QFest Continues Wednesday with Shorts, HALSTON, and CANARY

By Tom Stockman | April 30, 2019

Come get your Q on! The 12th Annual QFest St. Louis, presented by Cinema St. Louis,runs April 28-May 2, 2019, at the Tivoli Theatre (6350 Delmar) .The St. Louis-based LGBTQ film festival, QFest will present an eclectic slate of 28 films (14 shorts, seven narrative features, and seven documentary features). 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 spotlight the lives of LGBTQ people and to celebrate queer culture. The full schedule can be found HERE

The 12th Annual QFest St. Louis continues Wednesday May 1st. Here’s Wednesday’s schedule:

5:00pm May 1st: QUEER SHORTS 1 – READY OR NOT OUT I COME – This is a FREE screening
(though tickets are required from box office)

Clothes & Blow (Sam Peter Jackson, U.K., 2018, 23 min.): An American voice-over actor living in London is bored by demanding client calls and awkward Grindr meetups, and when his mother decides to visit unexpectedly, he is forced to re-evaluate how fully and authentically he is really living his life.

Home Girl (Poonam Brah, U.K., 2018, 12 min.): Roya, a British Muslim woman whose mother has just died, discovers after the funeral that her “hidden” relationship with another woman was no secret.

How to Be O.K. (Graham Halstead, U.S., 2018, 13 min.): After an awkward coming-out confession to his conservative grandfather, a young man tries to figure out how to live in his own skin.

Misdirection (Carly Usdin, U.S., 2018, 14 min.): Camila, a college freshman with obsessive-compulsive disorder and a gay crush on her roommate, has a chance encounter with a street magician and learns to open her heart to new possibilities.

Sammy the Salmon (Jake Shannon, Australia, 2018, 7 min.): Unable to pluck up the courage to tell his girlfriend he’s gay, Spencer comes across a talking salmon who offers to get his love life back on track.

Sequins (Michael Beddoes, U.K., 2019, 18 min.): A chance encounter with a jaded drag queen sets 17-year-old Paul — a wannabe drag performer — on a collision course with his parents, bullies, and the school talent show.

7:00pm May 1st: HALSTON – Ticket information can be found HERE

From Iowa to Studio 54 to Wall Street, Halston lived an American dream. Prodigiously talented, he reigned over fashion in the 1970s, becoming a household name. “Halston” — which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival — captures the epic sweep of the life and times of the legendary designer, who wanted to “dress all of America.” Acclaimed filmmaker Frédéric Tcheng (“Dior and I”) expertly weaves together rare archival footage and intimate interviews with Halston’s friends, family members, and collaborators, including Liza Minnelli, niece Lesley Frowick, filmmaker Joel Schumacher, and the Halstonettes. Tcheng frames Halston’s story as an investigation, using scripted scenes featuring actress and writer Tavi Gevinson as a young archivist diving into the Halston company records. The film goes behind the headlines and into the thrilling struggle between Halston’s artistic legacy and the pressures of big business. America’s first superstar designer, Halston created an empire and personified the dramatic social and sexual revolution of the last century. Moving beyond Halston’s embodiment of 1970s glamour, Tcheng reveals Halston’s impact on fashion, culture, and business. Screen International writes: “‘Halston’ is tailor-made for fashionistas. Frédéric Tcheng’s breezy docudrama offers a serious assessment of the fashion designer’s achievements, accessorised with enough gossip, conflict and celebrity to attract a wider audience.”

9:15pm May 1st: CANARY -Ticket information can be found HERE

“Canary” is a love story about removing the yoke of uniformity and finding individuality in a world of hatred, war, and oppression. Set in South Africa in 1985 — against the backdrop of apartheid — “Canary” is the coming-of-age story of Johan (Schalk Bezuidenhout), a shy and effeminate teen whose love of British new-wave music and Boy George has resulted in bullying in his small town. As part of his compulsory two-year military training, Johan is chosen for the South African Defence Force Choir and Concert Group, known as the Canaries, and he hopes the choir will serve as a way out of fighting on behalf of the brutal apartheid regime. But when he develops feelings for a fellow Canary while on tour, Johan soon recognizes the role he plays in the oppression and injustice that surround him. As he begins to question everything he knows about himself, Johan’s new awareness leads to a confrontation with his commanding officers.