One of the hardest-working filmmakers in L.A., Jorge Ameer has been an actor, a director, a writer, a producer, a cinematographer, a productions designer, a distributor, and a film programmer. Yet his many contributions to the GLBT filmmaking community have gone largely unrecognized. Over the past decade he has written, directed, and produced such offbeat films as Strippers, My Straight Boyfriend, Straight Men & the Men Who Love Them, House of Adam, and Contadora Is for Lovers. He also came up with the Glitter Awards, the annual alternative to the Oscars to recognize GLBT films.
A native of Panama, at the age of thirteen Ameer was sent to the U.S. b
y his parents during the reign of dictator Manuel Noriega (1983–89). An ardent filmgoer as a child, Ameer’s professional career started when he was selected to participate in the Walt Disney College Program at the age of eighteen. After that, Ameer worked for New Line Cinema, Paramount, Columbia Pictures, and TriStar Pictures in the early 90’s. He founded the Continental Film Festival in 1997, held on the island of Contadora off the Gulf of Panama, and serves as a festival coordinator and programmer for numerous film festivals. As a distributor, Ameer started Hollywood Independents International, which primarily focuses on films with GLBT content. In addition he produced and arranged the publishing of The Guide to Gay & Lesbian Film.
This exclusive, face-to-face interview was conducted in early September.
Gay & Lesbian Review: When did you decide you wanted to be a filmmaker?
Jorge Ameer: My parents’ version of babysitting was taking me to the movies. I’ve loved movies for as long as I can think of coming into being. My mom’s favorite movie was The Sound of Music. Every year they played the film and she would take us to the drive-in. Later my mom would drop me off at the movies and I would watch two, three films at a time.
G&LR: A lot of us love movies but few of us become filmmakers. What drove you?
JA: That’s true. Back then I was trying to survive. Panama was practically at war. I guess that’s why I’m doing so well now. The entertainment industry is sort of like a war zone, but a different type of war zone.
G&LR: Mysticism and religion play a part in your films—
JA: I’m not a religious person whatsoever, but all of my work definitely has a religious undertone. That’s my upbringing. The opposite side of that is my work is highly sexual, which has to do with having been so sexually repressed. Growing up, whenever I encountered anything sexual it was mind-blowing to me. Ultimately, I felt the need to mix sexuality and faith in my films.
G&LR: Another theme in your films is that gay men are threatened outsiders, especially with regard to their relationship to non-gay men.
JA: Gray areas fascinate me. The whole gay thing is a way to create a social, economic, political separation of people into groups. But people are not like that. People are a lot more complex.
G&LR: Then there are those gay men who are often in positions of power who reinforce the status quo.
JA: When you’re in those positions of power, there’s a certain sense of entitlement and privilege. Rules are for the poor. The rich and powerful do whatever they want; they don’t have the boundaries the poor guy has. Even in the Catholic Church, their priests can molest kids, but everybody else has to live by the rules.
G&LR: I know you attend a lot of film festivals. How do they serve the GLBT community?
JA: From the beginning, film festivals have been a platform of discovery. These films are not in theaters. Often the only time you can see them is at the festivals. Thanks to those festivals things have proliferated to other mediums.
G&LR: On that note, what’s the concept behind the Glitter Awards?
JA: The Glitter Awards were born out of a necessity to honor these films. There needs to be something to pat gay and foreign distributors and filmmakers on the back.
G&LR: But the Academy now recognizes GLBT films.
JA: We still need GLBT film festivals and Glitter Awards. The day we will not need them is when everybody is on the same playing field. You and I are in L.A. and New York and Boston, but if you go out of these hubs and into the heartland, there are people who are changed by seeing my films because they didn’t have any frame of reference before.
G&LR: Another key component of your filmmaking style is that you distribute your own films. What are the advantages and disadvantages?
JA: The advantages are great. I originally got into this business wanting to be an actor. That didn’t work out, so I started studying the business. I had this studio boss in publicity who I will never forget. She never lifted a finger, I did all her work and she took the credit. I learned everything about film releasing, publicity, financing, and distribution. With distribution you’re in control of your product; you have no censorship. The one disadvantage is that you’re kind of in a capsule. Film is a collaborative effort. When you’re surrounded by people you’re paying to do something they love doing, nobody is going to tell you the truth about your film.
G&LR: What is the attitude toward the GLBT community in Panama?
JA: Panama is a very open country, very tolerant yet very Catholic. There’s no separation between church and state. The church likes to work with the government to help with humanitarian aid, but at times likes to impose their doctrine, which causes a lot of conflict. A lot of the laws in Panama are still based on religious doctrine. The GLBT community is growing slowly. The culture in Panama is highly bisexual, whereas most of the men who would engage in homosexual activity are married. That has to do with the Latin culture. As long as you do what you’re suppose to do, which is get married and have kids, after you’ve done that it’s like a free-for-all. But it’s very much on the down low.
G&LR: What happened when you brought GLBT cinema to Panama?
JA: It became scandalous when I first brought movies there. So I took a flight there and stirred up some controversy with the press. The media there tend to be more liberal than the general public.
