Reverend's Report: Going Independent at LA Film Fest 2011

Even as the annual Los Angeles Film Festival (LAFF) primarily champions movies made outside the studio system, the 2011 edition — held June 16-26 — wasn't above showcasing such would-be blockbusters as Green Lantern, Winnie the Pooh and Guillermo del Toro's remake of Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. 25th anniversary screenings of 1986's Hollywood hits Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Stand By Me were also shown. Still, it is the fest's indie offerings that stoke most attendees' devotion. This was the fest's second year at the downtown LA Live complex and, based on the obviously increased number of attendees over 2010, it is proving to be a good fit.

A healthy number of GLBT-interest films were featured, and I appreciate the festival organizers' continued dedication to including our community's stories. Wish Me Away, which details the tumultuous coming-out experience of country-western singer Chely Wright, even ended up winning the fest's Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary. The jurors remarked that Wish Me Away was noteworthy for its "honesty, humor and potential to change minds and even save lives." (The Canadian comedy Familiar Ground won the jury's Narrative Award, while Attack the Block, Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest and Senna won Audience Awards.) Here's my take on a few of the festival's memorable offerings, gay and otherwise.

Man of letters James Franco was on hand to introduce the world premiere of his latest exploration of literature and liberation, The Broken Tower. Having portrayed Allen Ginsberg in last year's Howl to great acclaim, Franco now directs, writes and stars as another gay poet, the lesser-known Hart Crane. Unfortunately, I couldn't get into the sold-out event but I was informed after that our love of all things Franco should remain intact. Next up for the GLBT-friendly star: raising Caesar, the hyper-intelligent chimpanzee, and bedding Frieda Pinto in August's Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Theatre and film director Julie Taymor wisely traded NYC for LA the very week that the much-delayed, injury-inducing musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark finally premiered on the Great White Way. Taymor spoke to an adoring audience the night of June 19 at the Grammy Museum about her dual careers on film and stage. Even more unexpected, however, was the on-stage pairing of Jack Black and Oscar-winner Shirley MacLaine on June 23. The pair entertainingly discussed their diverse approaches to acting as well as working together on the festival's Opening Night selection, Richard Linklater's unusual Bernie.

The GLBT component of this year's festival really kicked in, though, on June 18 with the World Premiere of Leave It On the Floor, a spectacular musical-on-a-budget by director Sheldon Larry and screenwriter/lyricist Glenn Gaylord (with music by Beyoncé collaborator Kimberly Bursa). Set in Los Angeles, it focuses on local "dynasties" of GLBT young people who perform in weekly drag balls. It combines elements of the 1991 documentary Paris is Burning as well as Dreamgirls and features the best (only?) dance number set in a bowling alley since Grease 2, the latter choreographed to the great, instantly memorable song "Knock The Mother F***er Down"! The sold-out crowd loved it, and the VIP after party/ball was the fest's best fête.

I am not only happy but grateful to have caught the North American premiere of Tomboy, an exquisite new film by French writer-director Celine Sciamma. It depicts a transgender girl's efforts to fit into a new community by presenting herself as a boy, which naturally leads to complications. Young lead actress Zoe Heran gives one of several beautifully-nuanced performances in this sensitive, compassionate movie. Rocket Releasing acquired the US rights to Tomboy, so watch for it later this year.

Also making its North American debut during LAFF was Christopher and His Kind, a feature-length distillation of the 2010 BBC miniseries about gay writer Christopher Isherwood. Best known for the autobiographical I Am A Camera, based on his years in pre-World War II Berlin and later musicalized as Cabaret, Isherwood pushed social and political barriers as he explored his family, his romances and the rise of the Nazi party. Christopher and His Kind — which features fine performances by Doctor Who's Matt Smith (as Isherwood), Toby Jones and Imogen Poots — also boasts gorgeous settings and male supporting players. As Isherwood is quoted in one of the voiceovers that opens the film, "To me, Berlin meant boys." Screenwriter Kevin Elyot and director Geoffrey Sax effectively take the author at his word. (Christopher and His Kind was released on DVD this week and is now available from Amazon.com.)

Alas, I was disappointed by another gay-themed production having its much-ballyhooed World Premiere in Los Angeles, Mike Akel's An Ordinary Family. A serio-comic take on religious and moral tensions within a "typical" American family, its central dispute between an Episcopal priest and his gay brother (who brings his new partner along for a week at their parents' lake house) seemed unnecessarily strained to the point of feeling dated. First, mainstream Episcopalians are hardly as conservative as they are made to look here and, second, no self-respecting 21st-century gay man would put up with the criticism he and his partner are made to put up with. Despite a good cast led by Troy Schremmer (who starred in Akel's acclaimed Chalk) and Greg Wise as the feuding brothers, An Ordinary Family suffers from a lack of authenticity.

There is no way to catch all of the nearly 200 LAFF selections, despite multiple showings and advance press screenings of some of them. That made it especially critical, then, to be on the lookout for those non-GLBT films that came with some pedigree. To that end, I was most intrigued by actress Vera Farmiga's directorial debut, Higher Ground, which was well-received at January's Sundance Film Festival. That it deals with religion and spirituality naturally piqued my interest as well.

Farmiga plays a life-long Christian who, at midlife, begins to experience doubts and tensions with her faith. The fact that she and her family live in a commune-like, fundamentalist environment with fellow devotees makes her discernment all the more difficult. The actress-director was able to assemble a stellar cast that includes Broadway stalwarts and Tony Award-winners Norbert Leo Butz, Donna Murphy and Bill Irwin as well as recent Oscar nominee John Hawkes (Winter's Bone). Joshua Leonard (The Blair Witch Project, Humpday) is also excellent as Farmiga's husband. The standout performance in the film, though, may well be Dagmara Dominczyk's heartbreaking turn as Farmiga's earthy, doomed best friend. I love the movie's haunting final shot. Higher Ground will be released nationally later this summer and could easily emerge a 2011 awards contender.

Another LAFF has come and gone, but the festival only gets better each year as a celebration of movies... independently made and otherwise.

Report by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Reverend's Preview: Dance Camera West 2011

As the founder of a famed Massachusetts dance troupe and festival is quoted in a new documentary, "Dance is the one art form that leaves nothing but memories." While the more recent technologies of film and video can now record such "memories" for the ages, dance remains distinct from painting, sculpture and what can be described as tangible or permanent media.

Southern California's annual Dance Camera West Film Festival, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary June 16-19, is a major chronicler of dance's magnificent global evolution. This year's event will take place at a variety of locations in and around Los Angeles, including the Getty Center, UCLA and the Hammer Museum. For a full schedule and to purchase tickets, visit the fest's official website.

The GLBT pinnacle of this year's festival is Never Stand Still, the feature-length documentary referenced above. It will make its West Coast premiere on June 19. The film recounts the fascinating history behind the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, which is derived from the first all-male dance troupe established by choreographer Ted Shawn in 1931. Shawn had been partly paralyzed as a young man, the result of diphtheria, and initially took up dance for strictly therapeutic purposes. He later came across and purchased an abandoned farm in the Berkshires (later learned to have been a stop on the Underground Railroad), which was christened Jacob's Pillow. According to gay choreographer Bill T. Jones, who narrates Never Stand Still, Shawn "wanted to prove dance could be a viable career for men" at a time when it was dominated by women.

Dance was also dominated by ballet when Shawn established Jacob's Pillow, so he set out to expand modern dance as a legitimate field of study and performance. The results were trailblazing. 80 years later, Jacob's Pillow is today considered one of the world's preeminent dance studios by such choreographic luminaries as Mark Morris, Merce Cunningham and Paul Taylor (all of whom are gay and appear in Never Stand Still) as well as acclaimed dancers/performers Marge Champion, Bill Irwin and Rasta Thomas.

The documentary, insightfully directed by Ron Honsa, showcases some remarkable dance pieces featuring an array of diverse styles and techniques. Honsa will be on hand to introduce the screening on June 19. Also not to be missed during DCW is the incredible short film Stronger, which will be shown as part of the "Global Screendance 2" program on Friday, June 17. Two attractive, shirtless male dancers leap through the woods and into the trees during this beautifully choreographed, photographed and edited film.

Whether or not you are a dance aficionado, DCW is the place to be and create new memories this June.

Preview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Reverend's Preview: It's All Greek to Me

If the Greeks didn't actually invent homosexuality, they were at least the first culture to recognize and integrate it. The Los Angeles/Hollywood summer season of film festivals kicks off this weekend with the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival (LAGFF), a more obscure or specialized but increasingly popular event. Now in its 5th year, the fest runs through Sunday, June 12 at the Laemmle's Sunset 5 in the gay mecca that is West Hollywood. Seven feature films (including one of definite GLBTQ interest reviewed below), five documentaries and nine shorts will be screened, and represent three world premieres, ten US premieres and eight LA premieres. "This year's films represent all facets of Greek life: humor, music, wine, erotica, and family... with a twist! Los Angeles audiences will not be disappointed," says Ersi Danou, LAGFF co-founder.

Last night's opening gala celebrated Lea Binzer's documentary Pelican's Watch. It pulls back the veil on a small community of elders on the island of Santorini, where they are charged with the unique duty of preserving the ancient traditions of vine growing and winemaking in the face of changing times. It was followed by a reception featuring some of the top Greek wines with the Santorini winemakers and the filmmakers in attendance. Tonight, LAGFF will present the US premiere of Roy Sher's My Sweet Canary, which recounts the life story of Roza Eskenazy, the Diva of Rebetiko, or “Greek Blues," whose music shaped the soundtrack of Greece and Asia Minor for almost a century.

The festival's major GLBT happening takes place on Saturday night, with the LA premiere of Strella (A Woman's Way). No doubt the tale of "family... with a twist" that Danou refers to above, this provocative drama-comedy weaves elements from traditional Greek tragedies and myths through a decidedly modern story. Set in Athens, it opens with an inmate, Yiorgos (a fine, subtle performance by Yanis Kokiasmenos), kissing his cellmate/lover goodbye as he is released from prison. Yiorgos doesn't waste time in starting to search for his long-estranged son. He settles into a hotel, where he makes the acquaintance of his pre-op transexual neighbor, Strella (Mina Orfanou, very good). Although Strella makes her living as a prostitute, she and Yiorgos embark on a sexual relationship together that soon turns romantic.

I don't want to give away any of the plot's sometimes jaw-dropping twists, so let's just say Yiorgos's son turns out to be closer than his father suspected. Directed by Panos H. Koutras and written by Koutras with Panajotis Evangelidis, Strella is well-structured and -layered. The lighting and photography aren't the most glamorous but this generally suits the film's lonely, wounded central figures. There are also some amusing sequences involving an animated squirrel that serves as Yiorgos's id. Ultimately, much of Strella's impact and resonance can be summed up in one character's line to another: "You made me love you in every possible way."

With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story, a documentary about the legendary comics creator, and the reality-inspired horror film The Death I Dreamed Of will also be shown during the fest. "The growing Greek film community is rapidly proving itself a formidable source of truly groundbreaking cinema, and I am proud to help bring these incredible works to the Los Angeles screen," states Owen Ward, Director of Programming. LAGFF will conclude Sunday with another gala screening and reception. Tickets for screenings and other festival events can be purchased online at the fest's official website or at the door while still available.

Reverend's Rating:
Strella (A Woman's Way): B+

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Reverend's Reviews: Short Stack

The short films shown at various film festivals sometimes end up outshining the feature offerings. Recognizing this, The Film Collaborative and First Run Features have teamed up to gather some of the best shorts from the 2010 GLBT circuit and release them on DVD. Volumes 1 of Fest Selects: Best Gay Shorts and Fest Selects: Best Lesbian Shorts are both out today.

While they vary wildly in tone and style, the eight films included on the Best Gay Shorts edition are generally excellent. A couple of them — My Name is Love and Steam — may strike some as uncomfortably dark, and the partly animated Mouse's Birthday is just plain bizarre, but the high quality of these assorted filmmakers' techniques can't be denied.

After, a stylish tribute to the stories of Dennis Cooper, kicks off the collection. Written and directed by Mark Pariselli, it is awash in Cooper's trademark mix of kink and tragedy. Three gay college students sit silently on the stoop of their house, watching a group of seemingly straight boys play football at a park across the street. When an athlete being observed unexpectedly shows a tender interest in one of them, each of the students fantasizes about a sexual encounter with him. Faithful as it is to Cooper, don't expect a happy ending.

Two of the films featured were shown at last year's Long Beach Q Film Festival, for which I served as a programmer. I'm very happy to see them included here. Gaysharktank.com, by the clever Guy Shalem, is a hilarious expose of modern gay life utilizing the ultimate online dating site. The short's stellar cast includes Coco Peru, Jack Plotnick, Jai Rodriguez and Drew Droege. Pierre Stefanos' sweet Bedfellows spins a decades-spanning love story. While the two lead actors don't age convincingly during the 30+ years depicted, it otherwise all but proves that true love can be found when least expected.

Gayby is a very funny short about a straight woman desperate to bear a child before her biological clock runs out. With what could be termed mixed motives, she turns to her now gay college-era boyfriend to help her conceive "the old fashioned way." Writer-director Jonathan Lisecki has a great ear for contemporary dialogue and is a sharp observer of relationships between women and the gay men they love.

Matthew Wilkas, the attractive actor who plays Gayby's male lead, also headlines another film included in Best Gay Shorts entitled Curious Thing. Billing itself as "based on true stories" of straight-bi-gay confusion, it focuses on the complex attraction between two seemingly straight guys. It will likely remind viewers, as it did me, of one's first crush on our typically straight best friend in high school or college. The actors' performances here are particular good.

The aforementioned My Name is Love, Mouse's Birthday and Steam round out the collection. The first is Swedish filmmaker David Fardmar's painfully autobiographical story of a young man's first gay encounter going horribly awry. Mouse's Birthday, by Barry Morse, relates in avant-garde (and then some) fashion an encounter between a rodent, a cockroach and a thong-clad, mohawk-sporting muscle boy. It serves as both cautionary tale and pride statement, with fun choreography by fellow indie filmmaker PJ Raval.

Finally, the Twilight Zone-esque Steam focuses on two hot men (literally and figuratively) who find themselves mysteriously trapped in a doorless gym's sauna following a sexual encounter between them. The denouement struck me as somewhat muddled theologically and morally, but the short gets considerable points for its provocative originality. And did I mention the guys are hot?

In short (pun intended), these new gay and lesbian releases are well worth one's investment.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Reverend's Report: TCM Classic Film Festival 2011

In only its second year, this past weekend's TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood had noticeably greater attendance over the initial outing in 2010 and sold out all passes. The fest also featured an increased number of screenings, celebrity appearances and special events. Clearly, a new star has been born on the ever-expanding and diversified film festival circuit, and TCM plans to build on their success not only with a third event in 2012 but a first-time classic movie lovers' cruise this December.

Signs that the 2011 festival would be bigger than the first were in evidence opening night, with the addition of a bleacher area for people to watch red carpet arrivals for the opening night selection, a lovingly restored 60th anniversary edition of An American in Paris. The 1951 Best Picture Oscar winner's co-star (with Gene Kelly), Leslie Caron, was in attendance and reportedly charmed the crowd with her radiance and recollections.

While we had tickets for the oversold screening of An American in Paris, my partner and I willingly sacrificed them in order to attend a simultaneous showing of one of our few mutual all-time favorites: 1947's The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Neither of us had ever seen it on the big screen, and it was a wonderful experience to view it "the way it was meant to be seen" as so many TCM Fest films are rightly presented.

Dorothy Herrmann (one of the daughters of the film's composer, Bernard Herrmann) was on hand to introduce the film and relate how its score was her esteemed father's personal favorite. "It sure wasn't Psycho," she said of her dad's preference for his work on The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, to the amusement of the audience. Herrmann was represented at the festival by a number of films in a special tribute that included Citizen Kane, 1951's The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver, the latter of which served as his final film score.

Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney (in roles reportedly slated originally for Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn) memorably play characters who gradually fall in love despite the ultimate taboo: he's dead and she's alive. In this respect, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir may hold special resonance to this day for GLBT viewers who have felt love impossible for them, or for anyone who is still searching for that one "immortal" relationship.

The great Peter O'Toole graced the fest in person on both Friday and Saturday. On Friday, he attended a screening of 1964's Becket, in which he co-starred with Richard Burton, and sat down for a lengthy chat about his life and career with TCM's Robert Osborne that will be broadcast later this year. On Saturday, O'Toole was immortalized in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre by placing his hands and feet in cement. "It's been years since I've been this intimate with concrete," O'Toole told the crowd in a very funny, self-effacing nod to his drinking years. Sober for some time now, O'Toole's appearance will definitely be remembered as one of the festival's highlights. Also noteworthy was Friday night's appearance by Kirk Douglas to introduce Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus. While long past his loincloth-clad prime as seen in the 1960 epic, Douglas followed his stealing of this year's Oscar telecast with a number of memorable comments.

On Sunday, I took in back-to-back screenings of two renowned films I'd never seen: the rarely-shown British drama Whistle Down the Wind (1961) and George Stevens' much-acclaimed literary adaptation A Place in the Sun (1951), based on Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy. The former is a still-provocative piece about children who mistake an escaped killer (Alan Bates, in his first lead film role) hiding in their barn for the second coming of Jesus Christ. Produced by eventual Oscar-winner Richard Attenborough (Gandhi) and the first film directed by Bryan Forbes (who would go on to make the original version of The Stepford Wives among other movies), Whistle Down the Wind impressively walks a very fine line between affirming faith and denouncing it.

Hayley Mills, daughter of actor John Mills and headlining ingénue of Whistle Down the Wind as well as a number of 1960's Walt Disney productions, was on hand to discuss the film, adapted from an allegorical story written by her mother, and her enduring legacy as an actress. "It's normal for kids to act," Mills replied in response to the question whether she was a "natural" actress. "I was terribly lucky," she said in all humility. She recounted her first day on the set of Disney's classic Pollyanna as "the most stressful and challenging" of her entire career, not least because she had impulsively cut her bangs off the night before shooting to the dismay of the production team. Mills, who has more recently appeared on stage in The King and I and in a number of TV series, is as lovely and vivacious now in her mid-60's as ever.

A Place in the Sun, which was nominated for Best Picture but lost to An American in Paris much to some film lovers' enduring dismay, was a revelation. The movie's packed screening during the TCM fest was designated a tribute to the late Elizabeth Taylor, who stars in the film alongside Oscar nominees Montgomery Clift and Shelley Winters. Clift (who was never more attractive on screen than he is here between the tight white t-shirts he sports and, tragically, a near-crippling car accident he was in a few years later) plays the poor son of a Kansas religious worker who does everything he can to infiltrate the upper class, including possibly killing his pregnant girlfriend (Winters).

One would never think Clift was gay (he was, though deeply conflicted) based on his smolderingly heterosexual performance here. Taylor declared that between Stevens' direction and her partnering with Clift, A Place in the Sun was the film that taught her what it meant to truly act. Oscar-winning actress Eva Marie Saint, who co-starred with Taylor in both Raintree County and The Sandpiper, spoke admiringly with Robert Osborne after the screening about the impact of Taylor's work and life.

The festival's closing night on Sunday offered three equally tempting films at the same time: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, also starring Taylor; a 70mm print of West Side Story; and Disney's classic pairing of music and visuals, Fantasia. I opted for the latter, and was impressed by the number of younger patrons who came out to see what was for most of them the first opportunity they had to see the movie on the big screen (its last theatrical release was in 1990).

Fantasia was as spectacular as ever as shown in a beautifully restored, vibrantly colored digital print in Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Dancer-choreographer Marge Champion was in attendance (she reportedly served as a model for the ballerina-hippo in the film's Dance of the Hours segment), as was Walt Disney's daughter, Diane. The audience watched and listened in rapt silence, apart from moments when it was appropriate to laugh, and applauded heartily at the end of each of the movie's "movements."

The TCM Classic Movie Festival prides itself on catering to a "community" of reverent film lovers from around the world, and that community was out in force in Hollywood the last weekend of April. Kudos to MCs Osborne, Ben Mankiewicz and Leonard Maltin as well as to chief programmer Charlie Tabesh for their contagious dedication to the art, history and cultural impact of the industry's best work.

Report by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Reverend's Preview: TCM Fest Brings Classic Film Lovers Together

Thousands of fans of "Old Hollywood" gathered from throughout the US last year for the first ever Turner Classic Movies Classic Film Festival. Held over one weekend at Grauman's Chinese Theatre and other historic sites, it was such a success that an announcement was made before the festival was even over that it would return in 2011.

True to organizers' word, the second TCM Fest is set for April 28-May 1 in Hollywood. Beloved movies will unspool on the big screen (some for the first time in decades) and big stars including Warren Beatty, Debbie Reynolds, Alec Baldwin, Leslie Caron, Mickey Rooney, Jane Powell and Shirley Jones will appear. Family members of the late Gregory Peck will also be on hand to introduce two of Peck's greatest films, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Guns of Navarone.

Caron will be on hand opening night for the world premiere of a 60th anniversary restoration of An American in Paris. The actress-dancer starred alongside Gene Kelly in this colorful musical directed by Vincente Minnelli (Liza's dad) and set to the music of George Gershwin. It won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture of 1951, and the then-dreamy Kelly won an honorary Oscar for his achievements as an actor and choreographer.

Beatty won an Academy Award for his direction of the 1981 historical epic Reds (one of my all time favorite movies) and he is scheduled to introduce a special 30th anniversary screening of his masterwork during the festival. While it might not appear that Reds holds much appeal for GLBT viewers at first glance, it is important to note Maureen Stapleton's Oscar-winning performance as anarchist/Communist Emma Goldman. Goldman plays a significant role in GLBT history as an outspoken critic of anti-gay prejudice. She wrote in 1923, "It is a tragedy, I feel, that people of a different sexual type are caught in a world which shows so little understanding for homosexuals and is so crassly indifferent to the various gradations and variations of gender and their great significance in life." As Magnus Hirschfeld said of Goldman, "She was the first and only woman, indeed the first and only American, to take up the defense of homosexual love before the general public." While this isn't directly referenced in Reds, the film and Stapleton's performance stand as fitting tributes to Goldman.

Several of Walt Disney's movie classics, both animated and live action, will be prominently featured at this year's TCM Fest. "Disney's Musical Legacy" will include a restored version of 1940's Fantasia, a showcase of Silly Symphonies cartoon shorts, and tributes to such Disney musical classics as Mary Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. In addition, Disney's teenage discovery Hayley Mills will be present to introduce a special 50th anniversary screening of gay fave The Parent Trap, in which she stars as twin sisters who were separated by their parents' divorce but are reunited at summer camp. Mills will also present the rarely seen, non-Disney movie Whistle Down the Wind (1961), in which she plays one of several children who mistake an escaped convict for Jesus Christ. Whistle Down the Wind was subsequently turned into a similarly rarely-performed stage musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Other classic movie musicals to be shown include 1964's The Unsinkable Molly Brown, which will be introduced by its leading lady, Debbie Reynolds; Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel, starring Shirley Jones; a 50th anniversary screening of West Side Story in a 70mm print; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, starring Jane Powell; the unusual but noteworthy Pennies from Heaven (1981), with Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters; and 1943's all-black classic Cabin in the Sky.

Also of GLBT interest during the fest will be a 50th anniversary restoration of Breakfast at Tiffany's, based on the story by gay writer Truman Capote. Although the film version was largely de-gayed, Audrey Hepburn's performance as Holly Golightly and a gorgeous young George Peppard as her admirer still resonate. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), adapted from Tennessee Williams' play and featuring a broodingly hot Marlon Brando, and 1935's The Devil is a Woman, starring Marlene Dietrich, will also be worth GLBT festival goers' attention.

Roger Corman's campy, low-budget classic The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) — later musicalized on stage and screen — will also be shown and introduced by Corman himself. Jack Nicholson made one of his first movie appearances in this horror-comedy about a carnivorous plant set on taking over the world. At the other end of the cinematic spectrum, a 70th anniversary restoration of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, generally regarded by critics as the greatest movie yet made, will be revealed during the 2011 TCM Classic Film Festival.

Several same-sex couples walked the opening night red carpet at last year's fest, and many attendees were dressed to the nines in both classic and contemporary fashion styles. For the full schedule of screenings and other festival events and to purchase tickets or passes, please visit the TCM website.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Reverend's Preview: Bollywood Meets Hollywood

The 9th annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) opens tonight, with red carpet festivities and five days of screenings taking place at the ArcLight in Hollywood. Among the films being shown are the Los Angeles premiere of the award-winning I Am Kalam and the closing world premiere Sunday of Disney's first Hindi-language production, Zokkomon.

In disappointing news for GLBT filmgoers of all nationalities, the controversial 2010 gay drama Dunno Y? Na Jaane Kyun is not included in the line up. It has been described as "India's answer to Brokeback Mountain" and reportedly includes the first gay kiss in Indian cinema's history. On the plus side, though, two other excellent GLBT-themed films will be shown during IFFLA.

One is the feature-length documentary I Am, which is not to be confused with the similarly-titled I Am... that is also screening during the fest. In Sonali Gulati's searching, partly autobiographical film, 21 GLBT individuals and their families are interviewed about their experiences dealing with homosexuality in conservative Indian society. While parents telling their openly GLBT children "You have shamed us" is a depressingly common refrain, a handful of courageous mothers and fathers have lovingly embraced their often ostracized offspring. As one father wisely asks, "If I don't accept my (gay) son, will that make him any more of a (heterosexual) man?"

Among those featured in the doc are Prince Manvendra, a former member of one of India's royal families who was publicly disowned and disinherited by his parents after he came out as a gay man. Never mind that he had already suffered a nervous breakdown after his heterosexual marriage failed because of his desire for men. Today, though, Manvendra is one of a slowly growing number of happy and respected public faces of homosexuality in India.

In a society where homosexual relations have historically been criminalized, doctors tout homeopathic "cures" for homosexuality, and most heterosexual marriages are still arranged, there is all the more pressure on GLBT people to conform. Gulati frames I Am with her own personal story, which includes coming out on an Indian TV talk show and her attempts to reconcile her relationship with her now-deceased mother. She navigates a lot of sexual, emotional and geographic territory in her 75-minute documentary and does so spectacularly.

IFFLA will also present the provocative and very well-made short film Beholder. Set in a frighteningly believable United States of the not-too-distant-future where the map has been re-drawn into conservative and liberal political halves, a pregnant woman married to a right-wing politician is informed that their unborn child will be homosexual. Since homosexuality has been outlawed in "Red Estates," the mother-to-be is legally required to receive a gene-modifying injection that will make the baby straight. If she doesn't, she and her baby will be banished to the liberal states, where life is described in horrific terms.

She finds this an unexpectedly difficult dilemma, and wrestles with it for the short's 25 minutes. Both support and opposition are found coming from surprising sources. Directed by the talented Nisha Ganatra, Beholder is an intelligent, unsettling vision of how literally-divisive an issue we Americans threaten to allow homosexuality to become.

For additional information on the 2011 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and the films being shows, please visit the fest's official website.

Preview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Reverend's Preview: Ease on Down to Fusion 2011

A disco-era movie musical featuring a late pop icon will kick off the 2011 edition of Fusion: The Los Angeles LGBT People of Color Film Festival this Friday. The relatively brief but always significant and enjoyable annual fest will run through Saturday March 5 at various venues in Hollywood.

The Wiz, Sidney Lumet's 1978 adaptation of the Broadway hit, stars Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow and diva/icon Diana Ross as Dorothy in an African-American re-telling of The Wizard of Oz. The expensive movie received a mixed critical reception and was a box office flop at the time of its release, but it received four Oscar nominations and has gained fans over the years through television airings and home video. Jackson's untimely death in 2009 and subsequent revival of interest in all things related to "the King of Pop" have also drawn renewed attention to the film.

The Fusion screening will provide a rare opportunity to experience The Wiz on the big screen. It will also be a "Sing-Along" event, with audience members encouraged to join the cast in performing hit songs from the movie including "Ease on Down the Road," "Home" (sung by the legendary Lena Horne), "You Can't Win," the Wicked Witch's anthem "Don't Nobody Bring Me No Bad News" and the climactic, celebratory "A Brand New Day." Song lyrics will be projected as subtitles during the film's musical numbers.

Saturday's Fusion events will include a screening of Hooters: The Making of Older, Wiser, Lesbian Cinema. A documentary shot behind the scenes of last year's festival hit, The Owls, director Anna Albelo captures the creativity, difficulty and comedy of filmmaking. It will be followed by a sneak peek at Pariah, which was one of the hits at this January's Sundance Film Festival. Long Beach-based filmmakers Dee Rees and Nekisa Cooper expanded their 2007 short film of the same name about a teenaged African-American girl's difficult coming out process into a feature. Executive Produced by Spike Lee, Pariah was picked up at Sundance by Focus Features and will be released theatrically later this year. Rees and Cooper will be present at the Fusion fest to discuss the challenging process of expanding, filming and selling their labor of love.

Men will be interested in Fusion's special Legacy Project Screening of the 2004 gay-themed film, A Thousand Clouds of Peace. It will be shown on Saturday. Shot in dramatic black and white, it follows a gay teenager who roams the streets of Mexico City searching for the secret behind his ex-lover's decision to break up with him. The movie was an official selection at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and won the Teddy Award for best gay-themed film at the Berlin International Film Festival. A Thousand Clouds of Peace will be followed by the GLBT-inclusive Fusion Shorts Program.

Each year, a deserving person of color in the GLBT film industry is presented with the Fusion Achievement Award. The 2011 recipient will be British writer-actor-director Rikki Beadle-Blair. Best known in the US as screenwriter of the 1996 movie Stonewall and for his wonderful 2002 BBC series Metrosexuality, Beadle-Blair will be presented the award on Saturday, just prior to a gala screening of his latest film, Fit. Fit is described as "an exuberant and funny look at gay and straight love among the new millennials." Fusion 2011 will close that night with an after party in the courtyard of the Egyptian Theatre.

For full Fusion details and to purchase tickets, please visit their official website.

Preview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Reel Thoughts Interview: Embracing Sedona

After years of being embraced by the community of Sedona, Arizona, director Tommy Stovall and his partner of fifteen years, Marc Sterling, figured it was about time to return the favor. Originally from Dallas, the couple fell in love with the Red Rocks, and they are raising their son Trevor in the arty community. After finishing his first film, 2005’s popular thriller Hate Crime, Stovall and Sterling began thinking about what their next film would be. Taking a cue from the colorful and sometimes crazy people they’ve met or heard about, Stovall decided that there was no place like home to set his new picture.

Sedona (the motion picture) is having its world premiere this weekend at the Sedona Film Festival, and according to Patrick Schweiss, the Festival’s executive director, it is the single most talked-about movie in town. The film tells the intersecting stories of different people who all converge on Sedona for different reasons. Frances Fisher (Titanic) plays a driven woman who finds herself trapped in town after a car accident, or rather a car/airplane accident. She reluctantly begins meeting people while she waits, including Beth Grant (Sordid Lives) as a cosmic spiritual type and Christopher Atkins (The Blue Lagoon) as a friendly coffee shop owner. Seth Peterson, who was so good as the lead in Hate Crime, plays a gay dad who is too consumed by work to pay attention to his family. An outing to Sedona changes his priorities when one of his children wanders away, played by Stovall and Sterling’s son, Trevor. Comedienne Lin Shaye (There’s Something About Mary), Barry Corbin (Northern Exposure) and Robert Shields (half of the mime team Shields & Yarnell) also round out the cast.

I spoke with Stovall, who was busy putting finishing touches on the film prior to its premiere. Stovall originally thought that a Northern Exposure-type television show based in Sedona would have a lot of potential, but a film seemed more manageable. “I started thinking, what would happen if this woman got stuck in Sedona and couldn’t get out,” he explained. “I wanted to do something totally different from Hate Crime. This is more of a comedy drama. As far as gay characters, there is a family with two kids and they happen to be a gay couple. With Hate Crime, homophobia and the couple’s sexual orientation was a big part of the film, but in this movie, the gay issue isn’t even mentioned; they just happen to be gay. As a filmmaker, that’s been one of my goals.”

“Lin Shay (who was also in Hate Crime) is great in this, too,” Stovall explained, adding that her character is based on a Sedona figure called Crazy Mary, but that Shay came up with calling herself Claire de Loon. “It’s an interesting story about how I got Beth Grant. I looked her up on Facebook and sent her a message. I sent her the synopsis, and a couple of days later, she said she’d do it. She’s actually how we got Frances Fisher. The two of them are friends and they’d been working on their own project together. Chris (Atkins) plays sort of a love interest for Frances’ character. He really surprised me, because he hasn’t done many comedies, but he’s really funny. Even between takes he had everyone cracking up.”

Asked whether or not the subplot of Trevor Stovall’s character getting lost came from personal parental fears or experience, Stovall said that fortunately, that wasn’t the case. “Luckily with Trevor, he’s never been one to wander away. I wrote the character for him because he’s been wanting to get involved in movies; when we made Hate Crime (in which Trevor appeared), he didn’t want to do it at all. The character is this kid in a fantasy world out on the trail and he gets lost, but he doesn’t really know that he’s lost. Really, that storyline is about a father who realizes what’s important in life. He’s been worried all the time and stressed out because he feels responsible for taking care of his family and making money.”

The experience of filming in Sedona couldn’t have been better, Stovall explained. “For a long time, we’ve been wanting to get the film industry going up here. It’s been hard because of the economy, but we’re hoping that this is the start of things to come. In fact, we’re hoping to turn the film into a TV series eventually. In Sedona, everybody has their story” He hopes that the film will bring the town more tourism dollars, since it has been hit hard by the recession.

Interview by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Reverend's Reviews: Loves of a Fisherman

The gay romance Undertow (a.k.a. Contracorriente), which won the World Cinema Audience Award at this year's Sundance Film Festival and has recently been selected as Peru's official entry in this year's Academy Awards, opens in limited release this weekend.

Beautifully rendered by writer-director Javier Fuentes-Leon and his excellent cast, Undertow is set in a small, predominantly Catholic fishing village. It is home to Miguel (Cristian Mercado) and his wife, Mariela (Tatiana Astengo), who are expecting their first child. A well-regarded fisherman whose devotion to his marriage is unquestioned, Miguel is described as being "on good terms with God." Mariela and their neighbors consider it a quirk that Miguel is more interested in watching the TV soap opera Right to Love than the national sport of soccer.

The conservative community is also the current home of Santiago (Manolo Cardona), an itinerant, openly gay painter. Unbeknownst to anyone as the film begins, Miguel and Santiago have been having an affair. Miguel doesn't consider himself homosexual and bristles when Santiago brings the term up but he also can't stand the thought of Santiago leaving, which the artist plans to do as the birth of Miguel's son grows near.

Before then, and in the wake of an argument between the two men, Santiago disappears. After missing for several days, Santiago reappears in Miguel's home, much to the latter's shock. It quickly becomes apparent, though, that this is Santiago's spirit and neither Miguel's wife nor anyone else in town can see him. Santiago recalls that his body was pulled to the ocean depths and drowned, and it must be found and laid to rest by Miguel before Santiago's spirit can rest. Until then, they take delight in walking around town and being more openly romantic since Santiago is invisible.

Undertow traffics in traditional conflicts between homosexuality and religious repression, but the film feels fresh thanks to its unique setting and occasional comedic elements. Fuentes-Leon makes a winking reference to the 1978 Brazilian movie Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, in which the ghost of a woman's former husband begins to haunt her once she becomes engaged to a new man.

Once a nude painting of Miguel done by Santiago is discovered as well as Santiago's body, Miguel is challenged to publicly admit his relationship with Santiago. The film's final 30 minutes perfectly encapsulate both the pain and liberation that come with coming out.

UPDATE: Undertow is now available on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.com.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

Reverend's Report: AFI Fest 2010

By the closing night of Los Angeles's AFI Film Festival November 11, oddball filmmaker and Guest Artistic Director David Lynch (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet) had filmgoers reciting "I love AFI!" along with him during his endearingly earnest endorsement statement, shown before each of the fest screenings. While not everyone loved closing film Black Swan (reviewed here in advance on November 5), there were enough celebrity appearances, parties with open bars and (best of all) free tickets to all the movies to keep attendees happy throughout the fest's seven days.

I was only able to take in a handful of the 60+ films shown, but each was a gem. Here are my more detailed reactions to them:

Cave of Forgotten Dreams: Speaking of oddball filmmakers, Lynch wasn't alone: obsessive auteur Werner Herzog introduced and responded to questions following the screening of his latest documentary. Following his awful Bad Lieutenant sequel/re-imagining last year, it was great to have Herzog on more secure cinematic ground. In this case, he actually goes underground into France's remarkable Chauvet Cave... and he takes the audience with him courtesy of 3D. Watching this film is truly the next best thing to actually being there, as rock overhangs, stalactites and fossils extend out of the screen. The cave, discovered only in 1994, also houses a collection of highly accomplished drawings estimated to be 32,000 years old. They depict now-extinct mammoths, wooly rhinos, cave bears and lions, as well as an occasional human form and at least one artist's well-preserved handprints. Herzog goes a little off course at times when he asks philosophical questions such as "What constitutes humanness?" and during a postscript about irradiated, albino crocodiles. The movie shouldn't be missed, though, especially since the Chauvet Cave has since been restricted to limited scientific explorations. Reverend's Rating: B+

Rabbit Hole: The audience of the packed-to-the-rafters LA premiere of this domestic drama, based on the Tony-nominated play by David Lindsay-Abaire (who also wrote the excellent screen adaptation), struck me for its broad demographics. There were older, more mature "theatre types" likely familiar with the material; more than a few gay men who would claim to be fans of either Nicole Kidman or Aaron Eckhart, who star, or the film's director, John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus); and a number of younger film and/or theatre students. There was also a significant turnout courtesy of festival sponsor Clarisonic. The plot, about a married couple grieving the accidental death of their 4-year old son 8 months prior, is inherently engrossing as well as achingly authentic, powerfully moving and surprisingly funny at times. Kidman will likely be among this year's Best Actress nominees, and Eckhart has a shot in the Best Actor category. Mitchell (who looks positively elfin and all of 12 years old in person) is also an award candidate for his lovely, sensitive direction. Reverend's Rating (despite some critical — yet understandable — remarks about God in the film): A-

Chico & Rita: A stunningly animated love story about a pair of Cuban musicians who forge an enduring, affecting relationship despite personal differences, political unrest and international separation. Seven years in the making, the movie (which I pray receives a theatrical release and future awards consideration) features excellent use of light and shadows; a great depiction of 1940's, Capitalist Cuba; a magnificent, period score that includes both standards and original songs; and "cameos" by musical greats Charlie "Bird" Parker, Dizzie Gillespie, Tito Puente, Nat King Cole and Desi Arnaz. The film has a melodramatic vibe that can be excessive despite being proper to the cinematic milieu, historically speaking. I was also reminded stylistically of Ralph Bakshi's films of the 1970-80's, especially his American Pop. Not to be missed by animation, music and history buffs, or anyone who appreciates a good love story between people separated by distance and/or time. Reverend's Rating: A-

Precious Life: It was just announced that this extraordinary documentary is one of 15 currently under Academy Award consideration. The film provides a gripping, intimate perspective on the ages-old conflict between Jews and Palestinians via the plight of little Muhammad Abu Mustaffa. Born without an immune system to Palestinian parents, Muhammad is in need of a delicate bone marrow transplant that can only be performed with the technical expertise found in an Israeli hospital. Journalist Shlomi Eldar (who states at the outset, "I don't like hospitals, and I don't like hospital stories") would find himself inexorably drawn into the situation, ultimately befriending the principals in addition to directing and narrating the movie. The suspicion and skepticism that Muhammad's parent, Ra'ida and Faozi, hold toward the Jews, who are ultimately funding and providing their son's care even as the Israeli military bombards Gaza with missiles, serves as a microcosm of the ongoing strife. Precious Life is powerful stuff. Reverend's Rating: A-

Audience Awards in four categories were presented at AFI Fest's conclusion. Of the films I saw, only Chico & Rita was an award contender, in the World Cinema category, but it was beaten by the New Zealand entry, Boy. The other winners were Hamill (Breakthrough Award), Bedevilled (New Auteurs Award), and LittleRock (Young American Award), about which I heard considerable buzz following its fest screening. Indeed, my only gripe about AFI Fest is that each film is shown only once (although the four Audience Award recipients were screened a second time on the fest's final day, after they were announced as the winners). Since most of the movies are shown concurrently, there is no way for one to catch all of the festival entries. Also, only a handful of them were screened for critics beforehand.

As a festival for the people, though, with many free tickets generously provided through the support of sponsor Audi, AFI Fest is hard to beat. I'm already looking forward to next year!

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

Reverend's Preview: Black is in at AFI Fest

The American Film Institute's now annual (and free, thanks to presenting sponsor Audi and other supporters) festival AFI Fest kicked off last night in Hollywood with the world premiere of Edward Zwick's Love & Other Drugs. Alas, critics were denied admission to the rom com starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway, reunited for the first time since Brokeback Mountain five years ago. However, I look forward to attending several other fest screenings between now and November 11 and I've already gotten an advance look at its closing film, the imperfect but still terrific Black Swan (more on that one below).

Despite advance reports that Jake and Anne both show plenty of skin in Love & Other Drugs, there is more GLBT interest behind the scenes of various AFI Fest offerings than on the screen, although Black Swan and Heartbeats, the second film by I Killed My Mother writer-director Xavier Dolan, are notable exceptions to this. The current buzz is that Colin Firth, who lost the Best Actor Oscar last year for his gay turn in A Single Man but headlines festival entry The King's Speech, is virtually a lock to win the golden guy this year. Similarly, Natalie Portman, who gives an amazing performance as a psychotic ballerina with lesbian longings in Black Swan, and GLBT fave Nicole Kidman, as a mother grieving the death of her young child in Rabbit Hole (screening this Sunday), are running neck-and-neck for Best Actress among Academy Award prognosticators.

Rabbit Hole, by the way, is directed by John Cameron Mitchell of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus fame. Other noteworthy filmmakers debuting movies at AFI Fest include John Sayles (Amigo); Werner Herzog (Cave of Forgotten Dreams, in 3D no less); George Hickenlooper (Casino Jack), who unexpectedly passed away just last week; and actor Diego Luna of Y tu Mamá También fame making his directorial debut (Abel). If they don't represent enough star power behind the camera, David Lynch is serving as the festival's first-ever Guest Artistic Director. Lynch will be presenting a selection of personal favorites, among them the sexually charged classics Sunset Boulevard, Lolita and Rear Window.

Despite having polarized critics and audiences — understandably so — at this year's Cannes Film Festival, I highly recommend Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan to more adventurous filmgoers. Aronofsky is one of the best and most intelligent directors working today, as evidenced by his previous films Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain and The Wrestler. His "psychosexual" take on gay composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky's classic ballet Swan Lake, starring Portman, has already gotten his leading lady into hot water with her orthodox Jewish father, according to recent news reports. Portman doesn't appear nude in the film, but does have a heated masturbation scene and gets hot 'n heavy with both Vincent Cassel, who plays her demanding choreographer, and company rival Mila Kunis.

The cast of Black Swan, which also includes Barbara Hershey, is excellent, with the exception of a miscast Winona Ryder. I couldn't buy Ryder as an aging prima donna in her brief scenes and it doesn't help that, unlike Portman, we never see Ryder dance. I was riveted by Portman, though, who makes an award-worthy impression that is underscored by her spectacular, increasingly passionate dancing (choreographed by Benjamin Millepied, who also plays the Prince in the Swan Lake scenes). Matthew Libatique's photography and Andrew Weisblum's keep-the-audience-on-the-edge editing are also excellent. The film is scarier than I anticipated and, while some of its "Boo, gotcha!" moments are predictable, at least a couple of them made me jump out of my seat. The Nutcracker, it ain't! Black Swan is scheduled to open in theaters nationwide beginning December 3.

Click here for more information about AFI Fest, running now through November 11, or to attempt to secure any remaining free screening tickets.

Preview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.