane who is the premier high desert drag queen of our current timeline. Danny (03:12.083) Yeah, Yeah, she was one of my first guests on the podcast, like second or third episode ever. Right on. How did you guys how did you guys end up settling in the 29 Palms area? Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (03:13.462) Amazing. She's really special. Yeah, so I moved out here four years ago from Los Angeles. It was during the pandemic. I had lost work and I had always wanted to move to the high desert but never really thought that it was feasible. But in that moment an opportunity became available. A friend said, hey, I have a cabin that just opened up and I moved into that cabin in July 2020. And I've just loved living here ever since. Yeah, and then I followed Graham because I fell in love with them so I just followed. I just came out here to be closer to them. Danny (04:01.949) Right on. Danny (04:10.449) Very nice, very nice. So tell me about kind of the inception and the idea and how it came to be that you put this film festival together. Graham Kolbeins & Jonathan Andre Culliton (04:20.438) Yeah, well ...
