POWER UP

Last updated
POWER UP
Founded2000
FounderK. Pearson Brown
Stacy Codikow
Amy Shomer [1]
Type 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Focus Motion pictures
Location
MethodFunding, producing
Key people
Stacy Codikow, Executive director
Lisa Thrasher, President of Film Production & Distribution
Website www.powerupfilms.org

POWER UP (the "Professional Organization of Women in Entertainment Reaching Up") is an American non-profit organization and film production company with the stated mission "to promote the visibility and integration of gay women in entertainment, the arts, and all forms of media". It was founded in 2000 by K. Pearson Brown, Stacy Codikow and Amy Shomer. [2] Its members include women and men, gay and straight.

Contents

POWER UP provides funding and assistance to filmmakers, as well as producing its own films. After several short films, its first feature film was the comedy Itty Bitty Titty Committee directed by Jamie Babbit. [3] In 2004, POWER UP was awarded the Leadership Award by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. [3]

In 2001 K. Pearson Brown, one of the founding members, brought a sexual harassment suit against another founding member, Stacey Codikow. Codikow counter-sued alleging that Brown had made sexual overtures towards her and accusing Brown of defamation. Codikow also demanded Brown's resignation on the grounds that she was bisexual, and Brown later resigned. Both suits were dropped in late 2002. [4] [5] [6]

Films

See also

Related Research Articles

Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia in order to discredit political opponents or to combat homophobia and heterosexism by revealing that a prominent or respected individual is homosexual. Historical examples of outing include the Krupp affair, Eulenburg affair, and Röhm scandal.

<i>But Im a Cheerleader</i> 1999 film by Jamie Babbit

But I'm a Cheerleader is a 1999 American satirical teen romantic comedy film directed by Jamie Babbit in her feature directorial debut and written by Brian Wayne Peterson. Natasha Lyonne stars as Megan Bloomfield, a high school cheerleader whose parents send her to a residential in-patient conversion therapy camp to "cure" her lesbianism. At camp, Megan realizes that she is indeed a lesbian and, despite the "therapy", comes to embrace her sexuality. The supporting cast includes Clea DuVall, RuPaul, and Cathy Moriarty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guinevere Turner</span> American actress and writer (b. 1968)

Guinevere Jane Turner is an American actress, screenwriter, and film director. She wrote the films American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page and played the lead role of the dominatrix Tanya Cheex in Preaching to the Perverted. She was a story editor and played recurring character Gabby Deveaux on Showtime's The L Word.

Aggie may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leroy F. Aarons</span> American journalist, editor, author, and playwright

Leroy "Roy" F. Aarons was an American journalist, editor, author, playwright, founder of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA), and founding member of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. In 2005 he was inducted into the NLGJA Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jenny Shimizu</span> American model and actress

Jenny Lynn Shimizu is an American model and actress.

<i>Itty Bitty Titty Committee</i> 2007 film directed by Jamie Babbit

Itty Bitty Titty Committee is a 2007 American comedy film directed by Jamie Babbit. It follows the political awakening of Anna, a young, mild-mannered lesbian woman who joins a radical feminist group. The film is produced by non-profit organization POWER UP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Babbit</span> American filmmaker

Jamie Merill Babbit is an American director, producer and screenwriter. She directed the films But I'm a Cheerleader (1999), The Quiet (2005), and Itty Bitty Titty Committee (2007). She has also directed episodes of such television series as Russian Doll, Gilmore Girls, Malcolm in the Middle, United States of Tara, Looking, Nip/Tuck, The L Word, Silicon Valley, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Orville, Only Murders in the Building, and A League of Their Own.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equality Mississippi</span> LGBT rights organization in Mississippi, United States

Equality Mississippi is a statewide LGBT civil rights organization founded March 2000 in Mississippi. The organization closed in December 2008 but reopened in April 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radio Sloan</span> Musical artist

Radio Sloan is a musician from Olympia, Washington.

<i>Stuck</i> (2001 film) 2001 film by Jamie Babbit

Stuck is a 2001 short film directed by Jamie Babbit and starring Jennie Ventriss, Jeanette Miller, and Eden Sher. It tells the story of an elderly lesbian couple traveling across the desert, who are on the verge of ending their unhappy relationship. It was the first film produced by production company POWER UP and won three film festival awards.

Joel Michaely is an American actor and film producer.

Andrea Sperling is an independent film producer based in Los Angeles. The films she has produced include Totally Fucked Up, But I'm a Cheerleader, D.E.B.S. and Itty Bitty Titty Committee and the Sundance Top Prize-winning Like Crazy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melonie Diaz</span> American actress

Melonie Diaz is an American actress who has appeared in many independent films, including four shown at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. She received Independent Spirit Awards nominations for performances in films A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006) and Fruitvale Station (2013). From 2018 to 2022, she appeared as one of the main roles as Mel Vera on the remake television series Charmed on The CW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peccadillo Pictures</span> UK film producer and distributor

Peccadillo Pictures is a UK-based film producer and distributor of art house, gay and lesbian, independent and world cinema. They have provided distribution for many films such as Weekend, Tomboy, XXY, Eyes Wide Open, Four Minutes, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, Transylvania, Cockles and Muscles, Summer Storm, The Guest House and Chemsex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">19th GLAAD Media Awards</span>

The GLAAD Media Awards were created in 1990 by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) to "recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their deads."

The Milwaukee LGBT Film & Video Festival takes place every fall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The festival was established in 1987 and is presented by the Film Department in the Peck School of the Arts of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM). Opening night and centerpiece gala screenings take place at the Oriental Theatre located on the East Side of Milwaukee. In 2018 the format of the festival changed to provide screenings throughout the year instead of the concentrated 11 day format primarily screened at the UW Milwaukee Union Theatre.

The modern South Korean LGBT rights movement arose in the 1990s, with several small organizations seeking to combat sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination.

Tina Mabry is an American film director and screenwriter from Tupelo, Mississippi. Following the release of her first feature film Mississippi Damned (2009), she was named one of '25 New Faces of Indie Film' by Filmmaker magazine and among the 'Top Forty Under 40' by The Advocate. Mabry was named a James Baldwin Fellow in Media by United States Artists.

References

  1. "Power up!". The Advocate. 27 Mar 2001.
  2. "Challenging Perception through Film, POWER UP". POWER UP. Archived from the original on 2007-04-27. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
  3. 1 2 Lo, Malinda (2007-02-27). "The Top 13 Power Lesbians in Entertainment in 2007". AfterEllen.com. Archived from the original on 2007-03-20. Retrieved 2007-05-15.
  4. Welkos, Robert W. (November 2, 2002). "Sexual harassment suit roils lesbian industry group". Los Angeles Times.
  5. Maynard, Kevin (24 Dec 2002). "Case dismissed". The Advocate.
  6. Maynard, Kevin (10 Dec 2002). "She said, she said". The Advocate.