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This Saturday I attended Q2: The Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. I did not have an opportunity to attend last year, so I really looked forward to it. Unfortunately, I got a lot of strange reactions from friends, making me nervous about attending. One friend told me that I should be careful, because this may be one of those inclusive events where outsiders are not welcome. I'm not totally an outsider; I support the gay and lesbian community and I did not have the intention of going to ogle anyone or make them feel uncomfortable. I love movies and festivals, and where else am I going to get a chance to see any of these films? My mom was the only person who was positive, saying "Oh really, that should be fun." Of course, that leads me to believe maybe she wasn't really listening.

Despite other opinions, I was determined to attend. In reading the publicity for the event, I learned that there would be a documentary produced by one of my favorite writers, directors and producers of this generation, Kevin Smith. Love, love, love him. I have yet to see a film that he was involved in that I didn't enjoy. The documentary was directed by Malcolm Ingram, another important individual in the View Askew universe. The whole group has a huge cult following, so I fully expected every other overexcited fan to be in attendance.

In addition, Guinevere Turner would be showing two shorts followed by a Q and A. For a couple seasons, I've been a little obsessed with Showtime's lesbian series, The L Word, which Turner was a cast member and writer on for the first season. I remembered her name appearing in articles about Smith's films, namely Chasing Amy, and I soon found out that she was quite an important part of lesbian cinema today. Her first film, Go Fish, was a Sundance and Independent Spirit award nominee, and she has been a part of several films and series, including American Psycho. I am so impressed that the committee managed to get these filmmakers to our city.

I arrived with a friend and assumed Baton Rouge would be a little narrow-minded about the event. To my delight, I did not see a single protester. I remembered last year hearing that there were a few, so I'm hoping this is a sign that our city has progressed beyond that. We planned on attending the Turner films and Q and A as well as Ingram's documentary. Much to my surprise, there were not a lot of people in attendance. The films were shown in the Manship Theatre, and there was a good amount of unfilled seats. Maybe I'm a little sheltered, but I think these two people are a pretty big deal. I'm dying to know why more people weren't there.

The Turner Q and A was interesting, and turned into a roundtable discussion. She was lovely and very friendly, which either defies stereotypes of Hollywood people or shows how I am completely overestimating her celebrity status. What are the odds of getting a chance to hear, in person, from one of the writers and actresses from a show you love, right here in Baton Rouge? Very exciting.

Ingram's film, Small Town Gay Bar, was also fantastic. It takes place in the South and documents the life of three country bars and their patrons. I know we have at least two gay bars in town, and while watching the documentary, I couldn't help being relieved that I have never seen protesters at either of them. The film also discussed the brutal murder of a gay man whose funeral and the church that held his funeral were picketed by another area church. The picketing church even rearranged the worship schedule to picket the bars and churches where gay people were accepted. Maybe I'm naïve, but I haven't heard of this happening here and couldn't be more grateful.

Neither of us could attend the after party, but we snuck a peek of the floor where it would be held. A local artist, Sarah Ashley Longshore, was working on a very interesting piece for the party that included a couple painted ladies. I've seen some of her work before and it's very forward for Baton Rouge, so she fit in just right. Everything looked like it was gearing up to be quite an exciting party complete with goody bags (which I am shamelessly a sucker for).

As I was leaving, I wondered if it was the rain or a lack of publicity that kept the film festival crowd small. Regardless, I know I was glad I went. I hope that the overall event was a success and continues to grow every year. Maybe next year I'll see some of you there.