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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2005)
r üLtooe: ¿1. 2005 ' iU»t OUt 41 eatingout After five years of European production, Musawa put the publication in her hackpack and returned to the Oregon women’s land she co-founded in the 1970s, WHO (Women Having Options) Farm. Renamed We’Mixin Healing Ground, the community reflected a focus on the nurturance of women and their creative gifts, and an atmosphere that contin ues to offer their children a different vision of women’s significance. 2006 contributor Kim Antieau calls the publication “an integral part of my life” and says, “When 1 feel like 1 just cannot stand being a stranger in this strange land one more minute, I get We’Moon, sit at my kitchen table and flip through it slowly, savoring the art and the words. It is a nourishment 1 cherish all year around.” Production remains a volunteer activity and a labor of love for those who have helped get the calendar into the hands of its many fans. This year’s theme is, appropriately, “In the Spirit of Love.” 2006 special editor Bethroot Gwynn calls the publication “a balm for the sore heart in these oh-so-troubled times for the human family.” For more information call Mother Tongue Ink at 877-693-6666 or e-mail • matrix@wemoon.ws. —Patricia L. MacAodha eatingout eatingout eatingout Local Motion, a program of 20 films made in Oregon. In addition, the Canadian film A Curious Shower is a meditation on the art of shower taking. From Australia there’s Dentally Disturbed, a comedy about the ramifications of the disappearance of dental floss. On a dramatic note, Danielle Lurie’s Sundance entry In the Morning concerns a 13-year-old Turkish boy who avenges a brutal attack on his sister. PISS Fest! screens 7 and 9:10 p.m. Oct. 21 and 22 at Hollywood Theatre, 4122 N.E. Sandy Blvd. Admission is $6. —Stephen Blair THE BEST GAY & LESBIAN FILMS Short and sweet If brevity is the soul of wit, then the 62 films in this year’s Portland International Short Short Film Festival ought to be pretty damned clever. Now in its fourth year, PISS Fest! (as it is affectionately called) limits the running time Arriving just in time for Portland’s queer of each film to 10 minutes or less, with a differ- : film fest, The Best Qay & Lesbian Films: ent lineup of films set for each showtime. Qlitter Awards 2005 (Blood Moon Expect everything from glossy 35 mm produc Productions, 2005; $23.95 softcover) is a won tions to makeshift movies shot on Fisher-Price derful guide through the maze of films offered toy video cameras. by independent filmmakers in the sexual Queer content is hardly ubiquitous, but gays minorities community. This is the official btxik and lesbians do pop up in a couple of places. of record for this year’s Glitter Awards, aka Matt Donaldson’s Hello?, a film about loss and “The Gay Oscars.” madness, features a lesbian couple. And Bo Offen against powerful <xlds, independent Mehrad’s Ping Pong Love puts a gay couple front filmmaking with gay and lesbian overtones is a and center. flourishing subculture in the United States. Ping Pong Love is a lighthearted, borderline This is a book about 37 of those films thought insipid movie about a straight guy with a to be the best in their genre. Most of the films vicious case of writer’s block. He’s trying to pen reviewed are strong in content, original in a hetero romance, but two of his male neigh themes and defiant of s<x:iety’s expectations. As bors continually interrupt him. One is a blabby you read, it is easy to see how these gutsy film dork who incessantly bounces a pingpong ball makers help change the audience’s perceptions on a paddle, and the other is a nerdy, fastidious of gay life. Their films challenge people’s views type. The pair fall in love on the spot, and they of the sexual minorities community as to what look to the writer for advice on how to carry on is “normal.” In this vein, authors Darwin their courtship. Porter, Danforth Prince and Theodora The script and acting are so clunky that, at Chowfatt have done a credible job in convey times, it’s almost embarrassing to watch the ing some of the creative dilemmas faced by proceedings. That said, it's refreshing to see a each of the filmmaking teams. movie in which a queer relationship is present In addition to reviews, you get to feast your ed as a functional, everyday thing—not an eyes on 300 photos that grace the pages. You aberration from some hetero norm. will find reviews and interviews with stars, pro Nonhomo highlights of PISS Fest! include ducers and directors, and you get to read what mainstream critics had to say about each film. The text has an easy-to-read style, but the book could stand a bit more organization and clearly defined sections. It is a bit difficult to track some of the information presented. The photographs need more contrast to make them easier on the eye. If you are planning on attending this year’s Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (continuing Oct. 22 and 23 at HollywcxxJ Theatre), you will definitely want to kx>k for rhe b(X)k, or you can order a copy online at www.bkx xlrnix >npr<xlucti<jns.com. Ping Pong Love screens 7 p.m. Oct. 21 during the Portland —Suzanne Deakins International Short Short Film Festival. All that glitters n Imagine a wine bar where a glass of wine doesn't cost as much as your mortage... and your waiter is as cute as you are... 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