Starz celebrates Black History Month with Sisters in Cinema

The presence and progress of African-American women directors in the film industry is the focus of Sisters in Cinema, a feature-length documentary by openly lesbian Yvonne Welbon (Living with Pride: Ruth Ellis @100).

In search of answers to her personal curiosity about the existence of African-American women filmmakers, Welbon goes on a quest to find her “sisters in cinema.” As if telling a story, she serves as narrator of her journey as she seeks to identify and illuminate a history of independent filmmaking that has long been hidden.

The first docmentary of its kind, Welbon begins her search in Hollywood at the major studios where she soon discovers that of the multitude of feature films produced, only one—Darnell Martin’s I Like It Like That—had been directed by an African-American woman. Welbon quickly realizes that she is not going to find many of her sisters in Hollywood, so she expands her journey to the inde-pendent film industry where she finds a wide range of films directed by African-American women outside of the Hollywood system.

Sisters in Cinema, which features interviews interwoven with film clips, rare archival footage, and photographs, is certainly a historical and educational homage to African-American women filmmakers who, against all odds, made history.

Highlighted in the documentary are the careers of Julie Dash (Daughters of the Dust), Maya Angelou (Down in the Delta), openly lesbian Cheryl Dunye (My Baby’s Daddy), and Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou), among others.

Welbon has created over a dozen award-winning works that have been screened on public television, cable, and in film festivals around the world. She holds a master of fine arts degree and a doctorate in radio/TV/film. Her film Living with Pride: Ruth Ellis @ 100 has been screened in over 150 venues around the world (including Houston) and won 10 best-documentary awards.

Sisters in Cinema premieres on Black Starz ( www.starzencore.com) at 7 p.m. on February 8 with repeat airings throughout the month. —Suzie Lynde

• Sundance Channel Presents the U.S. Television Premiere of Lesbian’s Documentaries

DocDay presents the television premieres of My Babushska—Searching Ukrainian Identities and Resisting Paradise, the two latest films by pioneering avant-garde filmmaker and documentarian Barbara Hammer. Hammer, who is openly lesbian, has had retrospectives at The Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Berlin International Film Festival, and the Film Forum at the Directors Guild of America.

Resisting Paradise involves a region fabled for its magical light and beauty—southern France, which has been a beacon for painters, including Van Gogh, Matisse, and Bonnard. During World War II, the area was also a point of escape for scores of Jewish and anti-Fascist refugees. Resisting Paradise examines the region’s wartime history and the response of its residents—including Matisse—to the Nazi threat. Resisting Paradise airs on Sundance Channel, Monday, February 16, at 8 p.m. Repeat airings: 23rd, 6:30 a.m. & 3:45 p.m.; 29th, 5:15 a.m. To confirm schedule: www.sundancechannel.com.

My Babushka—Searching Ukrainian Identities is an expansive diary of Hammer’s journey to Ukraine, the birthplace of her maternal grandparents. What begins as an exploration of the filmmaker’s ethnic roots soon evolves into a fascinating look at a nation trying to define itself in the post-Soviet era. Hammer interviews a range of individuals, from a lesbian activist to an elderly Jewish journalist; meanwhile, the film captures daily life in Ukraine and explores how its people are coming to grips with issues—including anti-Semitism, homophobia, and sexual inequality—that are new to the arena of public debate. My Babushka airs on Sundance Channel, Monday, February 16, at 9:20 p.m. Repeat airings: 23rd, 5:05 p.m.; 28th, 10 a.m. To confirm schedule: www.sundancechannel.com. —SL

• Comedy Central Goes Out on the Edge

Out on the Edge is a one-hour stand-up special hosted by Alan Cumming (X2, Cabaret) and features the best of alternative comedy with a distinctly gay edge. Some of the acts are gay, some are straight, but all of them are on the same twisted page!

The special features the music of BETTY, The Hazzards performing their international hit “Gay Boyfriend,” Bayne Gibby, and Johnny McGovern as The Gay Pimp sending up teen pop with the dance extravaganza “Soccer Practice.” Out on the Edge also features the stand-up of headliners Jim David, Rene Hicks, and Elvira Kurt. Special guest Buddy Cole from Kids in the Hall has a big surprise for the audience.

Tony Award-winner Alan Cumming has had an eclectic career that has included many outstanding performances in theater, film, stand-up comedy, and writing and directing for film and television. His portrayal of the emcee in the Broadway musical of Cabaret was one of his most celebrated performances. In addition to his Tony Award, his performance also won him the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Theater World, and the New York Public Advocate’s awards, the latter for the original London pro-duction. He even received an Olivier Award nomination.

Though his performance here is as host, we feel he deserves some kind of award for his fashion sense—each time he appears, he has changed his wardrobe and hairstyle!

Out on the Edge premieres Monday, February 2 at 9 p.m. (repeated at 11 p.m.), with repeat airings on Friday, February 6 at 10 p.m. and Saturday, February 7 at 1:30 a.m. To confirm schedule: www.comedycentral.com. —TC

• Comedy Central eyes a Straight Plan

Thanks to Comedy Central’s Straight Plan for the Gay Man, three gay men achieve their dreams of becoming a blue-collar meatpacker, competitive basket-ball player, and bar-hopping, smooth-talking babe magnet. It also mocks and shatters the straight male stereotypes while “embracing” the phenomenon that has swelled over Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

Straight Plan for the Gay Man has four straight comedians, the “Flab 4” (Curtis Gwynn, Billy Merritt, Kyle Grooms, and Rob Riggle), working with a gay man to achieve his small-but-important dream of pulling the wool over the straight world’s eyes for a day. In the three one-hour episodes, viewers will meet three different gay men and learn about that one thing they’ve always wanted to check off their to-do lists.

The gay men include Jonathan, an up-scale fashion salesman who’s always wanted to understand the life of a blue-collar worker; Roger, a quirky yoga instructor who has always dreamed of competing in a pick-up basketball game; and Stephen, a hip singer/dancer with tons of female friends, who’s always wondered if he’d be a smooth straight man when it comes to picking up the ladies.

Over the course of each episode, our “Flab 4” comics take their new gay friend under their wings and give him a crash course on the secrets of straight male life—a life that inevitably includes uglier clothes, a bare kitchen, and a healthy dose of false egotism to cover all personal failings—of which there are many.

At the end of each episode, the straight comics go undercover alongside their gay subject to see if they too can “pass” their tests.

Straight Plan for the Gay Man airs on Comedy Central ( www.comedycentral.com) on Monday, February 23, at 9 p.m., with a repeat at 11 p.m. —TC

• The Oscars

At press time, the nominations for the 76th Annual Academy Awards had not been revealed. We can’t imagine Charlize Theron not being nominated for her role as serial killer Aileen Wournos in Monster, so you might want to tune in for that. Airs Sunday, February 29 on ABC ( www.abc.com) at 7 p.m.

And, of course, there will be the gowns, so you might want to tune in for E!’s ( www.eonline.com) pre-awards red-carpet ride with Joan Rivers to see who’s wearing who.

OSCAR-RELATED: On commercial-free Turner Classic Movies, Tom Hanks stars in one of his Best Actor-winner roles in Philadelphia (1993); Antonio Banderas plays his boyfriend. Also stars Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, and Joanne Woodward. Philadelphia was directed by Jonathan Demme and written by openly gay Ron Nyswaner, who also wrote the recent Showtime film A Soldier’s Girl. Airs on TCM ( www.turnerclassicmovies.com) at 9:15 p.m., Tuesday, February 24. —Blase DiStefano

• Conversations with Molly Ivins and Patti LuPone

Writer Molly Ivins’s razor wit and pointed commentary have been literary thorns in the side of politicians for years. Never at a loss for an opinion, Ivins talks about the California recall, the White House, balancing the national budget, and peace in the Middle East, all with her usual biting sense of humor.

Accomplished theater actress Patti LuPone is known for the remarkable strength and determination she brought to her roles in Evita, Les Miserables, and Sunset Boulevard. The very candid LuPone talks about the rocky road that brought Norma Desmond to the stage, the challenges of a television series, and she even has a word or two about the movie version of Evita.

Interviews with the two celebrities are part of InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse, which airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on Houston’s PBS Channel 8 (www.houstonpbs.org). The Ivins interview airs on the 12th, the LuPone interview on the 19th. More info: www.geocities.com/ernieontv/homepage. —SL

• Style Network gets Nick at night

Meet Nick Scotti, actor/model and star of the reality series New York Nick. (You might remember Scotti as the clueless hunk in 1997’s Kiss Me Guido.) Along with Nick’s saucy sis Viv Scotti and the siblings’ colorful orthopedic shoe-wearing aunt, Irene “Diz,” these three natives from Queens bring blue-collar style to the masses each week with their misadventures through New York, “Italian”-style family squabbles, and lifestyle tips from cooking baked ziti to looking great even on a budget. Airs on Style Network ( www.stylenetwork.com) at 9 p.m. on Fridays. —TC

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