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SEPTEMBER 16, 2011
J* U °
W W W .JUSTOUT.CO M
Screen and Heard
Portland Lesbian and G ay Film Festival m arks 15th year with first-rate lineup of diverse film fare
The LGBT community has come a long,
loud and proud way over the last 15 years, so
it’s no surprise that the screen offerings pre
sented by the Portland Lesbian and Gay
Film Festival have followed suit.
PLGFF artistic director Gabriel Mendoza
calls the 2011 crop of films, set for Septem
ber 30-October 8 at Cinema 21, “overwhelm
ingly more sophisticated” than in previous
years. “Queer filmmaking is not as niche as it
used to he and audiences are hungry for more
than coming out stories,” he explains.
Still, some things remain the same. “Our
goal each year is to program the highest
quality films we can get,” explains Mendoza,
now in his 12th year with the event. “Our
decisions are not necessarily based on poli
tics or even social merit but aesthetics,” he
says, adding that fest organizers strive for a
schedule that represents the full LGBT
spectrum.
The nine-day lineup kicks off with what
Mendoza believes is the best opening night
film in the fest’s history. We Were Here, Port
land director David Weissman’s latest, is a
searing but hopeful portrait of the AIDS
crisis in 1980s San Francisco, and the dis
ease’s impact on the queer community.
Weissman—who co-helmed 2002’s The
Cockettes and is a co-founder and curator of
fellow local film fest QDoc—will be in at
tendance at the September 30 screening,
followed by a party at 23Hoyt featuring a
performance by Holcombe Waller (who
scored the film).
Mendoza is especially excited about three
films that address gender identity: Cun H ill
Road, a drama set in the Bronx about a fa
ther who returns home from prison to find
his son considering gender reassignment;
Tomboy, a French film about a 10-year-old
girl who spends her summer pretending to
be a boy; and Romeos, an outstanding Ger-
with Tomboy and Romeos, Icelandic import
man entry about an FTM young adult.
Of the latter, Mendoza raves, “This film Jitters), tapping genres from broad comedy
really captures some of the pathos and angst (the star-studded M angus!) to stately period
of dealing with hormone shots while trying piece (a British adaptation of Sarah Waters’
to navigate one’s way in the world. It’s also novel The N ight Watch) to B-movie camp
very romantic.” Additionally, he gives props (C odependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same).
to Weekend and August for their intimate, And if T w ilight: Breaking D aw n is a bit too
far off on your horizon, PLGFF 2011 even
fresh glimpses at relationships.
Elsewhere, films span the country (H olly has vampires, thanks to the gay hitchhikers-
w o o d to Do/lywood) and the globe (along meet-coffin-carrying trucker-meet-blood-
Fri., Sept. 30
7:30 p.m. IVe Were Here, USA, 90 min. Director David
Weissman in attendance.
10:00 p.m. Opening Night Gala Party at 23 Hoyt, 529 NW 23rd.
&
#
— A manda S churr
Tomboy, France (subtitled), 82 min., directed by
Celine Sciamma. A preteen girl is mistaken for a boy and
opts to live that way for a fateful summer, until the school
year approaches.
9:00 p.m.
Mangus!, USA, 88 min., directed by Ash Christian.
Jennifer Coolidge, John Waters and Heather Matarazzo
appear in this quirky tale of a quirkier community theater
production, Jesus Christ Spectacular (yep).
7:00 p.m.
Girl Shorts. Titles to be announced.
Hollywood to Dollywood, USA, 79 min., directed by
John Lavin. Subjects Gary and Larry Lane in attendance.
9:30 p.m.
Kink Crusaders, USA, 74 min., directed by Mike Skiff.
5:00 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
Sun., Oct. 2
Romeos, Germany (subtitled), 94 min., directed by
Sabine Bernardi. A superbly acted drama about Lukas—
ne Miriam— and the realities of his transition on his best
friend, family and a new crush. Visit blogout.justout.com
for a full review.
7:00 p.m.
Weekend, UK, 96 min., directed by Andrew Haigh.
5:00 p.m.
Thurs., Oct. 6
7:00 p.m.
Gun Hill Road, USA, 88 min., directed by Rasheed
Ernesto Green.
9:00 p.m. August, USA, 100 min., directed by Eldar Rapaport.
Fri., Oct. 7
Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same,
USA, 70 min., directed by Madeleine Olnek.
9:00 p.m. Bite Marks w/shorts Regrets and Candy, USA, 84
min., Bite Marks director Mark Bessenger in attendance.
Vampires, a hitchhiking gay couple and GPS gone
wrong— so very now.
7:00 p.m.
Mon., Oct. 3
Trigger, USA, 83 min., directed by Bruce McDonald.
Childhood friends and lesbian rockers consider their
history as a benefit concert looms.
9:00 p.m. Going Down In LA LA Land, USA, 105 min., directed
by Casper Andreas.
7:00 p.m.
Tues., Oct. 4
Jessie and Jamie Are Not Together, USA, 89 min.,
directed by Wendy Jo Carlton. A musical romantic comedy
about two codependent queer girls, one with Broadway
aspirations.
9:00 p.m. Harvest, Germany (subtitled), 88 min., directed by
Benjamin Cantu.
Sat., Oct. 8
5:30 p.m. Jitters, Iceland (subtitled), 97 min., directed by
Baldvin Z.
7:30 p.m.
The Night Watch, UK, 90 min., directed by Richard
Laxton. A BBC adaptation of Sarah Waters’ novel about young
Londoners during World War II.
A d m issio n to F rida y’s o pe ning night film , We W ere H ere, is $12, $25 in clu d in g screening and party. G eneral fest
a dm ission is $9 per tick e t. V oucher p a cke ts o f 8 are $69, a general fe stival pass (excluding o pening night film and
party) is $85, and a p la tin um pass ensuring e ntra n ce to all screenings and events w ith no w ait in line is $145.
Every tiki o f the rainbow is welcome at
^3-
i f f PS (PSfip
■
The 15th Annual Portland Lesbian a nd Gay Film
F estival runs Fri., Sept. 3 0 -Sat., Oct. 8. Screen
ings take place at Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave.
For more information, v is itplgff.org.
Wed., Oct. 5
Sat., Oct. 1
7:00 p.m.
suckers setup of B ite Marks.
Sophisticated cinema? Hungry audiences?
Check and check. See you at the movies.
une
Mi NGO
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