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Tom Hanks in CALIFORNIA TYPEWRITER[/caption]
Following the earlier announcement of the Music Films/Music City selection, Nashville Film Festival announced 48 additional feature films in the Narrative, Documentary, New Directors and Graveyard Shift competitions. The selections include familiar faces such as Bruce Dern, Tom Hanks, Jonathan Pryce, Maggie Grace, Aisha Tyler, Anthony Michael Hall, Katee Sackhoff, Jeremy Sisto and Heather Matarazzo.
“The films present a wide view of the world from contemporary issues to historic dramas; from deeply intimate personal dramas to wide open epics,” said Artistic Director, Brian Owens. “Diversity is really on display in these films.”
The 48th Annual
Nashville Film Festival will open April 20 and conclude April 29.
NARRATIVE COMPETITION
Egon Schiele – Death and The Maiden / Austria | Luxembourg (Director: Dieter Berner) — At the beginning of the 20th Century, Egon Schiele is one of the most provocative artists in Vienna. His life and work are driven by beautiful women and an era that is coming to an end. Two women will have a lasting impact on him – his sister and first muse Gerti, and 17-year-old Wally, arguably Schiele’s one true love, immortalised in his famous painting ‘Death and the Maiden’. Cast: Noah Saavedra | Maresi Riegner | Valerie Pachner. Southeast US Premiere
Flowers of Evil / Finland (Director: Antti J. Jokinen) — With unrest long simmering below the surface in a majority immigrant Helsinki suburb, half-brothers Sipe and Juno struggle for a better future, an end to their alienation and to find new opportunities in life. Cast: Viljami Nojonen | Juno | Eero Aho | Mikael Gabriel | Diana Tenkorang. North American Premiere
Krotoa / South Africa (Director: Roberta Durrant) — Krotoa, a feisty, bright, young 11-year-old girl is removed from her close-knit Khoi tribe to serve her uncle’s trading partner with the Dutch East India Company in 1652. She grows into a visionary young woman and an influential translator who takes to the Dutch language and culture but is rejected by her own people as she tries to navigate two cultures about to collide. Cast: Crystal-Donna Roberts | Armand Aucamp | Jacques Bessenger | Brendon Daniels | Deon Lotz | Roeline Daneel. US Premiere
The Lears / USA (Director: Carl Bessai) — Writer-director Carl Bessai’s modern day homage to Shakespeare’s KING LEAR is a black comedy about a dysfunctional family headed by patriarch Davenport Lear who tests the love and worthiness of his children at a family retreat as he contemplates his death and legacy. Cast: Anthony Michael Hall | Bruce Dern | Sean Astin | Victoria Smurfit | Aly Michalka | Nic Bishop. World Premiere
The Migrumpies / Austria (Director: Arman T. Riahi) — For a TV documentary, two unemployed friends, Benny and Marko, pretend to be petty criminals with immigrant background until the coin flips and reality turns against them. Cast: Faris Rahoma | Aleksandar Petrović | Doris Schretzmayer | Zijah A. Sokolović | Daniela Zacherl | Josef Hader. North American Premiere
Play the Devil / Trinidad and Tobago (Director: Maria Govan) — Set against the backdrop of Trinidad and Tobago’s mystical Carnival, a gifted and struggling young man becomes the object of intrigue for an older, well-meaning businessman until their worlds collide. Cast: Petrice Jones | Gareth Jenkins | Akil Nicholas | Penelope Spencer. Tennessee Premiere
The Relationtrip / USA (Director: Renée Felice Smith, C.A. Gabriel) — At an age when everyone around them is settling down and finding love, Beck and Liam are self proclaimed loners, emotionally hibernating through adulthood. After bonding over their mutual disinterest in relationships, they decide to go away together on a ‘friend’ trip. And that’s when things get weird. Really, really weird. Cast: | Matt Bush | Eric Christian Olsen | Linda Hunt | Nelson Franklin | Brandon Kyle Goodman.Southeast US Premiere
The Scent of Rain and Lightning / USA (Director: Blake Robbins) — When Jody Linder learns her parents’ killer has been released from jail, she is forced to revisit old wounds while discovering the destructive power of hate and the true cost of family secrets. Based on the novel THE SCENT OF RAIN & LIGHTNING by Nancy Pickard. Cast: Maika Monroe | Maggie Grace | Mark Webber | Will Patton | Justin Chatwin | Logan Miller. Tennessee Premiere
Signature Move / USA (Director: Jennifer Reeder) — A new romance with Alma forces Zaynab to confront her relationship with her recently widowed mother who escapes to TV dramas and finding her daughter a husband. As a result, Zaynab copes by taking up Lucha-style wrestling in this coming-of-age Muslim melodrama. Cast: Fawzia Mirza | Shabana Azmi | Sari Sanchez | Charin Alvarez | Audrey Francis. Southeast US Premiere
Some Freaks / USA (Director: Ian MacAllister McDonald) — A charming romance develops between a boy with one eye and an overweight girl, though when she loses her weight after going to college, their relationship is tested in devastating ways they never dreamed would happen. Cast: Lachlan Buchanan | Lily Mae Harrington | Marin Ireland | Thomas Mann | John Thorsen. Tennessee Premiere
The Student / Russia (Director: Kirill Serebrennikov) — A high school student becomes convinced that the world has been lost to evil, and begins to challenge the morals and beliefs of the adults around him. Cast: Yuliya Aug | Pyotr Skvortsov | Viktoriya Isakova | Aleksandra Revenko | Svetlana Vragarnik | Aleksandr Gorchilin. Southeast US Premiere
Sundowners / Canada (Director: Pavan Moondi) — Filming weddings is a thankless job, so when Alex and Justin get the chance to shoot a destination wedding in Mexico, they take the opportunity to escape their sheltered lives. But, with their boss playing fast and loose with the details, they’ll be lucky to even find it. Cast: Phil Hanley | Luke Lalonde | Tim Heidecker | Nick Thorbun | Nick Flanagan | Cara Gee. World Premiere
Tatara Samurai / Japan (Director: Yoshinari Nishikori) — In 16th century Japan, a young man has to choose between becoming a master steel maker like his father and grandfather before him, or becoming a samurai so that he can help protect his village from attacks by the various clans which want the high-quality steel made there. Cast: Sho Aoyagi | Naoki Kobayahsi | Akira | Tomoko Tabata | Anna Ishii | Masahiko Tsugawa. Southeast US Premiere
We’ve Forgotten More Than We Ever Knew / USA (Director: Thomas Woodrow) — In the aftermath of an unknown calamity, two survivors travel through a hostile wilderness, guided only by a distant memory of home. When they encounter the ruins of a vanished society, everything they know is called into question, threatening their relationship, their memories and their future. Cast: Louisa Krause | Aaron Stanford | Doug Jones. Tennessee Premiere
The White King / UK (Director: Alex Helfrecht | Jorg Tittel) — Djata is a care-free 12-year-old growing up in a brutal dictatorship shut off from the outside world. When the government imprisons his father, Djata and his mother must survive a world of savage lies and abuse as they try to find out what exactly has happened to him. Cast: Lorenzo Allchurch | Jonathan Pryce | Agyness Deyn | Fiona Shaw | Greta Scacchi | Clare Hope Ashitey. Southeast US Premiere
DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
44 Pages / USA (Director: Tony Shaff) — Following the creation of HIGHLIGHTS MAGAZINE’S 70th Anniversary issue, from the first editorial meeting to its arrival in homes, this film introduces the people who passionately produce the monthly publication for “the world’s most important people,”…children. Tennessee Premiere
Actors of Sound / USA (Director: Lalo Molina) — From footsteps to bone cracks, Foley artists bring films to life with their imaginative sound effects. As digital technology goes full speed ahead in 21st century moviemaking, can Hollywood’s low tech Foley artist survive in this high tech age? Cast: Gregg Barbanell | Marko A. Costanzo | Catherine Harper | John Roesch | Kitty Malone | Charles L. Campbell. Southeast US Premiere
Augie / USA (Director: James Keach) — Armed with irreverent humor and the love of his life by his side, paralysis has done little to slow down the beast inside the genius entrepreneur and LifeFitness mogul, Augie Nieto, who continues to work everyday to find the cure for ALS.
Backpack Full of Cash / USA (Director: Sarah Mondale) — Filmed in Philadelphia, New Orleans, Nashville and other cities, BACKPACK FULL OF CASH explores the privatization of public education and its devastating impact on the nation’s most vulnerable children. Cast: Matt Damon (Narrator). Southeast US Premiere
California Typewriter / USA (Director: Doug Nichol) — CALIFORNIA TYPEWRITER shows a portrait of artists, writers, and collectors who remain steadfastly loyal to the typewriter as a tool and muse. The film also movingly documents the struggles of one of the last standing repair shops in America dedicated to keeping the aging machines clicking. Cast: Tom Hanks | John Mayer | Sam Shepard | David McCullough | Mason Williams. Southeast US Premiere
Chasing Evel: The Robbie Knievel Story / Canada (Director: Jesse James Miller) — Robbie Knievel, 52 years old and the owner of 20 world records and 350 jumps worldwide, life is uncovered through his personal pursuit of sobriety and the need of continuing his father’s legacy by jumping once again. Tennessee Premiere
Finding Kim / USA (Director: Aaron Bear) — 50 year-old Kim has made a decision a lifetime in the making: transitioning to a man. FINDING KIM bears witness to the entire process, both physical and emotional, as he experiences life the way he always felt he should: as a happy and confident human being. Cast: Kim B. | Dan Savage | Buck Angel | Carmen Carerra | Calpernia Addams | Jamison Green |. Southeast US Premiere
The Gateway Bug / USA (Director: Johanna B Kelly) — Over 2 billion people on earth eat insects for protein. Following the rise and dramatic fall of edible insect start-ups in America, this inspiring film exposes America’s disconnect with food as climate catastrophe and explores how changing daily eating habits can feed humanity in an uncertain age, one meal at a time. Cast: Andrew Zimmern | Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy | Kevin Bachhuber | Pat Crowley | Tyler Isaac. Southeast US Premiere
Quest / USA (Director: Jonathan Olshefski) — QUEST intimately captures ten years in the life of an African-American family living in North Philadelphia. Cast: Christopher Rainey | Christine’a Rainey | Patricia (PJ) Rainey | William Withers | PRICE.Southeast US Premiere
The Road Movie / Belarus | Russia | Serbia | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Croatia (Director: Dmitrii Kalashnikov) — Objective dashboard cam videos takes us on a raucous, occasionally hopeful tour of the Russian countryside and national character. Southeast US Premiere
Small Talk / Taiwan (Director: Hui-Chen Huang) — A few simple questions spark a series of conversations revealing some things that neither the filmmaker nor her mother are ready to face. Southeast US Premiere
Spettacolo / USA (Director: Jeff Malmberg | Chris Shellen) — Once upon a time there was a tiny hill town in Tuscany that found a remarkable way to confront their issues: they turned their lives into a play. Every summer for the past 50 years, their piazza becomes their stage and villagers from 6 to 90 play a part – the role of themselves. Cast: Andrea Cresti | Chiara Del Ciondolo | Alpo Mangiavacchi. Tennessee Premiere
Swim Team / USA (Director: Lara Stolman) — SWIM TEAM chronicles the extraordinary rise of the Jersey Hammerheads, a competitive team of diverse teens on the autism spectrum, capturing a moving quest for inclusion, independence and a life that feels winning. Cast: Robert Justino | Michael McQuay, Jr. | Kelvin Truong. Tennessee Premiere
Unrest / USA (Director: Jennifer Brea) — When Harvard PhD student Jennifer Brea is struck down at 28 by a fever that leaves her bedridden, doctors tell her it’s “all in her head.” Determined to live, she turns her camera on herself and her community, a hidden world of millions confined to their homes and bedrooms by myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), commonly called chronic fatigue syndrome. Southeast US Premiere
NEW DIRECTORS COMPETITION
Apricot Groves / Armenia (Director: Pouria Heidary Oureh) — Aram, a young Iranian-Armenian man who immigrated to the US as a child, returns to Armenia for the first time to propose to his Armenian-American girlfriend. Cast: Pedram Ansari | Narbe Vartan | Samvel Sarkisyan | Hovhannes Azoyan | Allison Gangi | Araik Sargsyan. Tennessee Premiere
AXIS / USA (Director: Aisha Tyler) — On the day he is set to star in a career-changing blockbuster film, an Irish actor with a rocky and self-destructive past confronts a series of devastating events that threaten to disrupt his newfound sobriety and potentially, his life. Cast: Emmett Hughes | Ciarán Hinds | Thomas Gibson | Paula Malcomson | Adam Rodriguez | Bronagh Waugh. Tennessee Premiere
Bomb City / USA (Director: Jameson Brooks) — Based on the 1997 true story of Brian Deneke, BOMB CITY is a crime-drama about a group of punk rockers in a conservative Texas town. Their ongoing battle with a rival, more-affluent group of jocks leads to a controversial hate crime that raises questions about the morality of American justice. Cast: Dave Davis | Glenn Morshower | Logan Huffman | Henry Knotts | Lorelei Linklater | Luke Shelton. Southeast US Premiere
Boomtown / USA (Director: Sabyn Mayfield) — In an effort to make ends meet, John “JT” Turner leaves his family behind to pursue a grueling, yet highly coveted, job in a now booming oil industry. Along the way, he encounters the trials and tribulations shared by thousands of Americans every year as they stake their claim on the American Dream. Cast: Tyler Riggs | Boyd Holbrook | Rachel Brosnahan | Jocelin Donahue | Dwight Yoakam. World Premiere
Easy Living / USA (Director: Adam Keleman) — Sherry, a self-destructive makeup saleswoman, hopes a new man and business venture will provide her a fresh start. After her plans are foiled, she takes control of her life in a dramatic turn of events. Cast: Caroline Dhavernas | McCaleb Burnett | Elizabeth Marvel | Jen Richards | Charlie Hofheimer | C.J. Wilson |.Southeast US Premiere
The Eremites / Germany (Director: Ronny Trocker) — Like an abandoned animal that keeps coming back to its territory, an introverted farmer’s son keeps returning to his childhood Alpine home despite his mother’s wishes. Cast: Ingrid Burkhard | Andreas Lust | Orsi Tóth | Hannes Perkmann | Peter Mitterrutzner | Georg Kaser. North American Premiere
Girl Flu / USA (Director: Dorie Barton) — Bird, 12, has to become a woman whether she wants to or not when – in the worst week of her life – she gets her first period, is ditched by her impulsive, free spirited mom, and learns that you can never really go back to where you came from. Cast: Katee Sackhoff | Jade Pettyjohn | Jeremy Sisto | Heather Matarazzo | Judy Reyes | Diego Josef. Tennessee Premiere
Park / Greece | Poland (Director: Sofia Exarchou) — Athens Olympic Village, ten years after the Games: wilding youths, injured retired athletes and stray dogs among ruins and decaying sports venues. Cast: Dimitris Kitsos | Dimitra Vlagopoulou | Enuki Gvenatadze | Lena Kitsopoulou | Yorgos Pandeleakis | Thomas Bo Larsen. Southeast US Premiere
La Soledad / Venezuela (Director: Jorge Thielen Armand) — José, a young father, discovers that the dilapidated mansion he inhabits will soon be demolished. Desperate to save his family from homelessness, he begins a search for a cursed treasure that is said to be buried in the house. Cast: José Dolores López | Jorge Roque Thielen | María Agámez Palomino | Adrializ López | Marley Alvillares. Tennessee Premiere
GRAVEYARD SHIFT COMPETITION
Birdboy: The Forgotten Children / Spain (Director: Pedro Rivero | Alberto Vázquez) — An ecological event has devastated an entire island. Birdboy hides himself away, his inner turmoil gnawing at him while avoiding the island’s scavenging inhabitants and local police, who suspect he is dealing drugs. Cast: Andrea Alzuri | Eva Ojanguren | Josu Cubero.Tennessee Premiere
Bloodlands / Albania | Australia (Director: Steven Kastrissios) — A struggling family in Albania, wrestling with tradition, must unite against a mysterious clan’s aggressions, leading to a ‘blood feud’ that is all too familiar in the Balkans. Cast: Gëzim Rudi | Emiljano Palali | Suela Bako | Alesia Xhemalaj. US Premiere
A Closer Walk With Thee / USA (Director: John C. Clark | Brie Williams) — An Evangelical boy with homosexual urges agrees to a gay-curing exorcism, performed by the object of his desire, in this queer erotic horror. Cast: Aj Knight | Gregory Shelby | Kelsey Boze | Megan Hensley. Southeast US Premiere
Industrial Accident – The Story of Wax Trax! Records / USA (Director: Julia Nash) — The true story of a Chicago record store and label that united punks, queers and criminals and accidentally changed music history along the way. Cast: Al Jourgensen | Dave Grohl | Paul Barker | Groovie Mann | Richard 23 | Jello Biafra. World Premiere
Insomnium / USA (Director: Scott Powers) — As George investigates his roommate’s increasingly disturbing nocturnal behavior, he suspects that his friend has become possessed by a dark entity. Cast: Brad Pennington | Clint Browning | Gena Shaw | Larena Reyna | Leon Shparaga | Brian Julian. Tennessee Premiere
JackRabbit 29 / USA (Director: Kyle Klubal) — When a young couple goes missing in Texas, a large reward is issued for their return. The reward attracts an eccentric mix of characters to the town including bounty hunters, hit-men, and more. Cast: Jason Johnson | Izzy Pollak. Tennessee Premiere
The Night Watchmen / USA (Director: Mitchell Altieri) — A mistaken warehouse delivery unleashes a horde of hungry vampires, and three inept night watchmen, aided by a young rookie and a fearless tabloid journalist, must not only save themselves but also stop the scourge that threatens to take over the city of Baltimore. Cast: Ken Arnold | Kevin Jiggetts | Dan DeLuca | Kara Luiz | Max Gray Wilbur | Matt Servitto. Nashville Premiere
Show Yourself / USA (Director: Billy Ray Brewton) — When his friend Paul dies unexpectedly, Travis heads into the woods to say goodbye. As Travis deals with his grief, and the way it has affected the relationships in his life, he starts to realize that he actually might not be alone in the woods. Curiosity turns to horror as Travis comes face-to-face with something both inexplicable and frighteningly familiar. Cast: Ben Hethcoat | Corsica Wilson | Barak Hardley | David McElwee | Stephen Cone | Robert Longstreet. Southeast US Premiere
The Void / Canada (Director: Jeremy Gillespie | Steven Kostanski) — A blood-soaked man limping down a deserted road is rushed by Officer Carter to a nearby hospital with a skeleton crew. Trapped inside by hooded figures, Carter discovers that the patients and staff are transforming into something inhuman. Cast: Aaron Poole | Ellen Wong | Kenneth Walsh | Kathleen Munroe. Nashville Premiere
Without Name / Ireland (Director: Lorcan Finnegan) — You‘re not alone in the woods. Cast: Alan McKenna | Niamh Algar | James Browne. Tennessee Premiere
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Nolan Gerard Funk in Hello Again[/caption]
Reeling, the second-oldest LGBTQ film festival in the world, celebrates its 35th anniversary edition from September 21 to 28 at Landmark Theatres’ Century Centre Cinema in Chicago. The 2017 Reeling will present 30 feature films and 10 programs of shorts, coming from 22 countries.
The festival kicks off Thursday, September 21 at Music Box Theatre with the Chicago premiere of Northwestern alum Tom Gustafson’s HELLO AGAIN. The sex-fueled all-star screen adaptation of the 1994 Off-Broadway musical stars Cheyenne Jackson, Audra McDonald, Martha Plimpton, Tyler Blackburn and Rumer Willis. Reeling 2017 closes Thursday, September 28 with SATURDAY CHURCH, the coming-of-age story of a young Black teen exploring gender expression and finding acceptance in the Harlem Ball scene, which stars Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated actor and Goodman Theatre playwright Regina Taylor.
From Trudie Styler’s hotly anticipated directorial debut, the outrageous dramedy FREAK SHOW, about the fictional high school “transvisionary” Billy Bloom, starring Alex Lawther ( The Imitation Game ), Bette Midler and Laverne Cox; and writer-director Vincent Gagliostro’s intergenerational gay romantic drama AFTER LOUIE, starring Alan Cumming in a career-defining performance; to the crackling energy and entertaining story of the rise of YouTube musical superstar Todrick Hall in the documentary BEHIND THE CURTAIN; to the inspiring story of the long road to acceptance for Brooke Guinan, New York’s first out transgender firefighter in WOMAN ON FIRE; to Looking actor Russell Tovey’s stunning performance in THE PASS, the story of two football players whose reactions to the homoerotic tension between them as young men shape their divergent futures; the 35th edition of Reeling Film Festival has something to satisfy every film taste!
Reeling launches its eight-day festival with the Opening Night Gala presentation of the sensual musical HELLO AGAIN, Northwestern alumni Tom Gustafson’s ( Were the World Mine, Mariachi Gringo ) red hot film adaptation of Michael John LaChiusa’s acclaimed 1994 Off-Broadway musical. The film follows ten lovestruck souls who pair off in an erotic daisy chain of sex and song, looking for meaning beyond their steamy hookups. Jack ( Tyler Blackburn, Pretty Little Liars ) sexes up Robert ( Cheyenne Jackson, American Horror Story ) who pleasures Sally ( six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald ) who revels in her tryst with Ruth ( Martha Plimpton, The Real O’Neals ). Along for the sexy hijinks are T.R. Knight ( Grey’s Anatomy ), Rumer Willis ( Empire, Dancing with the Stars ), Jenna Ushkowitz ( Glee ), Sam Underwood ( Fear the Walking Dead ), vocalist Al Calderon and Nolan Gerard Funk ( Glee and former Calvin Klein model ). The musical numbers — everything from pop to operetta to Broadway to swing to searing torch ballads — are as fluid as the sexual proclivities of the characters. Prepare to indulge your senses with this visually stylish, ultra-sensual musical extravaganza.
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Saturday Church[/caption]
Reeling closes on Thursday, September 28 with an advance screening of SATURDAY CHURCH. This audacious hybrid — part drama, part comedy, part musical — is pulled off with aplomb by debuting writer-director Damon Cardasis and his young cast of newcomers. After the recent death of his father, Ulysses ( Luka Kain ) has begun experimenting with his sexuality and gender expression; his nights are full of stolen nylons and high heels. But Aunt Rose — played by acclaimed actor, playwright and Chicago resident Regina Taylor — is having none of this, so Ulysses flees the Bronx, finding himself enthralled by a new group of colorful, streetwise friends who introduce him to the Ball community. This thrilling, genre-busting film, soulful and heartfelt, has received raves on the film festival circuit and is a superlative and tender, coming-of-age story.
Reeling will present the premieres of two locally made features: Chicago based writer-director Wendell Etherly’s MARKET VALUE is a compelling child custody courtroom drama focused on a lesbian couple fighting to keep their adopted son; and On the Down Low writer-director Tadeo Garcia returns to Reeling with EN ALGUN LUGAR, a gay romantic drama set against the backdrop of the controversial U.S. immigration system.
Other festival highlights include the World Premiere of writer-director Rob Williams’ ( Role/Play, Shared Rooms, Make the Yuletide Gay ) ninth feature film, HAPPINESS ADJACENT, a bisexual love triangle set aboard a cruise ship; the critically acclaimed Sundance hit, I DREAM IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE, Mexican director Ernest Contreras’ drama about two elderly men who are the last living people able to speak a dying language but who refuse to talk to each other; SEBASTIAN, writer-director-actor James Fanizza’s romantic drama about a fling between two men living in different countries who unexpectedly fall in love; the eccentric Scottish film SEAT IN SHADOW, director Henry Coombes’ film about an aging free-spirited artist who plays therapist for the young gay grandson of a friend; APRICOT GROVES, Pouria Heidary Oureh’s beautifully realized story about an Iranian Armenian transman living in the U.S. who visits Armenia to ask his girlfriend’s father for her hand in marriage; THE RING THING, about a lesbian couple facing the pressures of getting married now that it’s legal, directed by William Sullivan, whose That’s Not Us screened at Reeling 2015; and EASTSIDERS SEASON 3: GO WEST, all new episodes from the Emmy-nominated gay web series that went viral on YouTube and was later picked up by Netflix.
Young love is explored in UK director Daniel Grasskamp’s CAT SKIN, in which a shy photography student captures the attention of a popular girl whose boyfriend refuses to leave the picture; David Berry’s SOMETHING LIKE SUMMER, a film adaptation of a popular novel series focusing on a young gay couple that includes Glee-like musical numbers; and Jakob M. Erwa’s CENTER OF MY WORLD, a gay coming of age romance from Germany.
Thrills, excitement, mayhem and various kinds of trouble can be found in two British and two Australian films. In the British crime thriller B&B, two men who successfully sued a small inn for gay discrimination return to gloat and find their triumph is short-lived, and in PALACE OF FUN, a rich young British woman’s calculating gay brother plays sinister games with her love interest. The Australian BOYS IN THE TREES is an eerie surrealist coming of age drama that takes place on Halloween night; and in BAD GIRL, a rebellious teenager is single-white-femaled by a doe-eyed beauty whom her parents are convinced is a good role model for her.
Comic relief is offered by SENSITIVITY TRAINING, in which an abrasive microbiologist finds herself attracted to the woman hired by her company to be her sensitivity coach; DATING MY MOTHER, about an aimless recent college graduate who moves back in with his widowed mom and finds that they are both trying to find Mr. Right; and PROM KING, 2010, which chronicles the failed attempts of an awkward 20-year-old college freshman in New York to find the man of his dreams.
The lives of women of color are explored in two web series: 195 LEWIS, set in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn; and the locally produced, Emmy nominated BROWN GIRLS, set in Chicago. The latter series was funded in part by Chicago Filmmakers’ Chicago Digital Media Production Fund, and creators Samantha Bailey and Fatimah Asghar were recently signed to a development deal to adapt the series for HBO.
Documentaries, as always, are an important part of the Reeling lineup. Documentaries include CHAVELA, an affectionate portrait of the legendary lesbian Costa Rican Ranchera singer who counted Pedro Almodóvar among her friends and Frida Kahlo among her lovers; THE DEATH AND LIFE OF MARSHA P. JOHNSON, Oscar nominated David France’s follow-up to How to Survive a Plague which focuses on the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the trans activist as well as her close friendship with Sylvia Rivera; BONES OF CONTENTION, an historical documentary focusing on the repression of gays and lesbians under the Franco regime during the Spanish Civil War which weaves in the life of murdered queer poet Federico Garcia Lorca; and AGAINST THE LAW, a docudrama about the punitive life for gay men in conservative England in the 1950s.