With more than 45 titles from which to choose, the 11th FilmOut San Diego LGBT Film Fetsival is a sight to behold. Comedies, drama, documentaries, shorts – you name it, FilmOut San Diego 2009 has it. Below are reviews of a handful of highlights from the festival. All FilmOut screenings are held at the Birch North Park Theater, located at 2891 University Ave. For the complete schedule, visit www.filmoutsandiego.com.

Saturday, May 30, at 2 p.m.

Director/writer/actor Casper Andreas takes a giant leap away from the sexually overt and graphic comedies such as Slutty Summer and A Four Letter Word, and gets serious with his drama Between Love & Goodbye. Kyle (Simon Miller) and Marcel (Justin Tensen), in which a young, gay New York couple, find their love threatened on a few different fronts. Marcel’s sham marriage to lesbian Sarah (Jane Elliot), so that he can get a Green Card hangs in the balance. Sarah’s commitment to the marriage, which basically involves her playing her part, especially for the immigration interview, seems to be too much bother for her. But it’s the arrival of Kyle’s trans sister April (Rob Harmon) that presents the biggest threat. After not speaking to Kyle for a year, April, who turned tricks for cash, reappears, causing Kyle to behave irresponsibly and neglect his relationship with Marcel. Manipulative and jealous, as well as lazy, April pits Kyle against Marcel and openly disrespects her brother’s boyfriend. Regardless of all the negative energy, Marcel and Sarah ace the immigration interview. This only seems to spur April’s determination to destroy what Kyle and Marcel have. April, who decides to assume her male identity of Cole after a botched breast job, performs with Kyle in his band and constantly belittles Marcel, bringing about the end of the relationship. Andreas has a knack for capturing the venom and the cruelty of people at the point of no return and he uses it to powerful effect. He also earns his dramatic, if mildly predictable, conclusion.

Saturday, May 30, at 10:15 p.m.

Titular character Eugene (Stuart G. Bennett) is a 33-year-old self-described “lone wolf.” At least that’s what he tells the matchmaking agency while trying to find a date. Eugene is the kind of guy who calls his grandmother on a regular basis (although he usually only gets her answering machine) and often uses affirmations to rev up his wavering self-esteem. And he needs all the revving he can get considering that his brusque boss at the stable, Mr. Hathaway (Dave Hoche), is an asshole and his dating service-arranged assignation with Donna (Michelle Matheson) tanks. In spite of having a temper, Eugene is good with animals, including horse Lola and a bird that gets into his house. But he’s conflicted. When hooker Layla (Susan Spano) asks him if he’s gay, after he’s already been asked by Donna, he turns a sort of personal corner. That’s when he meets Josh (Ryan Reyes), a West Hollywood hustler and junkie. Josh identifies as straight and has a girlfriend named Heather (Megan Lee Ethridge). Heather works as a model and is trying to raise some capital so that she can take care of her young son and leave L.A. for New York. However, things take a distinctively dark turn when Eugene brings Josh and Heather to his house and reveals his sinister, if profitable, plan to them. From there Jake Barsha’s full-length feature debut swiftly and startlingly descends into murder and mayhem.

Thursday, May 28, at 7:30 p.m.

“Big queer man on campus,” Olaf Gunundersson (Keith Jordan) is the kind of hot guy with whom handsome philosophy professors flirt. He proudly wears his HRC blue and yellow equal sign T-shirt and has a sexy boyfriend named Nathan (Adamo Ruggiero) with whom he’s sadly unable to spend the winter holiday break. On his way home to spend Christmas with his bubbly mother Anja (Kelly Keaton) and his stoner college professor father Sven (Derek Long), Olaf ducks into a rest stop to change into khakis and a drab sweater because he’s not out to his folks. Meanwhile, Nathan learns that his parents are heading out on a holiday cruise for two, with plans to leave him home. So Olaf isn’t the only one surprised when Nathan shows up at the door to his parents’ house. Nathan can’t believe that Anja and Sven don’t know about Olaf, but when Olaf’s former high school sweetheart (and next door neighbor) Abby (Hallee Hirsh) figures it out, the trio makes the most of the delicate coming out situation. Virtually bursting with comedic situations, Make The Yuletide Gay is a peppermint twist on the traditional coming out story, complete with a heartwarming finale. As Abby’s outrageous mother Heather, Alison Arngrim almost steals the show via her ongoing feud with Anja. Make The Yuletide Gay is a Christmas comedy for all seasons.

Friday, May 29, at 7:30 p.m.

Beginning in the present, at a gallery opening for artist Danny (Ian Rhodes), Watercolors swiftly dips into the past to explore the painter’s muse. Carter (Kyle Clare), a high school swimming star, has been suspended from school for taking lug nuts off of faculty cars. At the same school, the teenaged Danny (Tye Olson) is a good student who excels in many subjects. A budding artist, he has been taken under the wing of art teacher Mrs. Martin (Karen Black). In figure drawing class, Danny tends to color outside of the lines. Or as Mrs. Martin puts it, he sees things in a singular and profoundly creative way, but has to know the rules in order to break the rules. Danny thinks Mrs. Martin is the only one who understands him.

When Carter’s father Stephen (Jeffrey Lee Woods) has to go to Boston for a job interview, he leaves his son in the care of Miriam (Casey Kramer), a woman friend from Alcholics Anonymous, who also happens to be Danny’s mother. While getting settled in Danny’s room, where they will be rooming together for the weekend, Carter finds Danny’s underwear catalog stash, much to Danny’s chagrin. Carter is fully aware that Danny is gay and is a relentless flirt. A swimming pool rendezvous and later bedtime flirtation are good examples of ways that Carter plays Danny. But Danny is an active participant, sketching Carter while he sleeps.

The unlikely duo bond quickly, and go to an art museum with Danny’s best friend Andy (Ellie Araiza). Carter and Danny do a jigsaw puzzle together, which becomes a metaphor for their relationship. Each in his own way influences the other. Carter gets Danny high for the first time and offers to model his swimmer’s body for him. Danny becomes Carter’s English tutor. They even kiss. But after the weekend, as Carter is leaving, he tells Danny that he “can’t be his friend at school” and goes so far as to apologize for not being able to talk to him in school. In spite of the restriction on their socialization, the pair become a couple.

But Henry (Brandon Lybrand), school bully and Carter’s swim team nemesis, gets wind of the relationship and the harassment begins. Carter finds anti-gay graffiti scrawled on his locker. Henry bashes Danny and his buddies. Carter comes to see Danny and takes care of him, taking their relationship to a whole new level. When Miriam sees Danny’s injuries, mother and son spend the day together, prompting Danny to come out to her and admit to having sex with Carter. Carter, on the other hand is having a harder time with all of it. He goes on a drug binge, confronts Henry, and at the swim meet he takes second place, greatly disappointing Coach Brown (Greg Louganis). Carter blames Danny for messing up his performance. When Mr. Frank (William Charles Mitchell) busts them beacuse Danny wrote Carter’s Romeo and Juliet essay, Carter gets kicked off swim team. Like the Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, Danny and Carter’s relationship is doomed. But back at Danny’s gallery show, Danny’s partner Allan (Edward Finlay) admits to being jealous of Carter the muse and tells him that he can’t compete with his ghost, providing Danny with the opportunity to salvage the relationship. Writer/director David Oliveras has created a powerful and erotic feature length debut with Watercolors and is a filmmaker to keep an eye on.

Saturday, May 30, at 8 p.m.

Pedro Zamora, has been dead for 15 years, but his legacy lives on. As an openly gay HIV-positive cast member on the third season of MTV’s “reality” series “The Real World,” Zamora made an impact on TV viewers that crossed generations and cultures. With a screenplay by out writer Dustin Lance Black, who won the Oscar for his Milk script, Pedro dramatizes Zamora’s brief, but rich, life story. Beginning in New York City in 1994, during the last year of his life, Pedro moves back and forth in time, from Zamora’s “Real World” audition tape and interview to his casting in the San Francisco company. Alex Loynaz, who portrays Pedro, captures Zamora’s sparkle and spirit. We see Pedro’s difficult interactions with the impossible and inflexible Puck (played with bratty smugness by Matt Barr), as well as his more civilized relationships with fellow housemates Judd (Hale Appleman), Pam (Jenn Liu), Rachel (Karolin Luna), Corey (Amy Lewis) and Mohammed (Rafael Mandino). Pedro’s decision to isolate himself and spend time with boyfriend Sean (DaJuan Johnson), eventually leads to a showdown between him and Puck, and Puck’s inevitable voting off by the cast. The scenes in the “Real World” house are balanced by those focusing on Pedro’s family, specifically sister Mily (the marvelous Justina Machado). Pedro’s journey, which began in Cuba and ended in November 1994 on the night of the airing of the last “Real World – San Francisco” episode, took him to many different places as an HIV/AIDS ambassador, is immortalized in this film. Ultimately, Pedro looks and feels like what it is – a made for TV movie. Shown, fittingly enough, on MTV and gay cable network Logo, it is reminiscent of the 1997 Greg Louganis biopic, which had a similar intimacy and production quality.

Sunday, May 31, at 8 p.m.

High school student Tru (Najarra Townsend), named for Gertrude Stein, by her lesbian moms Leslie (Alexandra Paul) and Lisa (Cynda Williams) and gay dads Emmet (Thomas Saunders) and Dom (Peter Bedard), has relocated from the friendly, alternative family safety of San Francisco to Agoura, Calif. She’s not happy about the move, which she made to further house designer Lisa’s career, and she spends a lot of time in elaborate daydream scenarios. The daydreams allow Tru to escape the taunts she gets from her narrow-minded classmates. But all of that changes when Lodell (Matthew Thompson) the star quarterback of the school’s football team, asks her out.

Lodell, who lives with his grandmother (Nichelle Nichols) and mother (Jasmine Guy), is a perfect gentleman on the date. In the locker-room, he defends Tru’s honor against homophobic teammate and best friend Manuel (Joseph Julian Soria). He also makes a good impression on Leslie and Lisa, who ask Tru to bring him by to meet them. However, he does manage to set off Leslie’s gaydar. After he takes Tru to see a musical in Los Angeles, and she catches him cruising a guy in the lobby, her own gaydar spikes and she calls her dads for their advice.

When Tru confronts Lodell, he denies it at first and even storms out of her house. But he comes back later to apologize and to come out to her. Lodell asks Tru to help him maintain his façade and she agrees. But when Tru makes friends with out gay student Walter (Tye Olson) and they agree to form a Gay/Straight Alliance club on campus, Lodell worries that it will blow his cover. With Mrs. Lewis (Marcia Wallace) as the faculty advisor, Tru and Walter proceed, and it is at the first meeting that Tru meets senior Trevor (Jake Abel). Good looking, well groomed, and dressed like a hipster, Trevor turns out to be straight and he asks Tru out on a date. As fate would have it, Tru and Trevor have something in common, as Trevor was raised by his uncle Daniel (Bruce Vilanch), a famous gay novelist.

As the GSA grows in popularity, homophobic football coach Wesley (Vernon Wells) starts spewing hatred, which only eggs Manuel and the team members on, putting Lodell in an awkward position. Meanwhile, Lodell has begun a relationship, on the down low, with Walter. Following an anti-gay prank by the football team, Lodell’s e-mail is hacked and a coming out e-mail is sent to those in his address book.

Leslie and Lisa, Tru’s mothers, inspired by Emmet and Dom’s wedding in Canada, decide to have a commitment ceremony. When word gets out that Lodell is attending, Manuel and the coach crash the party, which forces Lodell to stand up for himself and come out to them. Manuel is unexpectedly accepting of his friend, which gives Lodell the courage to face his mother and grandmother and do the same.

With Tru Loved, writer/director Stewart Wade (Coffee Date) has assembled one of the gayest casts in recent memory, including Jane Lynch, Alec Mapa and out football legend David Kopay. But ultimately this well-intentioned romantic comedy ends up playing like a Lifetime movie of the week.

Sunday, May 31, at 4:15 p.m.

East Coaster and recent college grad Jon (writer/director Jesse Rosen) relocates to Los Angeles and moves in with his pal Andy (Jared Grey). Jon interviews for an administrative assistant job at an ad agency and it. When Andy and his homophobic buddies Matt (Bryan MacGowan) and Brian (Jesse Janzen) aren’t shooting hoops, they’re obsessing over who is and isn’t gay. Of course, they’re clueless and have no idea that Jon, who has a reputation as a ladies man back east, is struggling with his own sexuality. Meanwhile, Maddy (Rachel Castillo, who looks like a long lost Duff sister), another old friend of Jon’s living in L.A., comes out to him by introducing him to her girlfriend Anna (Emilia Richeson). But it isn’t until Jon meets older ad exec Paul (Johnny Ray) at work and takes him up on an offer of lunch (and more to follow, as it turns out), that he finally confronts his own sexual identity issues. Maddy, on the other hand, is having doubts about her relationship. The presence of hot, new next-door neighbor Aaron (Pete Scherer) doesn’t help matters. This gay mumblecore (Rosen thanks Joe Swanberg in the credits) feature has enough good performances (and flesh) to keep viewers engaged without feeling too emotionally challenged.

Sunday, May 31, at 6 p.m.

In 2006, seven years after a small group of close friends graduated from college together, they are faced with some unforeseen difficulties. Thirty is the new 20, a milestone if you will, and therefore a crisis year for all of them. Ben (Colin Fickes) is not having any luck hooking up with guys online, but not for lack of trying. Investment banker Andrew (Ryan Locke), the physically fit king of the racquetball court, is doing somewhat better in that department, and proposes to college girlfriend Julie (Nicole Bilderback). Julie’s not doing too badly herself, advancing steadily up the corporate ladder at the bank where she works. Julie’s gay brother Tony (Andrew Wei Lin), who can hold his own against Andrew on the racquetball court, meets college professor Robert in the steam room at the health club. Their relationship holds promise, until Tony’s awkward reaction to Robert’s revelation of his HIV-positive status threatens to derail the whole thing. Felix (Thomas Sadoski), Tony’s roommate, also happens to have been in love with Julie since college, and doesn’t take the news of her engagement to Andrew in the best way. To obliterate his pain, he numbs himself with drugs and begins a relationship with Lucy (Cordelia Reynolds). Enter Louie (Terry Serpico), a venture capitalist and unabashed homophobe, a little older than the circle of friends, who strikes up a friendship with Andrew and eventually convinces him to go into business with him. More so than any of the new additions to the close-knit group of friends, it is Louie who most upsets the balance, leading to a near-tragic conclusion. As first feature length films go, Chris Mason Johnson could have done a lot worse than The New Twenty. The cast turns in natural performances, allowing us to believe their character’s investment in the friendships. It’s just too bad that they’re not nicer or more likeable people, a consideration that would have made sitting through The New Twenty count for something.