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Premier Gay Fest Gets Freaky—Hetero Even
by Tom Mayer
'Alaska is a Drag', a short by Shaz Bannett, concerns dreams of stardom while starting small—in a cannery in Alaska! photo: courtesy FramelneFrameline organizers should rename this incredible LGBT festival—the largest and oldest in the world, which starts on June 20th—the James Franco Film Festival. Just joking but in fact the famously straight actor has two major premieres this year, both with wild-even-for-San Fran themes and, interestingly, one fictional and one doc.
Franco's and Travis Mathews's "Interior: Leather Bar" features a film within a film, which re-imagines the lost 40 minutes of the infamous "Cruising" (1980), William Friedkin's thriller about a serial killer targeting gay men in New York's S&M scene, starring Al Pacino.
Meanwhile, "Kink", an adults-only doc (do not bring your 11 year-old nephew!) produced by Franco, penetrates deep into the Armory, the massive building on Mission Street owned by the company Kink, to reveal the wild, wild—and I mean really wild—world of fetish porn.
Directed by Christina Voros and produced by James Franco, 'kink' (yes, a small 'k') is an aesthetically pleasing if morally challenging look at that proclivity as well Kink, the company, housed in the Mission Armory. photo: courtesy FramelneThis spectacular showcase of queer cinema from around the globe, also known as the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, now in its the 37th year, runs June 20 to 30 at the Castro, Roxie, and Victoria Theaters in San Francisco.
The mainstreaming of LGBT films in major US and European releases, the recent coming out of a major US sports stars and players, and the award of the Prix d'Or at Cannes to the explicitly lesbian "Blue Is The Warmest Color" all beg the question: Is there still a need for 'specialty' film festivals, such as Asian-American, Jewish, LGBT, German, etc?
Although only time will tell, this year's Frameline provides a fullthroated answer—Yes!—with its strongest lineup in years.
"We considered about 800 film submissions this year for Frameline, while we usually receive about 650 films to consider," Executive Director K. C. Price said. "This year, our programmers were excited to see that the state of LBGT film was thriving."
"With the record number of submissions, we had to make some tough choices, as there were many worthy films to choose from. [We] were particularly pleased to see some of the comedies this year such as our closing night film 'G.B.F.' Also, our opening night film 'Concussion' is essentially a drama; however, it has some brilliant comedic moments in it."
'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow' concerns a 'happily' married Korean man and is part of Frameline's focus on queer cinema of the East. photo: courtesy Framelne"One of our showcase screenings is Arvin Chen's 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?' from Taiwan. That is another film this year that will delight our audiences."
"Lastly, we have several remarkable documentaries that will put a smile on your face such as the bio-docs "I Am Divine" and 'Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton'."
That one I am dying to see considering Broughton was the notoriously playful alt-filmmaker from Marin, who taught for many years SFAI, but also the absent father of Pauline Kael's daughter—a love-child cinema-art story worthy of its own film.
"Concussion", which Mr. Price selected for opening night (June 20, the Castro), is a stunning film about a lesbian community leader enduring a head injury while closing night is the equally striking "G. B. F." (Gay Best Friend) in that it tackles the treacherous territory of high school but as comedy rather than the tragedy many of us experienced.
Among other highlights are "Valencia", based on the Michelle Tea bestseller, the US premiere of the Polish "In the Name Of" and "The Battle of AMFAR". In addition, Frameline is shining its spotlight this year on queer Asian cinema, with the best in new LGBT films from the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Pakistan and China as well as, of course, South Korea which has become a hot bed for pop music and art cinema of late.
'G.B.F.' by Darren Stein, which is the festival's closing night special, concerns the notoriously treacherous territory of high school, albeit treated here humorously. photo: courtesy FramelneThe festival will premiere "C.O.G", the first film adaptation of a work by the David Sedaris, the notorious-NPR "queer-in-residence"; the award-winning "Free Fall", about two men falling in love while attending a German police academy; and it will present Malcolm Ingram's stunning documentary "Continental", about the famous NYC Continental Baths, where Bette Midler and Barry Manilow performed early in their careers.
Frameline will also present premieres of new documentaries on Gore Vidal and "I Am Divine", about the famous star of many John Waters films.
This year, the annual Frameline Award goes to independent producer, director and screenwriter Jamie Babbit who burst onto the national LGBT stage in 1999 with her first feature "But I'm a Cheerleader". In celebration of Babbit's contributions to queer film and media, Frameline presents her latest feature film "Breaking the Girls", as well as a special screening of "Cheerleader".
This Swedish short, 'Benjamin's Flowers' is bustin' out with longing, romance and pollen as well as sophisticated artistry. photo: courtesy FramelneFor the first time in recent years, Frameline presents two midnight screenings at this year's Festival, including "Kink", with the incredible SF transvestite/filmmaker, Peaches Christ officiating, and "A Nightmare on Elm Street 2", with star Mark Patton appearing in person.
For more info and tickets, visit the Frameline festival website or the Frameline boxoffice at 2327 Market Street (near 16th Street) inside Johnston Tax Group.
Posted on Jun 14, 2013 - 09:07 PM
by Tom Mayer
'Alaska is a Drag', a short by Shaz Bannett, concerns dreams of stardom while starting small—in a cannery in Alaska! photo: courtesy FramelneFranco's and Travis Mathews's "Interior: Leather Bar" features a film within a film, which re-imagines the lost 40 minutes of the infamous "Cruising" (1980), William Friedkin's thriller about a serial killer targeting gay men in New York's S&M scene, starring Al Pacino.
Meanwhile, "Kink", an adults-only doc (do not bring your 11 year-old nephew!) produced by Franco, penetrates deep into the Armory, the massive building on Mission Street owned by the company Kink, to reveal the wild, wild—and I mean really wild—world of fetish porn.
Directed by Christina Voros and produced by James Franco, 'kink' (yes, a small 'k') is an aesthetically pleasing if morally challenging look at that proclivity as well Kink, the company, housed in the Mission Armory. photo: courtesy FramelneThe mainstreaming of LGBT films in major US and European releases, the recent coming out of a major US sports stars and players, and the award of the Prix d'Or at Cannes to the explicitly lesbian "Blue Is The Warmest Color" all beg the question: Is there still a need for 'specialty' film festivals, such as Asian-American, Jewish, LGBT, German, etc?
Although only time will tell, this year's Frameline provides a fullthroated answer—Yes!—with its strongest lineup in years.
"We considered about 800 film submissions this year for Frameline, while we usually receive about 650 films to consider," Executive Director K. C. Price said. "This year, our programmers were excited to see that the state of LBGT film was thriving."
"With the record number of submissions, we had to make some tough choices, as there were many worthy films to choose from. [We] were particularly pleased to see some of the comedies this year such as our closing night film 'G.B.F.' Also, our opening night film 'Concussion' is essentially a drama; however, it has some brilliant comedic moments in it."
'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow' concerns a 'happily' married Korean man and is part of Frameline's focus on queer cinema of the East. photo: courtesy Framelne"Lastly, we have several remarkable documentaries that will put a smile on your face such as the bio-docs "I Am Divine" and 'Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton'."
That one I am dying to see considering Broughton was the notoriously playful alt-filmmaker from Marin, who taught for many years SFAI, but also the absent father of Pauline Kael's daughter—a love-child cinema-art story worthy of its own film.
"Concussion", which Mr. Price selected for opening night (June 20, the Castro), is a stunning film about a lesbian community leader enduring a head injury while closing night is the equally striking "G. B. F." (Gay Best Friend) in that it tackles the treacherous territory of high school but as comedy rather than the tragedy many of us experienced.
Among other highlights are "Valencia", based on the Michelle Tea bestseller, the US premiere of the Polish "In the Name Of" and "The Battle of AMFAR". In addition, Frameline is shining its spotlight this year on queer Asian cinema, with the best in new LGBT films from the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Pakistan and China as well as, of course, South Korea which has become a hot bed for pop music and art cinema of late.
'G.B.F.' by Darren Stein, which is the festival's closing night special, concerns the notoriously treacherous territory of high school, albeit treated here humorously. photo: courtesy FramelneFrameline will also present premieres of new documentaries on Gore Vidal and "I Am Divine", about the famous star of many John Waters films.
This year, the annual Frameline Award goes to independent producer, director and screenwriter Jamie Babbit who burst onto the national LGBT stage in 1999 with her first feature "But I'm a Cheerleader". In celebration of Babbit's contributions to queer film and media, Frameline presents her latest feature film "Breaking the Girls", as well as a special screening of "Cheerleader".
This Swedish short, 'Benjamin's Flowers' is bustin' out with longing, romance and pollen as well as sophisticated artistry. photo: courtesy FramelneFor more info and tickets, visit the Frameline festival website or the Frameline boxoffice at 2327 Market Street (near 16th Street) inside Johnston Tax Group.
Posted on Jun 14, 2013 - 09:07 PM
