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In a world where Black women are often left to fend for themselves while being held to an ungodly high standard, this program aims to celebrate and exemplify Black women throughout the various stages of being. This collection of films aims to take you through coming of age tenderness, spirited fights for equality and unfiltered truthfulness. In implementing this program with The OutMuseum, it establishes an opportunity to appreciate what Black womanhood looks like through an array of experiences and narratives.


Guest Curated by Outfest Fusion Programmer Tishon Pugh

A video introduction to The Essence of Queerness by its curator Tishon Pugh.




Tishon Pugh is a Georgia born, South Carolina raised screenwriter, filmmaker and film programmer. She prefers to explore the themes of comically awkward youth, Southern heritage, queerness and the unusual in her works. Tishon is an alumni of the University of South Carolina, graduated with cum laude distinction, having obtained her B.A. in Anthropology with a specification in Cultural and Visual Anthropology. Hoping to combine the two, Tishon’s ultimate goal in life is not only to create great stories but help preserve them for the upcoming generations to experience.


Tishon has taken up many opportunities to get involved with the film industry and has had the pleasure of being apart of two inaugural programming fellowships with Outfest Fusion Film Festival and the Athena Film Festival. She currently works with the New Orleans Film Festival as a festival programmer, focusing on documentary features and animated shorts.


Outside of any creative endeavors, Tishon enjoys bar trivia, thrifting and occasional rewatches of her favorite tv show, New Girl.


As an artist, Tishon’s mission is to make film more accessible to rural areas in the South, expose low-income children to the world of cinema, and play an active role in archiving the Black Southern experience.

  • Runtime
    1 minutes