“HOUSE OF EDWIGE”: Café Tabac Film Honors The Late EDWIGE BELMORE—NYC Pride 2016

“It was magic. You could feel that there was love in the air.”
Edwige—“Sundays at Café Tabac” filmed interview, December 2014

On September 22^nd of 2015, our beloved Edwige transitioned and took flight. She was only 58. And the shock of the news reverberated around the world. She was mourned by friends and fans alike of her all too sudden departure. Many had known and loved her for decades, but for the many who had never heard of her before,  it was moving and endearing to witness how she could nonetheless, still make an impression gaining new fans, as she did in life.

She had been a dear friend to us since those Café Tabac nights in the early ‘90s East Village and is one of the reasons why we are making our “Sundays at Café Tabac” documentary feature film. We feel a duty to celebrate and share with the world, the beautiful women of Café Tabac who had the ovaries to be 1000% unapologetically who they were. It was once said that ‘you changed the world by being yourself.’ Edwige was one of our shining stars—she was as bold, idiosyncratic, creative and confident, as she was full of love and vulnerability that she wasn’t afraid to wear on her sleeve.  But she also had something else—that ungraspable thing that would single her out in a room full of beautiful women, as Café Tabac was. It was an essence which transcended her effortless yet impeccable style and physical beauty; an essence which comes from living the truth of knowing deeply the inherent contradictions in all things. For that, she didn’t take that everyday definition of “beauty” seriously, or  “fashion,” both of which she was celebrated for, or anything else we might take too seriously. For her, in her self-proclaimed Piscean manner, love was the only truth.  And how that translated into that intangible thing known as “presence,” with her, was impressionable and unforgettable.

She was truly a one of a kind.

How to describe downtown New York and its nightlife’s vibrant and creative past without the mention of Edwige? Those magical nights huddled into Bard’O, next to Joey Arias and Raven-O doing numbers which would melt you, to then hear Edwige sing “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” through her French accent, that unmistakeably sexy raspy voice of hers, and all kinds of tongue-in-cheek nuance. This beautiful 6’1 tall woman in a man’s suit and red lipstick. It was nothing short of mesmerizing and you fell in love right then and there. You couldn’t help but take that out with you into the streets, echoing under the city’s amber street lamps at night, and that feeling of love and inspiration became inextricably connected to New York City itself.

She was a permanent fixture on Sunday nights at Café Tabac and was so comfortable, one could mistake her for being one of the hosts; and her gracious presence was one of the reasons Café Tabac felt like such a magical place. Most of us in the room then in that ancient pre-internet era, never knew her rich personal history—hailed as the “Queen of Punk,” connected to some of the most legendary & creative nightlife spaces from Paris to NY, and as muse to artists and fashion designers that ranged from Warhol to Jean-Paul Gaultier and Thierry Muglier, photographed by Maripol, Helmet & June Newton, Nan Goldin, Pierre et Gilles and the list goes on. You just saw and felt what those artists no doubt must’ve been inspired by and tried to capture.

In December of 2014, not knowing she was going to leave us within less than a year—as a result of the support of our community through our grassroots fundraising efforts to make our film—we were able to catch up with Edwige who was then living in Miami, to film her interview. She played one of the integral roles in our Café Tabac story, and we shudder to think that we could have missed capturing her incredible life story, her point of view of seeing the world, and her voice, to share and inspire others with, especially lesbian women. We miss her tremendously and it brings some consolation to be able to remember her brilliance through the footage. This is why we feel it a duty to document our community. We won’t allow the very special women from our Café Tabac family, in all the various spectrums we embody, to be forgotten by history. We are indebted to all those who have supported our past grassroots fundraising efforts including last year’s Pride event, and hope again this Pride, to be able to continue raising the crucial funds needed to finish this film.

Come join us at our second annual NYC Pride 2016 film fundraiser event to help us preserve and tell our story and to pay tribute to Edwige. We dedicate this year’s Pride event to her, and name it the “HOUSE OF EDWIGE.” Be in the room with us in celebration of her spirit, flirt the way she would have, and participate in what the original Café Tabac was all about. With all its magic and love.

We love and miss you Edwige. Friend, sister, lover. You live in our hearts.

Celebrate NYC PRIDE 2016 with us at
the HOUSE OF EDWIGE
on WEDNESDAY June 22nd, 2016 at the Jane Hotel
For more INFORMATION, go to>>>  www.cafetabacfilm.com/pride2016