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Kathy Wolfe – Taking LGBT movies to the world
If you’re feeling alone or isolated, struggling to find your identity or place in the world, movies can have a transformative impact.
There is nothing more powerful than seeing characters on the big screen that you identify with, stories that somehow reflect your own journey, or insights into communities and worlds that you only dreamed existed.
For the LGBT community, finding those movies can sometimes be a bit of a challenge.
Wolfe Video has been one of the key distributors helping to share LGBT movies with the wider world.
On the 30th anniversary since they were founded in 1985, we caught up with Kathy Wolfe – the woman who started it all – to share some memories as well as talk plans for the future.
When did you first begin to realise that the mail order service that you were initially setting up was tapping into a demand from the LGBT audience?
The mail order business was an immediate success. Of course, this is based upon a very small need for profit as I was working out of the basement of my home. Low overheads, in every sense of the word, allowed me to grow slow and steady.
What was the breakthrough moment when you knew that Wolfe Video had a place in the market?
In 1992 we released the Lily Tomlin collection featuring The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. Lily’s work helped us break into the national distribution network and open direct relationships with Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, and Tower Records. After that we were able to release hundreds of titles into the mainstream and access the over 27,000 video rental stores operating at the time.
What’s been the most popular movie of all time that has been distributed through Wolfe Video?
Big Eden. It was hugely popular and we sold over 75,000 DVDs.
Are you still excited by movies?
Being part of the LGBT movie business is full of satisfaction. I love watching movies and meeting filmmakers. I love helping and sharing with them all that we have learned over the past 30 years.
Mostly I feel like we have made a difference both in the lives of our community but also in the world at large. We have always considered ourselves pioneers in visibility.
With increasing equality in many countries, is there still a need and an appetite for a specialist distributor of LGBT movies?
Our global streaming platform – WolfeOnDemand.com – is a lifeline to thousands desperately in need of community. It reminds me of the late 1970s when being in the closet was the norm here in the USA.
How is developing media technology changing the way that Wolfe Video operates?
When it comes to technology, a business like ours must adapt. We have gone from VHS, DVD, Blu-ray and now streaming. Technology has been great for us but it’s also added the concerns of internet piracy. I’m sure that readers of Gay Star News will understand the connection between not paying for their viewing and ultimately not getting quality filmmaking. Clearly, when we support our artists they can support us.
How will Wolfe Video continue to stay relevant in the crowded media market place?
Wolfe is a major supplier of LGBT content to all the players including Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, HBO, Showtime and beyond. Our films grace the screens of film festivals around the world and conversely Wolfe brings foreign films home for us to enjoy and learn from. We sell public performance rights to colleges and universities. In addition, our pay-per-view service WolfeOnDemand.com is one of the largest collections of LGBT streaming content available anywhere, including classics as well as new releases.
Read more movie reviews and interviews
The post Kathy Wolfe – Taking LGBT movies to the world appeared first on Gay Star News.
Gareth Johnson
www.gaystarnews.com/article/kathy-wolfe-taking-lgbt-movies-to-the-world/
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