‘That’s Me’: Out There Film Series is Creating a New Kind of Home at Jacob Burns Film Center
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By Tomás Thor, Examiner Reporter Intern
When Chris Holliday moved to Westchester seven years ago, he didn’t know the Jacob Burns Film Center would soon become a kind of second home – both personally and professionally. Today, as the center’s director of special programs and the curator of its newly launched queer cinema series Out There, Holliday is helping create what is designed to be a movie-going experience built not only on art, but connection, representation, and critical thinking.
Presented in collaboration with The LOFT LGBTQ+ Community Center, Out There is intended as more than a monthly screening series, it’s a commitment. Each film featured highlights the depth and diversity of queer stories, spanning decades and lived experience. The series launched on July 22 with a 35mm screening of The Children’s Hour, the groundbreaking 1961 film starring Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine. As the first ever movie with an openly queer character, it serves as a reminder of when LGBTQ+ representation began in film, and a powerful point of reflection on how far it’s come and where it still needs to go.
Following the screening, audience members participated in a Q&A with author and critic Michael Koresky, whose new book Sick and Dirty: Hollywood’s Gay Golden Age and the Making of Modern Queerness delves into the multi-layered and often misunderstood representations of LGBTQ+ identity in early Hollywood.
“He helped us unpack not just the film’s content,” Holliday said, “but what it means to revisit queer history onscreen in today’s cultural moment.”
The August 7 screening, Heightened Scrutiny, follows ACLU attorney Chase Strangio as he becomes the first out trans person to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court in a legal battle over Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Directed by Sam Feder, known for his Netflix documentary Disclosure, the film captures a pivotal moment in the fight for trans rights in America. The screening will be followed by a conversation with Feder, offering insight into the making of the documentary and the stakes behind the case.
On September 11, My Beautiful Laundrette will be presented on 35mm film. Set in 1980s London, the film explores the unlikely romance between Omar, a young British Pakistani man, and Johnny, a former street punk played by Daniel Day-Lewis, as they attempt to transform a rundown laundrette together.
“We used to only program LGBTQ+ films in June, but then we asked—why just Pride month?” Holliday said. “These stories matter all year. They deserve space all year.”
“We want this to be more than a screening,” Holliday also explained. “We want it to be a reason to come out – literally and figuratively – and sit in a room together, laugh, cry, feel seen, and talk to strangers after the credits roll. That’s the magic of cinema.”
Originally from the UK, Holliday spent years as a radio personality interviewing celebrities and talking film on-air before settling in Westchester with his husband. Though he thought he’d commute into Manhattan for work, the opportunity at JBFC turned out to be too meaningful to pass up. It became a chance to shape culture locally.
“One of the most touching moments I’ve witnessed here,” Holliday recalled, “was during a screening of a film about a trans man living in New York. After the film, someone stood up, crying, and said, ‘That’s the first time I’ve ever seen myself on screen.’ That’s why we do this.”
For Holliday, it’s not just about the films but the community the films help build afterwards. “I actually met some of my closest friends at a JBFC reception for a dance film years ago,” he said, smiling. “That was the beginning of something beautiful.”
To encourage that kind of connection, the series will include post-film discussions, Q&As with filmmakers and critics, and informal gatherings upstairs at Take 3 Wine Bar & Café.
“It’s about creating that moment,” Holliday said. “When someone sits in the dark, watches a story unfold, and says, ‘That’s me.’ That’s when film becomes more than film. That’s when it becomes home.”
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