Recently in Outfest Category

Easily one of my favorite films at this year's OUTFEST, Drifting Flowers is a multidimensional portrait of age (young and old), commitment (maintained and broken), love (returned and denied, between friends, family, acquaintances and lovers). I'd recommend a viewing, were one possible -- for now, the only future screening I am aware of is in Austin in September. I'll keep you posted if I hear about it receiving any distribution in the States, an admittedly unlikely prospect.

U People is a documentary that takes the filming of a music video and turns it into a forum on being black, female, and lesbian in America. Sometimes race/gender/sexuality are explored jointly, sometimes separately, but always with passionate voices. Are labels to be embraced or denied? Are black women included in feminism? Are LGBT people included in black civil rights activism? What is the definition of manhood, of womanhood? How much should lesbians who pass as straight be taken to task for enjoying heterosexual privilege? What about lesbians who pass as men and enjoy that privilege? When a person formerly known as a lesbian comes out as a "straight" male, what does that mean for his relationship with the lesbian community? How does race complicate gender and sexuality, how does gender complicate race and sexuality, and how does sexuality complicate gender and race?

Last night at the Ford Amphitheater, several OUTFEST films were given top honors at the festival's annual Awards Night. Were the World Mine (pictured) was named outstanding U.S. dramatic feature while XXY was awarded best international dramatic feature. Sex Positive won best documentary. Best dramatic short was Countertransference; La Corona (The Crown) was best documentary short.

Tye Olson was awarded best actor for Watercolors; Nicole Bilderback was best actress for The New Twenty. James Bolton earned the screenwriting award for Dream Boy.

Audience awards went to Watercolors for first dramatic feature; Hamlet 2 was named favorite dramatic feature; A Place to Live, documentary feature; I'm Jin-Young, dramatic short; La Corona, documentary short; and Hamlet 2, soundtrack.

For a complete list of winners, please click here.

And congratulations to everyone!

Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild! should be retitled, The Big Gay Movie One Woman and Hundreds of Men Saw Saturday Night at OUTFEST. Not that I'm complaining. I absolutely loved the first film, Another Gay Movie. I often cite it as the most fair and inclusive gay comedy I've ever seen. Sandwiched between sex jokes and Richard Hatch's genitalia is a cast of teen characters unabashedly and unapologetically gay, a refreshing change from the usual coming-of-age gay films.

Another Gay Sequel picks up where Another Gay Movie left off... Sort of. Because three of the four original cast members did not return for the sequel, writer/director Todd Stephens deftly maneuvered that potential awkwardness for viewers right off the bat: Another Gay Movie was simply a dream, a la The Wizard of Oz, and this film -- the sequel -- has the real cast. In fact, at one point early on in the film, the mother, still in character, speaks directly to the camera to explain that some of the original actors' agents refused for their clients to star in two gay movies in a row, for fear the public would think them gay. The audience roared with laughter.

In the first movie, the four boys are in high school and trying their hardest to lose their virginities, which -- spoiler alert! -- they all achieve by the end of the film. In Sequel, the boys are now in college, and extremely sex-crazed, as they head to Ft. Lauderdale for spring break. High jinks ensue, including a lube/superglue switcharoo, a crab infestation (yes, those kind of crabs), and an unfortunate incident involving kinky sex with a man dressed as a giant dog.

The best moments for me? A lengthy Busby Berkley-inspired song-and-dance routine about the fun of golden showers. (It really is remarkable. Jonah Blechman's dancing is actually pretty awesome, with perfect fouettés in his bright yellow jazz shoes as fountains spew yellow-tinted water behind him.) And every scene with RuPaul is a stand out. It is always great to watch someone so talented and funny with spot-on timing.
 
If your favorite kind of movie involves young gay boys emotionally connecting with one another as they come to terms with their sexuality, do not see this film. However, if you are open to projectile vomit and tossed salad jokes, Another Gay Sequel will be a fun and uproarious way to spend 95 minutes.

It's been two days since I attended the OUTFEST sneak preview of Sordid Lives: The Series, and I am still laughing to myself as I recall some mighty funny scenes.

I have never seen the original film (I know, I'm a horrible person, but trust me: it's officially been moved to the top of my Netflix queue) but I still thoroughly enjoyed what I saw. The characters are rich, the acting impeccable, and the writing is consistently and relentlessly laugh-out-loud funny. Writer/director Del Shores told the capacity crowd that he pitched the idea for a Sordid Lives series to Logo three years ago, and "they never gave up." He said he was really thankful it was finally making it to the screen. And after seeing two episodes, I am too!

The 12 episodes of Sordid Lives was shot in only 35 days in Shreveport, Louisiana. Del chose Shreveport because Louisiana has "tremendous tax incentives," but since star Leslie Jordan (pictured here as "Brother Boy") has been calling the town a "cesspool" in the press, Del doubts they'll be able to return there to shoot Season Two.

Olivia Newton-John wrote and recorded five new songs with Amy Sky for the series. We even got to see a music video for one of the more romantic songs, which Del described as "very lesbian." A soundtrack for the series will be available on iTunes in three weeks.

Unfortunately, Olivia couldn't attend the West Coast premiere, but many of the Sordid Lives' stars did: Sharron Alexis ("Sara"), Ted Detwiler ("Jacob"), Mitch Carter ("Bumper"), David Cowgill ("Odell"), Jason Dottley ("Ty"), David Steen ("G.W."), Rosemary Alexander ("Dr. Eve"), Sarah Hunley ("Juanita"), Beth Grant ("Sissy"), Ann Walker ("LaVonda") and Margaret Cho (who guest stars as Ty's therapist in the first episode).

"This is a really big show for Logo," Margaret told the cheering crowd. "It's a wonderful thing for the queer community."

Del responded by calling Margaret a "gay icon" and told the audience that shooting the series with so many great actors has been rewarding. "Everyone is so nice," he said. "There really isn't an a**hole in the bunch."

Sordid Lives airs every Wednesday on Logo for 12 weeks, starting this week on July 23. Don't get Logo in your area? Episodes will be available for download on iTunes, or you can stream the series on the Logo website. Trust me: this is a must-see comedy experience!

Still don't believe me? Watch the trailer and get ready to set your TiVo!

 

I spent my OUTFEST Friday night at the Ford Amphitheater. Under the stars, I joined hundreds of men (and a few women) to check out the Los Angeles premiere of Mulligans. Described as a "romantic comedy with a gay twist," I knew I was in for some funny and tender moments, and, in typical romantic comedy fashion, I would root for the protagonists to come together, against all odds. (And in the meantime, scope out the delightful eye-candy that is the cast, like Charlie David, pictured.)

Here's a brief plot synopsis. Careful: it contains spoilers!

Tyler is part of a picture-perfect family: Mom, Dad, adorable little sister. He brings home his college roommate Chase to spend the summer at the family's amazing lake house. At some point, Chase tells Tyler that he is gay. Tyler says it's cool with him. However, once Dad finds out Chase is gay, Dad realizes he is also gay, and proceeds to woo Chase one night, despite the fact that it's his college-aged son's best friend. The two sleep with one another, share ice cream, and then are ultimately found out by Mom. Mom gets pissed, but quickly forgives Dad, saying she knew he was gay all along, and that it's important he be true to himself. Everyone learns a lesson and forgives everyone. The end.

Though sometimes the story unfolds too quickly and a few character reactions are somewhat unbelievable, I will say that there are some strong performances with the material given, and the cinematography is really beautiful. Many scenes made me laugh out loud, and I truly enjoyed certain characters. The movie often heads into melodrama territory, but for the most part, Mulligans is an earnest tale showing the viewer that it's important to be true to yourself and follow your heart; everyone deserves a second chance.

Check out the trailer:

In the words of OUTFEST's Director of Programming Kimberly Yutani, "The Ode is a long-overdue U.S.-produced film about South Asians." Long-overdue, indeed! In just under two hours, I and the near-capacity crowd learned so much new -- and sometimes surprising -- information about South Asian and Indian culture.

Based on the critically-acclaimed novel, Ode to Lata, by Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla, The Ode stunningly tells a multi-generational story from several points of view. Issues of family obligation, devotion, love, sex, AIDS and friendship are all woven together to create a beautiful portrait of the American experience for many first and second-generation Indian-Americans.

This is a film in which the cinematography is the true star. Excellent lighting, colors and saturation delight the eye, while unique footage of India and Kenya is simply stunning. Nilanjan Neil Lahiri is clearly a gifted director, and I truly look forward to seeing more of his work.

A timely and moving documentary, A Jihad for Love presents the story of devout Muslims struggling to reconcile their sexuality with their faith. The film, cut from about 400 hours of footage, had a noticeable impact on its audience at OUTFEST, where people accustomed to the LGBT experience in the United States were presented with visions of a world both familiar and markedly worse. The familiar came in the form of religious argumentation over the acceptability of being gay or lesbian, with questions about textual interpretation of the Qur'an closely echoing the debate American gays most frequently hear related to the Christian Bible. The frightening came in images and stories of gays forced to seek refugee status from their home country in order to escape ruined lives and the threat of death. Though some subjects revealed their faces to the camera, others kept their identities hidden, with the filmmaker's blurring of those faces serving as an inescapable reminder of their constant fear.

Affinity, the latest film adaptation of a Sarah Waters novel, is a period drama about a respectable Victorian lady, Margaret (photo at right), who begins visiting female prisoners as a means of service to the community, and becomes fascinated by one of the prisoners in particular. This prisoner, Selina, remains a mysterious figure to the end, with bits and pieces of her past and her crime revealed in the occasional flashback. I'll keep my comments brief, since AfterEllen has already published a fairly lengthy review of its own that hits many relevant points (click here to read).