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Q-FEST ST. LOUIS – The Gay Film Festival Starts Thursday – We Are Movie Geeks

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Q-FEST ST. LOUIS – The Gay Film Festival Starts Thursday

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I’m super-excited about this year’s Q-Fest….and I’m not even gay!

There are a pair of must-see gay-themed films making their St. Louis debuts; I AM DIVINE, a documentary about the late crossdresser and John Waters frequent star, and James Franco’s INTERIOR LEATHER BAR, a high-concept recreation of scenes that were cut from William Friedkin’s notorious 1980 gay serial killer movie CRUISING. Divine was one of the biggest, most outrageous, and proudly different gay cultural icons the world has known and the new documentary about the performer I AM DIVINE plays at Q-FEST this Friday night at 7pm. A high (or low) point in Divine’s career was John Waters 1972’s masterpiece PINK FLAMINGOS where he/she competes for the title of “filthiest person alive” by eating fresh dog poop. With antics like that, it’s no surprise that the emerging punk scene adopted his visage on t-shirts.  I AM DIVINE will be preceded by the short LAST KISS by Chuck Lum, a brief elegy honoring the memory and tomb of Oscar Wilde. Chuck is an old buddy of mine and helped out with Vincentennial two years ago by going to Elizabeth Shepard’s apartment (she starred with Vincent Price in TOMB OF LIGEIA) and filming a wonderful testimonial by her about working with Vincent Price. This is the first of Chuck’s films to be shown at Q-Fest and I’m glad they’re showing it with the Divine documentary because that will draw a big crowd.

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INTERIOR LEATHER BAR plays afterwards at 9pm but requires a separate admission.

And those two aren’t even the films opening the sixth annual edition Q-Fest!

The Cinema St. Louis  event will be held Thursday, June 6 – Sunday, June 9, 2013, in the Winifred Moore Auditorium at Webster University. QFest uses the art of contemporary gay cinema to spotlight the diversity and inherent complexities of living an alternative lifestyle in today’s society. This year’s event will feature an eclectic slate of contemporary LGBTQ-themed feature films, documentaries, and shorts. Contact artistic director Chris Clark for additional details, questions, and the mega cool perks of sponsoring the event or a QFest film: chris@cinemastlouis.org or 314.289.4152.
Tickets
All screenings will be held at the Webster University’s Winifred Moore Auditorium, 470 E. Lockwood Ave. in Webster Groves. Individual tickets are $12 general admission, $10 for students and Cinema St. Louis members with valid and current photo IDs, and free for Webster U. students. Advance tickets will be available through Brown Paper Tickets (search for QFest St. Louis). For more information, call 314.289.4152.

a printable .pdf of the entire event can be downloaded HERE

http://www.cinemastlouis.org/sites/default/files/downloads/2013/2013_QFEST_PROGRAM.pdf

The Cinema St. Louis page can be found HERE

http://www.cinemastlouis.org/qfest

Opening Night: Thursday June 6th:

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Married & Counting
Allan Piper
United States
2012, 93 min.
Show Times
Thu, Jun 6th at 7:00pm
Webster U./Moore
A same-sex couple celebrates their 25th anniversary by traveling the country to marry in every state that will legally let them. Along the way they find acceptance from strangers, rejection from loved ones, and discover that no distance is too far to go to declare that their marriage counts. Narrated by George Takei, Time Magazine calls the film “Equal parts love story and political protest”
Director Allan Piper, plus subjects Pat Dwyer and Stephen Mosher will attend. Immediately following the screening will be a wedding reception at Cravings.

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Carla
Eli Hershko
United States
2012, 80 min.
Show Times
Thu, Jun 6th at 9:00pm
Webster U./Moore
While Carla, a male-to-female pre-op transsexual, contemplates on how to come up with the cash needed to complete her transition and is faced with the hardship of being dejected from her family she meets Sam, a regular great guy who likes her the way she is. But when Carla suddenly gets the cash needed for her various surgeries, Sam has second thoughts about their relationship. Now Carla is faced with the tough dilemma, if she transitions she loses Sam and if she doesn’t she may just lose herself.
Actress Joslyn Defreece, who plays Carla, will attend.
Sponsored by:
Tim Brennan and Cravings

Friday night June 7th:

I-Am-Divine

I Am Divine
Jeffrey Schwarz
United States
2013, 85 min.
Show Times
Fri, Jun 7th at 7:00pm
Webster U./Moore

I AM DIVINE is the story of Divine, aka Harris Glenn Milstead, from his humble beginnings as an overweight, teased Baltimore youth to internationally recognized drag superstar through his collaboration with filmmaker John Waters. Spitting in the face of the status quos of body image, gender identity, sexuality, and preconceived notions of beauty, Divine was the ultimate outsider turned underground royalty. With a completely committed in-your-face style, he blurred the line between performer and personality, and revolutionized pop culture. This definitive biographical portrait charts the legendary icon’s rise to infamy and emotional complexities.

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Interior. Leather Bar.
James Franco & Travis Mathews
2013, 60 min.
Show Times
Fri, Jun 7th at 9:00pm
Webster U./Moore
The controversial 1980 film “Cruising,” which explored (or exploited) the S&M gay subculture, was forced by the MPAA to cut 40 minutes of sexually explicit material. Filmmakers James Franco and Travis Mathews re-imagine what might have transpired in those lost scenes in this intriguing film. The result is a provocative film about the importance of the radical and transgressive in society and the value of engaging with things that scare us. The films grapples with the need to challenge normalcy, the interplay of celebrity and experimentation, and the dilemma faced by actors struggling to reconcile who they are in life with who they portray on screen.

Parking may be a challenge Friday night due to the annual Webster Groves Art & Air Festival taking place all weekend across the street on the campus of Eden Seminary. Please allow extra time for parking and walking a little further to Webster U. and Moore Auditorium, which is in Webster Hall right across the street from Eden and the festival. Look for the castle-like structure in the middle of the circular drive in the northernmost face of the campus on Lockwood. The main doors lead directly to the theater. This will be an awesome St. Louis summer weekend, so please come early to enjoy this wonderful outdoor event before coming to QFest.

Check back here at We Are Movie Geeks for more coverage of the 6th annual Q-Fest St. Louis!