Making It Queer Level Ground

We're launching our 3rd season with another incredible guest! Jamal Sims is a professional choreographer and a first-time director. We got to talk with him about his film, WHEN THE BEAT DROPS, which premieres on Logo Network tomorrow (8/9) at 8 pm!

WHEN THE BEAT DROPS follows a crew of gay African-American men as they pioneer the Southern-rooted underground dance scene known as “bucking.” Together with his crew of fellow gay African-American men, Anthony Davis, a heavy-set, Atlanta-born kid with a love of dance, helped grow bucking into a national movement, complete with fierce competitions. In the process, Davis created a haven for a generation of displaced black gay men.

It was an amazing conversation and we're excited for you to listen! Watch the trailer for WHEN THE BEAT Drops using the link below and don't forget to tune in tomorrow at 8 pm!

www.logotv.com/video-clips/a6qz4k/logo-documentary-films-go-behind-the-movement-when-the-beat-drops

For more information about Level Ground, the organization who makes this podcast possible, or to make a donation to ensure programming like this continues, visit www.onlevelground.org.

As a part of our ongoing coverage of Outfest, we got to have a great conversation with MAN MADE director, T Cooper. His film traces the varied lives of four transgender men as they prepare to step on stage at the only all-trans bodybuilding competition in the world. It follows their emotional and physical journeys as they navigate lives as the men they are, despite very real risks inherent in the current social and political climate. For the men of MAN MADE, it's not about winning—it's about being seen.

We absolutely LOVED this film and if you are free today or tomorrow go see it at Outfest! You can catch MAN MADE today at 12p at the DGA or tomorrow at 4:15p at the Regal LA Live. It's not one you're going to want to miss!

If you want to follow along with the film's journey, check out their website at http://www.manmadedoc.com/

We sat down with Light in the Water director Lis Bartlett for another fantastic conversation! Her doc chronicles the history behind the first openly gay masters swim and water polo club, the West Hollywood Swim Club. It follows their battle for acceptance: from their humble beginnings, to how these men and women have become a renowned force fighting injustice in the world of competitive sports. Catch the network premiere TONIGHT on Logo at 8pm!

We sat down in the heart of the festival for another amazing conversation - this time with Game Girls director Alina Skrzeszewska. Her film is a heartwrenching look at life on skid row, how community is held together by shared experiences of poverty and the barriers to climbing out of a life on the streets. It's one of our favorites from this year's festival and you can see it today at 9:30pm at the DGA as a part of Outfest!

We sat down with the director and cast of We The Animals a day ahead of their LA premiere at Outfest. We had an incredible conversation with the first time director Jeremiah Zagar and two cast members, Sheila Vand and Raul Castillo. You can catch the film TONIGHT at 8pm at the DGA in Hollywood or as a part of its nationwide theatrical release on August 17th!