The LGBT Event of the Fall Season

New York, NY, November 14, 2015 --(PR.com)-- The 23rd curation of the New York African Diaspora International Film Festival (ADIFF) unspools on Friday, November 27th, with an eclectic mix of independent films from the African Diaspora. This year, ADIFF presents its very first LGBT Cinema Evening on Tuesday, December 1st at Columbia University. The event will feature the World Premiere of "Julien's Bed" and the New York premiere of the hit international film, "While You Weren't Looking."

Hosted by "Julien's Bed" director, Kirk Shannon-Butts, this inaugural LGBT film program highlights the richness and diversity of life in the African diaspora, as the world celebrates emerging LGBT talent, culture, rights and cinema. Produced by Flickeria, "Julien's Bed" is the second feature film from emerging filmmaker/visual artist, Kirk Shannon-Butts, whose highly acclaimed debut feature, "Blueprint" screened at ADIFF in 2008. The Kar Wai Wong inspired "Julien's Bed," veers into a mélange of experimental, narrative, and docu-drama, unfolding the lives of three men, Marvin (American), Khalid (Arabic), and Julien (French), whose worlds intersect in a Parisian apartment in a kaleidoscope of French, Arabic and English.

Beautifully shot on locations in and around Cape Town, "While You Weren’t Looking," is the directorial debut of South African, Catherine Stewart (creator of "The Lab" and "Jacob’s Cross"). “Looking" begins twenty years into the new South Africa with a contemporary story of an affluent mixed race lesbian couple, Dez and Terri, who struggle to maintain their own desires and ambitions while reining in the rebellious nature of their beautiful teenage daughter, Asanda. As Asanda falls for Shado, a girl from a different background, Dez and Terri must cope with their own hypocrisies and secrets, which threaten to unravel their seemingly perfect world.

Created in November 1993, ADIFF’s mission is to present films from the African diaspora to diverse audiences, redesign the Black cinema experience, and strengthen the role of African and African descent directors in contemporary world cinema. ADIFF distinguishes itself through its presentation of outstanding works that shine a different or comprehensive light on African Diaspora life and culture.

Flickeria is a boutique film production firm creating contemporary LGBTQ images for film, web, digital and television.

For further information please contact Kirk Ray at African Diaspora International Film Festival at 917.545.4360 or Kirk@Flickeria.com.