The Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival is pleased to announce it will present the South Florida premiere of one of the year's most acclaimed gay & lesbian films, The Business of Fancydancing, at the Regal Cinema South Beach on Wednesday, January 22nd, at 7:30 p.m.

Actress Michelle St. John, who co-stars in the film as Agnes, will present the film in person and participate in a question & answer session at the post-screening party to be held at the glamorous, newly-restored Jackie Gleason House on Alton Road, hosted by owner Craig Eberhardt.

Written and directed by Sherman Alexie (who wrote Smoke Signals, the first self-produced/directed/written American Indian feature film in American film history), The Business of Fancydancing has won numerous accolades on the gay & lesbian film festival circuit, including the Audience Favorite Award at BOTH the 2002 San Francisco Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and the Philadelphia Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. In addition, star Evan Adams was honored as Best Actor and Sherman Alexie won the Screenplay award at the juried Outfest awards in Los Angeles. "Scene by scene...The Business of Fancydancing makes some fascinating points about identity politics, history, loyalty and the price of success -- not a bad payoff for a first-time filmmaker," wrote Dennis Harvey in Variety.

AN ADDITIONAL BONUS OF THIS SCREENING IS THE PUBLIC LAUNCH OF THE FESTIVAL'S 5TH ANNUAL OFFICIAL IMAGE, WITH THE UNVEILING OF THE 5TH ANNUAL POSTER RIGHT BEFORE THE FILM!

A poetic story of growth, death and the choices that define us, The Business of Fancydancing reunites two Spokane Reservation friends, Aristotle and Seymour, after a 16-year separation, when Seymour left the "rez" for good. Seymour has built a successful literary career as a poet and become a not-entirely-willing spokesman for all American Indians, many of whom can't stomach him. The sudden death of a childhood friend rests a sense of obligation on Seymour, and he returns for the first time in years against the wishes of his white lover, Steven. The only person on the rez who welcomes Seymour is his half-Jewish, half-Spokane Indian college girlfriend, Agnes (played by Michelle St. John). At the wake, a long-festering bitterness is dangerously exposed by Seymour's arrival.

Tickets for this special presentation of The Business of Fancydancing are $20 (or $15 for current 2003 MGLFF members) for the film premiere only, or $40 (or $30 for current 2003 MGLFF members) for film + post-screening party at the fantastic art-deco masterpiece Jackie Gleason House (pictured above), from 9:30 pm to 11 p.m. All tickets are available directly from the Festival Office at 305-534-9924 (VS/MC/AMEX). Please do not call the Regal Cinemas for tickets, they are not selling them for this event. For more information, email us at info@miamigaylesbianfilm.com

The Jackie Gleason House, featured in this month's edition of Lincoln Road Magazine, is a two-level, 7,880 sq. ft. house that was home to Jackie Gleason in the 1960s, and the June Taylor Dancers from his TV show rehearsed there. A sunken oval dance floor, terrazzo with a pattern in rose, green and gold, under a 25-foot dome marks the center of a 2000 sq. ft. living room shaped like a Maltese cross - merely the centerpiece of this unbelievable private residence, featuring 5 bedroom suites and 7.5 baths. Attendees of the party will not only have a chance to speak with and ask questions of star Michelle St. John, but enjoy a full open bar and delicious treats from a fine Miami caterer.

Special thanks to our Event sponsors, Regal Entertainment Group, and realtor Craig Eberhardt of Carson Realty Group for their generosity in making this screening possible.

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