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12th
Annual Gay and Lesbian Film and Video Festival
The
12th Annual Milwaukee Gay and Lesbian Film and Video Festival will be held
Sept. 23-25 and Sept. 30-Oct. 2 at the Union Theatre. Presenting local premiers
of features, documentaries, and shorts, the festival offers a broad spectrum of
work by gay and lesbian artists.
Single
tickets are $6 for the general public; $5.50 for students and seniors. Festival
passes are $50 for the general public; $45 for students and seniors. The
festival is presented by the Department of Film and the School of the Arts.
Call 229-6015 for more information. (Please note that the schedule is subject
to change, with titles to be added.)
THURSDAY,
SEPT. 23
Taking off from the young-adult novel "Harriet the Spy," Sayer Frey's resourceful and smartly unconventional first feature is a daring mix of appealing characters, an engaging narrative, and a personal documentary exploration of female identity and same-sex attraction. Meet Eileen, a preoccupied woman who fills her days with tasks of distraction - spying on other people, burying road kill - instead of confronting her own suppressed past. But then Eileen meets a free-spirited hitchhiker named Jayne and, just maybe, their relationship will end Eileen's willed isolation. Funny, poignant, and eye-opening, "Eileen is a Spy" is a truly independent film.
Shown with "Goodbye to Love," by Shane Smith and Terry Finn (Canada, video, 3 min., 1997)
"Get over it, girl: The relationship's over!" A spiffy little film about the "triumph" of self-delusion. The music, natch, is cribbed from The Carpenters.
Kutlug Ataman's tragic yet triumphant film about immigrant Turks in Germany and the subculture of hustlers and cross-dressers that provides haven for the 16-year-old Murat as he flees a homophobic and brutal older brother. A groundbreaking film in the director's Turkish homeland. Winner: Best Feature, 1999 New Festival, New York's Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Shown with "Pensao Globo" by Matthias Muller (Germany/Portugal, 16mm, 15 min., 1997)
Approaching death, a traveler ends his aimless journeying at a hotel in Lisbon. Presented as a series of intoxicating super-impositions, "Pensao Globo" is a visually stunning film, effectively suggesting life's permeable boundaries.
"Living with Pride: Ruth C. Ellis @ 100," by Yvonne Welbon (USA, video, 65 min., 1999)
Yvonne Welbon has crafted a marvelous introduction to a winning personality. Ruth C. Ellis, 100 years old this July, is a marvelously spirited African American woman who has been out as a lesbian since her teens and was fiercely independent even before that. Here, she shares tales of her loves, her business ventures, her various communities, her activism, and her bowling. In recounting her story as an lesbian and African American, she proves to be a vital witness to a history not often revealed. Winner: Best Documentary, 1999 San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival.
Shown with "I Know a Place," by Roy Mitchell (Canada, video, 30 min., 1999)
An important and refreshing contribution to queer history and queer geography, "I Know a Place" is an intimate and completely engaging family photo album of the thriving queer community of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, a steel town perhaps removed from the alleged distractions of big-city life. For decades, Bob Goddere presided over the gay and lesbian life of the town, hosting dance parties in his basement. Consistently funny and ultimately quite touching, "I Know a Place" valorizes the gays and lesbians who work to make a life in their hometowns, however small. Winner: Best Documentary, 1999 Toronto Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
Ana Kokkinos's visually dynamic first feature hurtles headfirst to tell the explosive, sex-and-drugs tale of Ari, the futilely rebellious son of Greek immigrants, possibly on a downward spiral. During one wild, unending night, he tries to find his place, maybe even accept himself, as an immigrant's son and as a gay man in a xenophobic, homophobic Australia and in his own patriarchal community. Winner: Best First Feature, 1999 San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.
The first film to give African homosexuals a chance to describe their world in their own words. Often funny, sometimes ribald, but always real, this award-winning documentary introduces us to gender pioneers demanding their right to construct a distinct African homosexuality. This engaging work decidedly expands one's definition of what "gay" might mean.
Laura Plotkin's no-nonsense, up-front documentary introduces Gina "Boom Boom" Guidi, the women's world welterweight boxing champion and up-front dyke. Plotkin effortlessly raises issues about women in sports, "acceptable images," and personal identity, all while presenting the engaging tale of triumph of the self-made, self-effacing Guidi, who, along with Ruth C. Ellis, is one of the winningest personalities this festival has to offer.
Shown with "Homocore Minneapolis," by Lisa Ganser (USA, video, 1999)
A movie that juggles screwball comedy, a chase sequence, adult lesbian love, and an edgy portrayal of the everyday racism the Afro-German heroines confront, "Everything Will Be Fine" is a one-of-a-kind film wonder: It's funny, sexy, and smart. Dumped by her girlfriend but not ready to let go, Nabou sneakily takes up a job as a housecleaner in her ex's building. Soon, she's falling for Kim, her too-busy ad exec employer, who is on the brink of making a misguided life decision (marriage, in fact). "Everything Will Be Fine" is easily one of the most pleasurable lesbian comedies in recent memory.
Shown with "The Catch," by Heidi Ellis (USA, 16mm, 10 min., 1999)
What do you do when a bunch of straight jocks and their silly girlfriends mess with your picnic? Why, change the playing field, of course!
A triumph at lesbian and gay film festivals worldwide, this Swedish film also is the box office champ in its native land, besting even "Titanic" in attendance. Moodysson's film is a poignant and fiercely comic film about two teenage girls ready to burst out of their small town and out of the closet. Not shy about depicting the frightening consequences that can spring from a teenage conviction in invulnerability, "Show Me Love" nevertheless sports the best sort of teen brazenness. These two heroines, in pursuit of their crush, come across as some of the gutsiest high schoolers you've ever met.
Set in Sandusky, Ohio, in 1984, "Edge" presents us with Eric, a somewhat confused teen who's starting to dress like Boy George and grow more interested in co-worker Rod than his gal pal Maggie. "Edge of Seventeen" is a winning and nicely bittersweet coming-out movie, triumphant yet not without upsetting complications as its hero stumbles toward finding himself. Winner: Best Film, 1998 San Francisco International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
Shown with "The Boy Next Door," by Carl Pfirman (USA, 16mm, 13 min., 1998)
The rivalry escalates to some serious nastiness as brother and sister compete for the attentions of the hunky new neighbor.