Out on film
One of Milwaukee’s oldest film festivals, the annual LGBT Film/Video Festival runs, September 7-17 at the Oriental and UWM Union Theatres. Like every year, the selected feature films cover a diverse array of subject matter, politics, marriage equality, alienation, religion, identity and intimacy are all illuminated through contemporary cinematography and some of the freshest visual perspectives available. With over 50 entries, the submissions range from low-budget video to glossy commercial productions and hail from as far away as the Phillippines, Japan and Israel, with just as many noteworthy domestic offerings. Here are some notable highlights:
ANOTHER GAY MOVIE The most commercial film to appear at the festival this year, it’s a surreal comedy patterned after American Pie. Four gay guys in high school make a vow to lose their virginity by the end of the summer. Guest starring The Kids In The Hall’s Scott Thompson and almost every tasteless gay cliché, plus an almost painfully bright Crayola box of colors blasting out of every frame. It looks like a slick, big-budget teen sex comedy that would be completely indistinguishable from a million others were it not so narrowly centered on gay culture.
BOY CULTURE “Why are gay guys so obsessed with storytelling?” is the opening line to the Matthew Rettenmund novel on which this film is based, but it hardly seems to make a difference when a story is told this well. In his feature film debut, David Magyar plays “X,” a gay hustler for whom sex is only business. He’s careful not to get too emotionally close to anyone, but circumstances challenge his caution in this stylish, compelling comedic drama. Magyar’s running narration is concise, witty and dazzlingly poetic at times as Director Q. Allen Brocka deftly explores sex, love and emotional intimacy with impressive sophistication.
CAMP OUT A well-edited video documentary about a Christian LGBT youth camp in Minnesota. High School kids from all over the Midwest deal with the dichotomous relationship between sexuality and Christianity in a supportive environment. As the directors dealt with what was probably an extremely limited budget, the video quality may not be the best, but many of the individual stories of Christian gays told firsthand carry a deep, genuine emotional impact.
CRUEL AND UNUSUALThe complex problems of the United States prison system are shown from a fresh angle in this documentary about women who are put in men’s prisons because they are biologically male. Men who are in some cases just a few operations away from being women experience profound emotional torment in an all-male environment as captured in this provocative look at gender identity.
EL CIELO DIVIDIDO (BROKEN SKY) The landscape of human passion is contrasted against moments of solitude as two young men are shown in a verbally sparse romantic relationship. There’s some really beautiful cinematography here as director Julian Hernandez puts together a symphony of images that play against a soundtrack consisting largely of ambient noise and the occasional pop song. The film has an earthbound, experimental aesthetic. A very natural story of love and passion is told with an amplified, almost surreal visceral visual style.
JEAN GENET IN CHICAGO This 26-minute short by French Canadian filmmaker Frederic Moffet will probably be the most enjoyable documentary in this year’s festival. It follows the French playwright’s experiences in the windy city during the social turbulence of the late 60s and early 70s. Black and white contemporary footage of an actor wearing a flat Genet mask on the streets of Chicago mix with voiceovers and contemporary footage of various political events, creating a thoroughly interesting film about politics, poetry and sexuality.
THE SAINT OF 9/11A well-produced documentary by Glenn Holston about Father Mychal Judge, a selfless, homosexual Franciscan in New York who also served as Fire Chaplain. Making the ultimate sacrifice at the World Trade Center on September 11 was the last act in a life spent in the service of many. He is remembered in interviews and footage in this 90-minute bio that focuses more on the impact he had on others than any other aspect of his personality. In places, this is a deeply moving film about a very human altruism that transcends culture and religion. The expert narration by Ian McKellen adds considerable compassion and weight.
SMALL TOWN GAY BARProduced by Kevin Smith’s View Askew Productions, Filmmaker Malcom Ingram’s documentary about gay bars in rural Mississippi has a wistful, forlorn feeling about it. Former patrons and employees are interviewed in the ruins of derelict bars that have been burned down, condemned or otherwise trashed. The bulk of the beginning focuses on Rumors, one of the few bars to have survived a number of years in the rural south. It’s an interesting story of bigotry, hatred, love and acceptance that feels a bit lengthy at 81 minutes.
For a complete schedule, check the festival website at :http://www3.uwm.edu/arts/programs/film/lgbtfilm
Russ Bickerstaff is a local poet and writer. His poems can be heard regularly at Linneman's Monday Poetry Night.
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