GLT » FilmOut San Diego 2010 is packed with crowd pleasers

The Big Gay Musical

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FilmOut San Diego 2010 is packed with crowd pleasers

With approximately 50 shorts and features to choose from, this year’s FilmOut GLBT Festival is bound to pack the Birch North Park Theatre.

by Randy Hope, Editor

Published Thursday, 08-Apr-2010 in issue 1163

For his ninth year with the festival, programmer Michael McQuiggan has once again filled the annual weeklong event with a wide array of narrative features, documentaries and foreign films that touch upon numerous genres and issues.

This year’s opening night presentation is The Big Gay Musical, anchors the week-long festival’s Opening Night, Friday, April 16. The movie centers around the lives of two actors whose lives mirror the characters they play in an entertaining, sexy, fun musical extravaganza.

An edgy selection, Pornography: A Thriller makes the cut as this year’s Boys Centerpiece feature. The story revolves around a gay porn star’s mysterious disappearance which becomes an obsession for both a writer and another adult film star, leading them into dark supernatural corners that were never meant to be explored.

The picture set for the Girls Centerpiece was loosely inspired by the art house classic Run, Lola Run. And Then Came Lola is a sexy lesbian romp that takes a whiz bang tour through the streets of San Francisco as a photographer named Lola races to get to a crucial meeting on time. The Closing Night selection of GLBT movies is the romantic comedy Oh Vey! My Son is Gay. This extremely entertaining, touching and socially relevant film is the perfect ending to the festival - showing how far we’ve come, yet how far we still have to go.

Below is the FilmOut 2010 movie synopsis and schedule. Be certain to catch one or all the films next weekend!

FilmOut 2010 San Diego Movie Synopsis

Friday, April 16

The Big Gay Musical

Director: Casper Andreas & Fred M. Caruso | 90 min, USA.

Paul (Daniel Robinson) and Eddie (Joey Dudding) have just begun rehearsals an Off-Broadway musical titled Adam & Steve: Just the Way God Made ‘Em. Their lives mimic those of the characters they are playing on stage. Paul is seeking the ideal male partner, and Eddie finds that his religious upbringing conflicts with his homosexuality. After another in a long string of disastrous dates,

Paul decides he is through with relationships and decides to be promiscuous. Eddie decides he must finally tell his conservative parents that he is gay. Eddie comes out to his family, who do not accept the news well. Paul turns to the Internet for dates, but can’t even get a decent one-night stand. Throughout the film, there are a series of musical numbers with tap dancing angels, a re-telling of the Genesis story, protests from televangelists, a deprogramming camp that tries to turn gay kids straight. By the end of the film, everyone realizes that life would be better if they just accepted themselves the way they are.

Saturday, April 17

Hannah Free

Director: Wendy Jo Carlton, 88 min, USA.

Sharon Gless (Queer as Folk, Cagney & Lacey) in a smashing, tremendous performance, Hannah Free is a feature film about the lifelong love affair between an independent spirit and the woman she calls home. Hannah (Gless) and Rachel (Maureen Gallagher) grew up in the same Midwest town, where traditional gender expectations eventually challenge their deep love for one another. Hannah becomes an adventurous, unapologetic lesbian and Rachel a strong but reserved homemaker. Weaving between past and present, the story reveals how the women maintained their love affair despite a marriage, a world war, infidelity, and family denial.

Zombies of Mass Destruction (2009)

Director: Kevin Hamedani, 92 min, USA.

A gay couple fighting zombies; how could we resist! An idyllic island town is under attack by that most invasive of pests: Zombies! Port Gamble is being overrun with brain-eaters, and the people seem powerless to stave them off. But wait, a rag tag band of rebels is trying to turn the tide and push the invading hoards of undead back. It sounds familiar, sure, but this time stereotypes are on parade (and parody) in a retake on the zombie thriller. We have the full compliment of cinematic shorthand, including the closeted small town boy

(Cooper Hopkins) who has gone to the city and returns with his pushy boyfriend (Doug Fahl) in tow; the angry, hard-working, heavy-accented, immigrant from a Muslim country who is overprotective of his beautiful daughter (Frida Abbas); the hippie peacenik environmentalist; the fire and brimstone reverend who hates everything you’d expect him to, and many more. Enter the zombies. Gore abounds (really abounds) and the current events-based hits keep coming in this send-up of zombie movie clichés where no subculture escapes unscathed.

Pornography: A Thriller (2009)

Zombies of Mass Destruction (2009)

Director: David Kittredge, 113 min. USA.

A famous gay porn model (Jared Grey) disappears at the height of his fame. Rumors about murder and blackmail abound for years until a young journalist (Matthew Montgomery) decides to investigate the strange events. His investigation brings back the paranormal energy that destroyed the missing model, and now his own life as well. Years pass, and now a new gay porn model (Pete Scherer) has decided he wants to recreate both the disappearance of the missing model and journalist on film, with horrifying results. David Cronenberg-meets-David-Lynch in this fantastic psychological thriller. Also with Dylan Vox, Steve Callahan, Sean Abley, Walter Delmar, Wyatt Fenner and Bret Wolfe (nudity and scenes of intensity).

Plan B (2009)

Director: Marco Berger, 103 min, Argentina, subtitled

Bruno (Manuel Vignau) is dumped by his girlfriend; behind a calm, indifferent expression, his mind plans a cold, sweet vengeance. She, a modern girl, keeps on seeing him once in a while, but has another boyfriend, Pablo (Lucas Ferraro). Bruno becomes Pablo’s friend, with the idea of eroding the couple, maybe introducing him to another woman. But, along the way, the possibility of a plan B arises, a more effective one, which will put his own sexuality into question.

Redwoods (2009)

Director: David Lewis, 82 min, USA.

Both original and incredibly romantic, Redwoods tells the story of an already-partnered man whose love is tested when a mysterious drifter passes through his small Northern California town. Everett (Brendan Bradley, Weak Species) and Miles (Tad Coughenour) are in a comfortably platonic relationship, which is held together by raising their son. While his family travels out of town, introverted Everett finally has time to himself—that is until Chase (Matthew Montgomery, Pornography: A Thriller), a strikingly handsome writer, pulls up in front of his house. Shot amidst ancient redwoods, David Lewis’ (Rock Haven) film is a stunning ode to the power of love.

Dream Boy (2009)

Director: James Bolton, 90 min, USA.

Shy teenager Nathan (Stephan Bender) and his family have moved from one town to another trying to escape the domestic disintegration within their own home. Roy (Maximilian Roeg) and his family live a quiet life on a farm. When Nathan moves in next door to charismatic Roy, they strike up a friendship as high school study partners. Their strong emotional bond soon takes a natural turn toward physical passion, a secret they must hide from those around them in the backwoods rural community. Also stars Diana Scarwid & Rickie Lee Jones (sexual situations, nudity).

Sunday, April 18

An Englishman in New York (2009)

Director: Richard Laxton, 75 min, United Kingdom.

Following the success of his television biography ‘The Naked Civil Servant’ Quentin Crisp (a superb John Hurt) is invited to America to lecture on How To Be Happy, and falls in love with New York’s more permissive ambience. Agent Connie Clausen (Swoosie Kurtz) enables him to be a ‘resident alien’, writing film reviews and dispensing words of wisdom.

Curious about but impervious to trends, he describes AIDS as a “fad, nothing more”, actually to divert heterosexual anger but he is misinterpreted and reviled by many gays. A return to popularity occurs when he helps Patrick Angus (Jonathan Tucker), a young, AIDS-afflicted artist attain fame for his paintings and his healthy cynicism is marketed by performance artist Penny Arcade (Cynthia Nixon), putting him back in the limelight. This well executed film’s performances are worth the admission alone.

Hollywood Je T’aime (2009)

Director: Jason Bushman, 95 min, USA.

Recently broken up and barely enduring a dreary winter, gay Parisian Jérôme (Eric Debets) impulsively books a solo Christmas vacation to Los Angeles. While there he meets some colorful locals (a hilarious Chad Allen among them) and pursues a dormant desire to become a movie star – yet can never quite put the past behind him.

In this meditation on love and narcissism across continents, Jérôme goes far in the sun-drenched City of Angels but ultimately arrives at an old Hollywood maxim: there’s no place like home. Bright, funny, honest and utterly charming, this extremely crowd-pleasing film will be one of the festivals most popular films.

Pornography: A Thriller (2009)

Drool (2009)

Director: Nancy Kissam, 85 min, USA.

A wonderfully written film that will have you laughing out loud! With a no-good husband and two smart-mouthed kids, Anora Fleece (Laura Harring from Mulholland Drive) is a housewife on the verge of a breakdown - until Imogene (Jill Marie Jones) moves into town. Imogene sells Kathy K. Kosmetics make-up for the cocoa skinned woman.

Imogene and Anora become friends and, eventually, more than friends. When Anora’s husband (Oded Fehr) finds them, all hell breaks loose, but the tables are turned when Anora accidentally shoots him dead. Anora and Imogene then pile the kids in the Kathy K. car, throw the corpse in the trunk and ride off on a “family” road trip to bury Daddy.

And Then Came Lola (2009)

Directors: Ellen Seidler & Megan Siler, 70 min, USA.

This wonderfully fun and sexy lesbian romp takes a whiz bang tour through the streets of San Francisco as photographer Lola (the beautifully athletic Ashleigh Sumner) races to get to a crucial meeting on time. As usual, Lola is running late. Her job and her girlfriend Casey (Jill Bennett, Dante’s Cove) are on the line and Lola has three chances (ala the art house classic, Run, Lola, Run) to make it right. As Lola races against the clock, is Casey falling into the arms of her ex?! Will Lola make it in time? Will she come at all?

A sexy lesbian romp-loosely inspired by the art house classic Run, Lola, Run.

Newcastle (2008)

Director: Dan Castle, 107 min, Australia & Japan.

A coming-of-age/family drama/surfing movie. Jesse (super sexy Lachlan Buchanan) is a 17 year old rising surf star whose risky ways may upend his quest for fame and failure to become surfing’s Next Big Thing. His older brother Victor (a ripped Reshad Strik) is a former competitor who resents Jesse’s talent.

And his gay brother Fergus (Xavier Samuel) is a surfing wannabe with a major crush on Jesse’s best friend. When Jesse goes on a momentous weekend away with his mates that includes first love and tragedy; it leads him to discover what’s really important. This coming-of-age tale combines the gorgeous Australian surfing beaches with the raw energy, music and rebellion of teen culture.

Tickets and info

April 16-22

Birch North Park Theatre

2891 University Ave.

North Park

$150 for Festival FilmPass; $25.00 Opening Night;

$10 for individual admission www.filmoutsandiego.com

Schedule

Redwoods (2009)

Opening Night

Friday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Co-presented by: CICA