JULY 12-22
DGA - Harmony Gold - REDCAT - Ford Amphitheatre
The 36th edition of OUTFEST, the Los Angeles pre-eminent LGBT Film Festival, returns with a vast and diverse selection of highly acclaimed films from around the world. The festival showcases the best American and International LGBT feature films, documentaries, and shorts, followed by receptions at the atrium of the DGA and after-parties in West Hollywood.
GALAS:
Opening Night at the Orpheum - Studio 54
When disco was the epicenter of popular culture, Studio 54 was the epicenter of disco. Brooklyn-born college pals Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager took a former opera house and CBS studio (where What’s My Line? and Captain Kangaroo filmed), in what was at the time one of New York City’s sketchiest neighborhoods, and turned it into a dance palace known the world over. Extroverted gay Rubell and introverted straight Schrager (the latter giving his most extensive interview to date about Studio 54) were a powerful team — but the swirl of sex, drugs, celebrity, and tax evasion brought this phenomenon to an end, as did the advent of Ronald Reagan, the AIDS crisis, and the “Disco Sucks” backlash. But oh, what heady times there were during Studio 54’s heyday, which this vibrant documentary captures, mixing vintage interviews (Michael Jackson!) with reminiscences from the doormen, bartenders, and paparazzi who experienced the thrills and the beats on the dance floor and in the infamous balcony. There may never again be such a stately pleasure dome as Studio 54, but director Matt Tyrnauer (Valentino: The Last Emperor, Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood) observantly captures the hedonism and the hubris with the exacting eye that has made him one of this generation’s most fascinating documentarians.
Desiree Akhavan won us over in 2014 with her hilarious feature debut Appropriate Behavior, and she brings her trademark wit and sass to this impressive follow-up feature. An adaptation of Emily M. Danforth’s celebrated queer YA novel, the film was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival for its warm, charismatic, and fearless performances. Set in the early 90s, the film follows lesbian teen Cameron (Chloë Grace Moretz, Carrie), sent to a religious conversion camp after she gets caught hooking up with her female best friend. At the camp, Cameron reluctantly undergoes various tactics used to “cure” same-sex attraction from persistent faith leaders Dr. Lydia Marsh (Jennifer Ehle) and Reverend Rick (John Gallagher Jr.), who are intent on “saving” LGBTQ teens. While some of the campers embrace the treatment, Cameron resists, and instead forms an alliance with the rebellious duo Jane (Sasha Lane, American Honey) and Adam (Forrest Goodluck, The Revenant). The heartfelt bond shared among the three friends gives them the strength they need in order to rise up and live their truth. Akhavan’s unapologetically queer lens delivers a refreshing take on the troubling topic of conversion therapy (which is, to this day, still used in some states) while exploring the themes of self-love, identity, and chosen family, all with unexpected flourishes of humor.
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| The Miseducation of Cameron Post - Directed by: Desirée Akhavan |
U.S. Dramatic Centerpiece - We the Animals
Lovely and lyrical, this film received well-earned comparisons to Moonlight when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it earned the prestigious NEXT Innovator Award. Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Jeremiah Zagar makes his narrative debut with this adaptation of the novel by Justin Torres about three boys navigating their parents’ volatile relationship and the aftermath of their breakup. Two of the sons clearly follow in the footsteps of their macho, anger-prone father (Raúl Castillo, Looking), while the sensitive youngest, Jonah (Evan Rosado), remains close to their mother (Sheila Vand, Women Who Kill). Exquisitely photographed by Zak Mulligan, the film captures both the beauty and terror of childhood, guiding us through the wonders of the world and the pain and confusion of marital dysfunction. Strains of Malick appear throughout, but there is nothing contrived or familiar about this achingly crafted coming-of-age tale. The entire ensemble (which also includes newcomers Josiah Gabriel and Isaiah Kristian) gives the film a raw naturalism — we feel like invisible observers as young lives unfold before us. Subtle and haunting, bursting with empathy and energy, We the Animals heralds a new chapter for a brilliant and essential storytelling talent.
U.S. Documentary Centerpiece - When the Beat Drops
Drop into the electric and subversive underground dance scene known as “bucking.” As voguing exploded out of the ballroom scene of NYC, bucking was boldly pioneered in the clubs of the Deep South as a new form of self- expression. This film presents a fresh glimpse into the magnetic artistry and flair behind this emerging dance culture. In his feature debut, famed choreographer and filmmaker Jamal Sims, who has worked with the likes of Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, and RuPaul’s Drag Race, illuminates the warm-hearted and fierce queer black performers who make up one of the leading “bucking” groups in the city of Atlanta. As they train for their biggest competition yet, they face the risk of losing their jobs and family to compete at the top levels of this dance scene. Jamal Sims calls dance a “super power,” and with this film he crafts a vision of the power of dance to bring movement to new heights and elevate the queer community.
World Cinema Centerpiece - Reinventing Marvin (Marvin ou la belle éducation) - France
Martin Clement is about to give the performance of his life: his life story, that is, in an autobiographical stage play. As a child, young Marvin Bijoux was bullied by homophobic classmates at school and misunderstood by his often-neglectful parents, making him feel like a lonely outsider in his small rural French village. But when a kind school principal guides him to join the drama club, Marvin discovers his gifts for play-acting the misery that surrounds him. When he qualifies to attend a theatrical school, Marvin acts the role of the brash straight stud until he meets an older mentor who encourages him to acknowledge his sexuality and to exorcise his pain by putting it all on the stage. This sweeping drama from director and co-writer Anne Fontaine (The Innocents, Coco Before Chanel) captures a life in the theater, as we see timid young Marvin (Jules Porier) blossom into adult Martin (Finnegan Oldfield, Nocturama) — with a little help along the way from Isabelle Huppert, playing herself. Fontaine masterfully spins a powerful yet subtly heartbreaking tale that reminds us that no matter how far we get from our upbringing, a piece of it remains with us always.
U.S. Narrative Features:
1985
Adrian (Cory Michael Smith, “Gotham”, Carol) returns to Texas for Christmas, keeping quiet about both his sexuality and HIV status. Award-winning writer-director Yen Tan (Pit Stop, Ciao) delivers a poignant period piece about a gay man tying up loose ends with his parents (Virginia Madsen and Michael Chiklis) and friends (including Jamie Chung as Adrian’s ex from high school) and leaving a legacy of hope for his younger brother (Aidan Langford, Bosch), who may be following in Adrian’s footsteps.
Bitter Melon
Who knew that the insensitive way some of his Filipino-American family members treat his sexuality would be the least of Declan’s worries when he returns home for the holidays? As he and his siblings tiptoe around his freeloading brother’s volatile personality, long-buried secrets are revealed to set in motion a hilarious plan of revenge. A black comedy with heart, the latest from H.P. Mendoza (Fruit Fly) deftly explores toxic masculinity and abuse— emotional and physical—with absurdity and true empathy.
Bright Colors and Bold Patterns
If you missed Drew Droege’s hilarious one-man show on stage, BroadwayHD has captured it for the screen. Writer-performer Droege stars as Gerry, the motor-mouthed house guest from hell at the Palm Springs wedding of his friends Josh and Brennan. Gerry is furious that the invitation forbids guests from wearing “bright colors and bold patterns,” which sets him off on a rant about gay assimilation and Lifetime movies, culminating in a riotous, coke-fueled meltdown.
Daddy Issues
An intoxicating invitation into the lives of two young women, one a fearless charmer, the other a talented but shy artist. When the pair meets, their lips and their lives collide, and the chemistry is electric. Combining their skills to design a clothing line, the girls spend every waking moment together, until the unthinkable happens. This candy-colored glimpse into first love is not only gorgeously shot, but it’s also driven by slick editing and an empowering soundtrack, immersing the viewer — or voyeur — into a world laced with potent sexuality.
Mapplethorpe
Matt Smith (“Doctor Who,” “The Crown” ) plays renegade queer artist and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Set in the gay leather communities and highbrow galleries of New York City in the 70s and 80s, Ondi Timoner’s biopic is an unflinching look at the life and career of the icon made famous for his striking black-and-white images of phalluses and flowers. This film takes a chronological look at the influences and practices that captured male homo-erotic desire so poignantly in the face of the devastating toll of the AIDS crisis.
Narcissister Organ Player
Narcissister’s uncompromising, masked, mannequinesque performances are sexy and subversive, exhibitionist and anonymous. She explores gender, sexual, and racial identity while revealing how her family formed her creative practice in this weirdly erotic and sentimental hit from Sundance and SXSW. Juxtaposing the Narcissister character’s formation with the artist’s family history, the film, like Narcissister’s performances, conceals even as it exposes intimate insights into the creative process and embodied ancestral knowledge.
Skate Kitchen
Shy, 18-year-old Camille seeks out an all-girl skateboard crew in NYC, a subculture of sexually fluid, cool city kids whose lives revolve around social media and skateboarding. Camille, adopted into their gang, is quickly faced with the complexity of female friendship, loyalty pressures, and singular personalities. A breakout darling of the Sundance Film Festival, filmmaker Crystal Moselle (The Wolfpack) perfectly captures the female zeitgeist in her richly textured and atmospheric second feature.
They
Possessed with the gentle grace and ethereal spell of fellow Iranian Abbas Kiarostami, Anahita Ghazvinizadeh’s feature debut explores the fragile spaces between body and soul in the life of 14-year-old J, a gender-fluid kid in the Chicago suburbs confronted with the decision of whether to transition. Executive produced by Jane Campion, this striking, evocative family drama uses unexpected textures and layered compositions to heighten the evolutionary rhythms of late childhood and the natural world.
Tucked
When veteran drag queen Jackie Collins receives a diagnosis with six weeks to live, all he wants to do is perform his long-running act, and behave as if all is normal. But between a surprising new friendship with a rising young queen and unfinished business with his estranged daughter, he may just have the most eventful month and a half of his life. A feel-good film with charm and humor as well as surprising insight into our evolving understanding of gender identity across generations, this marks the first queer film from prolific young British director Jamie Patterson.
Two in the Bush: A Love Story
After losing her job, Emily arrives home early from work to find her girlfriend in the throes of passion with someone else. In an instant, her entire life is turned upside down. Moving in with her best friend, Emily lands a new gig working for a dominatrix, and promptly falls for her new boss, and her boss’s boyfriend. In this wise and witty look at the world of bisexuality, polyamory and dungeons, filmmaker Laura Madalinski asks us to consider what risks are worth taking for love.
Wild Nights with Emily
In this laugh-out-loud period dramatic comedy, Molly Shannon transforms 19th-century poet Emily Dickinson from tragic spinster to irreverent lesbian heartthrob. Outfest alum Madeleine Olnek (The Foxy Merkins) reclaims Dickinson’s identity from the throes of patriarchy, exploring her vivacious side and her lifelong romantic relationship with her best friend and brother’s wife Susan (Susan Ziegler). In a film that’s part sketch comedy, part historical burlesque, Molly Shannon’s performance is alive as she kicks up the pieces of this famous legacy.
World Narrative Features:
Alifu, the Prince/ss (阿莉芙) - Taiwan
An Altman-esque mosaic of LGBTQ storylines intersect in this portrait of gender identity in present-day Taiwan by director Yu-Lin Wang (Seven Days in Heaven). Alifu works as a hairdresser in Taipei and longs for gender-confirmation surgery, which may affect his status within his tribal Paiwan family. Sherry, a trans woman who owns a drag bar, is in love with a plumber who appears not to share her feelings. Chris is a government worker and lives with his girlfriend Angie — and also moonlights as a drag queen. Wang weaves these narratives into an empowering tapestry of love and its many forms.
Anchor and Hope (Tierra Firme) - Spain
On a houseboat in the canals of London, couple Eva (Oona Chaplin) and Kat (Natalie Tena) are reunited with Kat’s boisterous best friend Roger. After a drunken night of celebrating, Roger offers to donate his sperm to help them conceive a child. But is their unconventional lifestyle possible with a baby? This charming dramedy, the second feature by Catalan filmmaker Carlos Marques-Marcet, explores the intricacies of love, relationships, and what it means to be a family. This SXSW premiere was written by Screenwriting Lab alum Jules Nurrish.
Bao Bao (親愛的卵男日記) - Taiwan
This deeply felt feature film debut by Shie Guang-cheng tells the story of Taiwanese expats Cindy and Joanne, living in London, who are about to have their first child. Their marital bliss is threatened when Cindy discovers that Joanne has promised their unborn son to another gay couple, their friends Charles and Tim. Told through an array of flashbacks, the film explores issues that affect many same-sex families, and is anchored by moving performances from Ke Huan-ru and newcomer Emma Reis.
Canary (Kanarie) - South Africa
Drafted during apartheid by the South African Army, Johan’s love for Boy George and Depeche Mode lands him a spot in the Kanaries — the military’s traveling choir — but romance on the battlefield forces him to reckon with his long-repressed sexual identity. Examining the effects of nationalism on the soul, while also exploring the tender brotherhood among misfits, this musical comedy revels in the discovery of finding your voice and learning to fly.
Cola de Mono - Chile
It’s Christmas Eve, 1986, and Borja is a precocious teenager with a passion for film. As his extended family comes together to celebrate the holiday, the combined forces of the suffocating Chilean heat, free-flowing drinks, and repressed desire contribute to the eruption of long-held secrets. This hypnotic story from Chile is both an enticing family melodrama and an explicit erotic thriller about the ways that passion and desire control our lives — from our pop-culture tastes to our sexual fantasies.
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| Cuernavaca - Directed by: Alejandro Andrade Pease |
Cuernavaca - México
After his mother dies unexpectedly, Andy moves into the palatial residence of his strict, no-nonsense grandmother (played by frequent Almodóvar collaborator Carmen Maura) in the Mexican suburb of Cuernavaca. He finds comfort and refuge in Charly, the estate’s young gardener, who introduces him to an exciting world of danger, risk, and temptation. In this epic coming-of-age story, Andy will navigate the pain and joy that comes with grief, growing up, and finding your identity.
Eva & Candela (¿Cómo te llamas?) - Colombia
A portrait of two strong, independent women: a female director and the star of her first film, drawn together by a powerful attraction and their shared desire to take on the movie world. The passion between them creates a seductive and fascinating intimacy. But over time, their relationship evolves, swinging from infatuation to sensuality, which turns to tenderness, and then routine. They never wanted to be a conventional couple, and yet that’s just what they’ve become. Can Eva and Candela withstand the inevitable effects of time to overcome the metamorphosis of their relationship?
Evening Shadows - India
While visiting his hometown in southern India, Kartik comes out to his loving mother, throwing her for a loop. Surrounded by a punitive patriarch and medieval societal norms, the duo of mother and son enters a series of nightmares, mirroring the nation’s resolve to keep its LGBTQ children in the closet. In his most nuanced and realized work yet, Sridhar Rangayan, long a champion of queer stories in India, gives us the queer film we’ve been wanting to watch with our mothers.
Hard Paint (Tinta Bruta) - Brazil
Online, Pedro smears neon paint across his body for pay-per-view voyeurs hungry for his webcam erotica. IRL, he rarely sees the sun or speaks to another soul in Porto Alegre. After catching word of a rival ripping off his rainbow-colored act, he ventures from the shadows to settle their score — but finds an unlikely new friend in the process. This Berlinale Teddy Award winner conjures a dark, sensual atmosphere of alienation and discovery. We’re proud to welcome this young filmmaking duo back to the festival for the third time after their previous feature Seaside and miniseries O Ninho (The Nest).
I Miss You when I See You (看見你便想念你) - Hong Kong
After living in Australia for a decade, Kevin returns to Hong Kong and reunites with childhood friend Jamie. Kevin confesses his affection for Jamie but is met with aloofness, spiraling him into self-sabotaging behavior. Now Jamie needs to reconcile his feelings for Kevin before he loses him forever. In this stunning tale of forbidden romance, director Simon Chung (Innocent, End of Love) takes audiences on a journey to revisit childhood nostalgia, inviting us to reminisce upon our experience of first love.
Malila: The Farewell Flower (มะลิลา) - Thailand
Pich and Shane are former lovers who reunite and rekindle their love, both coping with their own tragedies. Pich finds solace in creating intricate, ceremonial ornaments from folded banana leaves and white jasmine flowers, while Shane takes vows as a monk to heal from a loss. Reminiscent of fellow countryman and auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s work, this gorgeously lyrical and seductive tapestry weaves Thai traditions and Buddhist philosophy to explore love, death, and healing with tenderness and nuance.
Montana (מונטנה) - Israel
Returning home to attend her grandfather’s funeral, Efi (Noa Biron) finds that nothing has changed. Her grandmother, aunt, and uncle are all living their lives just as she left them years before. A romance with a local teacher causes Efi to extend her visit, but her past comes rushing back when she discovers that her uncle is still up to his devious ways. Set on revenge, Efi takes matters into her own hands. Limor Shmila’s empowering directorial debut speaks volumes about the healing power of justice.
Porcupine Lake - Canada
During a long, hot summer in Northern Canada, 13-year-old Bea is desperate for a new friend. When she finally meets Kate, a loud and raucous townie, her world begins to open up in ways that she never expected. In an intimate portrayal of the secret life of girls, we watch Bea experience a series of firsts, as she quietly learns what it means to love and truly be free. The fifth feature from returning Outfest alum Ingrid Veninger (He Hated Pigeons, The Animal Project) is a moving and tender tale that leaves the viewer nostalgic for years past.
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| Postcards from London - Directed by: Steve McLean |
Postcards from London - UK
Broke and beautiful, Joe (Beach Rats breakout Harris Dickinson) chases his big-city dreams to London and lands in the company of the Raconteurs: an elite gang of escorts who mix sex work with an encyclopedic knowledge of art history. Buzzing with electric energy and awash in Caravaggio, Joe’s journey takes him through the neon-lit labyrinth of Soho and, even more fantastically, transports him into classical paintings themselves. Sculpted like the gods, he becomes a muse for the ages.
Riot - Australia
In 1978, when the push to decriminalize homosexuality had stalled, a group of friends decide to make one final attempt to celebrate who they are. Led by a former union boss, they get a police permit and spread the word, unaware that the courage they find will finally mobilize the nation. This vivid retelling of “Australia’s Stonewall” is brought to life by a superb ensemble cast playing the real-life figures whose activist work led to the creation of the first-ever Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
Sodom - UK
It’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship when former pianist Michael happens upon 20-year-old soccer player Will; it’s Will’s bachelor party, and his friends have left him naked and handcuffed to a lamppost. Michael takes Will home and an immediate attraction blossoms. But does Will have the courage to pursue his obvious interest in the elegant older man? Or will these guys merely pass in the night? Sexy and intimate, this new British import features a pair of powerhouse performances from Jo Weil and newcomer Pip Brignall.
The Night of November (Nove de Novembro) - Spain
It’s November 1989, and the Berlin Wall is coming down. But as Germany reunifies, Roberto and Miguel find themselves coming apart at the seams. The two look back at their ten years together — a tumultuous decade that included coming out of the closet and dealing with HIV — and come to terms with what it takes to stay together. Subtle and haunting, this moving Spanish drama skillfully explores the beautiful complexity of a long-term relationship.
The Wild Boys (Les Garçons sauvages) - France
Mandico’s genre- and gender-bending surrealist work zigzags through a perverse, hyper-stylized world of transgressions. In this nightmarish adventure, well-bred teenage boys, played by women, commit a heinous crime and are sent to sea with the barbaric Captain. Landing on a magical island with bizarre animals and lascivious plants, the teens metamorphize. Outrageous vulgarity blends with refinement as machismo’s cruelty and the glory of sexual freedom are exposed in this phantasmagorical visual feast and erotic fantasia.
Documentary Features:
Alone in the Game
This inspirational documentary follows a number of LGBTQ athletes, including Robbie Rogers (Major League Soccer), Layana White (NCAA basketball player), Gus Kenworthy (freestyle skier and Olympic silver medalist), Megan Rapinoe (soccer, Olympic gold medalist), and Trevor Betts, a trans high school athlete, charting their social and legal challenges within the schools, sports leagues, and within their own families, as well as their triumphs in the face of great adversity.
Bad Reputation
Rock-and-roll pioneer Joan Jett has been shredding hard since she founded The Runaways back in the 1970s, and at age 60, she shows no signs of slowing down. This breathlessly entertaining documentary spans the many eras and facets of her career, including interviews from a wide range of peers and protégés, including Michael J. Fox, Debbie Harry, Miley Cyrus, Billie Jo Armstrong, Kathleen Hanna, Kristen Stewart, Iggy Pop, and Laura Jane Grace, to name just a few. Revel in Jett’s trademark humble swagger as the film chronicles her journey to becoming one of the most influential figures in punk rock history.
Believer
Utah has the highest youth suicide rate in America and the largest Mormon population. For native son Dan Reynolds — frontman for the Grammy Award-winning Imagine Dragons — it’s a call to action to change his faith community from the inside out and foster policies of acceptance toward its LGBTQ members. Over the course of a year, his quest leads him and his family to create the first-ever LoveLoud Festival: a landmark music summit to amplify queer voices and save lives.
Beyond the Opposite Sex
Fourteen years after winning Outstanding Documentary Feature here at Outfest Los Angeles, Showtime returns with the long-awaited sequel to The Opposite Sex, their groundbreaking portrait of life in transition for two transgender individuals — Rene and Jamie — awaiting gender-confirmation surgery. While trans visibility and social awareness have increased in the interim, they find that living authentically comes with its own set of unique challenges both at home and in the world around them.
Bixa Travesty
Black Brazilian transgender singer Linn da Quebrada weaponizes the trans body and music for political protest. Linn and childhood friend Jup do Bairro use extravagantly costumed performances to dazzle audiences while opposing their country’s white heteronormative order. Figuring her embodied existence as resistance, Linn eschews the role of cis woman, instead choosing a fluid gender identity. Full of funny and intimate moments, the film advocates for personal choice against a society that imposes static gender identity.
Call Her Ganda
A journalist, a lawyer working pro bono, and the mother of the victim unite to stand up to U.S. imperialism and demand justice in the name of Jennifer Laude, a 26-year-old trans woman murdered by a U.S. Marine in the Philippines. In the face of the gruesome facts of the case and transphobic reactions worldwide, these three women do not waiver, knowing that what is at stake is Filipino sovereignty and an end to gender-based violence. This is a visually daring and profoundly humanistic geopolitical exposé.
Conversations with Gay Elders: Kerby Lauderdale
In this illuminating and heartfelt new film, the director of We Were Here and The Cockettes sits down with Kerby Lauderdale, who looks back on life before and after Stonewall, from marriage to a woman (he’s the father of Pink Martini lead singer Thomas Lauderdale) to queer activism. Part of a series of documentaries in which David Weissman, 62, will interview a diverse cross-section of elder members of the LGBTQ community.
Dykes, Camera, Action!
One of the most glaring omissions in the film canon has been the work of queer women. Thankfully this once-hidden population picked up the camera and transformed the visibility of lesbians in cinema. Pioneering filmmakers Barbara Hammer, Su Friedrich, Rose Troche, Yoruba Richen, Desiree Akhavan, Vicky Du, Cheryl Dunye, critic B. Ruby Rich, Jenni Olson, and others discuss how they’ve expressed their queer identity through film, revealing personal stories from their own experiences of looking for themselves on screen.
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| Every Act of Life - Directed by: Jeff Kaufman |
Every Act of Life
Playwright Terrence McNally has redefined contemporary gay theater with an extraordinary body of work that includes The Ritz, Corpus Christi, Lips Together, Teeth Apart, and Love! Valour! Compassion!, to name just a few. But his life offstage has been just as fascinating, encompassing activism, addiction, romance, and the constant pursuit of artistic excellence. McNally shares his story onscreen with the help of friends and colleagues like Angela Lansbury, Rita Moreno, Nathan Lane, F. Murray Abraham, and many more, as captured by documentarian Jeff Kaufman (The State of Marriage).
Game Girls
In this personal and moving documentary, we follow Teri and her girlfriend Tiahana as they struggle to navigate life on the streets of Los Angeles’ Skid Row. Recently released from prison for selling drugs, Tiahana returns to find Teri desperate to get off the streets. In intimate and sometimes unsettling scenes that include group therapy sessions and domestic violence, we are transported into the lives of these two women and root wholeheartedly for their love and survival. This local story spotlighting L.A.’s homelessness epidemic premiered at the 2018 Berlin Film Festival.
Gospel of Eureka
Fierce drag queens and evangelical Christians put on the performances of their lives in the secluded southern town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Poised between stereotypes and the fight for civil rights, filmmakers Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher weave an eye-opening, optimistic portrayal of the deep American tensions between religion and the LGBTQ identity. A crowd-pleasing cinematic meditation on intense dedication and faith, the film shows that the symbiosis of the two worlds is closer than you ever imagined.
Leitis is Waiting
Fighting for the right to openly express their true genders and to challenge their traditional roles in the culture, leitis confront resistance from the deeply religious parts of Tongan culture. In the face of poverty and opposition from fundamentalist Christians, leitis organize a beauty pageant and host a community dialogue, challenging their limited social mobility and fighting for inclusivity in a country they love. Presented in partnership with the Red Nation Indigenous Film Festival.
Looking For? (你找什麼？)
Explore the mysteries of dating apps in this charming, infectious documentary that lays all the sexy details out on the table. Young Taiwanese filmmaker Tung-Yen Chou searches for a love of his own, as he questions gay men around the world about their intimate experiences on hookup apps. Can Grindr lead you to the love of your life? This refreshingly raw and far too relatable look into digital romance is a snapshot of the moment.
Man Made
From surgeries and T parties to the struggles and joys of transitioning, follow four men as they prepare for Trans FitCon, the only bodybuilding competition exclusively for trans men. Glimpse the intimate relationships between these men and their partners, family, and children as they train throughout the year. This powerful documentary culminates in a triumphant gesture of acceptance and an understanding of the shared struggles among them as they take the stage and embody their true selves.
Mr. Gay Syria
Hussein is a Syrian refugee who lives in Istanbul and works as a hairstylist.
At gay support group “Tea and Talk,” Hussein and his friends discuss the issues they face in their homeland. Hoping to bring their cause international media visibility, they decide to participate in the Mr. Gay Syria competition. Writer-director Ayse Toprak’s riveting documentary shines a compassionate light on the ordeals encountered by these brave men as they face possible persecution and physical violence on a day-to-day basis.
Room to Grow
For many queer people, some of our toughest years were when we were teenagers living at home. Homophobic parents and school environments often made life unbearable. Now meet the next generation of queer youth, forging a path of love, with the support of their families. In the face of one of the harshest political climates, with homophobia and racism on the rise, these fearless teenagers are claiming their identities and taking the world by storm. An intimate look into what it means to be an LGBTQ teen today.
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
In Hollywood’s Golden Age, studio publicists presented movie stars as paragons of heterosexual domesticity, but behind the curtain, some beloved actors and actresses had very different proclivities. Many of these celebrity sexcapades first came to light in Scotty Bowers’ controversial book Full Service. This fascinating documentary balances juicy gossip (bolstered by expert witnesses like Gore Vidal and Liz Smith) with a compassionate look at Bowers’ life. Meet the man who pierces the veil and shines a light on the private sexual dalliances of some of cinema’s biggest stars.
Shakedown
In this intimate and skillfully crafted documentary, we are taken deep into the world of Los Angeles’s African-American lesbian club scene. At this legendary weekly party, dancers like Egypt, who found her way to the stage by accident, and Mahogany, the Queen Bee and mother of the clan, spill their hearts out both behind the scenes and on stage. We are confronted with the realities of their lives as they navigate personal and professional relationships with fans, club owner Ronnie, and each other. When one of many police raids sends the club into chaos, everyone must decide what their next move is. This film is a window into the rarely-seen-on-screen world of black female pleasure.
The Ice King
Before Johnny Weir or Adam Rippon, there was John Curry. A legend on and off the ice, Curry elevated figure skating from a technical trade to a sophisticated art form with balletic grace and precision. Blending his private letters, public performances, and interviews with his closest circle, this portrait of an icon celebrates his tenacious spirit from the Olympics to Royal Albert Hall while also doubling as a document of burgeoning gay life in the 1970s and 80s.
TransMilitary
At the risk of being discharged and losing their livelihoods, trans service members come out to top brass at the Pentagon to challenge the transgender military ban. From 2015 to the present day, we follow four trans service members—Senior Airman Logan Ireland, Corporal Laila Villanueva, Captain Jennifer Pause, and First Lieutenant El Cook—as they fight to defend their equal right to serve their country. A 2018 SXSW Audience Award winner.
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| TransMilitary - Directed by: Gabriel Silverman & Fiona Dawson |
For a complete list of films and the screening schedule, please visit OUTFEST
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