Kyle Schickner | |
|---|---|
 Kyle Schickner at work | |
| Born | New Jersey, United States |
| Website | www |
Kyle Schickner is an American film producer, writer, director, actor and a bisexual civil rights activist. He is the founder of FenceSitter Films, a production company devoted to entertainment for women, and sexual and ethnic minorities. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles, where he directs films, music videos, a Web series and commercials for his production company FenceSitterFilms.
Schickner attended Harvard from 1993 to 1995 before dropping out to start Off-Off-Broadway theater company, Fencesitter Productions. [1] Based out of the Stanford Meisner Theater, the company produced four successful plays, three of which were written and directed by Schickner himself.
While in college, inspired by hearing a talk given by bisexual rights activist Lani Ka'ahumanu, he formed BIAS (Bisexuals Achieving Solidarity) the first college bisexual rights group in the United States. After seeking out the campus' gay and lesbian organization, Schickner recalls, "I knew I was bisexual, but those who ran the club didn't believe it." [2] He later went on to appear on CNN, Montel Williams, Jane Pratt and several other national television shows, helping to give visibility to what was at that time a largely invisible community.
After writing and producing three successful plays, Schickner moved to cinema in hope of reaching a wider audience. In 1995, FenceSitter Films (the former Fencesitter Productions) started production on Rose by Any Other Name... , a film based on Schickner's most successful play. [3] [4] According to the official website, FenceSitter Films was "founded on the belief that films don't need straight white men as heroes in order to be successful and entertaining." [5] He says, "I wanted to make films [that] a person of color, a woman, or a bisexual person would enjoy watching." [2] Schickner has written and directed five feature films, several commercials and music videos and is now currently producing a Web series of Rose by Any Other Name... .
His features include romantic comedy Rose by Any Other Name... , mockumentary Full Frontal , and the critically acclaimed thriller Strange Fruit . [6] His most current feature film, Steam , stars Oscar-nominated actress Ruby Dee, 1980s and indie icon Ally Sheedy as well as up-and-coming young actress Kate Siegel. [7] [8]
In late 2008 into 2009 Schickner began working with an American Cable TV Network to spin off his original work Rose by Any Other Name... into a weekly TV series. However, according to Schickner "at the 11th hour as they were setting up to shoot the pilot the network expressed concern over how the cutting-edge social theme might play with some of their core viewership and decided to look at more data to see what kind of response the show might get". So with the assistance of American Institute of Bisexuality, FenceSitter Films turned it into a Web series with each Webisode being posted on their YouTube channel.
"New queer cinema" is a term first coined by the academic B. Ruby Rich in Sight & Sound magazine in 1992 to define and describe a movement in queer-themed independent filmmaking in the early 1990s.
Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literature. The awards were instituted in 1989.
Angela Robinson is an American film and television director, screenwriter and producer. Outfest Fusion LGBTQ People of Color Film Festival awarded Robinson with the Fusion Achievement Award in 2013 for her contribution to LGBTQ+ media visibility.
Sheela Lambert (1956-2024), a native and lifelong resident of New York City, was an American bisexual activist and writer.
Rose Troche is an American film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter.
Bisexual pornography is a genre of pornography that most typically depicts men and at least one woman who all perform sex acts on each other. A sex scene involving women and one man who all perform sex acts on each other is generally not identified or labeled as bisexual.
Milk is a 2008 American biographical drama film based on the life of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk, who was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Dustin Lance Black, the film stars Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and Victor Garber.
Strange Fruit is a 2004 film written and directed by Kyle Schickner and starring Kent Faulcon as William Boyals and Berlinda Tolbert as Emma Ayers. It was produced by FenceSitter Films. The title comes from the 1939 Billie Holiday song.
Steam is a 2007 film written and directed by Kyle Schickner, produced by FenceSitter Films, and starring Ruby Dee, Ally Sheedy and Kate Siegel.
J. T. Tepnapa is an American writer, producer, actor, and director. Tepnapa has made several short films since 2000 with his company, Blue Seraph Productions, but he is best known for his role as the first openly gay character, Lieutenant Commander Corey Aster, on the fan series Star Trek: Hidden Frontier created by Rob Caves.
"Side by Side" Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival is an international film festival that seeks to explore the issues of homosexuality, bisexuality and transgender (LGBT) through art cinema. Since 2008 it has taken place every autumn in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In addition, various special events are held almost every month, and since 2009 film showings and discussions have also been conducted in other parts of Russia.
Permanent Residence (永久居留) is a 2009 Hong Kong film starring Sean Li and Osman Hung. It was directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Danny Cheng, also known as Scud. The film explores several themes traditionally regarded as 'taboo' in Hong Kong society, in an unusually open, convention-defying way, and features full-frontal male nudity in several scenes. It is the second of seven publicly released films by Scud. The six other films are: City Without Baseball in 2008, Amphetamine in 2010, Love Actually... Sucks! in 2011, Voyage in 2013, Utopians in 2015 and Thirty Years of Adonis in 2017. The eighth film, Apostles, was made in 2022, as was the ninth, Bodyshop, but neither has yet been released. The tenth and final film, Naked Nations: Hong Kong Tribe, is currently in production.
FenceSitter Films is a film production and television production company founded by Kyle Schickner an American film producer, writer, director, actor and a bisexual civil rights activist.
Rose By Any Other Name... is a 1997 American satirical romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by and starring Kyle Schickner. The plot and title are loosely based on William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the film is set in the US around the turn of the 21st century, gently poking fun at life, manners, morals as well as the tensions within the modern LGBT and liberal communities.
The first English-language use of the word "bisexual" to refer to sexual orientation occurred in 1892.
Bisexual politics are arguments surrounding individuals who identify as bisexual and their perspectives on issues involving sexuality, equality, visibility and inclusion. Some authors describe "bisexual politics" as a form of identity politics. One form of activism within bisexual politics includes the addition of the word bisexual onto lesbian and gay organisations and fighting employment discrimination for bisexual individuals.
The portrayals of bisexuality in the media reflect societal attitudes towards bisexuality in the existing media portrayals. Throughout history, numerous bisexual characters have appeared in television series, including cartoons, anime, video games and web series, along with literature, comics, radio, and other mediums.
Utopians is a 2015 film by the Hong Kong film-maker Scud, the production-crediting name of Danny Cheng Wan-Cheung. It is the story of a university student who becomes deeply attracted to his (male) professor, and whose life changes as a result. The film received its world premiere on 31 October 2015 at the New Directors Film Festival in Japan. Utopians explores several themes traditionally regarded as 'taboo' in Hong Kong society and features full-frontal male nudity in several scenes. It is the sixth of seven publicly released films by Scud. The six other films are: City Without Baseball in 2008, Permanent Residence in 2009, Amphetamine in 2010, Love Actually... Sucks! in 2011, Voyage in 2013 and Thirty Years of Adonis in 2017. The eighth film, Apostles, was made in 2022, as was the ninth, Bodyshop, but neither have yet been released. The tenth and final film, Naked Nations: Hong Kong Tribe, is currently in production. Utopians includes a scene in which the main character, played by mainland China actor Adonis He Fei, is shown completely naked stroking his erect penis as he sighs with pleasure until he ejaculates in the uncut version of the film.
Straightwashing is portraying LGBT or otherwise queer characters in fiction as heterosexual (straight), making LGB people appear heterosexual, or altering information about historical figures to make their representation comply with heteronormativity.
In his "Rose by Any Other Name," due in October, New Jersey filmmaker Kyle Schickner stars as a straight man baffled by the idea of dating a lesbian.
Saturday's double bill begins with a world premiere, Kyle Schickner's often hilarious indie Rose by Any Other Name ... (1997).
Most recently, former Highland Park resident and Rutgers alumnus Kyle Schickner returned from California to film his independent movie, "Steamroom." Selesky said Schickner filmed at various sites in New Brunswick, including Passion Puddle.