Wolfe Video Celebrates 30th Anniversary As World’s Largest Exclusive Distributor of LGBT Films
Wolfe Video Celebrates 30th Anniversary As World’s Largest Exclusive Distributor of LGBT Movies Summer celebration includes anniversary events throughout June and July
Lily Tomlin, Jeffrey Schwarz and Javier Fuentes-Leon offer congrats!
Los Angeles, CA – June 18, 2015 – This June marks the 30th anniversary of Wolfe Video, the groundbreaking distribution company and leading film distributor of LGBT entertainment. Founded by pioneering lesbian entrepreneur Kathy Wolfe in 1985, Wolfe Video is the largest exclusive worldwide distributor of gay, lesbian, bi, and transgender (LGBT) films, with an acclaimed library of more than 150 films available on DVD, Blu-ray,VOD, and across multiple digital platforms. Through innovative digital distribution initiatives including its popular worldwide portal WolfeOnDemand.com, the company remains at the forefront of technological leadership in bringing films to audiences across the globe. Recent award-winning titles include The Circle (the Swiss submission for the Oscar® and Golden Globes®), and Eric Schaeffer’s popular transgender romantic comedy Boy Meets Girl.
Special events, promotions, and celebrations during June and July for Pride months will include:
- Anniversary Promotions – Exclusive discounts throughout the month of June, available on select titles through WolfeVideo.com
- GoWatchIt.com Wolfe Video Showcase (June)
- Wolfe will be hosting special anniversary events at LGBT festivals throughout the summer, including Frameline’s Women Filmmakers Brunch in June, and a 30th Anniversary reception at Outfest in July.
- Wolfe will be donating over 70 lesbian DVDs from the Wolfe collection to the June Mazer Lesbian Archives for their permanent collection.
“The impact Wolfe has had on the LGBT film landscape is immeasurable,” says Wolfe’s new president Jim Stephens. “Kathy and her team have played a crucial role in blazing the trail for LGBT stories to be created and shared with audiences for generations. Wolfe has remained an innovator in the rapidly changing distribution landscape, while also honoring its core mission: to inspire, entertain, and change the world through the power of film.”
“When we started Wolfe 30 years ago, there were really only a handful of gay films available and we were shipping VHS tapes to people across the US,” says founder and CEO Kathy Wolfe. “Today we deliver hundreds of movie titles to viewers around the world via our WolfeOnDemand.com streaming and download service – from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe.”
Wolfe Video has worked with a diverse roster of the world’s leading filmmakers and talent over the last three decades, including Lily Tomlin, Charles Busch, Guinevere Turner, Javier Fuentes-León, Donna Deitch, Jeffrey Schwarz, Monika Treut, Silas Howard, Aurora Guerrero, Eric Schaeffer, Nicole Conn, Charlie David, Patricia Rozema and many, many more. The Wolfe library includes some of the most renowned and popular LGBT movies of all time, including modern classics like Desert Hearts, Big Eden, Broadway Damage, and recent titles like Undertow (Peru’s submission for the Oscars®), Cloudburst (the award-winning comedy starring Oscar® winners Brenda Fricker and Olympia Dukakis), The Circle (the Swiss submission for the Oscar® and Golden Globes®). Others include August, Gayby, I Am Divine, Boy Meets Girl, Free Fall, Elena Undone, Loving Annabelle, and Test. Upcoming releases include small town gay drama Tiger Orange by Wade Gasque, Liz In September, a Caribbean-set lesbian ensemble drama by Fina Torres; and the European historical epic The Girl King by Mika Kaurismäki.
Congratulatory Tastemaker Quotes in Honor of Wolfe’s 30th Anniversary
- “Thanks, Wolfe, for giving us LGBT visibility for 30 years. As you’ve made the giant leap from analog tapes to digital streaming, you’ve stuck to your vision of bringing LGBT films to the mainstream. And thanks to you, there’s a whole community of LGBT folk who watch these films, and can proudly say they were’raised by wolves’.” –Lily Tomlin, The Search For Signs Of Intelligent Life In The Universe
- “After 30 years, Wolfe continues to be the leader in acquiring, promoting and supporting the next generation of gay and lesbian filmmakers and films from around the world.” – Javier Fuentes-León, Director, Undertow
- “Congratulations to Wolfe Video on their 30th Anniversary. For as long as I can remember, Wolfe has brought the finest LGBT films to market and provided audiences with countless hours of entertainment. The fact that they’ve been around this long and survived the ever-changing landscape of film distribution is a testament to their good taste, integrity and business acumen.” Jeffrey Schwarz, Director, I Am Divine
ABOUT WOLFE VIDEO
Now in its 30th year, Wolfe is the largest exclusive distributor of lesbian, gay, bi and transgender (LGBT) films. Major 2015 Wolfe releases include this year’s Swiss Oscar® and Golden Globes® submission, the powerful gay historical drama, The Circle; the award-winning new feature from legendary lesbian director Monika Treut, Of Girls And Horses; the heartwarming gay drama, Eat With Me (co-starring Teddy Chen Culver, Sharon Omi, Nicole Sullivan and George Takei) and the popular romantic comedy-drama, Boy Meets Girl. Wolfe is also well known for the DVD releases of such beloved modern classics as Cloudburst, Undertow, Desert Hearts, and Big Eden. Wolfe’s acclaimed motion picture library can be found at WolfeVideo.com as well as at national retailers such as Netflix, Amazon and VOD destinations such as Comcast, Time Warner, Hulu, iTunes, YouTube Movies and WolfeOnDemand.com. Find more info online at http://www.wolfevideo.com.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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