Monday, June 18, 7:00 p.m. Roxie
- Last Night’s Sugar, dir. Shawna Virago, 2017 USA, 5 minutes 👍
- Fabled: episode 1, “D as in Delta,” dir. Jennifer Morrison, 2018 USA, 14 min. 👎🏼😕 WEST COAST PREMIERE
- Dropping Penny, dir. Jed Bell, 2017 USA, 8 minutes 👍 WORLD PREMIERE
- Self-Made Men, episode “Showbiz,” dir. Amy Goldstein, 2018 USA, 11 minutes 👏 WORLD PREMIERE
- Southern for Pussy, dir. Zackary Drucker, 2018 USA, 5 minutes 👏 BAY AREA PREMIERE
- The T, dir. Deven Casey, 2017 USA, 14 minutes 👏 WEST COAST PREMIERE
- We Forgot to Break Up, dir. Chandler Levack, 2017 Canada, 16 minutes 👏 BAY AREA PREMIERE
- Happy Birthday, Marsha!, dir. Reina Gossett & Sasha Wortzel, 2017 USA, 14 minutes 💖 (also in the “Realness & Revelations” (2018) shorts program) BAY AREA PREMIERE
Last Night’s Sugar
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| Last Night’s Sugar |
Music video for a guitar ballad by San Francisco artist and author Shawna Virago, telling a story of loving a gambling man, watching him lose everything, and condoling with a little bit of “sugar” beneath the motel sheets. The video is simple and straightforward, befitting the song, and well crafted. Recommended.
• watch it on YouTube • Shawna Virago •
Fabled, episode 1: “D as in Delta” • WEST COAST PREMIERE
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| Fabled, ep. 1 “D as in Delta” |
Danny lives in an unnamed small town (with a rainbow flag flying on Main Street), punching the clock at a blue collar job and then going to the bar for a couple of beers. One afternoon on a quiet road well out from town, he finds a hitchhiker. She tells him the story of Rhodópis (Ροδώπις) [rho-DOH-pis, not RHO-doh-pis], a courtesan who meets the king of Egypt in a story similar to Cinderella, except that the king is determined to find the woman to whom this shoe belongs, having never laid eyes on her, knowing only the shoe. Back to present day, Danny spends the rest of the evening with this hitchhiker before she catches her pre-dawn bus home.
Somehow, this brief encounter transforms Danny’s life completely, but it feels like they left out about three chapters in the middle of the story, because there is no context for the link between the hitchhiker and the dramatic transformation that follows. It’s beautifully filmed, with top-notch production values and deeply evocative visual poetry, but it left me wondering what was the point. Not recommended.
Somehow, this brief encounter transforms Danny’s life completely, but it feels like they left out about three chapters in the middle of the story, because there is no context for the link between the hitchhiker and the dramatic transformation that follows. It’s beautifully filmed, with top-notch production values and deeply evocative visual poetry, but it left me wondering what was the point. Not recommended.
Dropping Penny • WORLD PREMIERE
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| Dropping Penny |
If you get the feeling in “Dropping Penny” that you’re watching a film school project, you’re right; go Gators! It’s a comedy about a couple of trans professional dog walkers in San Francisco and their wacky clients. It tries a little too hard to be funny, but there are a few good lines and the dogs are cute, and what it lacks in polished professionalism it makes up in heartfelt commitment. Recommended.
• IMDb • filmmaker Jed Bell •
Self-Made Men: “Showbiz” • WORLD PREMIERE
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| Self-Made Men: “Showbiz” |
In this episode of a short documentary series we meet photographer Amos Mac and rapper Rocco Katastrophe, co-producers of Original Plumbing magazine. They talk about their childhood dreams and grown-up aspirations in interview segments interspersed with archival video. The fact that they’re transmen certainly figures in the tapestry of their lives, but at the core it’s a story about two human beings.
We tag along on a photo shoot with Amos and meet his mother, we see snips of Katastrophe’s performances beginning before transition, plus we see a bit of the Mr. Transman competition (sponsored by OP), with emcee Murray Hill, whom you just might recognize as one of the Real Housewives of New York. It’s an interesting and relatable peek into the lives of some engaging people. Highly recommended.
We tag along on a photo shoot with Amos and meet his mother, we see snips of Katastrophe’s performances beginning before transition, plus we see a bit of the Mr. Transman competition (sponsored by OP), with emcee Murray Hill, whom you just might recognize as one of the Real Housewives of New York. It’s an interesting and relatable peek into the lives of some engaging people. Highly recommended.
• official website • filmmaker website • coming soon to PBS! •
Southern for Pussy • BAY AREA PREMIERE
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| Southern for Pussy |
Moxy, a young transwoman (played by filmmaker Zackary Drucker), is talking with her mother Patti (Penny Sori) about pussy – vagina – moonacky (“Southern for ‘pussy‘”), men, dating, getting older, and life in general. It’s an entertaining little slice of girl talk, mother-daughter intimacy. Highly recommended.
• IMDb • watch it on Vimeo •
The T • WEST COAST PREMIERE
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| The T |
Jo, a transwoman, takes her best friend Carter to a New Year’s Eve/housewarming party for Emerie, a transwoman friend she knows only through Facebook. There is lots of alcohol, and some uncomfortable moments as Jo sees changes in her relationship with Carter since she has transitioned. Excellent production values, fine performances, and a well-crafted story combine to make a fine short film, the first of a planned serial.
(Note: the Frameline program says “the first two episodes,” but it is in fact only the single pilot episode, 14 minutes.) Highly recommended.
(Note: the Frameline program says “the first two episodes,” but it is in fact only the single pilot episode, 14 minutes.) Highly recommended.
• IMDb • filmmaker Greg Stephen Reigh (badly out of date) • Twitter: @GregReigh • Tumblr/Instagram: @GregStephenReigh •
We Forgot to Break Up • BAY AREA PREMIERE
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| We Forgot to Break Up |
Evan (formerly Evie) was the manager of a rock band, but about 3 or 4 years ago she abruptly disappeared. Tonight he shows up before a concert on the tour the band hopes will be the start of bigger things. It’s an awkward reunion, to say the least. Deftly captures the awkward moments without making the film feel awkward. Based on the novel Heidegger Stairwell by Kayt Burgess. Very well done, highly recommended.
• IMDb •
Happy Birthday, Marsha! • BAY AREA PREMIERE
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| Happy Birthday, Marsha! |
• IMDb • official website •
also appeared in the “Realness & Revelations” (2018) shorts program
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