Movies
Eighth Annual QFEST ST. LOUIS – LGBTQ Film Festival Runs April 19-23 at The Tivoli Theatre
Come get your Q on, St. Louis! The Eighth Annual QFest St. Louis, presented by Cinema St. Louis, runs April 19-23 at the Tivoli Theatre. The St. Louis-based LGBTQ film festival, QFest will present an eclectic slate of 23 films – 11 features (six narratives and five documentaries) and 12 short subjects. The participating filmmakers represent a wide variety of voices in contemporary queer world cinema. The mission of the film festival is to use the art of contemporary gay cinema to illustrate the diversity of the LGBTQ community and to explore the complexities of living an alternative lifestyle.
Highlights include the St. Louis premieres of two biographical documentaries on Olympic diver Greg Louganis (“Back on Board”) and former Hollywood heartthrob Tab Hunter (“Tab Hunter Confidential”). Other prominent films include the latest from avant-garde queer filmmaker Bruce la Bruce (“Gerontophilia”) and lesbian-themed films starring Geraldine Chaplin (“Sand Dollars”) and the directorial debut from HBO’s “Girls” co-star Desiree Akhavan (“Appropriate Behavior”).
The 2015 QFest St. Louis begins on Sunday, April 19, and runs through Thursday, April 23. Tickets are on sale now for all shows. Cost is $12 each or $10 for students and Cinema St. Louis members with valid and current IDs. All screenings will be held at the Tivoli Theatre, located at 6350 Delmar Blvd. in the Delmar Loop. Advance sales are available through the Landmark Theatres website at tickets.landmarktheatres.com. Click on show time, not film title, to get to the purchase section.
For the schedule of screenings and events, including trailers and full descriptions of the films, visit Cinema St. Louis’ interactive festival website at www.cinemastlouis.org/qfest. The official QFest St. Louis page on Facebook is https://www.facebook.com/QFestSTL.
.
Here’s the Q line-up:
The Year We Thought About Love Sun – Director: Ellen Brodsky – Apr 19 at 1:00pm
What happens when a diverse group of LGBTQ youth dares to be “out” onstage to reveal their lives and their loves? The film goes behind the scenes of one of the oldest queer-youth theaters in America, the Boston-based True Colors OUT Youth Theater, which transforms daily struggles into performance for social change. With wit, candor, and attitude, the cast of characters captivates audiences surprised to hear such stories in school settings. The film introduces a transgender teenager kicked out of her house, a devout Christian challenging his church’s homophobia, and a girl who prefers to wear boys’ clothing even as she models dresses on the runway. When bombs explode outside their building, the troupe becomes even more determined to share their stories of love to help heal their city.
Back on Board: Greg Louganis – 2014, U.S., 90 min. Director: Cheryl Furjanic – Sun, Apr 19 at 3:15pm
A refreshingly candid documentary film about four-time Olympic champion Greg Louganis, “Back on Board” follows the diver over the past three years, as he struggles with financial security and reunites with the sport he once dominated but was not welcomed in. The threat of losing his house during the recent financial crisis forces Louganis to re-evaluate the choices, relationships, and missed opportunities of his career. With unprecedented access, the film reveals the complicated life of an athlete whose grace, beauty, and courage sparked a worldwide fascination with diving. It chronicles Louganis’ rise from a difficult upbringing to nearly universal acclaim as the greatest diver ever and traces his path as he moves from a pioneering openly gay athlete with HIV to an overlooked sports icon. “Back on Board” is the engrossing story of an American legend as he re-emerges on the world stage to combat prejudice, promote tolerance, and return to the diving world after a long period of absence to act as a mentor to the next generation.
–
Liz in September – Director: Fina Torres2014, Venezuela, 100 min., in Spanish with English subtitles – Sun, Apr 19 at 5:30pm
“Liz in September” — based on the classic lesbian play “Last Summer at Bluefish Cove” — chronicles the unlikely relationship between two apparent opposites. Liz has known several things since she was a child: She is gay, beauty is power, and she will never be a victim. Determined to enjoy the time she still has left on Earth, she hides her terminal disease from even her closest friends. Eva, by contrast, has succumbed to despair. After she loses her son to cancer, Eva finds that pain and guilt damage the relationship with her husband, sinking both into isolation. Alone on her vacation, Eva is left stranded on the road when her car breaks down. Ending up at Margot’s Inn, she meets Liz and her group of gay friends, and Liz makes a bet that she can seduce the straight newcomer. Against all odds, the encounter between these two women changes their lives.
–
Tiger Orange – Director: Wade Gasque – 2014, U.S., 76 min. – Sun, Apr 19 at 8:00pm
Chet (co-screenwriter Mark Strano) and Todd (Frankie Valenti, aka former adult star Johnny Hazzard) are estranged gay brothers who grew up in a small town in Central California with their homophobic single father. Bad boy Todd ran off to Los Angeles and is now out and proud, but the mostly closeted Chet stayed at home, running the family hardware store and caring for their ailing father until his recent death. When a broke and homeless Todd returns to the brother he left behind, long-simmering resentments boil to the surface. As the pair confronts their differences and similarities, the film offers a poignant depiction of family dynamics and small-town life.
In this charming coming-of-age musical, a high-school senior eliminates his self-esteem issues after attending a drag performance.
–
Tab Hunter Confidential – Director: Jeffrey Schwarz – 2015, U.S., 90 min. – Mon, Apr 20 at 7:00pm
In the 1950s, Tab Hunter was No. 1 both at the box office and on the music charts. Hollywood’s most sought-after star and America’s boy next door, Hunter was romantically linked to such actresses as Natalie Wood, Debbie Reynolds, and Sophia Loren. Nothing, it seems, could damage Tab Hunter’s career. Nothing, that is, except for the fact that he was secretly gay. Now, Hunter’s secret is out, and in this revelatory documentary the actor shares the whole story of a happy, healthy survivor of Hollywood’s roller coaster. In addition to Hunter’s own frank recollections, the film features a cavalcade of old and new Hollywood players — including Reynolds, Clint Eastwood, Robert Wagner, Connie Stevens, John Waters, Dolores Hart, Rona Barrett, and George Takei — who talk openly about their personal experiences with the actor.
–
Gerontophilia – Director: Bruce la Bruce – 2013, Canada, 75 min., in English and French with English subtitles – Mon, Apr 20 at 9:00pm
The always-provocative Bruce La Bruce (“Raspberry Reich,” “L.A. Zombie”) is back with a new romantic comedy (of sorts). Eighteen-year-old Lake has a sweet activist girlfriend but one day discovers he has an unusual attraction for the elderly. Fate conspires to land him a job at a nursing home, where he develops a tender relationship with Mr. Peabody. Finding that the patients are being overmedicated to make them easier to manage, Lake decides to wean Mr. Peabody off his medication and help him escape, resulting in a humorous and heartfelt road trip that strengthens their bond.
–
Out in the Night – Director: Blair Dorosh-Walter – 2014, U.S., 75 min. – Tue, Apr 21 at 7:00pm
This jaw-dropping documentary tells the story of a group of seven young African-American lesbians who are out walking in a gay-friendly neighborhood of New York City on an August night in 2006. When an older man sexually confronts them, one of the women says that they are gay, but that only escalates the situation: The man becomes violent and threatens to “fuck them straight.” Two of the women defend the group, and another pulls a knife from her purse and swings at the man, with the entire encounter captured by nearby security cameras. Strangers jump in to defend the women, and the confrontation escalates, but as the fight comes to an end, all get up and walk away. However, the incident is far from over: 911 has been called, the man involved has been stabbed, and police swarm to the scene with their radios blasting out warning of a gang attack. Rounded up and charged with multiple counts, including attempted murder, three of the women plead guilty, but four claim their innocence. Called a “gang of killer lesbians” by the media, the defendants become known as the New Jersey 4 in activist circles.
–
Queer Shorts – Program length is 95 minutes. Films are listed in alphabetical order. – Tue, Apr 21 at 9:00pm
0 comments