FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 29, 2021 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 39 buzz
Queens Drive-In to
screen award-winning
short fi lm featuring
story of pioneering
1918 LGBTQ scientist
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
When Dr. Louise Pearce, an openly gay
pathologist, left New York City for the
Congo and helped fi nd a cure for African
sleeping sickness in 1918 — saving an
estimated 2 million lives — the Spanish
fl u was already spreading across neighborhoods
and tenements back home and
would be killing 20,000 New Yorkers at
its apex.
It has been said that this deadly fl u —
which claimed between 50 and 100 million
souls worldwide — had dramatically
altered global politics, race relations
and family structures, while driving innovation
in medicine, religion and the arts.
It really put humankind’s ingenuity to the
test. And, as few women were in STEM
careers at the turn of the century, it was
Dr. Pearce’s trailblazing spirit that made
the male-dominated scientifi c community
take notice.
If you’re intrigued by this compelling
historic story, don’t miss “Distemper,” an
award-winning short (18 min.) starring
Abigail Hawk (“Blue Bloods” on CBS) and
Chiké Okonkwo (“Being Mary Jane”). Th e
plot for the TV series pilot-turned-fi lm
was created by biologist and writer Max
Pitagno and directed by indie TV/fi lm
producer Elias Plagianos of Red Hook,
Brooklyn. You can catch the screening at
the Queens Drive-In, at the Queens Hall
of Science, by the Museum of the Moving
Image in Astoria, on Friday, April 30, at 7
p.m. Th is production was fi lmed on Long
Island.
“’Distemper’ could not possibly be
more relevant to the health and social crises
we are dealing with today! Th e story
tackles all the diffi cult ethical and moral
questions scientists are confronted with
when attempting to prevent a pandemic,”
Plagianos told QNS.
“In the case of ‘sleeping sickness,’ which
was occurring in the Belgian Congo,
Louise Pearce was tasked with traveling
across the globe to fi nd a cure. Our story
fi nds her at the beginning of that journey:
Louise, a lesbian scientist, must convince
Noah Jansen, an African living in
Belgium, to allow her to help on his crusade
to fi nd a cure. On the surface they are
two underdogs trying to change the way
society treats them, but there are hidden
dark agendas also at play, that we hope to
explore in a series or perhaps even a feature
fi lm version.”
In the fi lm, the audience also learns that
Louise’s partner was Sara Josephine Baker,
the physician who tracked down Typhoid
Mary, the fi rst healthy carrier of typhoid
responsible for spreading the disease to
numerous people.
“Th e toxic history of the Belgian Congo,
the rubber trade, sleeping sickness, pioneering
LGBT female scientists and doctors
in 1918. Th e more I researched, the
more interested I became in the project,”
Plagianos explained. “When we worked
on the shooting script though, I needed
a personal connection to make sure the
story had a specifi c point of view. So, Max
and I focused on these characters whose
voices felt marginalized by industries that
did not want to accept them. Characters
who were determined to do something
extraordinary so their colleagues would
take notice.”
Even with a generous grant from the
Alfred P. Sloan foundation, it was a real
challenge creating a believable world
on an independent fi lm budget. Elias
spent weeks scouting locations throughout
the New York area to attempt to sell
New York and the Congo in 1918. It
was fi lmed at Long Island University—
C.W. Post in Brookville, Nassau County;
Th e Players Club in Gramercy Park,
Manhattan; and at a turn-of-the-century
home in Clarkstown, Rockland County.
Th ey found a marsh with tall grass along
the Hudson River near Piermont, NY, that
was used as their Belgian Congo backdrop.
Hawk told QNS that she “dove right
into that time period” and discovered
how instrumental Dr. Pearce was in fi nding
a cure for trypanosomiasis (African
sleeping sickness). “I think at her core
she was dedicated to progress, to solving
problems, and to treating all human
beings as equals. To have made her mark
as a pathologist and physician – an awardwinning
one at that – is truly remarkable,”
she said. “Th e rest, we must fi ctionalize as
authentically as possible, which I believe
we achieved in Max and Elias’ pilot presentation
script.”
“I lovingly nicknamed her ‘Fierce
Pearce,’ and can only imagine what a force
Courtesy of Queens Drive-In
of nature she must have been,” Hawk
added. “She was, aft er all, beholden to
many of the social constructs of the time,
which is what made her request to travel
solo across the Atlantic Ocean to the
Belgian Congo, such an incredibly bold
ask.”
“Th ese women were not ‘out’ in the
way our society views sexuality today.
Her personal life remains shrouded in
mystery, and my research shed quite the
dim light on her likely polyamorous relationship
with Dr. Baker and writer Ida
Wylie,” Hawk continued. “I think people
had their suppositions and suspicions,
but there really was a lack of gossip about
them in general. We know the women
lived together; we know they were members
of Heterodoxy, a ‘radical feminist’
social group; we know Pearce moved
through life in a patriarchal world and,
like Dr. Baker, wanted to be respected for
her work.
“She probably found a true equal in Dr.
Baker and through that relationship, an
intellectual outlet and emotional support
system lacking in her workplace. I am sure
Dr. Baker’s perseverance encouraged Dr.
Pearce to follow her heart and her calling.
Dr. Pearce’s creativity and ingenuity saved
millions of lives.”
Th e fi lm will be shown at 7 p.m. on
Friday, April 30, at the Queens Drive-In,
located at 47-01 111 St. in Corona.
Tickets, which cost $20 per car, can be
purchased via eventbrite.com. New York
Hall of Science members receive a free
ticket.
“Distemper,” an award-winning short starring Abigail Hawk, is set to screen at the Queens Hall of Science on April 30.
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