Each October TIGLFF provides a microburst of new story telling from around the world, right here in our own community. This candy box of moving stories pollinate our hearts and minds. We laugh. We cry. We get goose bumps together. The festival changes us and we change it.
As we celebrate our 21st milestone, I am reminded of your many stories playing out against the backdrop of those shown on the big screen. Many of you renew old bonds during these 11 days. Some have met partners and celebrate anniversaries. All of us anticipate the excitement of what’s coming next: the dramas, comedies, and real life studies that flow back and forth from the screen to our own lives. Even visiting filmmakers become entangled in our stories that become their stories.
For many of us TIGLFF is an important part of what defines our quality of life in Tampa Bay. I could not imagine life here without it. The films, along with the festival experience, allow me to grow and feel enriched. The festival makes me a better person. I hope it’s made your world better too, even if just a little.
I cannot thank you all enough for the support you have given to make the festival possible, especially in these past few years of economic tumult. As tough as change can be I know we can look forward to a future of great promise.
GLBT filmmakers around the world are increasingly gaining access to the resources they need to make their movies and tell our stories. Norms are changing and with advances audiences are growing. New media markets for GLBT content are emerging. Technology and social networking tools offer more dynamic ways of connecting filmmakers and audience.
Somewhere in the morass of change and tumult is our future and the next story of this community, who we are and what the festival will become. In the end there is one constant, the festival changes us and we change it.
Cheers!
John Thomas
Board President
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