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Frameline Astounds Again! by Tom Mayer
Epicenter of all things gay in cinema, the Castro Theater, shown here world premiering 'Milk' by Gus Van Sant in 2008. photo: courtesy Brant Ward
IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN—
summer in The City—which means Frameline will soon be bringing us the best in alt-gendered insight and entertainment from around the world, in what is considered the largest LGBT event IN THE WORLD!
Indeed, this latest installment—Frameline's 38!—which will be running from June 19th to the 29 at the Castro, Roxie, and Victoria Theaters, will include 214 films from 31 countries.
"This is strongest and most diverse Frameline we have had in years," Senior Programmer Peter Stein told me the other day.
"All of us on the programming team have marveled at the great new films we've discovered, when we've traveled to the film festivals around the world to find the right films for Frameline."
Many in the San Francisco film world—this writer included—have occasionally felt that some local film festivals have gotten a bit lax in the quality of their films, resulting in a weaker selection overall.
Logo for this year's Frameline strikes a universalist tone. photo: courtesy Frameline
From my perspective, this year's Frameline has a much more robust feel than previous years. In part, this is due to more women-directed films, more documentaries and a broader scope of films as well as films from more countries.
Laudably, given the past year's crisis for queer people in Russia, the festival will feature a program "LGBT Films in Today's Russia". This will include two features, a short film program, and the documentary "Campaign of Hate: Russia and Gay Propaganda", which will be followed by a discussion with filmmaker Michael Lucas and Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen.
Meanwhile, on opening night, June 19th at the Castro Theater, the documentary "The Case Against 8" is strengthened by full access to many of the folks filming the years-long process of struggling for marriage equality. Conversely, the closing night film on June 29, "I Feel Like Disco", is a charming coming-of-gay-age story unlike any other I have seen at Frameline.
Centerpiece films include "Lilting"—where a conservative religious woman from the Far East comes to meet her deceased son's lover in England—and "To Be Takei" with "Star Trek" luminary George Takei in person. Indeed, the film, directed by Jennifer Kroot, who did "It Came From Kuchar" about the Kuchar brothers, as well as Takei himself were a big hit at Sundance in January.
George Takei, of 'Star Trek' fame and the subject of the new documentary, at a Gay Day Parade. photo: G. Takei
Frameline also hosts a special series of film screenings and panel discussions. One stellar panel, funded by the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences, "New Storytelling in LGBT Cinema", will look into the future of queer filmmaking, covering new approaches to gay history and biography, digital distribution, and the greater role of women filmmakers.
Appearing in person this year at Frameline, in addition to Takei, are such diverse talents as Mo'Nique, Nia Vardalos, Alec Mapa, Christina Ricci and the irrepressible local maniac Robin Williams and the ever-avant Tilda Swinton. Once again, the Frameline staff has outdone themselves in a stupendous schedule for this year.
Tom Mayer is a film fanatic and activist (he helped start the Roxie), as well as technical writer, and can reached . Posted on Jun 09, 2014 - 07:44 PM