Generations: Youth & Elders (2011 shorts program)

Johnny and Lyman, together
for 65 years and counting

“Generations: Youth and Elders Making Movies,” (shorts program)
Sun. 6/19, 4:00 p.m. @ Roxie

Coming Out in the 1950s: Stories of Our Lives, dir. Gabriel Gaska & Phil Siegel, 2011 USA, 15 min. 
Eau Queer Festival, dir. Pamela Forman & Ellen Mahaffy, 2010 USA, 11 min. 
The Hook-Up, dir. Frameline Generations Filmmaker Workshop, 2011 USA, 7 min. 
Johnny & Lyman: A Life Together, dir. Michael Chen & Paul Detwiler, 2010 USA, 19 min.  [trailer]
Love Me/Hate Me, dir. Frameline Generations Filmmaker Workshop, 2011 USA, 7 min. 
Our Compass, dir. Tess Vo, 2009 Canada, 29 min. 
Tenderloin: Forgotten History, dir. Frameline Generations Filmmaker Workshop, 2011 USA, 8 min. 

The Queen Has No Crown

The Heymann brothers,
from an old home movie.

The Queen Has No Crown, dir. Tomer Heymann (תומר הימן), 2011 Israel, 85 min., mostly in Hebrew with English subtitles 
Sat. 6/18, 6:30 p.m. @ Roxie

The Queen Has No Crown is a deeply personal documentary of the filmmaker’s life, growing up in Israel, coming out, gaining political awareness of gay rights and also of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tomer Heymann uses his own videos from the last decade, but also family home movies and photos going back to the formation of the State of Israel. He encompasses both the personal and family history, including the recent migration of much of the family to America, and the backdrop of world events against which the personal stories unfold. It’s an interesting story, and a rare opportunity to see so much of the story in contemporaneous images, but at almost an hour and a half, it ran a bit long; my interest flagged in several segments. Highly recommended.

Note: although most of the dialogue is in Hebrew (with English subtitles), the title of the film is only in English.

הערה: למרות שרוב הדיאלוג היא עברית (עם כתוביות באנגלית), את הכותרת של הסרט הוא באנגלית בלבד.

Please May I Have Another?

International Mr. Leather contestants
in the doc. Crowned and Bound.

“Please May I Have Another?” (shorts program)
Sat. 6/18, 9:00 p.m. @ Victoria

Black Rose Tango, dir. Richard Kimmel, 2010 USA, 12 min. 
Brotherly Love, dir. Kinky Lez, 2010 USA, 14 min. 
Crowned & Bound, dir. Jeffrey Thomas McHale, 2010 USA, 21 min. 
feti(sh)ame, dir. Kevin Simmonds, 2011 USA, 25 min. 
Spring, dir. Hong Khaou, 2011 UK, 13 min. 
Transsexual Dominatrix, dir. Shawna Virago, 2011 USA, 3 min. 

Bite Marks

Bite Marks, dir. Mark Bessenger, 2011 USA, 84 min. 
Fri. 6/17, 9:30 p.m. @ Victoria
[screened with GaySharkTank.com, dir. Guy Shalem, 2010 USA, 14 min.; (not reviewed)]

Hey, Brewster! What’s in the
back o’ that truck, anyhow??

I should say at the outset that I’m not really an aficionado of vampire movies, or horror movies in general. That said, Bite Marks is a passable entry in the vampire genre. We start with a truck driver named Brewster (Benjamin Lutz) who subs at the last minute for his missing brother, delivering some coffins. Along the way, he picks up a couple of hitchhikers, college boys Cary (Windham Beacham, Long-Term Relationship [2006]) and Vogel (David Alanson). Of course, there be vampires in them thar coffins, and so our trio must work out what really works against vampires, as opposed to the silly stuff they put in movies.

Bashment

J.J. (Joel Dommett) rapping with
Venom (Ludvig Bonin) in Bashment.

Bashment, dir. Rikki Beadle-Blair, 2010 UK, 110 min., 
Sat. 6/18, 1:30 p.m. @ Victoria; [view trailer]
ADVISORY: this film contains graphic violence

Rikki Beadle-Blair is well familiar to Frameline audiences for the 1999 TV series Metrosexuality and the 2008 short film Souljah; he also wrote the screenplay for the 1995 film Stonewall. In Bashment, he again takes on issues of race, sex, and sexuality. MC J.J. (Joel Dommett) is a white, gay rapper, originally from the “cow country” of southwestern England, rising quickly on the London rap scene. At the finals of the Urban Slam competition, J.J. comes out, inviting his boyfriend Orlando (Marcus Kai) to join him onstage. Problem is, the Ilford Ilmanics crew, pissed off at having been disqualified for showing up an hour late, take out their frustrations on Orly backstage, beating him so badly that he has permanent brain damage.

The Night Watch

The Night Watch, dir. Richard Laxton, 2011 UK, 90 min. 

Kay (Anna Maxwell Martin) and
Helen (Claire Foy) in the London
blitz in The Night Watch.

Fri. 6/17, 9:30 p.m. @ Castro

The Night Watch follows a group of interwoven characters in London during and shortly after World War II. The narrative takes an unusual structure, though, because we spend roughly the first third of the film in 1947, then abruptly fast-rewind to 1944 for the middle third, and finally fast-rewind to 1941 for most of the last third, only jumping back to 1947 at the very end. The director, Richard Laxton, also made the fabulous “Must See” An Englishman in New York, the opening film of Frameline33.

Fun in Boys Shorts (2011)

“Fun in Boys Shorts” (2011 shorts program)
Sat. 6/18, 11:00a @ Castro, FUNB18C
Sun. 6/26, 2:15p @ Castro, FUNB26C
UPDATE: all 8 shorts reviewed

Cassie (Ivy Latimer) and Greg (Callan
McAuliffe) in Franswa Sharl.

52, dir. Josh Levy, 2010 Canada, 4 min. 
BaldGuy (Skallamann), dir. Maria Block, 2011 Norway, 12 min., in Norwegian with English subtitles 
Cold Star, dir. Kai Stänicke, 2011 Germany, 7 min., music video 
Drives (Pulsiones), dir. José Manuel Carrasco, 2009 Spain, 12 min., in Spanish with English subtitles 
Franswa Sharl, dir. Hannah Hilliard, 2010 Australia, 14 min. 
I’d Rather be Looking at Porn, dir. Jared Michell & R.M. Vaughan, 2010 Canada, 3 min. 
The Itch, dir. Nora Tennessen, 2011 USA, 13 min. 
Revolution (انقلاب), dir. Abdi Nazemian, 2010 USA, 15 min. 

The Green

The Green, dir. Steven Williford, 2010 USA, 90 min. 
Fri. 6/17, 7:00 p.m. @ Castro

Michael (Jason Butler Harner) and
Daniel (Cheyenne Jackson)

Michael (Jason Butler Harner) and Daniel (Cheyenne Jackson, most recently the Glee team’s nemesis Dustin Goolsby) were living in the New York City, but Michael’s yearning for something a bit more small-town — some place where he could see green — led them to the Connecticut countryside. Michael is working as a teacher at a private school, and Daniel has a catering business. Things are going well until Michael is accused of molesting one of the students, a boy named Jason (Chris Bert) who is clearly having problems in his home life. Jason’s recovering-alcoholic mom is dating the groundskeeper of the school, a man who seems indifferent at best to Jason and openly suspicious of Michael.

Weekend

Weekend, dir. Andrew Haigh, 2011 UK, 96 min. 

Russell (Tom Cullen) and Glen
(Chris New) in Weekend.

Fri. 6/17, 4:15 p.m. @ Castro

Russell and Glen hook up for a one-night stand, but their divergent views on relationships quickly become apparent. Also, Glen wants to record an audio interview with Russell about their hookup for some sort of art project he’s doing. Over the course of a weekend of sex, beer, and drugs, they talk quite uninhibitedly, the sort of chat you only have with someone you know is about to leave. I only know about cocaine third-hand, but it doesn’t seem like the optimal drug for soul-searching conversation. Still, the interaction between Russell and Glen comes across as genuine, and the insights they share authentic. Highly recommended, with a theatrical release in the US and UK expected later this year.

Blokes (shorts program)

We Once were Tide

“Blokes” (shorts program), Fri 6/17 1:45p @ Castro, BLOK17C
UPDATE: all shorts now reviewed

Blokes (Block), dir. Marialy Rivas, 2011 Chile, 15 min., in Spanish with English subtitles; 
Spring, dir. Hong Khaou, 2011 UK, 13 min.; 
The In-between, dir. Alain Hain, 2011 USA, 10 min.; 
We Once were Tide, dir. Jason Bradbury, 2011 UK, 19 min. 
Triple Standard, dir. Branden Blinn, 2010, USA 20 min.; 
Family Affair (Assunto de Família), dir. Caru Alves de Souza, 2011, Brazil, 13 min., in Portuguese with English subtitles 

Celebrating the Life of Del Martin

Celebrating the Life of Del Martin, dir. Debra Chasnoff, 2011 USA, 57 min. 

A portrait of Del Martin hanging in
SF City Hall during her memorial.

Fri. 6/17, 11:30 a.m. @ Castro

Del Martin was an incredibly important figure for San Francisco and the world, a pioneer in lesbian rights (co-founded the Daughters of Bilitis), women’s health (the Lyon-Martin clinic is named for Del and her partner Phyllis Lyon), elder rights, marriage equality, and many other issues. This film documents the memorial service that was held for her at San Francisco City Hall when she passed away just ten weeks after her lifelong relationship with Phyllis Lyon was finally legally recognized.

Kawa

Kawa (Calvin Tuteao)

Kawa, dir. Katie Wolfe, 2011 New Zealand, 76 min. 
Tue. 6/21, 4:00p @ Castro, KAWA21C
Thu. 6/23, 9:30p @ Elmwood, KAWA23E

Kawa is a family man from a traditional Māori (New Zealand native) family, the son of a clan leader. He has a wife and two kids, but he also has a secret that is gnawing at him and threatening to dissolve his marriage. His white boyfriend is losing patience with his closetedness, but his Māori family views homosexuality as dishonorable, disgusting, contemptible, and completely incompatible with the family leadership role Kawa is expected to take up from his ailing father. He has nowhere to turn.

The Advocate for Fagdom

Filmmaker Bruce LaBruce

The Advocate for Fagdom, dir. Angélique Bosio, 2011 France, 92 min. 
Wed. 6/22, 7:00p @ Roxie, ADVO22R

Canadian-born filmmaker Bruce LaBruce is certainly controversial, mixing a hardcore porno sensibility (often including actual porn using scenes from the same film shoot) with slasher horror film imagery and erotic images of skinheads, including Nazi skinheads. Even just the titles of some of LaBruce’s films are deliberately provocative: The Raspberry Reich, Bruce and Pepper Wayne Gacy’s Home Movies (a reference to serial killer John Wayne Gacy), and A Case for the Closet, for example.

Time Index of Reviewed Films

Check back for updates during the festival.
Last update: 2011-06-16 @ 17:50 (i.e., 5:50 pm on opening night)


Index of reviewed films, sorted by screening time(s)

Alphabetical Index of Reviewed Films

Check back for updates during the festival.
Last update: 2011-06-16 @ 17:45 (i.e., 5:45 pm on opening night)

Three (Drei)

Three (Drei), dir. Tom Tykwer, 2010 Germany, 119 min., in German with English subtitles 

Adam (Daniel Striesow) and Simon
(Sebastian Schipper) in 3.

Tue. 6/21, 6:30p @ Castro, THRE21C ($15 general, $12 members)

From the Frameline website: From the director of iconic indie flick Run, Lola, Run comes Three, Tom Tykwer’s latest exploration of human motivation. If you let it, love can be as easy as one-two-three, as Tykwer proves in this atmospheric piece about bisexuality, love and longing in cosmopolitan Berlin.

August

Ex-lover Troy (Murray Bartlett)
returns in the heat of August.

August, dir. Eldar Rapaport, 2011 USA, 105 min. 
Sat. 6/18, 9:00p @ Castro, AUGU18C; [watch the trailer]

Jonathan (Daniel Dugan) is happy with his new boyfriend, Raul (Adrian Gonzalez), almost but not quite living together in Los Angeles. (Raul has married Jonathan’s friend Nina to try to get a green card.) One steamy day in the middle of an August heat wave, they get a message from Troy (Murray Bartlett) that he’s moving back from Barcelona to L.A. Of course, Jonathan isn’t quite as “over” Troy as he would like to believe, and Troy clearly wants to start right back up. 

Longhorns

Steve (Dylan Vox) and Kevin
(Jacob Newton) in Longhorns.

Longhorns, dir. David Lewis, 2011 USA, 74 min. 
Sat. 6/25, 11:00a @ Castro, LONG25C; [view trailer]

Kevin is a fratboy in Texas in 1982. He and his good-ole-boy buddies are interested in three things: football, beer, and pussy, and not in that order. Of course, when beer and yer buddies are all y’all got, you might come up with some creative substitutes for the pussy — ’scuse me, ma’am, ah mint to say female companionshee’up — with a little help from the VCR, “like havin’ a porno theater right in yer dorm room!”

Private Romeo

Private Romeo, dir. Alan Brown, 2011 USA, 98 min. 
Mon. 6/20, 6:30p @ Castro, PRIV20C
screens with HERNDON, dir. Steve Clark Hall, 2010 USA, 3 min. (not reviewed)

The boys of McKinley Military Academy have been studying William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, but on a weekend when all the adult faculty and staff are gone, leaving eight boys to fend for themselves, the story works its way off the dusty page and into their real lives. Most of the dialogue in the film — well over 90%, in fact — is the 400-year-old tale of Montagues and Capulets. If you’ve ever seen a high school try to perform Shakespeare, you might be filled with dread at the thought, but these boys clearly know that “Wherefore art thou Romeo?” is entirely different from “Where are you, Romeo?,” and they also know just where to hold an extra beat to underline a bawdy double-entendre.

Wish Me Away

Wish Me Away, dir. Bobbie Birleffi and Beverly Kopf, 2011 USA, 95 min. 

Country music star Chely Wright

Wed. 6/22, 7:00p @ Castro, WISH22C ($15 general, $12 members)

As recently as two years ago, there were zero openly gay or lesbian stars in country music. Chely Wright (“Shut Up and Drive,” “Single White Female”) was the very first, and she documented her journey with the help of filmmakers Bobbie Birleffi and Beverly Kopf. Chely finally came out of the closet with a book titled Like Me and an album called Lifted Off the Ground, and went on The Today Show and Oprah to talk about them.

Coming Out (shorts program 2011)

Joel (Charlie Gustafsson)
in Coming Out. photo:
Alexander Westergårdh

“Coming Out” (shorts program 2011)
Sun. 6/19, 1:15p @ Roxie, COUT19R

10,000 Hearts, dir. Lisa Lodico, 2010 USA, 15 min. 
CHANGE, dir. Melissa Osborne, 2010 USA, 24 min. 
Coming Out (Komma Ut), dir. Jerry Carlsson, 2010 Sweden, 5 min., in Swedish with English subtitles 
Henry & Anthony, dir. Spencer W. Richards, 2010 USA, 20 min. (not reviewed)
James Dean, dir. Lucy Asten Elliott, 2010 UK, 8 min. 
Loop Planes, dir. Robin Wilby, 2010 USA, 12 min. 
One on One, dir. Luís Fernando Midence, 2010 USA, 10 min. 

[Henry & Anthony was not available for review. James Dean and Loop Planes will also screen in the “Transtastic!” shorts program, Wed. 6/22, 7:00p @ Roxie, TRAN22V.]

Spork

Spork contemplating a spork.

Spork, dir. J. B. Ghuman, Jr., 2010 USA, 90 min. 
Sun. 6/19, 1:00 @ Castro, SPOR19C

“Spork” (Savannah Stehlin) is the nickname given to a girl-identified 13-year-old with an intersex condition. (She views herself as something of a hybrid, hence the name.) Her classmates mostly view her as a freak and an outcast, as much for her frizzy hair as for her unusual biology. With help from some of her friends, including the irrepressible neighbor girl Tootsie Roll (Sydney Park), Spork decides to enter the dance competition in hopes of winning the $236 prize in spite of her lack of rhythm and graceful moves.

The Sleeping Beauty of East Finchley

The Sleeping Beauty of East Finchley, dir. Séamus Rea, 2010 UK, 50 min. 
Thu. 6/16, 10:00p @ Castro, SLEE16C
Mon. 6/20, 7:00p @ Elmwood, SLEE20E

Joan (Josie Walker)

Joan (Josie Walker) has a humdrum life, coming home from her boring job to care for her invalid mother, until the visiting nurse Pat (Ruth James) uncovers their shared passion for music, persuading Joan to join the “Friends of Dusty” women’s choir. The trouble is, Joan is a good Irish Catholic lass, so she has a heaping helping of guilt around using her beautiful voice for something other than the church choir, leading her to back out of singing the solo for the Friends of Dusty’s big performance at the big LGBT music festival in London.

Absent (Ausente)

Absent (Ausente), dir. Marco Berger, 2011 Argentina, 87 min., in Spanish with English subtitles 
Sun. 6/19, 9:15p @ Castro, ABSE19C

Martín (Javier de Pietro, foreground)
and Sebastián (Carlos Echevarría)

In Absent, 16-year-old Martín seems to be stalking his gym teacher, Sebastián, engineering an excuse for Sebastián to take him to the hospital, weaving a web of lies in order to spend the night on Sebastián’s sofa, and working his way into Sebastián’s life. But everything is not as simple as it seems. Despite having a girlfriend and a pretty ordinary life, Sebastián is clearly thrown off balance by Martín. Near the end of the film, we revisit several incidents from an alternate perspective: who is really stalking whom?

Absent is a well-crafted psychological thriller, building the tension between the main characters steadily as their mysterious relationship unfolds, re-folds, and unfolds again. The camera work, lighting, and musical score all help to set the mood as the characters build to a slow boil. Highly recommended.

Romeos

Romeos, dir. Sabine Bernardi, 2011 Germany, 94 min., in German with English subtitles 
Tue. 6/21, 9:30p @ Castro, ROME21C

Rick Okon as Lukas in Romeos.

From the Frameline website: “A sweltering German summer is the perfect backdrop for Romeos, a rich story of coming into one’s own. Lukas just turned twenty, just showed up for his year of civil service, just finished his twenty-fifth shot of testosterone, and is saving up for surgery. Life is looking good. But when he’s mistakenly assigned to a women’s dorm and as he falls for a hot guy, it gets harder to keep his secret under wraps.

Bumblefuck, USA

Bumblefuck, USA, dir. Aaron Douglas Johnston, 2011 USA & Netherlands, 90 min. 
Fri. 6/17, 7:00p @ Victoria, BUMB17V

Jennifer (Heidi M. Sallows) and

Alexa (Cat Smits) in Bumblefuck, USA

Following the suicide of her friend Matt, Alexa has traveled from her home in Amsterdam to his home town, an unnamed small town in Iowa, to make a documentary about gay suicide and the coming-out experiences of some of the locals. Alexa rents a room from Lucas, a guy who gradually slides from socially awkward to creepy to criminally violent. (Note: the film includes a scene of sexual assault.) She also meets (and hooks up with) a lesbian artist named Jennifer and a young man who tends the landscaping at the cemetery. Her adventures with them are intermixed with footage from the documentary.

Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same

Hmmm... I wonder where that bald
woman in the spacesuit is from....

Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same, dir. Madeleine Olnek, 2011 USA, 70 min.  [view trailer]
Sat. 6/25, 3:30p @ Castro, CODE25C

Campy, over-the-top, unrelentingly cheesy — zoinks! I mean, the protagonist is even named Zoinx. This film is exactly what it sets out to be: a send-up of low-budget black-and-white sci-fi movies of the 1950’s, with a heaping helping of lesbian film clichés added on the skewer. It’s amusing, and will probably be much more fun with a full theatre than it was with just me in my living room, but on the other hand I had the benefit of the 1.5X fast playback mode on my DVD player. After all, the flat monotone “I am a space alien” voice thing wears thin after a while. If the description sounds at all appealing to you, you’ll probably have a great time, plus you’ll get to see the director and three of the actors (guests expected, but not guaranteed). Recommended.

Keywords: Frameline35, LGBT Film

Zombies, Aussies, Musicals, Oh My!

Murray and Barry in Slut – The Musical

“Zombies, Aussies, Musicals, Oh My!” shorts program
Mon. 6/20 9:30p @ Victoria, ZOMB20V

Cupcake: A Zombie Lesbian Musical, dir. Rebecca Thomson, 2010 Australia, 18 min. (not reviewed)
Slut – The Musical, dir. Tonnette Stanford, 2010 Australia, 16 min. 
Slashed, dir. Rebecca Thomson, 2010 Australia, 11 min. 
Why Me?, dir.Victoria Stanford, 2010 Australia, 22 min. 
I was a Teenage Werebear, dir. Tim Sullivan, 2011 USA, 28 min. (not reviewed)

Fun in Girls Shorts (2011)

“Fun in Girls Shorts” (shorts program)
Sat. 6/18, 1:30p @ Castro, FUNG18C
Sun. 6/26, 11:30a @ Castro, FUNG26C

Elisa Dei and Heather Salm in Cyclicity

Flyers, dir. Laura Terruso, 2011 USA, 3 min. (not reviewed)
Cyclicity, dir. Jason Knade, 2011 USA, 11 min. 
Poker Face, dir. Becky Lane, 2011 USA, 14 min. 
Nice Shirt, dir. Erik Gernand, 2011 USA, 5 min. 
L.U.G.S., dir. Sarah Rotella, 2010 Canada, 14 min. 
Slow Burn, dir. Christine Chew, 2011 Canada, 14 min. 
Lust Life, dir. Lynda Tarryk, 2010 USA, 9 min. 
Out of Bounds, dir. Nicholas Ybarra, 2010 USA, 18 min. 

Au Pair, Kansas

Oddmund (Håvard Lilleheie) and
Helen (Traci Lords) in Au Pair, Kansas.

Au Pair, Kansas, dir. J.T. O'Neal, 2010 USA, 94 min. 
Sat. 6/25, 9:30p @ Victoria, AUPA25V
preceded by Mr. Right, dir. Jim Knoop, 2010 Canada, 9 min. (not reviewed)

Helen (Traci Lords) is a recent widow, raising two sons on a bison ranch near the Swedish town of Lindsborg in central Kansas. She sends off for an au pair, and gets Oddmund (Håvard Lilleheie), a Norwegian who literally kicks his soccer ball down the stairs of the airplane as he arrives. Everyone wonders which team Oddmund really plays for — is he gay, or just European? In the mean time, Helen must deal with the ghost of her gay husband while raising a 15-year-old and a 9-year-old boy. When Helen develops feelings for Oddmund, things get really complicated, the police get involved, and somehow, through it all, we see the importance of real connections between people.

Bob's New Suit

Bob (Hunter Bodine) and Steve
(Shay Astar) in Bob's New Suit.

Bob's New Suit, dir. Alan Howard, 2011 USA, 97 min. 
Wed. 6/22 1:15p @ Castro, BOBS22C

Bob (Hunter Bodine) has finally proposed to his longtime girlfriend Jenny (Hayley DuMond) and is off to tell his parents the joyous news, but his sister Stephanie has some news of his own: he's decided to start living as a man, and wants to be called Steve (Shay Astar). On top of that, cousin George gets Bob and his dad mixed up in some shady business, and Dad has a secret past that is about to be unearthed. It's a recipe for a pretty decent comedy, but one where the transgender character is one of the players, not a stereotyped butt-of-all-jokes.

Tomboy

Zoé Héran as Laure/Mickäel in Tomboy.

Tomboy, dir. Céline Sciamma, 2011 France, 84 min., in French with English subtitles 
Fri. 6/24, 7:00p @ Castro, TOMB24C

Laure and her family have just moved to a new neighborhood. Already quite a tomboy, Laure creates an alter-ego, a boy named Mickäel, who hangs out with the girl next door, Lisa, and plays soccer with the other boys. Poignant, funny, and insightful, Tomboy is a "must-see" portrayal of gender ambiguity on the threshhold of adolescence.

Worldly Affairs

"Worldly Affairs" shorts program, Sat. 6/25 1:15p @ Castro, WORL25C

Ron (Yuval Rozman) and
Tal (Avi Kornick) in A Word.
רון (יובל רוזמן) ו טל (אבי קורניק) ב מילה.

A Day in the Country, dir. Pella Kågerman & Hugo Lilja, 2010, Sweden, 15 min., in Swedish with English subtitles; (not reviewed)
A Word (מילה), dir. Yoav Inbar (יואב ענבר), 2010, Israel, 19 min., in Hebrew with English subtitles 
Lek and the Waterboy, dir. Lasse Nielsen, 2010, Thailand, 8 min., (no dialogue) 
Samaritan (Samaritanen), dir. Magnus Mork, 2010, Norway, 29 min., in English, Norwegian and Kurdish with partial English subtitles 
I Don't Want to Go Back Alone, dir. Daniel Ribeiro, 2010, Brazil, 17 min., in Portuguese with English subtitles; (not reviewed)

Christopher and His Kind

Christopher and His Kind, dir. Geoffrey Sax, 2011 UK, 90 min. 
Sun. 6/26, 7:30p @ Castro, CHRI26C (closing-night gala; $35/$30 film only, $60/$50 film and party)

Christopher Isherwood (Matt Smith, lower right)
and Heinz Neddermayer (Douglas Booth)

Gay literary icon Christopher Isherwood, at the urging of his friend, poet W. H. Auden, lived in Berlin from 1929 to 1933, as the 1920’s gay liberation scene in Berlin was fading and Adolph Hitler’s “national socialism” was on the rise. That period of Isherwood’s life inspired several works, including the Broadway musical and film Cabaret. Christopher and His Kind is a more direct adaptation of Isherwood's memoirs in a biopic style, starring Matt Smith (the current Doctor Who!). Isherwood moved to Berlin “because of the boys,” but became especially fond of one in particular, Heinz Neddermayer (Douglas Booth). He also met the people who begat some of his more famous characters, including “Sally Bowles” (Jean Ross, played by Imogen Poots) and “Mr. Norris,” (Gerald Hamilton, played by Toby Jones) both of whom we meet in the film. 

Frameline35 is Here!

The 35th annual Frameline LGBT Film Festival is upon us, with over 230 films from 30 countries, including 80 feature-length films. The four spotlighted films (opening night, closing night, and two centerpieces) represent the four bastions of the LGBT community. Gun Hill Road, the opening night film, leads off an impressive list of 44 transgender-themed films. The Tuesday centerpiece film, Drei (Three), delves into bisexuality, followed by the Wednesday centerpiece, Wish Me Away, about country music star Chely Wright's coming out as a lesbian. The closing night film, Christopher and His Kind, rounds out the list with gay literary icon Christopher Isherwood's life in Berlin in the early 1930's — with Isherwood played by the current Doctor Who!

I'm reviewing a number of titles from press screeners, and will have reviews of additional films I see during the festival proper. Stay tuned!

Ticket prices:
matinees: $9 general, $8 members
evenings: $11 general, $10 members
centerpieces: $15 general, $12 members
opening/closing night, film only: $35 general, $30 members

Remember: even if a screening is listed as “sold out,” you can wait in the “hope line” for the last few seats.

Keywords: Frameline35, LGBT Film

Gun Hill Road

Harmony Santana and Esai Morales
in Gun Hill Road. [click for full size]

Gun Hill Road, dir. Rashaad Ernesto Green, 2011, USA, 88 min. 
Thursday, June 16, 7:00 PM, Castro Theatre, ticket code GUNH16

Enrique Michael Rodriguez (Esai Morales) is coming home to his Puerto Rican family in New York City after three years in prison — not his first time — to find that his family is not quite just as he left them. His wife still loves him, but how much comfort did she find in the arms of another man while he was "upstate"? More importantly, what is up with his teenage son Michael (Harmony Santana)?

Faetopia Cuddle Cinema

I'm pretty much up to my eyeballs in Frameline34 this week, but it's not the only queer film game in town! Faetopia is the space where the Tower Records used to be at Market & Noe, but for this week it's been taken over by the Radical Faeries of Comfort & Joy. There will be yoga classes today through Friday, doors open 5:00, class is 5:30 to 7:00, with a different style of yoga each day. There will also be a live performance of the trippy 1970's film Aliens Cut My Hair, tomorrow through Saturday at 7:30.

However, if you're reading this blog, you're probably wondering what films they have coming up, so here is the Faetopia Cuddle Cinema line-up:

Mon. 8:30 Sissyboy: the Movie (about a radically neo-something-or-other drag troupe in Portland, Oregon)
Mon. 10:00 double feature: The Glitter Emergency and The Apparition of the Eternal Church

Wed. 10:00 Whatever Happened to Susan Jane?

Thu. 10:00 Skinnyfat (Missed the Frameline screening? Here's your second chance!)

Frameline34 Highlights and Recommendations

I don't have time to post the full reviews, but here are a few of my thoughts on some of the programs I've pre-screened:

Open: Interesting, but unsatisfying
Trans Francisco: well done documentary
Arias with a Twist: don't let the term "docufantasy" put you off, because this is really just a documentary about two fascinating artists, drag goddess Joey Arias and puppetmaster Basil Twist. Highly recommended.
Fun in Girls Shorts: only got to see 6 of the 8 shorts; all worth seeing, but the standout is "Door Prize."
Fun in Boys Shorts: several excellent shorts, plus an undeserving Oscar® winner. Although historically the Girls shorts program has usually been more satisfying than the Boys, this year is an exception. Of the 7 films I was able to preview, I gave 4 a "highly recommended" rating. Best of set goes to "Gay Baby."
8: The Mormon Proposition: excellent documentary about the LDS Church's obsessive push for the anti-gay Prop 8.
Postcard to Daddy: a documentary on a difficult subject, the filmmaker's own experience of child sexual abuse by his father. The lingering pain is evident as he struggles to make peace with the past.

I'll add to this list as I finish more previews.

The Owls

The acting performances and the technical aspects of The Owls are all top quality, but I found the central narrative structure unworkable. The actors occasionally step out of character to comment on the film, for instance. More basically, though, none of the characters engaged me more than intermittently, and the narrative shifts increased rather than diminished my emotional distance from the story. The ending was at once both too heavy and too flippant, but rather than one leavening the other, they intensified both extremes. Recommended for fans of Cheryl Dunye, but a question mark for general audiences.

The Real Anne Lister

How many times have you heard the words "laugh-out-loud funny" used to describe a documentary? As we watch the narrator (Sue Perkins) learn about the life of Anne Lister, a woman who lived as a defiantly open lesbian in rural west Yorkshire in the early 19th Century, we see Perkins at turns relate deeply to Lister and find her quite troubling. Last night, Frameline opened with a film dramatizing Lister's life (see The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister); this documentary sheds a bit of a different light on the life of a remarkable woman. The dramatization takes a few minor liberties with the story, chiefly in compressing the timeline, but it also makes her the protagonist. The documentary takes a more balanced look at some of her foibles and downright unpleasant characteristics, notably that she was arrogant and rather a snob. All the same, Anne Lister is most definitely not a character you would expect to meet in a Jane Austen novel, and we are fortunate that her diaries survived being examined and decoded on multiple occasions before the world was ready for her story.

The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister

The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister, dir. James Kent, 2010, UK, 90 minutes

Two centuries ago in Yorkshire, England, a woman named Miss Anne Lister defied social conventions by openly refusing to take a husband, saying that she would instead seek to have a female companion. She was a feminist, generations before that term was coined, and fiercely determined to live true to her own life. Her diaries, written largely in code, survived, almost forgotten, until they were deciphered in the late 20th century. This biopic compresses the timelines slightly, but is essentially true to the remarkable life of an astonishing trailblazer. MUST SEE.

Note: The Real Anne Lister (below) is a documentary about the title character; also a MUST SEE.

Frameline34

I'm already working my way through a pile of press "screener" copies, and will be at dozens of in-theatre screenings the next week and a half. Posting of reviews may not be as prompt as I'd like, because my wrists are feeling rather delicate, but everything I see will get up here on the blog eventually. Meanwhile, the Opening Night festivities are mere hours away....

Assume Nothing

Friday, June 19, 2:15 pm, Castro Theatre, ASSU19C
North American Premiere

Rebecca Swan is a professional photographer and a gender activist. She produced a book called Assume Nothing with photos of several gender-variant individuals, challenging the notion that there are only two possible genders and even the idea that "male" and "female" are ends of a linear spectrum. In this documentary, we meet Swan and some of her subjects, delving into the per­son­al histories of androgyny, intersex, drag, and transgenderism, including some specifically South Pacific perspectives. For example, the Maori (indig­enous New Zealander) language has a gender-neutral pronoun for people, and traditional Sa'amoan culture reveres the fa'afafine (roughly, MTF). It's an intimate look inside some of the most personal aspects of identity. Highly recommended.

Assume Nothing, dir. Kirsty MacDonald, New Zealand, 2009, 80 min.; view trailer

Technorati tags: Assume Nothing,Transgender, Photography, Rebecca Swan, Documentary, Frameline33, LGBT Film

The Naked Civil Servant

Friday, June 19, 12:00 pm, Castro Theatre, TBA119C

Quentin Crisp was truly a trailblazer, with blazing red hair to under­score the point. In London from the 1930's onward, he took his homo­sexu­ality not as a secret shame to be hidden from the world, but as a badge of identity to be shouted from every rooftop. Before World War II, Crisp occasionally worked as a rentboy, selling his services for 7s6d (37½p in decimal), sometimes earning a 10-shilling (50p) note. By the time the war began, he had found other sources of income, but was nonetheless arrested and tried on charges of "soliciting for an immoral purpose." His testimony in his own defence shines as the high point of the film, although his arch wit shows in both the dialogue and the voiceover throughout the film.

In 1975, The Naked Civil Servant played on PBS in the United States, creating quite a stir, especially outside the major cities of the East and West Coasts. It also earned both the director and the star (John Hurt) BAFTA awards. Hurt reprised the role in the 2009 sequel, An Englishman in New York, completing the story of Crisp's remarkably unique life. Both films are on my MUST SEE list.

The Naked Civil Servant, dir. Jack Gold, UK, 1975, 77 min.

Technorati tags: The Naked Civil Servant, Quentin Crisp, Frameline33, LGBT Film

The Country Teacher (Venkovský učitel)

Thursday, June 18, 10:05 pm, Castro Theatre, COUN18C
Monday, June 22, 9:30 pm, Elmwood Theatre, COUN22E

A young science teacher leaves his prestigious prep-school job (and his over­bearing mother) in the big city, relocating to a small village school. He befriends a single mother and her teenage son, becoming almost part of the family, watching the boy's freely and openly sexual relation­ship with his girl­friend. But then a fuck­buddy from the city comes for a visit, throwing the teacher into a fog of uncertainty, rejecting sex without love but not sure how to find both together.

The story line treads uncom­fortably close to stereo­types of gay men as pathetic emotional cripples who can't function in society. Indeed, the teacher is moping almost throughout the movie as he sits by on the sidelines, before he takes an even more disturbing turn. The cinematography is beautiful and the acting and directing are top-notch, but the central character knocks the film down a peg or two in my recommendations. Near the end, the towns­people show a surprisingly unstereotypical side. On the whole, I give it 3½ out of five bells.

The Country Teacher (Venkovský učitel), dir. Bohdan Sláma, Czech Republic, 2008, 113 min., in Czech with English subtitles; watch the trailer

Technorati tags: The Country Teacher, Venkovský učitel, Frameline33, LGBT Film

An Englishman in New York

Thursday, June 18, 7:00 pm, Castro Theatre, ENGL18C

Thirty-four years ago, Quentin Crisp was intro­duced to a worldwide audience by the film The Naked Civil Servant, illuminating his life of openly flamboyant homo­sexuality. John Hurt, whom young­er audiences will recognize as everyone from Mr. Ollivander, purveyor of magic wands to Harry Potter, to Chancellor Sutler, the über-villain of V for Ven­detta, played Crisp in a break­through performance that earned him a BAFTA award for best actor. Hurt returns to the role, picking up Crisp's story where the first film left off, with the newly famous "civil servant" moving to New York City.

I remember seeing The Naked Civil Servant when it was broadcast on PBS in the 1970's, although I didn't yet identify with the central figure — probably best for my odds of surviving puberty in Dallas, Texas. The sequel, though, picks up shortly before the time I my­self was living near New York City as a college stu­dent, just beginning my coming-out process. Where the first film dealt with Quentin Crisp as a gadfly in the London of the 1930's to early 1970's, bucking the ubi­quitous pressure to conform to hetero­sexual norms, the sequel focuses more on his "fish out of water" experience among the post-Stone­wall gay culture of New York. Some­one as eccentric as Quentin Crisp is not fated to truly fit in anywhere, it seems.

John Hurt's performance is as breathtaking as his inauguration of the role, and indeed director Richard Laxton said he could not have imagined par­ti­ci­pating with anyone other than Hurt in the lead role. The supporting cast was fabulous as well, rounding out a worthy opening film for the Frameline fes­ti­val. Definitely a MUST SEE.

An Englishman in New York, dir. Richard Laxton, USA, 2009, 74 minutes.

Technorati tags: An Englishman in New York, Quentin Crisp, The Naked Civil Servant, Frameline33, LGBT Film

Frameline 33 begins....

The 33rd annual Frameline International LGBT Film Festival is underway, marking the beginning of my total immersion. For the next 10 days and 11 nights, I will basically wake up, go to movies, come home, and go to sleep, with occasional brief breaks for food and mental health breaks, because, after all, what could be a better way to celebrate the longest days of the year than spending them inside a dark theater? 8^}

Technorati tags: Frameline33, LGBT Film

"U People" coming to Logo, DVD

Hanifah Walidah's powerful "accidental documentary" U People (read my review) will be playing on the Logo cable channel in a few days, with the DVD re-release to follow shortly after.

Airtimes (Eastern/Pacific, check local listings, etc.):
Saturday, Feb. 7, 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 8, 9:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 9, 5:30 p.m.

Runtime as aired is 90 minutes. Set your TiVo® now, or go to the official website to find a viewing party in your area — or maybe even host one!

The "first edition" DVD is available now on Amazon.com; the "collector's edition" is due out in February 2009.

Technorati tags: U People, Hanifah Walidah, LGBT Film

Outfest 2008

I won't be attending Outfest 2008 in Los Angeles, beginning tonight, but I've seen and reviewed a number of the films that will be screened. Here's a quick summary, with each title linked to the full review.

Affinity (dramatic centerpiece)
Another Gay Sequel
Boystown (Chuecatown)
Breakfast with Scot (opening night)
Ciao
Derek
Dream Boy MUST SEE
It's STILL Elementary MUST SEE
A Jihad for Love (documentary centerpiece)
The Lost Coast
Mulligans
The New World
Newcastle MUST SEE
On the Other Hand, Death
Out in India MUST SEE
The Polymath
Ready? OK!
Saturn in Opposition
The Secrets
She's a Boy I Knew
Sordid Lives: the series
Steam MUST SEE
Tru Loved (closing night)
U People MUST SEE
Were the World Mine (awards night)
Wild Combination (platinum centerpiece)
The World Unseen
Word is Out (legacy gala)
XXY MUST SEE

(You may also want to check the list of shorts I reviewed in Frameline32, in the entry directly below this one.)

Technorati tags: Outfest, LGBT Film

Frameline32 cross-reference

Affinity (Frameline32 opening night)
All My Life
Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild! (Frameline showcase)
The Art of Being Straight
Be Like Others (documentary) MUST SEE
Big Eden (retrospective) MUST SEE
Bound (retrospective)
Breakfast with Scot (Frameline closing night)
Buddy G
Byron Chief Moon: Grey Horse Rider
Ciao
Derek (documentary, Frameline showcase) Highly recommended
Dottie's Magic Pockets
Drifting Flowers (Piao Lang Qing Chun) (漂浪青春)
Dyke Delights (2008) (shorts program)
Electroshock (A Love to Keep)
Envisioning Justice: the journey of a transgenderered woman
Fairytale of Kathmandu
Les feluettes (Lilies) (retrospective) MUST SEE
Gewoon Liefde (Simply Love)
It's STILL Elementary (documentary) MUST SEE
Japan Japan (יפאן יפאן)
A Jihad for Love (documentary, Frameline showcase)
The Kinsey Sicks: Almost Infamous
Law of Desire (La Ley del deseo) (retrospective) MUST SEE
La Léon
La Ley del deseo (Law of Desire) (retrospective) MUST SEE
Lilies (Les feluettes) (retrospective) MUST SEE
The Lost Coast
A Love to Keep (Electroshock)
Mala Noche (retrospective)
Manuela y Manuel, MUST SEE
Mom, I Didn't Kill Your Daughter (אמא, לא הרגתי את הבת שלך), MUST SEE
The New World (Le nouveau monde)
Le nouveau monde (The New World)
Oh Happy Day
On the Other Hand, Death
Out in India: a family's journey
Over Da Rainbow
Pansy Division: Life in a Gay Rock Band
The Perfect Man
Piao Lang Qing Chun (Drifting Flowers) (漂浪青春)
The Polymath, or the life and opinions of Samuel R. Delany, Gentleman
Ready? OK!
Ruby Blue (Frameline showcase) MUST SEE
Saturn in Opposition (Saturno contro)
Saturno contro (Saturn in Opposition)
She's a Boy I Knew (documentary) MUST SEE
Sikil (Unspoken Passion)
Simply Love (Gewoon Liefde)
Solos
Sonja
Sordid Lives (tv series preview)
Steam (dir. Kyle Schickner) MUST SEE
Tru Loved (Frameline showcase)
U People (documentary) MUST SEE
Unspoken Passion (Sikil)
Were the World Mine, MUST SEE
When I Knew (documentary, Frameline showcase)
U People (documentary) MUST) MUST SEE
Wild Combination: a portrait of Arthur Russell
Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives (documentary, Frameline showcase) MUST SEE
The World Unseen (Frameline showcase) Highly recommended
XXY (Frameline centerpiece) MUST SEE

סרט חובה • MUST SEE (Mom, I Didn't Kill Your Daughter) אמא, לא הרגתי את הבת שלך
(Japan Japan) יפאן יפאן

漂浪青春 (Piao Lang Qing Chun) (Drifting Flowers)

Shorts programs:
Fun in Boys' Shorts (2008) (shorts program)
Fun in Girls' Shorts (2008) (shorts program)
Transtastic (shorts program)
Worldly Affairs (2008) (shorts program)
The Young and Evil (shorts program)

Short films by title:
Alonso's Deadline, "The Young and Evil"
Babysitting Andy, "Fun in Boys' Shorts"
Baggage, "The Young and Evil"
Bend It, "Transtastic"
Benni Has 2 Mothers, "Fun in Girls' Shorts"
The Bond (documentary), "Transtastic" MUST SEE
Bongo Bong, "Fun in Boys' Shorts"
Bonne Mère, "Worldly Affairs"
Bramadero, "Worldly Affairs"
Café com Leite (You, Me and Him), "Worldly Affairs"
Congratulations, Daisy Graham, "A Gay Old Time"
Country Life (Landleben) (Vie champetre), "Worldly Affairs" MUST SEE
The Cousin (El Primo), "The Young and Evil"
Crafty, "Dyke Delights" MUST SEE
Dolls (short), "The Young and Evil" MUST SEE
Donkey Girl, "Fun in Girls' Shorts"
Donny & Ginger, "Transtastic"
Downstream (Im Fluß) (documentary), "A Gay Old Time"
Duck Soup, "Fun in Girls' Shorts"
El Primo (The Cousin), "The Young and Evil"
En el Instituto (In the High School), "Fun in Boys' Shorts"
Felicia (documentary), "Transtastic"
For a Relationship, screened with Ciao, Recommended
Forever's Gonna Start Tonight (documentary), "A Gay Old Time"
Forever's Gonna Start Tonight (documentary), "Transtastic"
Happenstance, "Fun in Girls' Shorts"
Hello, My Name is Herman, documentary, "A Gay Old Time"
HerzHaft, "Worldly Affairs" MUST SEE
Hirsute, "Fun in Boys' Shorts"
How Do I Say This? I'm Gay!, "Fun in Girls' Shorts" MUST SEE
Im Fluß (Downstream) (documentary), "A Gay Old Time"
In the High School (En el Instituto), "Fun in Boys' Shorts"
Just Me? (documentary), "A Gay Old Time" MUST SEE
King County, "Dyke Delights"
Landleben (Vie champetre) (Country Life), "Worldly Affairs" MUST SEE
The Last Visit, "A Gay Old Time"
Lezbro: Don't Cha Know, "Dyke Delights"
Lloyd Neck, "The Young and Evil"
Lot's Wife, "Worldly Affairs"
Love Sucks, "Dyke Delights"
Maggots and Men, "Transtastic" [not reviewed]
Mars, "The Young and Evil"
Menopausal Gals Gone Wild, "Dyke Delights"
Mirror Mirror, "A Gay Old Time"
No Bikini, "Fun in Girls' Shorts" [not reviewed]
Operated by Invisible Hands, "Dyke Delights" MUST SEE
Overstuff, "Fun in Boys' Shorts"
Pages of a Girl (Páginas de Menina), "Fun in Girls' Shorts" MUST SEE
Páginas de Menina (Pages of a Girl), "Fun in Girls' Shorts" MUST SEE
Pat's First Kiss, "Fun in Boys' Shorts"
Pitstop, "Fun in Girls' Shorts" MUST SEE
The Postcard, "Worldly Affairs"
The Premiere, "Fun in Girls' Shorts"
The Role I Was Born to Play, "Transtastic" [not reviewed]
Screening Party, "Fun in Boys' Shorts"
The Sheep and the Ranch Hand: A Sexyqueer Love Story, "Dyke Delights" MUST SEE
Silver Road, "Fun in Boys' Shorts"
Sistole/Diastole (Systolic/Diastolic), "A Gay Old Time"
Social Conflict Management, "Dyke Delights"
Souljah, "The Young and Evil"
Systolic/Diastolic (Sistole/Diastole), "A Gay Old Time"
Tá, "Worldly Affairs"
Thorn in Your Side (documentary), "Transtastic"
Toi et Moi, "Dyke Delights"
The Touch, "Fun in Girls' Shorts"
TRANSforming Healthcare (documentary), "Transtastic" MUST SEE
Unca Trans, "Transtastic"
The Vicious & the Delicious, "Dyke Delights"
Vie champetre (Landleben) (Country Life), "Worldly Affairs" MUST SEE
The Window, "Fun in Boys' Shorts"
A Work in Progress, "Dyke Delights"
Worst Case Scenario: Femme Edition, "Dyke Delights" MUST SEE
You, Me and Him (Café com Leite), "Worldly Affairs"
The Young and Evil (short), "The Young and Evil"

Technorati tags: Frameline32, LGBT Film