Meet Mia Charnelle, one of Q26’s 2023 Photography Workshop Leaders! Covering: Introductory Photography and Product Photography

This Poison Heart is a young adult, fantasy novel about a 17-year-old girl, Briesis, who has the ability to control plants with her mind. In addition, she’s immune to poisons. What this means is not only does she have her black girl magic going for her, but she also has a pretty badass power that would make anyone pause.

“Come on, don’t say that.” 

“I don’t care half as much as he does. He deserves someone who isn’t like me.” “You’ll hurt him if you leave.” 

“And I’ll hurt him if I stay.”

If the advent of my queerness and I were in a relationship, the status would squarely be that “it’s complicated.” The non-conformist in me quite frankly feels a bit square even when I say I have a coming out tale to tell. But, when in a capitalist, patriarchal hell, do as the other hellions do…

There has been an obvious lack of female presenting characters in tv and film. The problem is although more exist on our screens; they have become so superficial, so un-relatable that the women no longer feel like real women.

That place is stained with memories of you and I love it, but it hurts. I  sit here at a bar in the middle of the night across from the coffee shop by  the train tracks with friends, their conversation starting to pull me back.

Many years ago, when I could no longer keep in what I needed to say, I came out to my grandma. After she hugged me, one of the first things she said was, “Tu tía Maira Luisa también es como tú.”

The LGBTQ Center Long Beach has recently become a sponsor for The Filmmakers Club. The Queer 26 established this program to help up-and-coming artists gain experience in the filmmaking industry. 

“Art comes in many different forms and shapes. Art can help all of us to deal with the difficulties in our lives,” said Carlos Torres, The Center’s Executive Director. 

For anyone seeking unflinching authentic stories, Muhyi Ali is the one to watch. Most known for her award-winning film Undefined: A Muslim-American Musical, Ali brings a refreshing perspective on the overlooked stories of those in POC spaces. She has taken the time today to tell us more about herself and her upcoming project Always in Bloom: Amara.