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The 17th annual Austin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival: a preview
Fri., Aug. 27, 2004
Adored: Diary of a Porn Star
D: Marco Filiberti; with Marco Filiberti, Urbano Barberini, Alessandra Acciai, Rosalinda Celentano, and Claudio VanniAt 26 centimeters from base to tip, Riki Kandinski (Filiberti) is Italy's favorite gay porn star. The guy's got it all: the money, the adoration, the "I only do it for the movies" hang-ups that leave him loverless and lonely. That is, until he's forced back into a relationship with his estranged and uptight older brother Federico (Barberini) on the eve of their father's death. Federico, in turn, is forced to face what his little brother does for a living, and does so with surprising ease. The two develop a somewhat disturbingly close bond, as illustrated in the scene where Riki gets Federico to touch his gigantic weenie. Reunited, the brothers have the strength to mend their broken relationships: Federico returns to the mother of his child while Riki struggles to accept love from the handsome Claudio (Alatri) and tries to adopt a wee one of his own. But Filiberti's attempt at telling a family tale of redemption clashes with the somewhat confusing subplot of a film crew making a documentary on the film's star. So, do bring your handy Italian-English pocket dictionary, as all of the interviews regarding the legend that was Riki Kandinski are, inexplicably, not subtitled. – Diana Welch
Aug. 27, 9:45pm
Cowboys and Angels
D: David Gleeson; with Michael Legge, Alan Leech, Amy ShielsWhen an apartment locator helps Shane find a flat in the heart of Limerick, Ireland, as well as a flatmate to make it affordable, Shane seems poised to live the stylish, urban life he desperately wants. But, instead, he continues to chafe under his dead-end civil-service job and his unfulfilled art-school ambitions, made all the more dismal in contrast to flatmate Vincent's life as an ultra-hip, gay, fashion-design student. "When you're gay, you're part of something," Shane complains to Vincent. "There's nothing like it if you're straight." Though apprehensive at first, Vincent eventually warms to Shane, even giving him a hipster makeover to help him impress the girl he likes. But Cowboys & Angels proves that the road to happiness requires more than just a queer eye for the straight guy, presenting Shane with the catch-22 that self-acceptance can rely as much on friendship as the other way around. – Nora Ankrum
Aug. 28, 7:30pm
My Mother Likes Women (A Mi Madre le Gustan las Mujeres)
D: Ines Paris and Daniela Fejerman; with Rosa María Sardà, Eliska Sirová, and Leonor WatlingThree Spanish women are dismayed when their mother, Sofia (Sardà), a prominent concert pianist, introduces them to her new lover, Eliska (Sirová), a Czech pianist who barely speaks Spanish and could easily be their sister. Elvira (Watling), the neurotic middle child, takes the news the hardest, upturning her personal and professional relationships, while plotting with her sisters to reveal Eliska as a gold digger.
Amusing and sometimes touching, My Mother is preoccupied with Elvira's hysteria, spending little time on the love affair between Sofia and Eliska. It's just as well. The heat between Sardà and Sirová never rises above tepid. In a lesser actress' hands, Elvira could have been cartoonish and annoying. Magically, Watling makes Elvira endearing by film's end.
If meant as a nod to the Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar, My Mother is an honorable offering, even as it relies on a tidy ending that doesn't quite live up to its own ambitious journey. – Belinda Acosta
Aug. 29, 7pm
You I Love
D: Olga Stolpovskaja, with Lyubov Tolkalina, Damir Badmajew, Jewgenij Korijakowskij, Alisa TanskayaVera, a glamorous newscaster, and Timofei, a successful copy writer, seem perfectly suited both to each other and to Moscow, a city that complements the media-savvy, fast-paced couple with a din of call-in radio shows, catchy ad slogans, and personalized cell phone rings. But along comes Ulumji, a stranger who works at the zoo and doesn't even know how to use an ATM – he also doesn't know not to walk on fence tops and ends up falling off of one onto the hood of Timofei's car. Beginning with this surreal introduction, Ulumji brings a magical and primal energy into Timofei's life, drawing from his vastly different background in Kalmykia, a country of seminomadic descendents of Mongolians. He and Timofei begin an affair that they barely hide from Vera, leaving her little choice but to join in on the action and leaving all three little choice but to outpace themselves just to hear the words "You, I love." – N.A.
Aug. 28, 7:20pm
Gan (Garden)
D: Ruthie Shatz, Adi BarashDocumentaries about prostitution seem to follow a certain pattern – a shot of a woman sticking her head in a car window, her spandexed rear-end filling out the frame while a hidden microphone records her negotiations; then maybe some head shots of women calling each other ho's; and then the telltale silhouette of a transvestite under a single streetlight, teetering away from the camera. But Garden achieves a much more intimate and surprising look at its subjects. Nino and Dudu are teenagers, best friends, Arabs living in Israel, and male prostitutes – in that order, it seems – working the "Garden," a section of Tel Aviv notorious for its streetwalking. Nino is irresponsible, restless, frustratingly evasive. He'd be the quiet jock in your homeroom, the one with the sweet grin who everyone tells to buckle down. But he's not, of course, because he's a homeless prostitute. And Dudu is elegant, sharp, a little dramatic. He'd be the aloof and sophisticated senior you'd adore from afar. But he's not, of course, because he's also a homeless prostitute. How they came to live in the Garden is heartbreaking. But how they care for each other is wholly uplifting. – N.A.
Sept. 1, 7:30
Naked Fame
D: Christopher LongMeet Colton Ford, star of Conquered, Bearing Leather, and other adult films for the gay male market. Then meet Glenn Soukesian, the man who is behind the mystique – and dying to get out. The film follows Ford on his quest to break out of porn and into dance music at age 39, accompanied by his partner Peter (aka "Blake Harper"). It's got some technical problems and rough edits, but Naked Fame is an enlightening glimpse at the gray area between the "adult" and the "legit" entertainment industries, as well as an insightful chronicle of a near-midlife personal journey. Ford and Harper are appealing, down-to-earth subjects, whether they're chatting nude in a dismal six-man cathouse known as the "24/7 Live and Raw Hotel" (whose inhabitants are on camera all day and night, even while asleep – with the lights on – or using the urinal) or brawling with overbearing manager Kyle Neven. You don't have to be a fan of adult video or circuit parties to appreciate this candid and thoughtful documentary. – Marrit Ingman
Sept. 1, 9:40pm
Yes, Nurse! No, Nurse!
D: Pieter Kramer; with Loes Luca, Paul Kooij, and Waldemar TorenstraMore Moulin Rouge than Dancer in the Dark, this colorful slapstick musical, based on a Sixties Dutch television show, follows one Nurse Klivia's (Luca) struggle to maintain her and her motley crew of misfits' digs in an old rest home. Their grumpy landlord and neighbor, Boordevol (Kooij), spends his days looking for a reason to kick them to the curb, for he believes Klivia to be "a spider in a web of woes," and finds her merry crew just too nutty to bear. The gang's luck takes a turn for the better when one of them, known only as the Engineer (Beppe Costa), produces a magic pill in the rest home's basement drug lab that turns Boordevol's fierce alley cat into a cuddly, purring leg-rubber. And who should take one himself, tricked by the newest addition to Klivia's brood, the compulsive burglar, Gerrit (Torenstra), into thinking they're peppermints? You guessed it! But, like peppermints, happy pills wear off at the most unpleasant times; Boordevor's back on the rampage soon enough, and the gang's right back where they started, narrowly dodging catastrophe and hatching plans. The plot continues on in an endless chain of predictable pratfalls and busily choreographed musical numbers, drawing the whole town into the streets to sing about the sweet things in life, like grandpas and sharing umbrellas. The set, a throwback to the old Hollywood Technicolor extravaganzas, is the perfect backdrop to this fantastic (in the most literal sense) tale of acceptance and generosity. – D.W.
Sept. 3, 7:20pm
Chicks Rock (shorts program)
D: variousThe idea that chicks rock is not novel these days – dudes wear T-shirts that say as much – but this collection of shorts shows women taking their brand of rocking into the 21st century. Kathleen Hanna rocked with Bikini Kill in the Nineties and now represents as part of post-grrrl outfit Le Tigre, with their two featured videos directed by strong, female voices. "Keep on Living" pairs the bands' disco-punk sound with a group of youth activists/aspiring directors from Paper Tiger Television, and Elisabeth Subrin brings a slightly more professional hand to the direction of "Well Well Well," elucidating the hidden eroticism of office supplies. When Dominatrix joins Portland, Ore.'s the Haggard on tour in the short documentary "Bending the Equator," the self-proclaimed first feminist band in Brazil proves that hardcore is not just for Henry Rollins look-alikes. To dispel any similarities to Lilith Fair, "Michigan Fever" assembles provocative footage from the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival. Two punk chicks play a game of flirt and run in "How Fluttering," a short by Ji Sung Kim featuring a driving riot grrrl soundtrack. Rocking in a much more subdued way, "Confessions: A Film About Ariel Schrag" uncovers the woman behind the unflinchingly autobiographical graphic novels about lesbian sexuality during her formative four years of high school. Need to reaffirm your belief in women as a movement unto themselves? Then come and awe at ladies forging their own path with no regard for societal biases. – James Renovitch
Sept. 4, 2:30pm
Goldfish Memory
D: Liz Gill; with Sean Campion, Fiona O'Shaughnessy, Peter Gaynor, Flora Montgomery, Keith McErlean, Lise Hearns, Aisling O'NeillThe Beach Boys said, "A brand new love affair is such a beautiful thing, but if you're not careful, think about the pain it can bring." Likewise, the relationships in Goldfish Memory aren't all bubbling treasure chests; they're also floating belly up at the top of the bowl. This predominantly jaunty film casts the lens over a dense social web in present-day Dublin. Dense enough to be an STD's dream-come-true but a nightmare for the heartbroken and the heartbreakers trying to move on with their love lives with ever-swelling baggage. On top of quick pacing and enough heart-strung plots to make Love, Actually look like amateur night, writer/director Gill manages to squeeze in a message about the myriad variations of relationships: gay, straight, monogamous, open, dysfunctional, symbiotic, parasitic. – J.R.
Sept. 4, 7:20pm
Bear Cub (Cachorro)
D: Miguel Albaladejo; with José Luis Garcia-Pérez, David Castillo, Arno Chevrier, Elvira Lindo, Mario Arias, Diana Cerezo, Josele Román, Empar FerrerPedro (Garcia-Pérez) finds his bachelor style cramped when his sister's 9-year-old son, Bernardo (Castillo), is left in his charge for an indefinite span. As the two grow closer, the grandmother sues for custody, and the Bear (Pedro) and the titular cub (Bernardo) quickly recognize the bond they have formed and what they have to lose. Cachorro is the Gay & Lesbian Film Festival at its best: a great movie that will find distribution difficult what with realistic depictions of gay sex and all (Gasp!). Thankfully, the winning cast never sinks to a pornographic caricature of the bear lifestyle, but allows this gay subculture to inform unique personalities thanks to co-writer and director Albaladejo. Touted appropriately as a sentimental comedy, the film remains sweet without being sappy and has edge without being depressing or depraved. – J.R.
Sept. 4, 7:30pm
Merci ... Dr. Rey!
D: Andrew Litvack; with Dianne Wiest, Jane Birkin, Stanislas Merhar, Karim Salah, Bulle OgierThomas (Merhar) trawls the personals. His mother (Wiest) is a shrieking caftaned diva starring in a Paris production of Turandot. And Pénélope (Birkin) is a madwoman who believes she is Vanessa Redgrave – when in fact she's only dubbing her voice. Mix all three together in a murder mystery, and you have a frothy farce that's way, way over the top. Did I mention the dead psychiatrist and the pot brownies, the voyeurism, Jerry Hall, and a 500-franc note no one can cash? Don't be fooled by Ismail Merchant's executive-producer credit: This is a loopy comedy about dysfunctional people, not a restrained parlor drama. For what it is, the film is just fine. Wiest is totally off-the-leash, daffy and adorable, and Merhar is prettily dazed, surrounded as he is by crazy women. The logic of the mystery doesn't really add up too well, but audiences willing to suspend their credulity will likely appreciate this airy trifle. – M.I.
Sept. 6, 7:30pm
After 17 years at the helm of one of the most celebrated queer film festivals in the world, Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival founder, artistic director, and heart-and-soul Scott Dinger is moving on.
"It's something that I've toyed with in the back of my mind for the past few years," Dinger told the Chronicle. "It's like anything, really, in that after a while you find yourself in a position where you're not being challenged, and also, for the festival, I think it may be time to bring someone in who has new ideas and a new excitement, especially from the programming standpoint."
Dinger's tenure with aGLIFF has seen the fest move from its humble origins as a for-profit venture of the Dobie Theatre, which Dinger owned until selling to the Landmark Theatres chain in 1999, to become one of the premier venues for gay and lesbian filmmaking in the world, playing host to legions of celebrated and iconoclastic directors known and unknown, from Gregg Araki to John Waters. The parties were legendary, sure, but it was (and remains) Dinger's professional skill and commitment to showcasing the very best queer cinema has to offer that made every summer feel like just another sweaty prelude to Dinger's main event at the Dobie Theatre.
What's next for the man with the golden ticket?
"I'm with the festival until the end of the year," Dinger says, "and then I'm looking to bring in a new artistic director. I don't know if I'll be moving from here or not, but I want to stay in the film industry, whether it's exhibition, distribution, working for queer TV, or whatever it may be. But I feel pretty confident that I'll find something where I can make a difference and bring something to the table."
No successor to Dinger has been chosen as of yet, but with the dovetailing of Austin's prominent gay and lesbian and film communities the résumés are already pouring in. The job is a big one; the shoes, even bigger. And you know what they say about a guy with big feet: He's got big socks, too.
"I was talking to someone the other day," added Dinger, "about how you get into these festivals and become so close to it with the nuts and bolts and deadlines and whatnot, and in the end it's the little things that pull you back and make you realize what you started doing it for in the first place. There's one young man who first showed up with his mother five years ago when he was 13 years old, and they've been coming faithfully to every festival since then. I got an e-mail from his mother a few days ago saying that he's about to leave for college up in Massachusetts, and they'll only be able to see a few films at the beginning of the festival this year. We had a chance to catch up, and he told me that going to aGLIFF when he was 13 was really his very first exposure to queer cinema, this young gay man, and that it meant a tremendous amount to him. Sometimes you get to where you think you're just showing movies, but that really just put it all into perspective for me."
Thursday, Aug. 26
Eating Out 7:30
D.E.B.S. 8
Friday, Aug. 27
Surge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes 7:30
Mango Kiss 7:45
Inescapable 9:35
Adored: Diary of a Porn Star 9:45
Saturday, Aug. 28
How to Pick Up Girls noon
Love Is a Many Gendered Thing 12:30
Girl-O-Rama 2
Boy-O-Rama 2:30
Revolution 4:30
Youth Gone Wild 5
Make a Wish 7:20
Cowboys and Angels 7:30
A Few Good Dykes 9:30
Anonymous 9:45
Sunday, Aug. 29
Viva la Raza 12:15
Sporty Spice 12:30
Family Burden 2:15
Great Expectations 2:30
Liberty 4:30
Farm Family ... in Search of Gay Life in Rural America 5
My Mother Likes Women (A Mi Madre le Gustan las Mujeres) 7
You I Love (Ja ljublju Tebja) 7:20
Round Trip (Al Ha Kay) 9:20
Desperate Living; or, Meeting Mr. Right 9:30
Monday, Aug. 30
Un Amour de Femme 7:15
Surge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes 7:30
Drag Kings on Tour 9:20
Blue Citrus Hearts 9:30
Tuesday, Aug. 31
Aprils Shower 7:15
Boy-O-Rama 7:30
How to Pick up Girls 9:30
Divine Comedies 9:40
Wednesday, Sept. 1
Clara's Summer (Clara cet été-là) 7:20
Garden (Gan) 7:30
Make a Wish 9:30
Naked Fame 9:40
Thursday, Sept. 2
Sneak Screening 7:15
Komrades 7:30
Drag Kings on Tour 9:20
Anonymous 9:35
Friday, Sept. 3
Yes, Nurse! No, Nurse! 7:20
The Politics of Fur 7:30
Slutty Summer 9:30
Fresh Out of Tears 9:45
Saturday, Sept. 4
Trip (Al Ha Kay) noon
Sporty Spice 12:30
Freedom to Marry 2
Chicks Rock 2:30
Aprils Shower 4:45
Worried Straight Men 5
Goldfish Memory 7:20
Bear Cub (Cachorro) 7:30
Girl-O-Rama 9:30
My Porn Star 9:45
Sunday, Sept. 5
Komrades 12:15
416 12:30
Clara's Summer (Clara cet été-là) 2:10
A Few Good Dykes 2:30
Slutty Summer 5
Mango 5:30
Outside of Your Box 7:15
Naked Fame 7:30
Wanted! (Nachbarinnen) 9:30
Pumping Velvet 9:45
Sunday, Sept. 6
La Vida Loca 12:15
Return to Gender 12:30
Mirror Mirror 2:15
My Gay Movie 2:30
Blue Citrus Hearts 5
False Offender (Falsa Culpable) 5:30
Merci ... Dr. Rey! 7:30
