Our own Ken Volok was just interviewed by the Examiner! It is a great article and a good insight into who Ken is and what he does. Be sure to follow the link and read the whole story! LINK TO STORY.
Here is a short snippet with interviewer Danny Derakhshan of the San Jose Movie Examiner:
DD: As a bisexual filmmaker do you feel that its gotten better for people of all diversities to go out and successfully voice their views thru visual storytelling?
KV: Its definitely both socially and technologically easier for filmmakers and actors to express themselves in movies. Whether they’re aesthetically successful is another matter.
I usually find message films a bore, because the message often becomes the focus and not the art of cinema. if you look at the most successful message films of the 1970′s, like Coming Home or Network, the characters are involved in very real issues in their lives. The audience is allowed to come to their own conclusions as to the cause and the solution. But the characters also have a lot of other things happening in their lives as well, other relationships or whatnot that make them three dimensional characters. Too many modern message films are too concerned with preaching and ignoring any opportunities for forms of catharsis amongst their audience.
With the exception of Brokeback Mountain most mainstream films still put their gay characters into hetero-safe stereotypes as opposed to just everyday people. Six Feet Under is a good example of stereotype breaking. With these examples, they stand as great art. Look how gays are presented in these films: as diverse and multifaceted people. Too many films of the gay cinema genre are content to write their characters in shorthand of stereotypes, and are often just one trick ponies in terms of actual content.