Ahead of the Curve (film)

Ahead of the Curve
Directed by
Based onTrue story
Produced by
  • Jen Rainin
  • Rivkah Beth Medow
Starring
CinematographySvetlana Cvetko
Edited byJessica Congdon
Music by
Production
company
Frankly Speaking Films
Release date
  • June 2020 (2020-06) (Frameline)[1]
Running time
95 minutes
Countries
  • Canada
  • United States
LanguageEnglish

Ahead of the Curve is a 2020 American biographical documentary film co-produced and co-directed by Jen Rainin and Rivkah Beth Medow, with music composed by Meshell Ndegeocello. The film is based on the true story of Franco Stevens, one of the most influential women in lesbian history, and the founding publisher of Curve Magazine, a leading international lesbian lifestyle magazine. Portraying themselves in the film are, Franco Stevens, Kim Katrin, Denice Frohman, Amber Hikes, Andrea Pino-Silva, Melissa Etheridge and Jewelle Gomez. The documentary premiered in June 2020 at the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival.[2]

Synopsis

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The film tells the story about the founder of Curve Magazine, and its rise in the 1990s and its uncertain future today. When Franco was 23 years old, she funded the magazine with a bunch of credit cards. She took the borrowed money from the cards to the race track, where her bets resulted in her continual winning, and that's how Curve was born. During her tenure at the magazine, she helped build a foundation for many movements being led by today's activists in the face of threats to the LGBT community. Now, decades later, her legacy faces extinction and she reassesses her life after a disabling injury, and sets out to communicate and understand the work in LGBT visibility being led by the queer women of today.

Cast

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Production notes

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Jen Rainin said she originally thought of the film as a drama, but changed her mind after doing the research. Rainin revealed that she was having a hard time finding stories about the women "who really got our movement to this place where we are now", but she still hopes to make the narrative version one day. She also stated there is "a responsibility to tell the story. We just don't know where we came from, where our legacy is, what our lineage is."[3]

Critical reception

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Told with a lot of heart and humor, Ahead of the Curve is a fitting and at times moving tribute to the determination, inspiration and entrepreneurial spirit of a trailblazer who helped moved our community forward in terms of visibility and acceptance, helping countless women feel seen and less alone, while providing a great, enduring, magazine.

The Queer Review, [4]

The consensus among the many reviews is positive. The Austin Chronicle said the film "functions as a historical document...there are contemporary interviews with 'celesbians' both of today and yore, of course, but the doc strikes gold in its incorporation of Stevens' personal archives of queer life in the Nineties".[3] The Spool stated the documentary "is destined to become one of those documentaries queer people can turn to in order to remember where we've been and how we've arrived here together".[5] Andrew Parker wrote in his review for The Gate that, "the documentary is...balanced, historically significant, and [is] surprisingly entertaining...Jen Rainin and co-director Rivkah Beth Medow deftly illustrate and underline the importance of visibility and representation".[6]

Sarah Boslaugh of NewFest said Rainin's cheerful documentary...accomplishes several things at once...it's a history of the groundbreaking lesbian magazine Curve...it's a profile of the magazine's founder...whose nerve, positive attitude, and sense of self are enough to lift anyone's day...and it's a cultural history of lesbians and other gender nonconforming women in the United States from the 1980s to the present".[7] FilmInk praised the film saying it is "told with humor, intelligence and an abundance of personality".[8] The Hollywood Reporter said the film "is by no means flashy, but it's a handsome production that zips along...and maintains an earned sense of celebration and cheer".[9] The film has a 95% approval rating at review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, based on 19 reviews.[10]

Accolades

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "ahead of the curve's world premiere - the biggest event in frameline history". curvemagmovie.com. July 3, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "Virtual Frameline44 Pride Showcase and 'Ahead of the Curve' Coming Out in June". GLAAD. May 12, 2020. Ahead of the Curve is the story of one of the most influential women in lesbian history most people have never heard of and the impact her work continues to have today.
  3. ^ a b c Sullivan, Beth (August 12, 2020). "Get Ahead of the Curve with aGLIFF". The Austin Chronicle.
  4. ^ Kleinmann, James (October 12, 2020). "Inside Out 2020 Film Review: Ahead of the Curve ★★★★". The Queer Review.
  5. ^ Panther, B.L. (October 5, 2020). "Reeling 2020: "Ahead of the Curve" has all the queer joy that's fit to print". The Spool.
  6. ^ Parker, Andrew (October 1, 2020). "Ahead of the Curve | Inside Out 2020 Review". The Gate Entertainment Magazine.
  7. ^ Boslaugh, Sarah (October 23, 2020). "NewFest 2020 | Report 7". NewFest.
  8. ^ Osborne, Hagan (2020). "Ahead of the Curve". FilmInk.
  9. ^ Kang, Inkoo (July 2, 2020). "'Ahead of the Curve': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  10. ^ "Ahead of the Curve (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  11. ^ "Ahead of the Curve". Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival.
  12. ^ "33rd Festival Awards". Out Film CT – Connecticut's LGBT Film Festival.
  13. ^ Lanza-Weil, Sophia (2020). "Ahead of the Curve". Frameline. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
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