Pedro Almodóvar’s ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER presented by Queer Diaspora! at Philosophical Research Society – Los Angeles, CA

Celebrate Mother’s Day with Queer Diaspora, as 7th House Screenings at PRS welcomes the bi-monthly screening series — programmed and hosted by filmmaker Gregorio Davila (L.A. A QUEER HISTORY, UNIDAD: GAY AND LESBIAN LATINOS UNIDOS) — for a screening of Pedro Almodóvar’s late 20th Century classic, a poignant and jubilant meditation on motherly love: ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER !

Following the screening, Davila will be joined by GLAAD nominated writer/director Aitch Alberto (ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE ), screenwriter, film critic, and cohost of Fish Jelly Podcast Nicholas Bell, and writer, producer, and Ballroom historian Syd Extravaganza to discuss the lasting impact of Almodóvar’s modern classic!

Decades ahead of its time in terms of feminine perspective and representation, Almodóvar’s Oscar winning 1999 masterpiece, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER celebrates femininity in all its forms. Written as an ode to his recently deceased mother, Almodóvar pays tribute to old Hollywood’s glorious tradition of “women’s films”, starring the great diva actresses of the time like Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford in THE WOMEN or Bette Davis in ALL ABOUT EVE. Sprinkled with Almodovar’s usual troupe of colorful characters, drag queens, trans women and biological women, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER proves that femininity and womanhood is not a matter of biological fact, it’s about experience and emotional connection. And over 25 years old, is still years ahead of Hollywood in terms of trans and nonbinary representation in film.

– Program notes by Queer Diaspora programmer Gregorio Davila

ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER (1999)

Internationally acclaimed writer/director Pedro Almodóvar delivered what stands as one of his greatest films with All About My Mother, a poignant masterpiece of unconditional love, survival and redemption. Manuela (Cecilia Roth) is the perfect mother. A hard-working nurse, she’s built a comfortable life for herself and her teenage son, an aspiring writer. But when tragedy strikes and her beloved only child is killed in a car accident, her world crumbles. The heartbroken woman learns her son’s final wish was to know his father – the man she abandoned when she was pregnant 18 years earlier. Returning to Barcelona in search of him, Manuela overcomes her grief and becomes caregiver to a colorful [object]end family: a pregnant nun (Penélope Cruz), a transvestite prostitute (Antonia San Juan), and two troubled actresses (Marisa Paredes and Candela Peña). With riveting performances, unforgettable characters and creative plot twists, this touching screwball melodrama is “An absolute stunner. A funny, touching and vital film…a career peak for Almodóvar!” – Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE

– Synopsis by Sony Pictures Classics

Dir. Pedro Almodóvar, 1999, 101mins, Spain, Spanish w/English Subtitles, Rated R, Digital.

Special thanks to Bella Masterson of Sony Pictures Classics.

Ticket Price: $12 (in-person event only).

Please email events@prs.org or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.

ABOUT THE PANEL

Aitch Alberto is a writer/director born and raised in Miami, Florida. She is a Sundance Episodic Lab alum and Momentum Fellowship, Rideback Rise fellow, recipient of a Skowhegan Artist Residency, a Yaddo fellowship, and Latino Screenwriting Project Fellowship. Most recently, Aitch adapted and directed GLAAD nominee for Outstanding Film ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE based on the award-winning young adult novel with Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eugenio Debrez producing. Aristotle and Dante has also received a Guild for Music Supervisors nomination as well as making coveted Best of lists, including Vanity Fair, The Wrap and LA Times. Aitch has written on the upcoming DUSTER, a 1970s-set crime drama series for Max. She also served as a writer on AppleTV+’s series LITTLE AMERICA. She has been included on The Black List’s inaugural Latinx List, Aitch was named one of Variety’s 10 Directors To Watch and Indiewire’s 22 Rising Female Filmmakers to watch.

Syd Xtravaganza is a writer, producer, director, dancer, archivist and journalist. He is in the House of Xtravaganza and he was Co-Executive Producer on HBOMax’s LEGENDARY Seasons 1 and 2. In 2022, he was the first Black trans man in the Writers Guild of America after working as a staff writer in scripted TV on THE VANISHING HALF (HBO) and TOM SWIFT (CW). Syd is an author of a history-memoir tentatively entitled, Undeniable: A History of Voguing, Ballroom And How it Changed My Life (And the World). He was the first trans man to solely win Grand Prize for “Old Way” at the Latex Ball in 2019.

Nicholas Bell began writing for Ioncinema in 2011, where he now serves as Chief Film Critic, providing coverage on weekly theatrical releases, including interviews, and awards items. He provides annual coverage on major film festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Sundance, and the Toronto International Film Festival, among others. His cinematic interests revolve around representations of race, gender, and LGBTQ+ themes in mainstream and independent film. Nicholas and his husband Joseph offer their takes on upcoming theatrical releases and select Blu-ray restorations on their Fish Jelly podcast. Their videos look at cinema from a queer and racially aware perspective.

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