By Adrianna Zampieri
October is LGBT History Month, and Texas A&M has invited LGBT rights activist and screenwriter Dustin Lance Black to speak at the university on October 14. As a founding member of the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER) and a winner of an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for “Milk,” Black is an accomplished man, and it is clear that his role as a social activist has influenced his filmmaking.
Leading up to his lecture, The Film Studies Program and College of Liberal Arts will be showing two of his feature films for free at the Rudder Theatre. “J. Edgar” will be gracing the big screen on October 7 from 7 – 9:20 p.m., and “Milk” will play on October 12 from 7 – 9:30 p.m.
Staring Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio, “J. Edgar” tells the story of J. Edgar Hoover, a powerful leader in the F.B.I. for nearly 50 years. The personal and professional life of this important historical figure is explored, and the secret homosexual desires he harbored that would have ruined his career are revealed.
“Milk” follows the trials and tribulations of Harvey Milk, a man that fought for gay rights and became the first openly gay elected official in California. This inspirational film stars powerhouse Academy Award winner Sean Penn, and his acting doesn’t disappoint.
