Palm Springs, CA (The Hollywood Times) 9/27/26 — There is something especially wonderful about seeing a project you have followed finally make its way to the big screen, and that was certainly the case with comedian Mina Hartong’s Miss Personality at Cinema Diverse: The Palm Springs LGBTQ+ Film Festival.
The stand-up special had its world premiere Friday, September 25 at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, returning Mina’s comedy to the very city where the special was filmed before live audiences. Miss Personality draws from Mina’s Connecticut upbringing, Dutch heritage, years as a public-school teacher and, of course, her life and adventures as a lesbian.
Although Mina was unable to attend the screening in person and joined the event by phone from New York, The Hollywood Times was represented by our new Palm Springs writer and photographer Read Brown, who was there to capture some of the afternoon.
Read reported that the audience may have been intimate, but there were plenty of laughs, exactly what you would expect from Mina.
Having already seen the film, I knew I made a cameo of sorts in the audience, but it still made me smile when Read messaged me from the screening to say, “I saw YOU in the audience!” Especially funny since I was actually thousands of miles away in France at the time.
I have known Mina for years, so having The Hollywood Times follow Miss Personality from our earlier interview through its Cinema Diverse premiere has made this one especially personal for me. Mina has a gift for finding the humor in everyday life while remaining unmistakably herself; funny, outspoken, warm and proudly queer.
Cinema Diverse’s 19th edition once again brought LGBTQ+ filmmakers, performers and audiences together in Palm Springs for two weekends of storytelling, with more than 50 features and nearly 100 shorts in this year’s festival lineup.
Congratulations to Mina and everyone involved with Miss Personality. It was wonderful to see this very Palm Springs comedy special celebrated right here at Cinema Diverse.
Photos courtesy of Read Brown / The Hollywood Times
Story Valerie Milano, Publisher/Senior Editor, The Hollywood Times
