heart breaks open streaming free online during september

[aishah]

my friend billie's film heart breaks open is streaming free online during september, while hir company dual power productions shoots another film called revolve.

i first saw heart breaks open around a year ago and it made a huge impact on me; it's the story of trans and queer activists of color in the queer community dealing with real issues that impact all of us, including relationship struggles and hiv. it also features the sisters of perpetual indulgence

to stream the film, "like" revolve's page on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/revolvemovie) then go to the heart breaks open tab. the film normally costs a few dollars to stream and i'd definitely encourage folks to spread the word to support this work.

http://dualpowerproductions.com/
http://www.revolvemovie.com/
http://www.heartbreaksopen.com/

A model queer activist and poet, Jesus (Maximillian Davis) prides himself in his work with the Seattle LGBT community. At the same time, Jesus is having unprotected sex and cheating on his long-time partner Johnny (Samonte Cruz). Jesus’s world implodes when he discovers that he is HIV positive, forcing him to confront his innermost fears, his relationship with his ex-boyfriend, and a future living with HIV. Faced with the unknown, Jesus is pulled from the brink of self-destruction by Sister Alysa Trailer (Brian Peters), a drag nun who leads him down a path of self-discovery.

‘heart breaks open’ is a feature film about queer life, public health and community accountability. It was written as a four page outline and transformed to a feature-length project through a collaborative filmmaking process. Actors used improvisational acting to create dialogue and action. Documentary filmmakers captured performances using cinema verité techniques. Seattle locations and their staff were used to create an undeniable meditative realism.

In a nuanced and subtle way, ʻheart breaks openʼ comments on the notion of a ʻsecond comingʼ of the Christian Jesus Christ. The film deviates from the traditional 3-act story structure, commonly used in fiction film, and follows the path of the Christian ʻStations of the Crossʼ. Instead of a cross, HIV is our Jesusʼs burden to bear. Instead of the daughters of Jerusalem, Jesus is met by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, “an order of 21st Century [drag] nuns dedicated to the promulgation of universal joy and the expiation of stigmatic guilt.”

ʻheart breaks openʼ strives to provoke. Who would Jesus be if s/he were with us today? What would be the cross to bear? How do we crucify our own or ourselves?