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Overview
New
York's annual celebration of the best in international gay and
lesbian cinema, celebrates its 12th anniversary with over 150
films and videos from Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada,
China, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico,
The Netherlands, The Phillipines, Singapore, South Africa, Spain,
Switzerland, the UK and the USA. Films will screen at The New
School and New York University's Cantor Film Center.
The Festival opens with the New York Premiere of But
I'm A Cheerleader (US), a candy-colored satire on the
absurdity of "curing" homosexuality starring Natasha Lyonne (Slums
of Beverly Hills) and featuring over-the-top cameos by
Cathy Moriarty (Raging Bull), Bud Cort (Harold
and Maude), John Waters favorite Mink Stole and diva drag
queen Ru Paul. The film, a hit at the Sundance
Film Festival, will be released later this year by Lions
Gate Films.
The Festival will present two New York-based productions
as Centerpiece Films. Chutney Popcorn (US/India),
the directorial debut of Nisha Ganatra, is a provocative, sexy
comedy on the culture clash betwen a traditional Indian mother
and her New York-bred, motorcycle-riding lesbian daughter. Urbania,
directed by John Shear, is a haunting journey into one man's psyche
as he tries to make sense of the loss of his lover from AIDS.
The film features a standout performance by New York stage actor
Dan Futterman (The Birdcage).
World Premieres at the Festival include Get Your
Stuff (US), an affectionate comedy about a gay male couple's
attempts to adopt a baby to complete their perfect Beverly Hills
lifestyle directed by Max Mitchell; Hammering It Out: Women
In The Construction Zone (US), a video documentary on
women who work in the very male dominated field of construction
directed by Vivian Price; Love=Me (US), an inventive
romantic comedy-drama about a triangle between two beautiful Latino
women and the sexy male charmer that they meet, directed by Cuban-born
Agustin; Shatzi is Dying (US), directed by Jean
Carlomusto, is a documentary look at two lesbians and their beloved
aging Doberman, whose imminent death makes the women confront
their own mortality; and The Wolves Of Kromer (UK),
a modern day fairy tale about homophobia and being an outsider
directed by Will Gould, with narration by pop music legend Boy
George.
US Premieres at the Festival include The Attack Of
The Giant Moussaka (Greece), an outrageous camp sci-fi
flick directed by Panos Koutras about a giant mousakka (Greece's
national dish) that terrorizes the city of Athens; Chrissy
(Australia), an intimate and deeply moving portrait of a young
lesbian living with AIDS directed by Jacqui North; In Efren's
Paradise (The Phillipines), a powerful melodrama directed
by Maryo De Los Reyes, a social worker's orderly life falls apart
when he becomes romantically involved with an attractive and mysterious
male hustler; Love At First Sight (Italy), a satiric
screwball comedy about a Mafioso who falls in love at first sight
with a macho policeman, directed by Vincenzo Salemme; The
Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me (US), a filmed version of
the acclaimed stage play with David Drake reprising his role as
a gay man who chronicles the key events in his sexual and political
coming of age, directed by Tim Kirkman (Dear Jesse);
The Story Of Pupu (Japan), a road movie about a
pair of anarchistic gals that plays like Thelma and Louise
on acid, directed in high style by Kensaku Watanabe; Tour
Abroad (Germany), a tender road movie that follows the
adventures of a gay Turkish folksinger and the 11 year old daughter
of his recently deceased friend, sensitively directed by Ayse
Polat; and Water
Drops On Burning Rocks (France), a hit at the Berlin
Film Festival about the relationship between a middle aged businessman
and the attractive teenager he picks up one night based on an
early stage play by legendary German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder
and directed by cult French director Francois Ozon (See
The Sea, Sitcom).
Closing the Festival is the New York premiere of The
Broken Hearts League (US), an ensemble comedy drama about
a group of gay men in the gay mecca of West Hollywood and their
search for love, happiness and fulfillment. Written and directed
by Greg Berlanti, the producer of the hit television series "Dawson's
Creek", the film features an attractive cast that includes
Dean Cain (Adventures of Superman), Timothy Olyphant
(Go), Andrew Keegan (Party of Five)
and veteran actor John Mahoney (Frasier). The film
will be released later this year in the US by Sony Pictures Classics.
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Wrap-up
After a dizzying and diverse program of over 150 individual
films from all over the world, the New Festival - New York Lesbian
and Gay Film Festival - concluded on Sunday evening, June 11,
with a gala Awards Ceremony held at the New School Auditorium,
where most of the screenings of the 10 day event were held.
The Best Dramatic Feature Award, sponsored by Fine Line
Features, was awarded to the French film Water
Drops on Burning Rocks (Gouttes d'eau sur pierres
brūlantes), a scathingly brilliant satire about the relationship
between a middle-aged man and the attractive male teenager he
picks up. The film, a hit at this year's Berlin
Film Festival, is adapted from an early unperformed play
by German icon director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The director,
Francois Ozon, whose controversial features See the Sea
(1998) and Sitcom (1999) were both shown at the
Festival in previous years, is fast emerging as one of France's
most provocative new talents. The film has been picked up for
US distribution by Zeitgeist Films release and will open July
12 at the Film Forum in New York.
A Special Jury Mention went to Straightman,
directed by Ben Berkowitz and produced by Ben Redgrave. The film
takes an amusing and in-depth look at two male friends and the
pressures that affect that friendship when one of the men discovers
his true sexual identity.
The Best Documentary Award, sponsored by Showtime Pay Television,
was given to Our House: A Very Real Documentary About Kids
of Gay and Lesbian Parents, directed by Meema Spadola.
The director, herself the daughter of a lesbian, interviews children
of gay men and lesbian in different parts of the United States.
Aside from the usual difficulties of growing up, these remarkable
young people have learned to cope with the varied reactions of
classmates, teachers and others in their community to their unusual
family lives. Our House will be shown on the Public Broadcasting
Service throughout the month of June, which is Gay Pride Month.
The Best Short Film, sponsored the gay magazine The Advocate,
was awarded to Jake: Today I Become A Man, directed
by Stacey Foiles which weaves a beautiful portrait of an eloquent
young drag performer.
This year's Audience Award, sponsored by The Sundance Channel,
Time Warner Cable and internet portal Gay.com went to Big
Eden, an endearing human story set in small town America
about a disillusioned and lonely New York artist who returns to
his home town and rekindles a roman with his best friend from
high school and the object of his unrequited love. The film, directed
by Thomas Bezucha, lovingly deals with the topics of unconditional
love, acceptance, and the meaning of home.
The Peter S. Reed Achievement Award for an established
body of work was granted to New York-based filmmaker Su Friedrich,
who began making films in 1978 and has produced 12 award-winning
personal films, including Hide and Seek and Rules
of the Road. Friedrich pioneered a modern lesbian aesthetic
in contemporary films and was the writer/director/producer/camerawoman
and editor on all of her films. Friedrich was the subject of a
retrospective at the 9th New York Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
in 1997.
Among the films that were strongly received by critics
and audiences alike were Chutney Popcorn, a serious
comedy about a lesbian Indian photographer who decides to have
a baby in spite of the objections of her lover and her homophobic
mother directed by Nisha Ganatra; Rollercoaster,
a Canadian film by first-timer Scott Smith, which poignantly follows
five troubled teenagers who live in a group home outside Vancouver;
Aimee and
Jaguar, a gorgeously photographed German film directed
by Max Farberbock, which chronicles the true story of a relationship
that grows in wartime Berlin between a German Jew who secretly
works for the Resistance and the wife of a German army officer;
Get Your Stuff, an affectionate Beverly Hills-set
comedy drama about two men who decide to have a child; and Urbania,
a probing drama about a young man who begins to lose his sanity
after his lover has died of AIDS, with a standout performance
by theater actor Dan Futterman (The Birdcage) in the lead
role.
"We try to program alot of different material that appeals
to a cross-section of our audience" is the way Festival Director
Basil Tsiokos describes his programming philosophy. After four
years as a Festival assistant and member of the Programming Committee,
Tsiokos took the reins of the Festival this year from retiring
Festival Director Wellington Love. "I see it as my job to broaden
out the definition of what is gay and lesbian cinema", Tsiokos
explained, "and to try and attract as broad an audience to the
festival as possible."
When asked which of this year's selections created the
most controversy, Tsiokos cited The Story of Pu Pu,
an anarchic buddy movie about two women who become queer bandits
of the road, directed by Japanese cult director Kensaku Watanabe,
which had "many walkouts because of the extreme violence and its
disturbing weirdness"and Oi! Warning, a controversial
German film that explores the homoerotic undercurrents in the
skinhead subculture, that was criticized by some for its "nauseating
violence and the eroticism of skinhead racists".
Another film that split audiences down the middle and generated
the most heated post-screening discussion was The Bradfords
Tour America, an hour long documentary about a filmmaking
team (a gay man and a lesbian woman) who disguise themselves as
married conservatives to infiltrate the true feelings of ordinary
people about homosexuality and the "homosexual political agenda".
"Some people felt that the deception of the filmmakers was really
exploitative and could be used negatively against our community",
Tsiokos offered, "but others argued as passionately that only
through this deception could the filmmakers record the honest
responses of people who otherwise would hide their bigotry".
Tsiokos mentioned the scarcity of quality films by lesbian
directors or on lesbian topics. "With the notable exceptions of
such crowd-pleasers as But I'm A Cheerleader and
Chutney Popcorn, it's been an off year for lesbian
films", Tsiokos offered. In spite of the recent successes of lesbian
films such as Go Fish and Boys
Don't Cry, Tsiokos explained that lesbian filmmakers
have more trouble accessing funding for their projects and that
they have always been greatly outweighed by the number of gay
male directors and subject matter that appeals to gay men. "However
I have been in touch with some of the leading lesbian filmmakers
who are all at work on their new projects", Tsiokos added. And
no doubt many of those films will find their way to the 13th edition
of the Festival, which will again be held in early June of 2001.
FilmFestivals.com
reporter
Sandy Mandelberger
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