Buy Tickets to World AIDS Day screening of "How Do I Look"

Ticketweb.com is now selling tickets for the screenings of films during the 15th Annual African Diaspora Film Festival in New York. You can now buy your tickets online for the evening screening on Saturday, Dec. 1 for How Do I Look. The screening will take place at Riverside Theatre in Harlem.

How Do I Look (US, 2006, 80mins) is a documentary directed by Wolfgang Busch. The film is about the Harlem "Ball" community, a group of highly creative dancers and performance artists. Topher Campbell has described How Do I Look as, "Personal. Powerful. Inspirational."

Another special World AIDS Day screening of "How Do I Look"

In connection with the 2007 New York AIDS Film Festival, New York University is hosting a special World AIDS Day screening of How Do I Look directed by Wolfgang Busch, on Saturday, December 1, 2007. A Q&A session with the documentary’s director will follow the screening.

The free screening of How Do I Look will take place from 11 am to 12 pm at New York University at the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, 53 Washington Square South, New York City. Admission to attend this special screening is free. Complimentary refreshments will be served.

For more information, please contact the director Wolfgang Busch at: Art From The Heart Films, 718-726-0831 or WolfgangBusch@earthlink.net, www.HowDoILookNYC.org.

About How Do I Look

How Do I Look is an award-winning documentary about the Harlem “Ball” community. This documentary feature originated as a community empowerment project for dancers and artists in the Ball community; it was directed by Wolfgang Busch in collaboration with assistant directors from the “Ball” community: Kevin Omni and Luna Khan. Since its early production, How Do I Look has been screened as a work-in-progress film at many prestigious American universities, such as Yale University, New York University, and Sarah Lawrence College, as part of academic curricula and student-run programs. Because the “Ball” community has been hit hard by the AIDS pandemic, from the outset Mr. Busch included in the final version of How Do I Look important messages from dancers and artists about HIV/AIDS prevention and care. As part of the New York AIDS Film Festival, a special 10-minute segment will be screened from How Do I Look, addressing HIV/AIDS. Featured in the HIV excerpt from the How Do I Look documentary are: Octavia St. Laurent, Kevin Omni, Jose Xtravaganza, Carmen Xtravaganza, Harmonica Sunbeam, Luna Khan, Kevin Aviance, Kenny Ebony, Darryck LaBeija, and Marcel Christian.

About the “Ball” community

The Harlem "Ball" community has been, and continues to be, influential in fashion, music, runway, and dance. The artistry and talent from this community have inspired superstars Madonna, Iman, Marc Jacobs, and RuPaul. Unfortunately, the “Ball” community has been devastated by the AIDS pandemic, resulting in the loss of the community’s leadership. As a community, the dancers and artists from the “Ball” scene continue to fight an uphill battle for artistic and social empowerment.

About the New York AIDS Film Festival

To mark Work AIDS Day this year on December 1, The New York AIDS Film Festival (NYAFF) will provide a series of HIV- and AIDS-related film screenings, panel discussions, and special events. Its mission is to provide the public with information about the disease by sponsoring the screenings of visual media. The New York AIDS Film Festival features diverse works, which serve as educational material about HIV/AIDS. These programs aim to promote social action in the fight against the global AIDS pandemic. In 2006, the New York AIDS Film Festival commemorated the 25th Anniversary of the first diagnosed case of AIDS. Stay tuned for more information about this important film festival.

Podcast Interview with Kevin Ultra Omni at London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival

Podcast of Pink Mafia Radio Episode No. 72, May 22, 2007, dedicated to the documentary, How Do I Look.

Coverage of the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival begins with our guest Kevin Ultra Omni founding father of the House of Ultra Omni and Co-Director of How Do I Look. His film is the answer to the questions left by the classic Ball Scene documentary Paris Is Burning. Kevin with Wolfgang Bush and Luna Khan directed this new film with much more input from the people active in the NYC Ball community. To find out more about the film please go to HowDoILookNYC.org.

Click on this link to listen to the podcast interview with Kevin Ultra Omni.

Special Screening of "How Do I Look" on World AIDS Day

For immediate release

November 1st 2007

How Do I Look documentary screening on WORLD AIDS DAY at the Harlem Diaspora Film Festival, Saturday December 1st, 2007 at the Riverside Theatre, 8PM

The award winning documentary How Do I Look with director Wolfgang Busch and assistant directors Kevin Omni and Luna Khan, will be screened at the Harlem Diaspora Film Festival on December 1st, 2007 on World AIDS Day, followed by Q & A by the directors. How Do I Look is about the Harlem “Drag Ball” community that originated in the 1970s in Harlem, an off shoot of the legendary Harlem “Drag Balls” from the 1920s.

This African American and Hispanic Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Harlem community is best known for its worldwide influences in dance, fashion, runway and music, inspiring Madonna with her best selling music video “Vogue”, fashion designer Thierry Mugler and in music Ru Paul and #1 Billboard dance performer extraordinaire Kevin Aviance with producer GOMI.

This trendsetting artistic community is unfortunately also hit hardest by the AIDS epidemic. Since the beginning of the production of the How Do I Look documentary in 1995, nine members from the “Ball” community have passed away: Willi Ninja, Angie Infiniti, Eric Christian Bazaar, Marcel Christian, Gerald Dupree LaBeija, Mystery Royale, Kenny Ebony, Pepper LaBeija, and Billy Pemperton. While this list of nine "Ball" members did not all die from AIDS, to this date many surving members are struggling every day with the HIV virus. For that reason, much of this community’s history and legacy is lost or in danger of being lost.

This ground-breaking, inspiring, educational and entertaining documentary, now available on DVD, talks about the history of the dance “Vogue” by Willi Ninja, Jose Xtravaganza, and Andre Mizrahi; sends HIV hope messages by Luna Khan; “Bazaar” Fashion designs by Ross Infiniti; runway by Ricky Revlon; transgender issues by Tracy Africa, Carmen Xtravaganza, and Octavia St. Laurent; and the “Ball” history by Marcel Christian and Kevin Omni. Special appearance by columnist Michael Musto, Patricia Field, and Kevin Aviance.

How Do I Look is released independently by Art From The Heart LLC, and we are proud to represent LGBT content at the up-coming prestige’s Diaspora Film Festival in Harlem.

How Do I Look is currently screened in film festivals across the United States and Internationally and the How Do I Look DVD is available on our website www.HowDoILooknyc.org, Amazon.com, selected retail stores in NYC at Kim’s Video, Giovanni’s in Philadelphia and A Different Light book store in Los Angeles.

Please contact: Art From The Heart, attn. Wolfgang Busch at 718-726-0831 or WolfgangBusch@earthlink.net or kevin.burrus1@verizon.net; website: http://www.HowDoILooknyc.org.