Just out., September 21, 2001, Page 27, Image 27

September 21 . 2001
After Duddleston moved to Los Angeles to
edit Gus Van San ts Psycho in 1997, King and
Caselton formed Sensory Perceptions. Campos
came on board the next year, with Mendoza
becoming involved through his work as a film
publicist the year after that. The 2000 festival
was extremely well attended, with comment
cards reflecting a diversity of attendees.
With the aid and guidance of Ranieri and
Portland-based national film booker Roger
Paulson, this years festival is the most well
coordinated and expansive gay and lesbian film
event in Rose City history.
Particularly pleasing to the organizers are
the extracurricular activities. In previous years,
the limited time frame would have prohibited a
gala event like the one planned for Sept. 27 at
the Fez Ballroom.
“It’s a little awkward competing with your­
self,” King says. “ If you have a party going on
and a film going on at the same time, it’s weird
because you’re splitting the crowd, but the way
things worked out, that Thursday was free and
perfect for an event like that.”
With hostess Poison Waters, music by DJ
Androgyny and the band Black Angel, and
giveaways including tickets to Margaret C h o ’s
Dec. 13 performance in Portland, it’s sure to
be a memorable celebration. Celebrity drag
performer Joey Arias also is slated but uncon­
firmed at press time, because he resides in
New York City and might be unable to get
Oregon.
Platinum Pass holders also can attend a pri­
vate opening night reception Sept. 21 at
French bistro Le Happy. A benefit screening of
Sing-a-Lcmg Sound of Music, a version of the
popular 1965 Julie Andrews musical featuring
subtitles and gift bags of props to encourage
audience participation, will be held Sept. 30.
But what about the reason the festival is put
on in the first place: the films? The Sensory
Perceptions folks consider this batch to be first-
rate, albeit without some of the more populist
fare of previous years.
“For what it’s worth, there isn’t a Broken
Hearts Cluh this year— nothing guaranteed to
draw them in droves," King says, referring to
the 2000 romantic comedy. “But there are so
many quality films here. There is nothing that
would be below par for a regular engagement at
a large theater the size of Cinema 21.”
Mendoza concurs: “A lot of longer festivals
have a lot of filler and repeats. These films are
of generally very high quality.”
This year’s selections include quite a few
intriguing foreign films (Come Undone, O Fan-
tasma) and documentaries ( Trembling Before
G_d, Webcam Boys ) as well as challenging
cessful each year. Its getting those wonderful
comment cards and knowing we brought some­
thing to the people of Oregon they might not
otherwise get.”
Caselton adds: “The most fulfilling part
about putting on the festival is the satisfaction
of seeing so many happy faces when they leave
the theater after seeing themselves on screen. 1
actually had a teen-age boy and his mom come
up to me at our Pride booth and thank me.
The boy attended a show at one of our festivals
and went home to his mom and came out to
her and explained what the film was about.
That was a great thank-you. That made it all
worthwhile for me.”
T he O fferings
H e’s one of the Webcam
Boys who live naked,
on camera, selling peeks
via the Internet
independent movies like the widely acclaimed
L ./.E ., which Mendoza, King and Campos call
their favorite film of 2001, and the highly
anticipated lesbian film Julie Johnson. And the
festival will feature a few romantic comedies
Over the Guy, The Weekend, The Bluffer.
The selection process consists of screening
submissions by filmmakers and pursuing fea­
tures marketed by distributors. Although the
organizers receive numerous submissions for the
festival’s popular shorts programs, King says, “I
would say we actively pursue the features more
T
he festival is presenting the largest selec­
tion of big-screen gay and lesbian films in
one place that the Portland area ever has seen.
This year, patrons will have access to more
than 20 programs.
often than we don’t.”
Timing is also a potential minefield. The
festival usually takes place in the early fall
because of calendar concerns.
“We primarily try to avoid competing with
other major gay events, like Pride in June,"
King notes. “We don’t want to draw away
somebody else’s audience, and we don’t want to
lose our audience. Definitely, our ability to
screen certain films is very much affected by
the release schedule, but there’s no big gay
release season we could try to plan around.”
Another touchy, potentially controversial
issue is the fact that the majority of this year’s
films are aimed at gay men, which is as much a
disappointment to Sensory Perceptions as it
could be to lesbian and trans audience mem­
bers. “In a perfect film festival of this nature,”
King says, “out of 20 screenings, you’d have
four for men, four for women, four for male-to-
female trans persons, four for female-to-male,
four for bisexuals. We try really hard to do
equal representation, but the reality of that sit­
uation does not present itself in terms of what’s
available. 1 also don’t see any reason why a les­
bian can’t go to a gay man’s film and enjoy it
and appreciate it aesthetically or appreciate it
for its content. I imagine that a political gay
person would want to find commonalities
across the board.”
At the end of the long, fraught day, though,
presenting the annual Lesbian Gay Bi Trans
Film Festival to grateful Portlanders is, it seems,
its own reward. Asked to name most fulfilling
aspect of the organizing grind, Campos says:
“It’s seeing the festival get bigger and more suc-
Continued on Page 28
T he S chedule
F riday , S ept . 21
The Monkey's Mask
All Over the Guy
7 p.m .
9:15 p.m .
S aturday ,
S ept . 22
Sordid Lives _
Experimental Shorts
Julie Johnson
Come Undone
O Fantasma
1:45 p.m .
4 p.m .
7 p.m .
9:30 p.m .
11:30 p.m .
S unday , S ept . 23
5 p.m .
7 p.m .
Southern Comfort
Trembling
Before G_d
9:15 p.m .
Big Eden
M onday , S ept . 24
The Weekend
Huge
7 p.m .
9:15 p.m .
T uesday , S ept . 25
Boys' Shorts
7 p.m .
9:15 p.m .
The Fluffer
W ednesday , S ept . 26
Girls’ Shorts
The Adventures
of Felix
7 p.m .
9 p.m .
In Big Eden
a gay New
Yorker returns
to Montana
and finds a
unique brand
of belonging,
self-discovery
and love
T hursday , S ept . 27
F ifth A nniversary
G ala
8 p.m .
F r id a y ,
S ept . 28
7 p.m .
Desi’s Looking for
a New Girl
9 p.m .
LIE.
S aturday , S ept . 29
2 p.m .
Drift
Perfect Son
4 p.m .
7 p.m .
9:30 p.m .
•••••,
Webcam Boys
Iron Ladies
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