Queering the Documentary: An Evening with Filmmaker Connor Lee O’Keefe
November 7 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
The Lindsay Theater and Cultural Center will introduce regional cinephiles to the singular filmmaking talent of Connor Lee O’Keefe later this month.
O’Keefe is a nonfiction filmmaker, artist and teacher who uses a queer lens to shape the realities captured in his films. He’s currently in residence as this semester’s Visiting Documentary Filmmaker at Robert Morris University.
He’ll be at The Lindsay on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. to share five of his documentary shorts as part of a specially curated Queering the Documentary program. Those screenings will be followed by a Q&A with O’Keefe. Tickets to this event are free, but RSVPs are encouraged in advance due to space limitations.
Some of O’Keefe’s films that will be screened on Nov. 7 include Our Transition, which explores O’Keefe’s gender transition from his parents’ perspective; Imagine a Body, an essay film on the spiritual nature of hormone replacement therapy for transgender men that premiered in 2022 as part of the The New Yorker Documentary Series; and No More Longing, an immersive portrait of Brazilian musician Jaime Jobim that premiered at SFFilm in San Francisco.
“It is a pleasure to work with our Visiting Documentary Filmmaker each fall semester,” says Jen Stratakis, RMU’s Arts & Humanities’ media outreach coordinator. “I have the privilege of helping each one connect with the RMU student body and greater Pittsburgh film community to share their work in a meaningful way. This semester, Connor Lee O’Keefe brings his beautiful take on storytelling to our campus and our town. He is eloquent and his films are inspiring.”
This is the second year in a row that The Lindsay will be hosting a Robert Morris Visiting Documentary Filmmaker’s public showcase.
“I’m honored to have been able to continue refining my work as an artist with RMU and to have an opportunity to participate in fruitful dialogue with audiences at The Lindsay,” says O’Keefe. “We need independent theaters to keep this art form doing what it does best—and that’s bringing people together.”
RMU’s Visiting Documentary Filmmaker program is a 15-week residency that requires participants to teach a documentary introduction class, create and share their work, and actively engage with the RMU faculty, student body and general community.
“We need queer and trans perspectives now more than ever,” says O’Keefe. “I hope these films immerse you into a space that allows you to wonder, heal and grow.”
