Showing posts with label Film Festivals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Film Festivals. Show all posts
3/4/13
The Morning After - A Lesbian Short
The Morning After from Katie Shannon on Vimeo.
The Morning After follows a couple as they try to figure out what is next in their relationship.
Writer/Director: Katie Shannon
Sam: Amy DePaola
Lauren: Allison Faythe
www.thompsonfilmsllc.com
1/4/13
Star-Studded Documentary "Out in the Open" Coming to DVD January 29th
Featured in Out in the Open are gay and allied celebrities such as "Queer Eyes" star Carson Kressley, Oscar nominee Eric Roberts and his wife Eliza, Olympic gold medal diver and activist Greg Louganis, Broadway star Josh Strickland, and musician Keaton Simons among others. These figures will discuss how they coped with stereotypes attached to their sexual orientation by sharing personal experiences of coming to terms with their sexuality. Out in the Open is aimed to guide the LGBTQ youth who struggle with bullying, ostracism and suicide in their communities.
Real Stream teamed up with Outset, an Outfest/Lifeworks program that offers at-risk LGBT youth an intensive course in filmmaking. Providing them with mentors who take the youth through a crash course, teaching them all there is to know about the art of film. By the end of the program, the students have shot their own short films from concept to screen, and premiered them at Outfest. Real Stream was there to document this process, and capture their stories for inclusion in Out in the Open.
Breaking Glass Co-President Richard Ross said, ""It is a pleasure to start 2013 with Matthew Smith's amazing documentary Out in the Open. As the country moves further and further away from any sort of closet, the film celebrates acceptance and empowerment for everyone."
12/10/12
Help Lesbian Film by Donating Today: Portrait of a Serial Monogamist
A few weeks ago we introduced you to a new lesbian film-in-the-making: Portrait of a Serial Monogamist is about a forty-something television producer and serial monogamist who breaks up with her long-standing girlfriend, only to discover that she may have broken up with the one she was meant to be with. This film is influenced by such greats like Annie Hall, Manhattan and High Fidelity.
Set in Toronto, Portrait of a Serial Monogamist tells the story of Elsie Neufeld, a 40 something television producer who is charming, successful and a complete mess when it comes to relationships. When Elsie breaks up with her long-standing girlfriend, she is forced to confront herself, the prospect of being single for the first time and the possibility that she broke up with the one she is meant to be with.
They only have 8 days left in their Indiegogo campaign to raise the funds to shoot the movie. So far, they've raised just over $16,000, which is fantastic, but still leaves them quite a bit short of our goal. Please donate if you can, every little bit helps!
The second video is Second City alumnus Carolyn (Coco) Taylor who plays Robyn, the one who gets dumped:
Set in Toronto, Portrait of a Serial Monogamist tells the story of Elsie Neufeld, a 40 something television producer who is charming, successful and a complete mess when it comes to relationships. When Elsie breaks up with her long-standing girlfriend, she is forced to confront herself, the prospect of being single for the first time and the possibility that she broke up with the one she is meant to be with.
They only have 8 days left in their Indiegogo campaign to raise the funds to shoot the movie. So far, they've raised just over $16,000, which is fantastic, but still leaves them quite a bit short of our goal. Please donate if you can, every little bit helps!
Interested in learning more about the movie? We have a couple of videos here shared exclusively for you by the Director of the movie. The first video is Diane Flacks who plays Elsie, the lead
The second video is Second City alumnus Carolyn (Coco) Taylor who plays Robyn, the one who gets dumped:
Christina Zeidler Co-Writer/Director/Producer
Christina Zeidler is a film and video artist with over thirty film and video titles in distribution, which have shown internationally at festivals and appeared on television and the web. Christina was named one of Toronto’s 10 best Filmmakers by Cameron Bailey artistic director of Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and has won the Best Canadian Media Award at the Images Film Festival. Her work has exhibited in numerous venues including the Albright Knox Biennial, Tate Modern and the New York Anthology Film Archives. She is also President and Developer of The Gladstone Hotel in Toronto. www.christinazeidler.com
John Mitchell Co-Writer/Director/Producer
John Mitchell is a Toronto writer and director who started his career as one half of the cult 90’s musical comedy duo Brock & John. Mitchell went on to spend two years at the famed Second City in Toronto as part of the Auxiliary Company. Mitchell has written and directed several musical comedies and was one of the early writers of the musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, which went on to win 5 Tony Awards on Broadway. He recently completed post production on his first documentary feature, with co-director Jonathan Crombie, Waiting For Ishtar, about Elaine May’s much-maligned 1987 comedy staring Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty.
The amazingly talented cast:
Diane Flacks/ Elsie
Carolyn Taylor/Robyn
Vanessa Dunn /Lolli
Caroline Gillis/Grace
Shoshana Sperling/Rachel
Dawn Whitwell /Jackie
Help get the word out:
If you can't make a donation, you can still help by sharing the campaign on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, anywhere you spend time online. It all makes a difference!
Find them online:
2/18/12
Conceiving Family
Conceiving Family follows (Director/Producer) Amy Bohigian and her partner, Jane Byers, as they adopt biracial 15 month-old twins, Franny and Theo. Their journey to becoming a family, like the other four same-sex couples, is laden with challenges, including confronting the Christian Fundamentalist foster parents who express fear that the children they’ve cared for since birth will now, “grow up to be gay” with parents who are “going to hell for their sins.” Required to live together for two weeks during the kids’ transition they confront their differences in the most surprising ways. Combining personal interviews, intimate footage, and family photos, Conceiving Family tells the collective story of what it takes to become an intentional family.
Conceiving Family Trailer from Amy Bohigian on Vimeo.
6/22/11
Are You Afraid of Vagina Wolf?
A heartfelt dark comedy, “Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf” is the coming of age tale of a 40 year old Cuban-American filmmaker. The day after her 40th birthday, a filmmaker who's sacrificed her love life for her career, realizes she has neither decides to embark on adapting an all-female parody of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
It is both intensely personal and universal in its exploration of the search for love, purpose and the midlife existential crisis. You can expect a stellar cast and you best believe it's hella gay.
Visit our website for more vagina http://www.vaginawolf.com/ and meet our celesbian cast and crew!
5/23/11
Music Spotlight: Creamy GOODness, Lesbian Rapper
Creamy GOODness is a white lesbian rapper hailing from the mean streets of New Hampshire - it don't get much realer than that bitch! Born in the wealthy seaside village of Rye, NH (Live Free or Die Mother F*ckers!) CG's preference for all things Money Green and Gold began at an early age. With her 14 karat gold-plated rattle, she began whipping up beats at the freakishly young age of 6 months. Her first word was 'cash-money.'
In an effort to clean up their daughter's early vocabulary, Creamy was subjected to watching hours upon hours of PBS and classic movies. While she became extremely intelligent during this period, a different obsession grew like the seed of a sapling deep in her belly. Inspired by the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, and Julie Andrews to name just a few, CG's fondness for the fairer sex invaded her mind and her rhymes. Parents: zero; lesbians: one!
While years of a New England private school education heightened Creamy's ability to master rhymes, mix beats and arrange a bomb-ass score, it did nothing to quell her desire to pimp a classic Caddy trimmed in Gold (obviously) and Gucci monograms.
For the past 5 years, the rapper has called Los Angeles home. Some of her most recent credits include producing/engineering soulful singer Briana Nadeau’s sophomore album, ARMOR, working with NYC rapper Mr. Complex on his soon to be released single ‘King Kong Love,’ engineering FANTA’s ‘Vision’ commercial for their latest national ad campaign along with a host of film work including sound design for the upcoming gay themed musical, ‘I Was A Teenage Werebear,’ directed by Tim Sullivan (Detroit Rock City, VH1’s Scream Queen’s)
Creamy GOODness is the latest, greatest addition to the Lesbiatopia team. She will be bringing you all the hottest music and film news and anything good in the LA scene.
When she is not jetting to Tortola, Europe or the East Coast, you can find Creamy GOODness hoeing it up in her apartment in LA or mixin it up in the clubs with only the finest dykes. After all, yellow's just a color, gold is a lifestyle.
Love all things Creamy GOODness? Lez-be-friendz on Facebook! Click the link for CG's Fan Page! and to hear CG dropping some serious beats. Word.
11/30/09
Artist Spotlight: Heather Connell & Her Award Winning Documentary Film 'Small Voices'
I meet a lot of interesting people in LA, especially filmmakers, writers, actors and aspiring artists of all types. I love hearing their stories of inspiration, perspiration and the incredible amount of drive that lives in all of us to accomplish our hopes and dreams. Recently, I was lucky to meet one woman, Heather Connell, who hails from a small town in Massachusetts, not far from where I grew up myself. Heather moved to LA a few years back in hopes of following one of her biggest passions: making documentary films that deal with social issues. Heather, a go-getter to say the least, wasted no time in putting her dreams into motion. In 2006 she began the initial stages of filming her very first documentary about a subject she is very passionate about: the lives of children in third world countries.
Please take a moment and read the incredible story of how "Small Voices: The Stories of Cambodia's Children" was born, written by producer/director Heather Connell (originally published in IT Magazine).
And if you're interested in purchasing a copy of the DVD, being released this week, you can visit http://www.smallvoicesmovie.com/. Please support amazing lesbian artists!
"Small Voices: The Stories of Cambodia's Children" by Heather Connell
It was well over 100 degrees with 100% humidity the morning I arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in early March of 2006. Despite the fact my photographer Theresa and I had just spent a VERY long 24 hours of travel time crammed into the most decrepit airplane ever -- I was feeling energized. After a year's worth of pre-production, I was finally ready to begin filming on my documentary Small Voices: The Stories Of Cambodia's Children, an in depth examination of the struggles of the street and garbage dump children who live and work in a society that has largely forgotten them.
I couldn't wait to get started -- as we took a taxi to our hotel on the Tonle Sap River, I begin planning how I would find the street children. Where did they hang out? What part of the city did they live and beg? I decided I would spend that first day speaking to people and finding where these children were so I could begin my work. First, I decided to walk from our hotel to a nearby store to buy some bottled water.
In those three dusty, grimy blocks, children and beggars besieged me. A sickly woman with a naked baby held her hand out from where she sat looking up at me from the curb. Poverty was everywhere and I'd only gone three blocks. I realized I didn't have to search for what I was looking for. All I had to do was open my eyes. I have since realized that this is a concept we should all pay more attention too. If we all take the time to just open our eyes to what is going on in the world around us and in our own backyard, what a difference we could make.FINDING MY WAY TO CAMBODIA
How I found myself in Cambodia to begin with was a journey in itself that was much longer than a year in the making. I had moved to Los Angeles eight years ago with vague ideas of finding fame and fortune as a storyteller. Shortly after I arrived, the writer's guild went on strike and I began looking for other ways to stay creative. Without having the first clue about what I was doing, I decided to make a short film. While the film wasn't exactly a masterpiece, I become hooked on the idea of using visual media to raise awareness. Our collective attention span as a society is fairly short and the idea that film could be used a way to excite people about social issues and social awareness was very compelling. I founded Displaced Yankee Productions with that basic principal as a platform.
Several years later, I had grown quite a bit as a filmmaker and felt I was ready to expand my horizons beyond short film and branch into features. Documentary storytelling -- about real lives and events -- was a natural progression for me. There are literally thousands of stories just waiting to be told. I needed to find a niche that matched my passions. Children's issues have always been something that I have connected with on a personal level.
How the crises of poverty, health care, environment and education affect our children globally is of high importance to me. I was also interested in countries that had recently suffered genocides and how that had effected the subsequent generation of children. Cambodia was on a short list, but Darfur was top of my list. Then fate stepped in and planted me firmly on the path toward Cambodia.I attended the premiere of The Hotel Rwanda and found myself at the typical Hollywood after party face to face with Angelina Jolie. Anyone in the industry knows, you only get these kinds of opportunities once. I knew she was passionate about the issues in Cambodia, so the writer in me took over and I pitched her out of thin air on the Cambodian documentary I was already working on. The next morning, with her contact information in hand, I was frantically writing a proposal for my "current" project. While she ultimately did not become involved with the film, as soon as I really started to dive into the issues, I found my passion for it. I realized how off the map Cambodia was for most people. I would talk about my project with strangers and friends alike and many of them didn't even know Cambodia has suffered genocide or that is was in Southeast Asia. Often, people would tell me how wonderful it was I was going to Africa. In fact, most of them only knew that Tomb Raider had been filmed there. I realized I had found a story that needed to be told.
WHAT GOOD ARE MY GOOD INTENTIONS?
A year later, I was wondering if I had taken on more than I could handle emotionally. I had been there less then a day and was already overwhelmed by the problems. Worn down and hungry, Theresa and I had collapsed into chairs at an outdoor restaurant to rest and refuel. The food was wonderful, but it was hard keeping our appetites and our composure when confronted by the scores of hungry children trying to catch our eye. What do you do? Guilt, sadness, and anger over the situation...then a boy of about eight appeared next to me. He didn't want to be seen by the police lingering near the entrance, so he squatted down between two large potted plants next to my chair and looked up at us with big sad eyes. He pointed to my plate and then to his mouth, pleading. I didn't know the words, but I understood the language. It was heartbreaking. I palmed some vegetables into his hand and he shoved them into his mouth and scampered off. Theresa and I looked at our plates of food and wanted none of it. We continued to pick away. I was distracted and frustrated. Faced with something like that, how much difference does all my good intentions make? How much change can I really effect and does it really help? Certainly that boy cared nothing for documentaries. All he wanted was a bite to eat. It gave me a lot to think about.
Several days later, I found myself at Stung Meanchy, the city's garbage dump. I thought I was prepared for this. I really did. After all, I have read about it, heard about it, even seen pictures of it. This is why I'm here. But I was utterly unprepared for the reality of the dump.
A heavy haze of smoke hung over acres upon acres of smoldering garbage. The landfill was enormous, stretching as far as the eye could see. Hundreds of people are picking through the refuse. The sting of the smoke in our eyes is nothing compared to the rotting, cloying smell. Standing in the dump are make-shift shelters -- homes -- for these desperately poor people. The conditions are not fit for any human being, let alone for children. Dozens and dozens and dozens of them. While some thankfully wore rubber boots, others were barefoot. Massive dump trucks and backhoes moved with surprising speed through the throngs of people, digging and dumping piles of fresh garbage. The children worked diligently and for the most part, silently. A new truck means new opportunity and as soon as one appears, everyone crowds for it -- so close it is easy to see how someone could be run over or buried in the rubble. I didn't know where to focus. The flies swarmed around me and the smoke filled my eyes. I tried not to breathe. There is another child picking through molded and rotten food. There is one wrapping himself in a piece of old carpet he has hooked out of the pile. An intelligent young man who spoke excellent English struck up a conversation with Theresa. He wanted to know if she knows why they are here, why they live and work here and where they come from. He was the picture of lost potential. Given just a fraction of an opportunity, imagine what these kids could accomplish or do.A CHILD DOES NOT KNOW THEY ARE A DROP IN THE BUCKET
I knew in that moment that I would do whatever it took to see this project through and raise up the voices of children like that young man in the dump. Over the course of three years as I struggled with finding the resources and the emotional toll of making the project -- and the guilt of my own privilege, I would think of the children I had met, their quiet struggle and innate goodness while facing a bleak and uncertain future -- and I would be reinvigorated. The challenges I face would suddenly seem insignificant and trite when compared to the life of a boy in the dump who buries dead babies he finds to pay them respect. It really puts things in perspective.
Cambodia continues to be one of the poorest countries in Asia, with nearly half of the population under the age of 18. Only 1.2% of the population goes on to achieve higher education. There is a growing health crisis, with Hepatitis A & B spreading at an alarming rate. With no access to education, clean water and health care, the situation for the street and garbage children of Cambodia can seem overwhelming and bleak. But in the course of this project, I have come to realize that it is impossible as an individual to change the big picture. However, the changes we can effect on an individual level will be the catalyst that turns the tide.
It is often difficult to watch documentaries like Small Voices and
walk away without wanting to do something. But often the problems
seem so overpowering; it is an easy excuse for us to do nothing,
thinking that it will not actually make a difference. But a child
does not know they are a drop in the bucket. Whether that
child in need is in Cambodia, Africa, or East Los Angeles - our
obligation is the same. All we need to do is open our eyes.
Heather's film won multiple festival awards, and is now available on DVD, order yours today!
(original article can be read here)
7/10/09
Free & Discount LGBTQ youth films at Outfest Los Angeles
is proud to be a Community Collaborator with 
Straightlaced - How Gender's Got Us All Tied Up
Sunday July 12 | 12:00 pm | Free! 
Fairfax Cinemas
7907 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90048
Academy Award-winning director Debra Chasnoff crafted this powerful documentary about the lives of teens and young adults as seen through the gender lens. Approaching society's ideas and ideals of gender through clothes, sexuality, sports, dance, safety, consumerism and emotion, the film addresses the complexities of conceptions of masculinity and femininity for Generation Z. STRAIGHTLACED is a striking and diverse film for all ages, genders and sexualities.
IN COLLABORATION WITH:
LifeWorks Mentoring
Sunday July 12 | 12:00 pm | Free!
Fairfax Cinemas7907 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90048
Academy Award-winning director Debra Chasnoff crafted this powerful documentary about the lives of teens and young adults as seen through the gender lens. Approaching society's ideas and ideals of gender through clothes, sexuality, sports, dance, safety, consumerism and emotion, the film addresses the complexities of conceptions of masculinity and femininity for Generation Z. STRAIGHTLACED is a striking and diverse film for all ages, genders and sexualities.
IN COLLABORATION WITH:
LifeWorks Mentoring
DISCOUNT TICKETS FOR LIFEWORKS MEMBERS & SUPPORTERS!
Off and Running
Sunday July 12 | 5:00 pm | $13 regular price,
$12 with code "LifeWorks"
Fairfax Cinemas7907 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90048
Avery, a model student and track star, appears to be an average American girl, but when the search for her birth mother causes rifts in her seemingly comfortable sense of identity, she is forced to confront long-suppressed tensions. With the help of her adoptive lesbian moms, Avery must examine what it means to be an African American girl raised white and Jewish while discovering insights about her mysterious birth mother. An inspiring portrait of a modern family founded on love.
IN COLLABORATION WITH:
LifeWorks Mentoring
To purchase tickets: 213.480.7065 or www.outfest.org/fest2009
Outfest is a leading showcase for diverse, international lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) film and video. Outfest produces the oldest and largest continuous film festival in Los Angeles, the only LGBT weekly screening series in the country as well as the only LGBT people of color film festival. Since 1982, Outfest has presented more than 4,000 film and video titles for audiences of well over half a million people. Outfest 2009 features 160 films and videos from 20 countries and runs from July 9th - July 19th.
Free & discount LGBTQ youth films at Outfest - this Sunday 7/12!!
7/3/09
Outfest 2009 Feature Film: Make the Yuletide Gay
OutFest 2009 the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival is the oldest continuous film festival in Los Angeles, featuring 182 films and videos from 25 countries in 7 different venues over 11 days starting July 9th and ending July 19th. Outfest will dazzle Los Angeles with 87 separate public programs – 6 galas, 68 features, 10 short film programs and 13 panels and special events.
On Thursday, July 9, Outfest will launch with the presentation of the 13th Annual Outfest Achievement Award preceding the Opening Night Gala film LA MISSION starring Benjamin Bratt.
8/28/08
Wake Up Indie Film
Mark Gill, who's rather large in indie film, spoke during the LA Film Festival about the challenges of producing independent film in a narrowing market. Amongst the thirteen reasons he sighted as proof that indie film is just the wrong business to be in these days, number ten struck me:
"10: Movies now routinely fight with really compelling leisure alternatives that nobody in the last great era of cinema--the 1970s--even imagined: from iPods to Xboxes to Tivos to You Tubes to the radically improved behemoth that is cable television."
This sad song echoes that of everyone over forty in Hollywood. I would be bummed if I were them too. Sure, it was way funner when you put money into a movie and made it back at the box office right away. Now we have to put more money into a film that has a much smaller change of making any back if at all when it hits viral and mobile content sites who might pay you once their "advertising" dollars come in.
Yes, it is a different business model. Indie film is really the last place I'd like to hear the lament over changing platforms. As a genre that fancies itself the last bastion of explorative, imaginative and informative cultural commentary, indie storytellers could look at the changing media market from the vantage point it provides to reach wider audiences. If one is that concerned with surpassing the "moronic, homogenized piece of lowest-common-denominator drivel" that is mass media, in order to bring singular narratives and quality storytelling to audiences, then the platform your message arrives on shouldn't matter so much. New media technologies make informative content more tangible to the greatest number of people. It's the messages that need to reach viewers and the voices that need to be heard, not the platform they're seen on or the money made from their consumption.
8/17/08
The 10th Anniversary of IDKE
C’mon ride the train back to Columbus on October 16-19th, 2008 for the Tenth Annual International Drag KingCommunity Extravaganza. Fast Friday Productions and Columbus, Ohio welcomes the return of gender play, performance, theory and art after six long-awaited years. Fueled in Minnesota-MN(5), Chicago-IL (6), Winnipeg-Manitoba (7), Austin-TX (8), and Vancouver-BC (9), the IDKE.X journey back promises to delight your international tastes in drag king community culture.
IDKE is a first-of-its-kind event in that it is a collaborative, non-competitive gathering of drag king community performers, their fans, and the people who study, photograph and film them. 1 It was originally started by a group of Ohio State University Women’s Studies Graduate Students who assembled an “insider’s view on FTM drag as a subculture and craved to network beyond the Midwestern boundaries of Columbus, Ohio, circa 1998.”1 From its grassroots beginnings, IDKE has grown from 100 attendees to the thousands expected in Columbus this year.
IDKE.X features a two-day conference, Art and Film Festival, Transman Health Fair, Merchant Fair, and International Drag Performances featuring performers from New Zealand, France, Rome, Canada and throughout the United States…All brought together to enjoy, learn, and indulge in our gender-loving culture.The two day conference will be hosted at Stonewall Columbus Center on High and the Frank Hale Multicultural Center at the Ohio State University. With the additions of a Transman Health Fair and a Job Fair this year, the IDKE Conference exhibits what we have learned about our historical “presence” as gender-queer beings; gender performance beyond the scope of the stage; gender-queer theory; mass popular culture and critical race theories; gender-queer community viability; the function of familial relations both past and present; Kingcommunity health & wellness, etc…
The Art Festival will include collections from IDKE artists displayed in the Columbus Short North Businesses—as well as the debut of a new art anthology, the History of Drag Kings, exhibiting past IDKE memorabilia. The IDKE.X Film Fest presents films from Drag subculture in the US, France, Canada and more. Featuring a collection of Film Shorts on Friday, the Film Fest will take place at AXIS from Thursday through Saturday.
And in the spirit of our ever-evolving Gender World, IDKE culminates in a variety of Stage events to delight every fancy--known or unknown. In its 10th year Friday’s
Dragdom, once the greenhorn stage where new performers or new alias’ amused and surprised audience members, will be held at Wall Street which formerly housed the grand weekend performance event, the Saturday Night IDKE Showcase. The IDKE.X Showcase will bring together the world’s best drag performances on Columbus’ finest stage, the Lifestyles Community Pavilion at Promowest. Nominated as the finest new Concert venue by Pollster Magazine in 2001, the LC Pavilion will host a night of Drag talent the likes of which you have never seen…acts that will leave you breathless for more, and a dance After Party with 2000+ international & national gender-queer, queer friendly, and queer curious party-goers.If that isn’t enough, on Friday swing by East Village Video Bar & Cafe for Viva’s Red Light District Burlesque Show “Dames who Love their Kings” the hot and steamy loveliness of Viva Valezz and some of the most wow woW wOW VABOOM in Burlesque this century. These Dames are smokin'!!
Realizing the youth also need their own space to show their talents, IDKE will also host a YOUTH SPEAKEASY in coordination with Stonewall Columbus. The Youth Speakeasy turns the mic over to the new generation of performers. We welcome musicians, singers, spoken word artists and performers from ages 4 to 18 to their very own stage production.IDKE ends on Sunday with the Brunch which will be hosted at Columbus’ newest lounge and danceclub, LIQUID. Come enjoy the wonderful LIQUID brunch fare & reminisce with new friends and old before they depart--while getting one last gender boost of theatrical acts, spoken word, and live music.
IDKE.X is all you can ask for, and all the things you couldn’t bring yourself to speak of. Don’t miss the train. www.idkex.com
From The History of the First International Drag King Extravaganza
By Donna Jean Troka, in consultation with Julie Applegate, Sile Singleton and Shani Scott
7/9/08
The 2008 Lesbian Film Guide: Movies to Watch Out For
The Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film festival kicks off today and runs until the 21st of July. That means some of the most talented directors, writers, actors, producers and crews will be debuting their fabulous movies, shorts, and many other amazing events that go along with this incredible film festival.
Outfest is the oldest continuous film festival in Southern California. Since its founding in 1982, Outfest has presented more than 4,200 films and videos for audiences of over half a million people.
This year, there is no shortage of lesbian-related material and I've picked out what I anticipate to be some of the most incredible films showing this year. Keep your eyes on the lookout for these rare gems featuring funny, dramatic, touching and endearing lesbian stories that are sure to touch your heart and bring a smile to your face. Hopefully, these films will be coming to a local indie theater near you!
3Way
(USA, 2008, 120 mins)
• www.3waytv.tv
3WAY calls itself a “Three's Company” for a new generation, but it's also a new vision of do-it-yourself, queer media distribution. Straight lady Siobhan (Maeve Quinlan, the MILF on “South of Nowhere”) is on the rebound from a nasty divorce. She moves in with her lesbian best friend Roxie (Cathy Shim) who also invites Andrea (Jill Bennett) her girlfriend (of one week) to move in. Throw in a kooky ex (Maile Flanagan) and the recipe for gal pal lesbian hijinks and drama is complete! See an assortment of 3WAY webisodes and never-before-seen material compiled just for Outfest, and meet the talent and creative minds behind this popular new web series.
Love My Life
International Dramatic Feature
(Japan, 2006, 96 mins)
• IMDB Film Info
Based on the popular comic by Ebine Yamaji, LOVE MY LIFE is a highly entertaining Japanese romantic comedy about two college girls in love and all the obstacles they encounter. Ichiko, wants to tell her father about her girlfriend, Eri. When she does, her father has the bigger bombshell...Ichiko’s parents are both gay! LOVE MY LIFE captures the beauty, the joys, the drama and everything in between when you fall in love for the first time.
The New World (Le Nouveau Monde)
Le Nouveau Monde
(France, 2007, 90 mins)
In French with English subtitles
• IMDB Film Info
Lucie and Marion want to have a baby. They’ve watched their best lesbian friends do it, so it can’t be that hard, can it? From the hunt for sperm to dealing with unusual reactions from family members and friends, they soon feel in over their heads. Just what kind of world will they be bringing their baby into, anyway? Charming and funny, THE NEW WORLD takes a lighter look at new motherhood.
Affinity
(UK , Canada , Romania, 2008, 90 mins)
• IMDB Film Info
Based on Sarah Waters’ masterful award-winning second novel, AFFINITY is a gorgeous tale of love, longing and mystery set in Victorian London. Upper crust Margaret Prior grieves the death of her father as she tries valiantly to move past a lost love. She decides to take on “a project” and volunteers at Millbrook, a grim women’s prison full of ladies who have committed some of the most heinous crimes.
One of these women is Selina Dawes, an angelic-looking woman convicted of assault and fraud, and who purportedly possesses special powers as a spirit medium. As Margaret’s visits to the jail increase (and to Selina, in particular), her interest in the world of spiritualism intensifies - but is Selina really the prodigy she claims to be?
With the riveting quality of past Waters’ work brought to screen (TIPPING THE VELVET and FINGERSMITH), AFFINITY takes us on a heart-pounding, bodice-straining journey of romance and intrigue as its shocking twists and simmering passion drive it to a stunning finale.
Dolls (Pusinky)
(Czech Republic, 2007, 99 mins)
In Czech with English subtitles
• IMDB Film Info
• www.pusinky.com
Too much freedom can make a teenager go wild. In DOLLS (PUSINKY), a breathtaking road trip film, three young women make a wild leap into adulthood. Iska, a privileged young woman, runs off from sports camp with her friends, seductive Karolina and innocent Vendula. One fateful night, Iska observes two women making out at a club, sparking her curiosity and setting off a series of events that changes he course of their journey. Exhilarating and emotional, this is a beautiful film about the journey from adolescence to adulthood.
Drifting Flowers
(Taiwan, 2008, 97 mins)
• IMDB Film Info
Zero Chou’s DRIFTING FLOWERS, her remarkable follow up to SPIDER LILIES (Outfest 2007), is a thoughtful drama that explores relationships between feminine and masculine women. Split into three chapters, the stories enter and exit the lives of Chalkie, an adorable butch musician, Ging, a beautiful blind singer and Lily, a heartsick woman suffering from Alzheimer’s. Stunning, brooding and passionate, DRIFTING FLOWERS is a meditative film about the beauty and sadness that permeates our lives.
The Secrets (Sodot Ha)
(2008, 120 mins)
In Hebrew, French with English subtitles
• IMDB Film Info
• www.thesecretsthemovie.com
This haunting and lyrical drama explores the place of women and sexuality in Orthodox Judaism. At a Jewish women’s seminary in Israel, Naomi, the devout daughter of a rabbi, meets secular roommate Michelle, and the two become fast friends. The pair agree to fulfill the last wish of a dying woman (Fanny Ardant) and perform Kabalistic rituals on her. In so doing, they awaken within one another forbidden feelings that force them to question their path in life.
Steam
(USA, 2007, 117 mins)
• IMDB Film Info
Three very different women find comfort and wisdom in a weekly retreat to the steam room. Doris (Ruby Dee), recently widowed, discovers a deep connection with a charming neighbor, while Laurie (Ally Sheedy), a divorced single mother, begins dating her son's younger soccer coach, and Elizabeth (Kate Siegal) a beautiful college student, develops a relationship with Naila, a sexy bisexual. As these three navigate new relationships they learn as much about their friends and family as they do themselves. Filled with charming dialogue and sweet intensity, STEAM is a gem of a film.
Two Looks (Dos Miradas)
(Spain, 2007, 70 mins)
In Spanish with English subtitles
• IMDB Film Info
The fully improvised TWO LOOKS takes us from dawn to dusk on the most important day of Sofia and Laura's vacation. Stunningly gorgeous cinematography of the San Pedro de Atacama desert in Chile makes for a colorful backdrop to the volatile and curious drama that unfolds between these two young women as they struggle to reach the moment of truth in their relationship. Shot in a fly-on-the-wall documentary style, we see and live each cinematic moment.
The World Unseen
(UK, 2008, 94 mins)
U.S. Premiere
• IMDB Film Info
• www.theworldunseenfilm.com
Set in 1950s South Africa, THE WORLD UNSEEN is a gorgeous depiction of love in the face of oppression. Free-spirited, sexy Amina has broken all the rules of her own conventional Indian community - and the new apartheid government - by running a café with Jacob, her mixed-race business partner. When she meets the breathtakingly beautiful Miriam, their unexpected attraction pushes Miriam to question the rules that bind her, setting in motion a chain of events that changes both women forever.
So now that you have an incredible list of movies, be on the lookout for their release on DVD or at your local theater. Take your girl on a romantic date to foreign film with subtitles or finally get the courage to ask that cute new girl out and bring her to a romantic comedy. There are so many choices from this veritable international pupu platter of lesbian and bisexual themed movies, that there is sure to be something pleasing to everyone's palate. In fact, if you asked me to pick just one to go see, I don't think I could which is why I'll be heading to OutFest to preview quite a few. Happy movie watching!
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