'Queer Cuts: New Hope' Showing Nov. 4 At The Bucks County Playhouse

NEW HOPE, PA — The Bucks County Playhouse on Nov. 4 will host the premiere screenings of "Queer Cuts: New Hope" featuring five films by emerging directors celebrating the LGBTQIA+ haven of New Hope.

The select filmmakers are grantees of The Creative Hope Initiative, a competitive grant program funded by IPG Mediabrands. The Initiative provides five sizable production grants to historically under-represented LGBTQIA+ filmmakers for the creation of short documentaries highlighting local queer stories in towns across America.

The indie development and production studio, TRAVERSE32, announced the Creative Hope Initiative earlier this year. The new incubator program, funded by IPG Mediabrands, provides five sizable production grants to historically under-represented LGBTQIA+ filmmakers for the creation of short documentaries highlighting local queer stories in towns across America. In addition to the grants, the program also includes mentorship for each director with a world-class documentarian from inception to picture lock, in addition to advisors and speakers.

“The Creative Hope Initiative gives the opportunity for fresh voices in filmmaking to further refine their artistic skills,” said Brendan Gaul, Chief Content Officer of IPG Mediabrands. “It’s the genuine relationships with these burgeoning creatives - and the ability to connect them to our brand clients - that drives our most powerful content work at IPG Mediabrands,” he said.

The filmmakers selected include Hansen Bursic (he/him), Joy Davenport (she/her), Natalie Jasmine Harris (she/they), Kase Peña (she/her) and Kristal Sotomayor (they/she). Participating industry mentors include Oscar-winning director, Ben Proudfoot (Queen of Basketball) (Bursic); former Emmy winner, Daresha Kyi (Harris); previous two-time Emmy nominee, Deborah S. Esquenazi (Sotomayor); past Emmy nominee Sally Rubin (Davenport), and Webby honoree Ro Haber (Peña). As well, Creative Hope Documentary Intensive advisors consist of previous two-time Emmy winner, Christine Vachon, Jameka Autry, Shanti Avirgan, Anja Block,
Brydie O’Connor, and Daniela Quiroz.

New Hope residents, Daniel Brooks and Sara Scully of ScullyOne Productions, serve as producer and executive producer of all five films, respectively. Brooks is founder of New Hope Celebrates,
a non-profit he designed to highlight and preserve the town’s rich LGBTQIA+ history while stimulating the retail, hospitality, and professional community through marketing opportunities, educational activities and cultural events. Under NHC's umbrella is New Hope Celebrates History,
which preserves the town’s rich past. Brooks and Scully collaborated with TRAVERSE32 to conceive of the New Hope series and overall program and provided key producing support to the filmmakers as well as content licensing.

LGBTQIA+cultural media giant, equalpride, will join forces with “Queer Cuts: New Hope” as exclusive media partner. As part of the new partnership, the media company will make all five shorts available online for free between Nov. 6th and 7th beginning at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on both its Advocate Channel and Advocate Channel App. Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device, including Apple Store, Google Play, Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, and Google TV.

"Championing the authentic voices of the LGBTQIA+ community, the 'Creative Hope Initiative' is a testament to the power of collaborative storytelling,” said Mark Berryhill, CEO of equalpride. “As we amplify the rich narratives from New Hope, we're not just showcasing films; we're
building bridges and fostering understanding.

Tickets for the Nov. 4 “Queer Cuts: New Hope” screening may be purchased at
BucksCountyPlayhouse.org or by calling the Box Office at 215-862-2121. A portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales from the day benefit New Hope Celebrates.