“Howl†with James Franco, directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman.
“I don’t think we’re in Cannes anymore, Toto.†I said to my little black terrier who is actually named Molly. Indeed, I don’t think we will ever go back to just a handful of world renowned film festivals attended only by elite film people, dictating what the rest of the people all over the world might get a chance to watch.
While Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, Tribeca and others remain very influential, they are not the only shows in town anymore. Mainstream film festivals have burgeoned into the hundreds worldwide, with thousands of films submitted for acceptance. The development of GLBTQ Film Festivals have kept pace, expanding to over 100 festivals in 2010. And, in the US and Canada, many were held to coincide with Pride celebrations in June.
One of the oldest and largest GLBTQ Film Festivals is the San Francisco “Frameline 34″ which listed over 260 film titles for this year’s event held June 17-27. Their 2009 attendance was over 60,000 people. The 2010 Nashville GLBTQ Festival (started as The Sinking Creek Film Festival in 1969) was held for 8 days in April this year and had 2000 submissions from 86 countries.
The Inside Out Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival, held in Toronto in May, and one of the most prestigious and best attended in the world, listed screenings for 177 GLBTQ films. They counted attendance this year at over 35,000. The growth has been huge, with attendees both elite and ordinary and not only from the gay community but also many from the straight world who are interested and supportive. I will not be tapping my feet together in red shiny shoes with any desire to go backwards.
In looking through the lists of award winners, two in particular caught my attention. The first, “Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride†directed by Robert Christie, has won awards in Montreal, in Toronto, at the Q Cinema in Fort Worth, and also at Fairy Tales in Calgary. While it is not the top winner, those who watch it will not forget it and may even be motivated to take further action. Human Rights issues are at stake, there are links to resources on the film’s website.
The trailer (below) alone is powerful in reminding us that Pride is to be celebrated not only between participants and spectators, but for those people who cannot stand up for themselves. Director of the Vancouver Pride Festival , Ken Coolen, made the film because he had an emotional response to another human rights film which made him want to take action.
The film begins in Vancouver, Canada and goes to Sao Paulo, Brazil; Moscow, Russia; Zurich, Switzerland; NY City, United States, and Colombo, Sri Lanka. There is a clear message presented through images of beauty, joy, humor and also a terrifying sense of danger in the different political atmospheres. There is also a Facebook page: Beyond Gay The Politics of Pride.
The second film is one that I hope will become an American favorite. “The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls.†Directed by Leanne Pooley, it has won awards at over 16 festivals including Best Documentary in Toronto. It is about two talented and funny women who think of themselves as performers, but unwittingly become crusaders and political activists leading the GLBTQ movement in New Zealand.
Part of the way they accomplish this, is that everyone falls in love with them, and they manage to completely love themselves and everyone back. During an interview, one of them says that their parents are in the film talking about how it was difficult, but afterall OK to have lesbian daughters.
These two show that being lesbian is part of what makes them more than OK, both lovable and amazing. There are also several videos of the pair performing on Youtube.
Other notable films on my list so far include: “Howl†(above) directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (with James Franco); “Eyes Wide Open†directed by Haim Tabakman; “The Secret Diary of Miss Anne Lister†directed by James Kent; and finally the Peruvian film: “Undertow†(below) written and directed by Javier Fuentes-Leon. Some are being shown at both GLBTQ and mainstream International Festivals.