The Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF) today announced the official selections for the celebrated LGBTQ film festival’s 30th edition. Screening exclusively at Alamo Drafthouse Lamar (1120 S. Lamar Blvd.) on September 7-10, aGLIFF will bookend its impressive slate of films with two award-winners, with Frances Lee’s GOD’S OWN COUNTRY selected as the Opening Night presentation, and Daniel Powell and Elizabeth Rohrbaugh’s BECKS set for the Closing Night slot. This year’s edition of Austin’s longest running film festival will showcase 39 feature-length films (24 narrative, 15 documentary), and 54 short films (40 narrative, 7 documentary, and 7 animated).

GOD'S OWN COUNTRY

GOD’S OWN COUNTRY

Among a film festival jam-packed with highlights are special anniversary screenings, led by a 30th Anniversary screening (following a 4K restoration) of James Ivory’s classic MAURICE, a special presentation of Clyde Peterson’s stop-motion animated feature, TORREY PINES, with a live musical accompaniment by Seattle-based band, Your Heart Breaks, Austin encore screenings, several award-winners from the festival circuit, and aGLIFF’s highly anticipated 4th annual secret screening, which this year will feature a first-time appearance by the film’s director.

MAURICE

MAURICE

aGLIFF Program Director Jim Brunzell, said, “Working non-stop for the past eight months, attending various film festivals, doing endless research and watching countless films, celebrating this year’s aGLIFF’s anniversary, we’ve worked extremely hard in making sure we’re delivering something a little extra for our dedicated members, patrons, and film fans. This being our 30th year, this has made us happily dig a little deeper to create some special moments for everyone – whether they have come to aGLIFF for years now, or they are just discovering us after all this time. Our gala selections certainly rise to that occasion, and our retrospective choices this year really demonstrate the timelessness and timeliness of this festival’s programming for three decades now to what we believe is one of the best slates of films in aGLIFF’s storied history.”

Frances Lee’s stunning feature film debut, GOD’S OWN COUNTRY won the World Dramatic prize for Best Director at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, as well as the Audience Award at Frameline, The film follows a sheep farmer who copes with his isolated, lonely existence working on his family’s remote farm in Yorkshire by drinking and having casual sex, until his family hires a handsome Romanian migrant worker, Gheorghe, to help with the next lambing season. Gheorghe inspires Johnny to confront feelings of love and the idea of being loved for the first time in his life, which could change Johnny’s life forever. GOD’S OWN COUNTRY will screen on Thursday, September 7.

BECKS

BECKS

The Closing Night presentation, Daniel Powell and Elizabeth Rohrbaugh’s charming dramedy BECKS, recently won the Best US Fiction Award at the 2017 Los Angeles Film Festival. Inspired by the life of singer/songwriter Alyssa Robbins, the film centers on Becks (Lena Hall), a musician who leaves Brooklyn to move back to her hometown in St. Louis to live with her religious mother (Christine Lahti). As she navigates her hometown, playing for tip money in an old friend’s bar, an unexpected relationship begins to take shape with a married woman (Mena Suvari). The film will be preceded by Marion Hill’s short film, BIRD OF PREY. Co-presented by the Austin Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (AGLCC), BECKS and BIRD OF PREY will screen on Sunday, September 10, with Powell & Rohrbaugh in attendance.

APRICOT GROVES

APRICOT GROVES

Selections for aGLIFF’s Narrative Competition this year include; Pouria Heidary Oureh’s feature debut, APRICOT GROVES, the first LGBTQ film in Armenia’s history, which is a stunning portrayal on how many LGBTQ Armenians fear being socially outcast by their friends and families, causing them to keep their sexual orientation or gender identity private; Carla Cavina’s EXTRA TERRESTRES (Co-presented by the Cine Las Americas), about an astrophysicist trying to re-establish a relationship with her old-fashioned father, while informing him that she’s preparing to marry another woman; Christopher Schaap’s PROM KING, 2010 (Co-presented by the Austin Film Festival), about a young gay man, who yearns for an old Hollywood-style romance, while navigating a dating world that is everything but that; William Sullivan’s THE RING THING, which focuses on a lesbian couple and the unexpected pressures placed upon them and issues revealed now that the reality of their pending nuptials is looming; and Damon Cardasis’s SATURDAY CHURCH (Co-presented by the Q-Austin & TENT), a multiple award-winner (Best First Feature at Frameline and the Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film at Outfest), which is musical journey for a 14 year-old gay transvestite in the inner city, dealing with the death of his father, and the strict puritanical “rule” of his sister, while his mother works extra shifts to makes ends meet.

ABU

ABU

The Documentary Competition includes; Arshad Khan’s ABU about a gay émigré from Pakistan, who traces his journey from that country to Canada and his realization that he is gay via clips from Bollywood films, animation, and home movies; David Barba and James Pellerito’s ANATOMY OF A MALE BALLET DANCER, which profiles Marcelo Gomes, a dancer with American Ballet Theater in New York City for almost 20 years; Josh Howard’s THE LAVENDER SCARE, the first documentary film to tell the little-known story of the United States’ government’s campaign to identify and fire all employees suspected of being homosexual, which began in 1953 under President Eisenhower; Anthony Caronna and Alexander Smith’s SUSANNE BARTSCH: ON TOP, which traces the influence that cultural icon Susanne Bartsch had on youth, nightlife, and New York City; and Julie Sokolow’s WOMAN ON FIRE (Co-presented by the TENT), which paints a heroic portrait of courage under fire about Brooke Guinan, NYC’s first openly transgender firefighter.

COMING OUT

COMING OUT

In addition to the 30th Anniversary screening of Ivory’s MAURICE,, aGLIFF will also screen special anniversary presentations of Heiner Carow’s COMING OUT (1989), the winner of the Berlin Film Festival’s Silver Bear, is the first, and only, film about gay life ever produced in communist East Germany, and was a personal choice to screen this year from aGLIFF founder Scott Dingler to celebrate aGLIFF’s history. Other highlights from the retrospective selections are; Ellen Spiro’s documentary GREETINGS FROM OUT HERE (1993), where the filmmaker memorably visited landmarks, events and characters, including Mardi Gras, Gay Pride in Atlanta, the Gay rodeo, Dollywood, Miss Miller’s Eternal Love and Care Pet Cemetery, and the Short Mountain Radical Faerie sanctuary, to address the impact of AIDS in the rural South, the politics of being gay in the South, and the relationship between the gay and civil rights movements; and Jeffrey Schwarz’s WRANGLER: ANATOMY OF AN ICON (2008), about the openly gay superstar who conquered the straight adult world and legitimate theater.

A VERY SORDID WEDDING

A VERY SORDID WEDDING

Other films being brought back for encore screenings in the city to celebrate the Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival’s anniversary are; Del Shores’s comedy A VERY SORDID WEDDING, where an anniversary memorial service  at the same bar where the Baptist Church is planning an “Anti-Equality Rally” to protest the advancement of same-sex marriage has put everyone on a collision course for shenanigans and fireworks in typical Shores fashion; Kathryn Fairfax Wright’s BEHIND THE CURTAIN: TODRICK HALL (Co-presented by The Q Austin), which takes a look at the popular entertainer known for his popular YouTube channel, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and Kinky Boots on Broadway; Jennifer Reeder’s entertaining and inspiring, SIGNATURE MOVE (Co-presented by the Austin Film Society), about an unlikely lesbian relationship between a Pakistani Muslim and a headstrong Mexican woman, which returns to Austin after selling out screenings at SXSW and nabbing the U.S. Grand Jury Prize at Outfest; and Jennifer M. Kroot’s THE UNTOLD TALES OF ARMISTEAD MAUPIN, which examines the life and work of one of the world’s most beloved storytellers, following his evolution from a conservative son of the Old South into a gay rights pioneer whose novels have inspired millions to claim their own truth.

AFTER LOUIE

AFTER LOUIE

Additional narrative highlights include; Vincent Gagliostro’s AFTER LOUIE, starring Alan Cumming as a man exploring the contradictions of modern gay life; Travis Mathews’s Austin and Texas lensed psychological thriller DISCREET (Co-presented by OUTsider), about an an eccentric drifter, who returns home to discover that his childhood abuser is still alive. Jenée LaMarque’s THE FEELS, centered around a weekend getaway of a group of friends celebrating a lesbian couple’s impending marriage and Dome Karukoski’s TOM OF FINLAND (Co-presented by the Midtown Title), which dramatizes the life story of cult-artist Touko Laaksonen, better known as Tom of Finland, and the events that influenced his iconic homoerotic drawings.

CHAVELA (© Alicia Perez-­Duarte/Courtesy of Music Box Films)

CHAVELA (© Alicia Perez-­Duarte/Courtesy of Music Box Films)

Among the other documentary standouts are; Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi’s CHAVELA (Co-presented by the Cine Las Americas & Mercury Mambo), the Audience Award-winner for Best Documentary at Frameline, which takes viewers on an evocative, thought-provoking journey through the iconoclastic life of game-changing artist Chavela Vargas; Academy Award® nominated director David France’s THE DEATH AND LIFE OF MARSHA P. JOHNSON (Co-presented by the TENT), which centers on self-described “street queen” Marsha P. Johnson, who was a legendary fixture in New York City’s gay ghetto; and Jeffrey Schwarz’s THE FABULOUS ALLAN CARR (Co-presented by the Austin Film Society), about the infamous Hollywood producer, manager, and marketing genius.

Film festival passes and tickets are on-sale now. VIP Passes are $300, Film passes are $125, and Student passes are $50. Individual Tickets are $10. For more information aGLIFF, go to http://agliff.org. To purchase passes or tickets, go to: http://agliff.org/badgesandtickets/

 

The 2017 Austin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival official selections:

OPENING NIGHT SELECTION

GOD’S OWN COUNTRY

Director: Frances Lee

Country: UK, Running Time: 104min

Johnny Saxby (Josh O’Connor) works long hours in brutal isolation on his family’s remote farm in the north of England. He numbs the daily frustration of his lonely existence with nightly binge-drinking at the local pub and casual sex. When handsome Romanian migrant worker Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu) arrives to take up temporary work on the family farm, Johnny suddenly finds himself having to deal with emotions he has never felt before. An intense relationship forms between the two which could change Johnny’s life forever.

 

CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION

BECKS                                                          Co-presented by Austin Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (AGLCC)

Directors: Daniel Powell, Elizabeth Rohrbaugh

Country: USA, Running Time: 91min

BECKS is a charming dramedy about moving on and growing up. After a crushing breakup with her girlfriend, Brooklyn musician Becks (played by Tony winner Lena Hall) moves back in with her Midwestern mother (Christine Lahti). As she navigates her hometown, playing for tip money in an old friend’s bar, an unexpected relationship begins to take shape with a married woman (Mena Suvari).

Preceded by:

BIRD OF PREY

Director: Marion Hill

Country: USA, Running Time: 18min

A young girl makes herself indispensable to a woman trapped in a loveless marriage.

 

 

NARRATIVE FILM COMPETITION

APRICOT GROVES

Director: Pouria Heidary Oureh

Country: Armenia, Running Time: 79min

Aram (Narbe Vartan in a commanding debut performance) is of Iranian/Armenian heritage, but immigrated to the United States where he met his fiancée. They have been living together, but want to honor their families that are back in Armenia and Iran. When he returns to Armenia to have a traditional Armenian proposal ceremony with his brother, who has made all the arrangements and his fiancé’s family, Aram becomes nervous about not doing all the traditions correctly and not making the desired impression with his fiancé’s family, and the many obstacles they face.

 

EXTRA TERRESTRES

EXTRA TERRESTRES

EXTRA TERRESTRES                              Co-Presented by Cine Las Americas

Director: Carla Cavina

Country: Puerto Rico, Running Time: 113min

Astrophysicist Teresa is getting married and comes home after being out of touch with her family for over a decade. At first her father doesn’t recognize her, but Teresa wants to establish a relationship that probably rarely existed, given his old-fashioned ways. Only, the fact is, she is marrying another woman, which is not the easiest thing to tell, and her secret starts unraveling all the other family secrets. Meanwhile he’s having difficulty with the government and people trying to close down his chicken operation, since he’s beating the big operators and they don’t like it. And what to do with that genius, introverted grandchild whose best friend is one of the chickens? Coming to terms with all this may prove difficult.

 

PROM KING, 2010                                      Co-Presented by Austin Film Festival

Director: Christopher Schaap

Country: USA, Running Time: 102min

Young, gay, and yearning for the same fairy-tale romance seen in classic Hollywood films, Charlie navigates the New York City dating scene of icky online encounters, seedy back rooms, and cute freshman boys who “aren’t really out” in an effort to find his own love story.

 

THE RING THING

THE RING THING

THE RING THING

Director: William Sullivan

Country: USA, Running Time: 113min

From the creative team behind THAT’S NOT US (aGLIFF28), THE RING THING is a timely romantic drama for the LGBTQ community and something many couples and families are struggling with especially now that marriage equality is a reality. Sarah (Sarah Wharton) and Kristen (Nicole Pursell) have been in a committed relationship for many years, but Sarah is reluctant to actually get married, now that same sex marriage is legal. Sarah is making a documentary about gay marriage and divorce to try to reconcile her feelings about matrimony. Kristen, who’s ready to tie the knot, sees a future version of her life with Sarah where career and passion threaten to pull the women apart.

 

SATURDAY CHURCH

SATURDAY CHURCH

SATURDAY CHURCH                              Co-Presented by The Q-Austin & TENT

Director: Damon Cardasis

Country: USA, Running Time: 82min

Winning Best First Feature at Frameline and the Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film (Luka Kain) at Outfest, SATURDAY CHURCH’s musical journey finds self-reflection through song, dance and acceptance. Life in the inner city is tough enough as a 14 year-old when your father has died and his strict puritanical sister takes over running the home while your mother works extra shifts to support the family. It’s nearly impossible when you add being gay and transvestite. Director Damon Cardasis shows this difficult world through the wide eyes of young Ulysses (an extraordinary Kain) as he connects with others and discovers a refuge where he can come into his own.

Preceded by

WALK FOR ME                                           

Director: Elegance Bratton

Country: USA, Running Time: 10min

WALK FOR ME is a contemporary coming out story where Hassan Kendricks explores his trans identity as a part of NYC’s underground ballroom scene and the night his mother catches him in drag.

 

DOCUMENTARY FILM COMPETITION

ABU

Director: Arshad Khan

Country: Canada/Japan/Pakistan/Saudi Arabia/Thailand, Running Time: 80min

Arshad always knew he was different. Soon after emigrating from Pakistan to Canada with his parents and sister, Arshad realized he was gay. Merging clips from Bollywood films, animation, and home movies that capture awkward teen phases as well as significant life revelations, Arshad narrates his own cathartic journey, alongside his entire family’s.

 

ANATOMY OF A MALE BALLET DANCER

ANATOMY OF A MALE BALLET DANCER

ANATOMY OF A MALE BALLET DANCER

Directors: David Barba, James Pellerito

Country: USA, Running Time: 83min

Marcelo Gomes has been a dancer with American Ballet Theater in New York City for almost 20 years. Since his childhood in Brazil, he has aspired to dance the great roles in classical ballet, and he has succeeded. But a dancer’s career is short. Men in ballet typically achieve their physical peak around the age of 30, but Gomes may last another ten years as the hero in ballets such as Swan LakeGiselle, and Romeo and Juliet. Praised as a singular combination of dancer, actor, and technician, Gomes has matured as an artist, while his body is still responsive to the killing demands of classical dance. The rare male dancer who relishes partnering work, he has a precise and selfless devotion to making female dancers look exquisitely ethereal that is deeply appreciated by his collaborators. From rehearsal halls to the stage, this is an intimate look at a warm and engaging artist who, while achieving his wildest dreams, knows that his moment in the spotlight is fleeting.

 

THE LAVENDER SCARE

THE LAVENDER SCARE

THE LAVENDER SCARE

Director: Josh Howard

Country: USA, Running Time: 76min

THE LAVENDER SCARE is the first documentary film to tell the little-known story of an unrelenting campaign by the federal government to identify and fire all employees suspected of being homosexual. In 1953, President Eisenhower declared gay men and lesbians to be a threat to the security of the country and therefore unfit for government service. In doing so, he triggered the longest witch hunt in American history. Over the next four decades, tens of thousands of government workers would lose their jobs for no reason other than their sexual orientation. The actions of the government had an unintended effect. They inadvertently helped ignite the gay rights movement. In 1957, after thousands had lost their jobs, a Harvard-trained astronomer named Frank Kameny became the first person to fight his dismissal.  His attempts to regain his job evolved into a lifelong fight for the rights of LGBT people.

 

SUSANNE BARTSCH: ON TOP

SUSANNE BARTSCH: ON TOP

SUSANNE BARTSCH: ON TOP

Directors: Anthony Caronna, Alexander Smith

Country: USA, Running Time: 86min

SUSANNE BARTSCH: ON TOP traces the influence that cultural icon Susanne Bartsch had on youth, nightlife, and New York City. Personalities of the party scene, including Amanda LePore and RuPaul, speak to Bartsch’s influence. As do Bartsch’s husband, gym owner David Barton, and her son, who help to reveal Bartsch for who she is when the lashes come off. The film also shines a spotlight on the AIDS epidemic, queer communities of the 1980s, and queer communities today.

 

WOMAN ON FIRE                                       Co-Presented by TENT

Director: Julie Sokolow

Country: USA, Running Time: 84min

This portrait of courage under fire celebrates NYC’s first openly transgender firefighter. For Brooke Guinan, fighting fires runs in her blood – both her father and grandfather served in the FDNY. But as a transgender woman, her path to service has not been without obstacles. Transitioning from male to female in what is still an overwhelmingly macho profession proves a challenge for her coworkers and her family, while her boyfriend reckons with the impact of Brooke’s newly public profile on his parents.

 

 

RETROSPECTIVE AND ANNIVERSARY FILMS

COMING OUT (1989)

Director: Heiner Carow

Country: East Germany, Running Time: 113min

The first, and only, film about gay life ever produced in communist East Germany, this tender, moving coming out story premiered the very night the Berlin Wall came down and won the Silver Bear at the 40th Berlin International Film Festival in 1990. As a boy, Philipp was strongly attracted to his best friend, but he’s put that behind him in order to live within the “norm.” He meets a shy girl who falls hard for him, and soon the couple is sharing an apartment. But Philipp cannot deny his passionate desire for a young man he meets in a concert ticket line. COMING OUT maps Philipp’s liberating journey toward saying “yes” to his true self.

 

GREETINGS FROM OUT HERE (1993)

Director: Ellen Spiro

Country: USA, Running Time: 60min

On her journey, filmmaker Ellen Spiro visits memorable landmarks, events and characters, including Mardi Gras, Gay Pride in Atlanta, the Gay rodeo, Dollywood, Miss Miller’s Eternal Love and Care Pet Cemetery, and the Short Mountain Radical Faerie sanctuary. Throughout her trip, she stops to interview gay men and lesbians demonstrating the wide range of Southern lives, from Rita, a retired military officer, now a drag queen in New Orleans, to Iris, a black lesbian living in a bus in the Ozarks. The subjects in GREETINGS FROM OUT HERE address the impact of AIDS in the rural South, the politics of being gay in the South, and the relationship between the gay and civil rights movements.

 

MAURICE (1987)                                       

Director: James Ivory

Country: UK, Running Time: 140min

Maurice Hall (James Wilby) and Clive Durham (Hugh Grant) find themselves falling in love at Cambridge. In a time when homosexuality is punishable by imprisonment, the two must keep their feelings for one another a secret. After a friend is arrested and disgraced for “the unspeakable vice of the Greeks,” Clive abandons his forbidden love and marries a woman. Maurice, however, struggles with his identity and self-confidence, seeking the help of a hypnotist to rid himself of his undeniable urges. But while staying with Clive and his wife, Maurice is seduced by the affectionate and yearning servant Alec Scudder (Rupert Graves), an event that brings about profound changes in Maurice’s life and outlook.

 

WRANGLER: ANATOMY OF AN ICON

WRANGLER: ANATOMY OF AN ICON

WRANGLER: ANATOMY OF AN ICON (2008)

Director: Jeffrey Schwarz

Country: USA, Running Time: 85min

With piercing blue eyes, unruly blond hair, a chiseled physique and cocky swagger, Jack Wrangler was a god. Forging a gay sexual revolution, he wasn’t the typical object of homoerotic desire but an intelligent, full-bodied, self-confident stud. Exulted for his 80-plus adult films, the openly gay superstar even conquered the straight adult world and legitimate theater. And off-screen his life was equally sensational – at 33 he married 55-year-old songstress Margaret Whiting. Packed with rare footage, celebrity interviews, and witty commentary by Wrangler himself, this is an unfiltered portrait of an iconoclast who broke all the rules.

 

aGLIFF ENCORES

A VERY SORDID WEDDING

Director: Del Shores

Country: USA, Running Time: 109min

It’s 2015, seventeen years after family matriarch Peggy tripped over G.W.’s wooden legs in Sordid Lives, and life has moved into the present for the residents of Winters, Texas. In the wake of the Supreme Court decision in favor of marriage equality, the Sordid saga continues. An anniversary memorial service is being planned in honor of Peggy at the bar while the Southside Baptist Church is planning an “Anti-Equality Rally” to protest the advancement of same-sex marriage. Both events are to take place on the same night, so the beloved cast of colorful characters are all on a collision course for shenanigans and fireworks at the church and everyone’s favorite bar on the big night. Along the way a bisexual serial killer shows up, a drag queen country medley gets performed and a beauty salon versus the bigots battle turns getting your hair done into the front lines of the equality battle. Friendships are tested and families are reunited as fear and bigotry are confronted with acceptance and understanding on the way to a surprise wedding with (almost) everyone in attendance. Starring: Bonnie Bedelia, Leslie Jordan, Caroline Rhea, Dale Dickey, Emerson Collins & Whoopi Goldberg.

 

BEHIND THE CURTAIN: TODRICK HALL        Co-Presented by The Q Austin

Director: Kathryn Fairfax Wright

Country: USA, Running Time: 100min
Maybe you know him from his popular YouTube channel, or from his stint as a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race, or even from his run as Lola in Kinky Boots on Broadway. BEHIND THE CURTAIN: TODRICK HALL by documentarian Katherine Fairfax Wright follows entertainer Todrick Hall as he prepares for the ambitious project of planning, promoting, and touring an original musical based on his Straight Outta Oz album, burdened with a limited budget and tight timelines. We also learn about the difficulties Todrick faced growing up black and gay in a small Texas town, and how he channeled these hardships into his music and his work ethic. This gripping portrait of Todrick Hall showcases a man of many talents who has catapulted his name and his career into the spotlight through an inspiring blend of passion and determination.

 

SIGNATURE MOVE

SIGNATURE MOVE

SIGNATURE MOVE                                                Co-Presented by Austin Film Society

Director: Jennifer Reeder

Country: USA, Running Time: 80min

After selling out screenings at SXSW and nabbing the U.S. Grand Jury Prize at Outfest, Director Jennifer Reeder’s entertaining and inspiring film returns to aGLIFF30 with its dominating moves and heart on its sleeves laughs. Zaynab (co-writer/co-producer, Fawzia Mirza, also featured in the documentary shorts program with THE STREETS ARE OURS: TWO LIVES CROSS IN KARACHI) is a Pakistani Muslim and has her work cut out for her dealing with her very traditional Mother that lives with her and can’t tear herself away from her soaps. Alma (Sari Sanchez) is a headstrong Mexican woman that is very open about who she is and what she wants out of life. These women from two very different backgrounds meet and try to figure out common ground to stand together on…oddly enough…some of this involves Lucha wrestling.

Preceded by

TWO BIRDS                                                

Director: Caitlin Stickels

Country: USA, Running Time: 8min

Two awkward and shy women in a coffee shop find each other attractive, but they both need some help in making each other notice one another.

 

THE UNTOLD TALES OF ARMISTEAD MAUPIN

THE UNTOLD TALES OF ARMISTEAD MAUPIN

THE UNTOLD TALES OF ARMISTEAD MAUPIN

Director: Jennifer M. Kroot

Country: USA, Running Time: 89min

THE UNTOLD TALES OF ARMISTEAD MAUPIN examines the life and work of one of the world’s most beloved storytellers, following his evolution from a conservative son of the Old South into a gay rights pioneer whose novels have inspired millions to claim their own truth. Jennifer Kroot’s documentary about the creator of TALES OF THE CITY moves nimbly between playful and poignant and laugh-out-loud funny. With help from his friends (including Neil Gaiman, Laura Linney, Olympia Dukakis, Sir Ian McKellen and Amy Tan) Maupin offers a disarmingly frank look at the journey that took him from the jungles of Vietnam to the bathhouses of 70’s San Francisco to the front line of the American culture war.

 

NARRATIVE FILMS

A DATE FOR MAD MARY

A DATE FOR MAD MARY

A DATE FOR MAD MARY                        Co-Presented by the Consulate General of Ireland

Director: Darren Thornton

Country: Ireland, Running Time: 82min

‘Mad’ Mary McArdle returns to Drogheda after a short spell in prison – for something she’d rather forget. Back home, everything and everyone has changed. Her best friend, Charlene, is about to get married and Mary is to be her maid of honor. When Charlene refuses Mary a ‘plus one’ on the grounds that she probably couldn’t find a date, Mary becomes determined to prove her wrong. A DATE FOR MAD MARY is a tough and tender story about friendship, first love, and letting go of the glory days.

 

A PROMISE OF TIME TRAVEL                Co-Presented by Other Worlds Austin

Director: Craig Jessen

Country: USA, Running Time: 88min

A chance encounter with an estranged friend draws a bookstore clerk into a plot to steal a time machine. But as she confronts the ghosts of her past, she makes a discovery that has dire implications for her future.

Preceded by

LOST TRACK OF TIME

Director: Queer Youth Media Project

Country: USA, Running Time: 7min

 

AFTER LOUIE                                              Co-Presented by Midtown Title

Director: Vincent Gagliostro

Country: USA, Running Time: 96min

AFTER LOUIE explores the contradictions of modern gay life and history through Sam (Alan Cumming), a man desperate to understand how he and his community got to where they are today.

 

B&B

B&B

B & B

Director: Joe Ahearne

Country: UK, Running Time: 87min

Gay Londoners Marc and Fred plan for a weekend of mischief, baiting the Christian owner of a remote Christian B&B. Events take a deadly turn when another guest arrives, who they think might have something more sinister in mind.

 

BROTHERLY LOVE

Director: Anthony Caruso

Country: USA, Running Time: 119min

A Brother in the Catholic Church must choose between his vow of chastity and the man he loves.

 

DISCREET

DISCREET

DISCREET                                                    Co-Presented by OUTsider 

Director: Travis Mathews

Country: USA/Brazil, Running Time: 81min

From writer/director Travis Mathews (INTERIOR. LEATHER. BAR.) returns with this Austin and Texas filmed psychological thriller. After years in hiding and struggling to control his demons, an eccentric drifter Alex (Jonny Mars) returns home and discovers that his childhood abuser, the center of his pain, is still alive. Armed with this knowledge, the drifter plots his revenge, all the while navigating the perilous land of masculine fragility in modern-day America.

 

THE FEELS

THE FEELS

THE FEELS

Director: Jenée LaMarque

Country: USA, Running Time: 88min

This intimate hangout movie chronicles the weekend getaway of a group of friends celebrating lesbian couple Andi (Constance Wu, Fresh Off the Boat) and Lu’s (Angela Trimbur, THE FINAL GIRLS) impending marriage. The trip is full of dancing, drinks, and laughs, but isn’t without its fair share of drama. Lu’s strained relationship with her older sister (played by writer/director Jenée LaMarque), who is currently going through a divorce, becomes a main point of contention over the weekend, and the presence of Andi’s lothario male friend Josh (Josh Fadem, Better Call Saul) doesn’t help. During a wild night of partying, a spontaneous drug-riddled conversation reveals that Lu, contrary to Andi’s belief, has never had an orgasm. The tension among the group grows as secrets are revealed and relationships―both romantic and platonic―are put to the ultimate test.

 

HELLO AGAIN

HELLO AGAIN

HELLO AGAIN                                                         Co-Presented by Mercury Mambo

Director: Tom Gustafson

Country: USA, Running Time: 105min

Ten lost souls slip in and out of one another’s arms in a daisy chained musical exploration of love’s bittersweet embrace. A film adaptation of LaChiusa’s celebrated musical, originally based on Schnitzler’s play La Ronde.

Preceded by

A CIRCLE OF DIAMONDS

Directors: Michael Biello, Dan Martin, and Barbara Proud

Country: USA, Running Time: 4min

Also preceded by:

2000 YEARS OF DRAG: A MUSICAL ODYSSEY

Directors: Dorian Electra, Imp Queen

Country: USA, Running Time: 3min

 

SOMETHING LIKE SUMMER

Director: David Berry

Country: USA, Running Time: 114min

Benjamin Bentley is the only guy at his Texas high school with the courage to come out of the closet, dooming himself, he believes, to a life of loneliness. Putting up with the bullies and his classmates’ whispered condemnations keeps him from pursuing his dream of being a singer, despite the encouragement of his best friend, Allison. Instead, Ben spends his summer vacation stalking the handsome athlete who just moved to town, Tim Wyman.

 

TOM OF FINLAND

TOM OF FINLAND

TOM OF FINLAND                                                  Co-Presented by Midtown Title

Director: Dome Karukoski

Country: Finland, Running Time: 115min

From shunned to celebrated, this is the story of cult-artist Touko Laaksonen, better known as Tom of Finland, and the events that influenced his iconic homoerotic drawings. After the trauma of serving in WWII, Tuoko finds no peace at home as he has to go to increasingly greater lengths to hide his homosexuality, even from his family. As the secret affairs and police crackdowns wear on him, he commits more deeply to his art, drawing inspiration from the uniforms that oppress him. Director Dome Karukoski brings him to life, creating a moving portrayal of the man behind the legendary images.

 

TORREY PINES

TORREY PINES

TORREY PINES                                                      Co-Presented by Fantastic Fest

Director: Clyde Peterson

Country: USA, Running Time: 60min

TORREY PINES is a stop-motion animated feature film by director Clyde Petersen. Based on a true story, the film is a queer punk coming-of-age tale, taking place in Southern California in the early 1990’s. Raised by a schizophrenic single mother, Petersen’s life story unfolds in a series of baffling and hallucinated events. With a mother fueled by hallucinations of political conspiracy and family dysfunction, Petersen is kidnapped at the age of 12 and taken on a cross-country adventure that will forever alter the family as they know it.

Preceded by

TWO WAYS

Director: Queer Youth Media Project

Country: USA, Running Time: 5min

 

 

DOCUMENTARY FILMS

CHAVELA                            Co-Presented by Cine Las Americas & Mercury Mambo

Directors: Catherine Gund, Daresha Kyi

Country: USA/Mexico, Running Time: 90min

Winning the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Frameline, CHAVELA takes viewers on an evocative, thought-provoking journey through the iconoclastic life of game-changing artist Chavela Vargas. Centered around never before-seen interview footage of Chavela, shot 20 years before her death in 2012, and guided by the stories in Chavela’s songs, and the myths and tales others have told about her – as well as those she spread about herself – the film weaves an arresting portrait of a woman who dared to dress, speak, sing, and dream her unique life into being.

 

CLAMBAKE

Director: Andrea Meyerson

Country: USA, Running Time: 95min

CLAMBAKE, an exciting new documentary from award-winning filmmaker Andrea Meyerson, charts the growth of Women’s Week in Provincetown, from its inception to becoming the thriving lesbian mecca it is today. The film takes viewers on a fascinating 30-year journey, through archival footage, interviews with celebrities and founders, and current events and performances.

 

THE DEATH AND LIFE OF MARSHA P. JOHNSON

THE DEATH AND LIFE OF MARSHA P. JOHNSON

THE DEATH AND LIFE OF MARSHA P. JOHNSON               Co-Presented by TENT

Director: David France

Country: USA, Running Time: 105min

Academy Award® nominated director David France’s (HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE) new documentary centers on self-described “street queen” Marsha P. Johnson, legendary fixture in New York City’s gay ghetto, who along with fellow trans icon Sylvia Rivera, founded Street Transvestites Action Revolutionaries (S.T.A.R.), a trans activist group based in the heart of NYC’s Greenwich Village. THE DEATH AND LIFE OF MARSHA P. JOHNSON celebrates the lasting political legacy of Marsha P. Johnson, while seeking to finally solve the mystery of her unexplained death.

 

THE FABULOUS ALLAN CARR

THE FABULOUS ALLAN CARR

THE FABULOUS ALLAN CARR             Co-Presented by Austin Film Society

Director: Jeffrey Schwarz

Country: USA, Running Time: 90min

Armed with a limitless Rolodex and a Benedict Canyon enclave with its own disco, Allan Carr threw the Hollywood parties that defined the 1970s. A producer, manager, and marketing genius, Carr built his bombastic reputation amid a series of successes including the mega hit musical film GREASE and the Broadway sensation LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, until it all came crashing down after he produced the notorious debacle of the 1989 Academy Awards.

 

NO DRESS CODE REQUIRED

Director: Cristina Herrera Borquez

Country: Mexico, Running Time: 92min

Bórquez’s memorable doc follows a same-sex couple, Víctor and Fernando, as they fight for the right to be married in their home town of Mexicali, Baja California. A rallying cry for equality and a testament to the power of ordinary people to become agents of change.

 

REBELS ON POINTE

REBELS ON POINTE

REBELS ON POINTE

Director: Bobbi Jo Hart

Country: Canada, Running Time: 90min

Once upon a time, the ballet was considered part of popular culture. Today, many call it an elitist art form dominated by women with a specific body type. Countering all these trends, New York City’s Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo is again opening the art form to a wider audience. By mixing high art with clever camp, the talented drag ballerinas of this dance troupe skillfully bring ballet classics to stages worldwide. Through their unique blend of humor and talent, the Trockaderos have amassed a dedicated following in countries like Japan, Canada and Scotland.

 

TRANS YOUTH

Director: Rebecca Adler

Country: USA, Running Time: 84min

This intimate documentary filmed over three years centers on five trans young adults navigating the exhilaration and disappointment of growing older in the southern city of Austin, Texas.

Preceded by

OUT OF MY MIND

Director: Queer Youth Media Project

Country: USA, Running Time: 5min

 

SHORTS PROGRAMS 

ANIMATION SHORTS

(TRT: 77min) 

CUDDLEFISH

Directors: Cheryl Briggs, Brianna Jaeger, Jared Bittner

Country: USA, Running Time: 6min

 

IN A HEARTBEAT

IN A HEARTBEAT

IN A HEARTBEAT

Directors: Beth David, Esteban Bravo

Country: USA, Running Time: 4min

 

LOOPER: FARFISA SONG (INTRODUCING MUSTARD & KETCHUP)

Director: Iain Gardner

Country: UK, Running Time: 3min

 

THE MAN WOMAN CASE

THE MAN WOMAN CASE

THE MAN WOMAN CASE

Director: Anais Caura

Country: France, Running Time: 44min

 

THE NIGHT CLEANER

Director: Blair Fukumura

Country: Canada, Running Time: 5min

 

TAILOR

Director: Calí dos Anjos

Country: Brazil, Running Time: 9min

 

VIOLET & JUNE

VIOLET & JUNE

VIOLET & JUNE

Director: Linnea Ritland

Country: Canada, Running Time: 6min

 

COMEDY SHORTS

(TRT: 88min)

BRITNEY-HOLICS ANONYMOUS: A SPEAR-ITUAL AWAKENING

Director: Jerell Rosales

Country: USA, Running Time: 10min

 

HAYGOOD EATS!

HAYGOOD EATS!

HAYGOOD EATS!

Director: Hazart

Country: USA, Running Time: 5min

 

HEADS OR TAILS

Director: Eva von Schweinitz

Country: USA, Running Time: 9min

 

I DON'T BELIEVE IN THAT

I DON’T BELIEVE IN THAT

I DON’T BELIEVE IN THAT

Director: Neil Fennell

Country: USA, Running Time: 9min

 

LEADBEATER

Director: Tyler Peterson

Country: USA, Running Time: 17min

 

PLUS ONE

PLUS ONE

PLUS ONE

Director: Peter Knegt

Country: Canada, Running Time: 8min

 

THE SWIMMING POOL

Director: Carlos Ruano

Country: Spain, Running Time: 10min

 

THREE IS A PARTY

THREE IS A PARTY

THREE IS A PARTY

Directors: Aden Wexberg, Nickolas Grisham

Country: USA, Running Time: 7min

 

TIPPING POINT

Director: Stephanie Young

Country: Canada, Running Time: 7min

 

THE YOGA BRIDGE

Director: Michael Orlando

Country: Canada, Running Time: 6min

 

DRAMATIC SHORTS

(TRT: 98min)

CHRISTINE

CHRISTINE

CHRISTINE

Director: Jessica Adler

Country: USA, Running Time: 10min

 

ENCUERTRO

Director: Florencia Manovil

Country: USA, Running Time: 16min

 

THE GIRL IN THE GREEN DRESS

THE GIRL IN THE GREEN DRESS

THE GIRL IN THE GREEN DRESS

Director: Johanna Goldstein

Country: USA, Running Time: 15min

 

HEADSPACE

Director: Jake Graf

Country: UK, Running Time: 4min

 

HUEVOS RANCHEOS

Director: Brian C. Miller Richard

Country: USA, Running Time: 11min

 

THE NEWS TODAY

THE NEWS TODAY

THE NEWS TODAY

Director: Lisa Donato

Country: USA, Running Time: 12min

 

PLEASE HOLD

Director: Jerell Rosales

Country: USA, Running Time: 15min

 

SUNSET

SUNSET

SUNSET

Directors: Katie Ennis, Gary S. Jaffe

Country: USA, Running Time: 15min

 

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS

(TRT: 96min)

ALEPH MELBOURNE – CELEBRATING 20 YEARS

Director: Michael Barnett

Country: Australia, Running Time: 9min

 

BAYARD AND ME

BAYARD AND ME

BAYARD & ME

Director: Matt Wolf

Country: USA, Running Time: 16min

 

BEAR IN A BEDROOM

BEAR IN A BEDROOM

BEAR IN A BEDROOM

Director: Albert Koomen

Country: Australia, Running Time: 7min

 

ESCAPING AGRA

ESCAPING AGRA

ESCAPING AGRA

Director: Pallavi Somusetty

Country: USA, Running Time: 23min

 

LITTLE POTATO

Director: Wes Hurley

Country: USA, Running Time: 13min

 

THE NAKED BODY

THE NAKED BODY

THE NAKED BODY

Director: Diego Carvalho Sá

Country: Brazil, Running Time: 22min

 

THE STREETS ARE OURS: TWO LIVES CROSS IN KARACHI

Director: Michelle Fiordaliso

Country: Pakistan, Running Time: 16min

 

INTERNATIONAL SHORTS

(TRT: 72min)

DUSK

DUSK

DUSK

Director: Jake Graf

Country: UK, Running Time: 15min

 

GOLDEN BOYS

GOLDEN BOYS

GOLDEN BOYS

Director: Jill Riley

Country: Canada, Running Time: 8min

 

MOMO

Director: Yun Joo Chang

Country: South Korea, Running Time: 16min

 

PICKING UP

PICKING UP

PICKING UP

Director: Nicholas Christo

Country: Australia, Running Time: 13min

 

SCAR TISSUE

SCAR TISSUE

SCAR TISSUE

Director: Nish Gera

Country: Netherlands, Running Time: 14min

 

WHAT ABOUT SHELLEY

Director: Kyle Reaume

Country: Canada, Running Time: 13min

 

LATE NIGHT & SEXY SHORTS

(TRT: 92min) 

A BED DAY

Director: Peter Knegt

Country: Canada, Running Time: 5min

 

DAWN OF THE DEAF

DAWN OF THE DEAF

DAWN OF THE DEAF

Director: Rob Savage

Country: UK, Running Time: 11min

 

DEMONS

DEMONS

DEMONS

Director: Jesse Klein

Country: USA, Running Time: 11min

 

DEVIL WEARS A SUIT

Director: Eli Mak

Country: Australia, Running Time: 20min

 

EGGS, ZOMBIES, AND BACON

EGGS, ZOMBIES, AND BACON

EGGS, ZOMBIES AND BACON

Director: Sherry-Yiyang Shi

Country: USA, Running Time: 13min

 

REDMOND HAND, PRIVATE DICK

REDMOND HAND, PRIVATE DICK

REDMOND HAND, PRIVATE DICK

Director: Todd Selby

Country: USA, Running Time: 12min

 

RUSALKA

RUSALKA

RUSALKA

Director: Wes Hurley

Country: USA, Running Time: 8min

 

SECRET SANTA SEX PARTY

Directors: Charles Lum, Todd Verow

Country: USA, Running Time: 12min