It might seem superfluous these days to even have a queer
film festival, now that gay cinema has merged into the mainstream.
Stroll down the aisles of your local corporate video store
and you will witness that just about 10 percent of the new
releases have some kind of queer theme. Look to your left
and you'll see Lilies, a beautifully done gay-male
memory piece that was featured previously at this film fest.
To your right there's High Art, a lesbian film edited
by Amy Duddleston, a former Portlander who actually started
Sensory Perceptions three years ago before moving to Los Angeles.
So, sure, gay cinema is out, proud and available at your local
videoplex. But a fest like this one also shows the little
shorts that only get seen on a festival circuit, and the concentration
of queer films brings the community together for nights of
cinema du salon.
The festival runs two weekends this year and all films
are shown at Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave., 223-4515. We will
run previews of the second weekend's showings in our next
issue.
8
pm Friday, Oct. 8
Opening Night
Brooms and Hallways
It took five years, but director Rose Troche has finally
followed up her impressive debut, Go Fish. Her latest
romantic comedy, Brooms and Hallways, traces Leo
(Kevin McKidd) as he joins a men's group after a straight
friend talks him into it. He quickly causes a scandal by
declaring his attraction for one of its seemingly straight
members (James Purefoy), and the two begin dating. High
jinks ensue. The opening-night gala will follow across the
street at the Gypsy.
Saturday,
Oct. 9
5 pm Golden Threads
It's surreal to see someone who looks like your Aunt Sadie
waxing eloquent on lesbo-feminism. And that's the point
of Golden Threads. Director Lucy Winer's documentary
follows 93-year-old lesbian activist Christine Burton, godmother
of a social group for older Sapphics, as she oversees the
group's annual weekend hoo-ha. While this movie's primary
goal is introducing the idea that lesbians grow old gracefully
too, the secondary mission of showing that older people
are three-dimensional humans is equally stressed. One woman
tells the filmmakers to avoid sentimentality when telling
the Golden Threads story because "we're not ancient monuments,
we're alive." This is an exceptional film that gives a face
and voice to a segment of the population that's virtually
invisible. Winer's own midlife crisis lurks in the documentary's
background, and though this device comes off as more self-serving
and distracting than informative, the idea that these Golden
Threads gals can be an inspiration to nearing-the-top-of-the-hill
lesbians is well taken. Seeing these women dance, date and
crack jokes makes becoming an old dyke seem like fun. (Caryn
B. Brooks)
Preceded by Some Ground to Stand On, Joyce P. Warshow's
short documentary profile of "working-class" lesbian activist
Blue Lunden.
7 pm Girls in Shorts
The quality of many gay and lesbian features has dipped
in the last half of the decade. Several glossy, borderline-stereotypical
Hollywood productions (such as Jeffrey or The
Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love) have
marred the gritty, gutsy aesthetic created by the New Queer
Cinema in the early '90s. But as the collections Boys
Life and Boys Life 2 have proven, vitality exists
in the short-film medium. This weekend, "Girls in Shorts"
showcases short lesbian work, while next weekend the boys
get the floor with "Boys in Shorts." The main reason to
attend "Girls" is the anchor film, DeSales' kalin's prayer.
The 30-minute film recounts a broken young woman's life
as she transforms from dyke model in love to paranoid junkie
in apartment. DeSales keeps the dialogue to a bare minimum,
instead relying on evocative visuals, a diverse soundtrack
and the haunting face of lead actress Kris Carr. (Dave McCoy)
9 pm Beefcake
Writer-director Thom Fitzgerald (The Hanging Garden)
has great subject matter--the world of 1950s physique pictorials--for
a fascinating and fun documentary, but he botches it. He
ruins the premise stylistically and conceptually, employing
a re-enactment narrative of the life of Bob Mizer (Daniel
MacIvor), one of the best-known "beefcake" photographers.
Mizer was the man responsible for the Athletic Model Guild--the
Hollywood agency for hot bods that defined the glossy pin-up
beauty of buff men--and was often attacked for his censorious
actions. The film is strongest when showing old footage
of photo-shoots, great beefcake art and photography (including
Tom of Finland), and some interesting interviews, including
the overly energetic Jack LaLanne and Warhol alum Joe Dallesandro.
But it doesn't spend enough time on these guys. (Kim Morgan)
Sunday,
Oct. 10
5 pm Rice and Potatoes
Todd Wilson and John Biasatti's short documentary examines
the stereotyping and assumptions made about interracial
gay relationships, specifically pertaining to Asian and
Caucasian men.
Preceded by Sexual Exiles, Irene Sosa's exploration
of the marginalization of gays and lesbians who come to
America seeking refuge from native homophobia.
7 pm Finding North
Tanya Wexler's film at first seems little more than an
annoying riff on The Odd Couple and fluffy Rock Hudson-Doris
Day comedies. Eventually, Finding North evolves into
something richer: a poignant journey full of surprising
twists and turns. The story features a grieving gay widower
named Travis (John Benjamin Hickey) and an abrasive Long
Island girl named Rhonda (Wendy Makkena), who travel from
New York to Texas to explore the area where Travis' lover
grew up. Kim Powers' script often favors cheesy wisecracks
and exaggerated caricatures, but Wexler dignifies it by
drawing out themes of hope, acceptance and perseverance.
(Brian Libby)
9 pm Miguel/Michelle
After living in America for seven years, Miguel returns
home to the Philippines to give a Founder's Day speech at
his alma mater. His family and friends might not recognize
him, though: He's now a she, and it's better to call her
Michelle.
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Willamette Week | originally
published October 6,
1999
|
