Tag: QFEST

15th Annual QFest St. Louis Runs April 29-May 5 At Galleria 6 Cinemas

Get ready to get your Q on! 

The 15th Annual QFest St. Louis — presented by Cinema St. Louis (CSL) — will take place from April 29-May 5 at the Galleria 6 Cinemas, with a selection of programs also available online. The online programs can be streamed at any time during the festival’s dates. 

The St. Louis-based LGBTQ film festival, QFest will present an eclectic array of 35 films from 13 countries (20 shorts, nine narrative features, and six 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 fest is especially pleased to host the St. Louis premiere of “The Depths,” a rarely seen 2001 work by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, and a reprise from SLIFF of Sebastian Meiser’s prison drama “Great Freedom.” Another highlight is this year’s Q Classic, Todd Hayne’s 1991 “Poison,” which was a part of the dawn of the New Queer Cinema movement of the early ’90s.

A special event, a two-film mini-festival and a panel discussion focused on Harvey Milk, takes place before QFest on the weekend of April 22-23 at Webster University. The event is presented in partnership with Opera Theatre of St. Louis in conjunction with its upcoming premiere of “Milk” in June. In addition, QFest features a “Poison”-themed dance party at Handlebar on Saturday, April 30.

QFest St. Louis begins on Friday, April 29, and runs through Thursday, May 5. Tickets are on sale now. Tickets are $15 general, $12 for Cinema St. Louis members and students with valid and current IDs. Passes are also available: Five-Film Passes are $65, and All-Access Passes are $200 ($50 and $150 for CSL members). Virtual screenings — limited to residents of Missouri and Illinois — will be offered through Eventive, CSL’s online presentation partner. Direct ticket links are available on the QFest website. 

QFest St. Louis is sponsored by AARP St. Louis, Arts & Education Council, Grizzell & Co., Missouri Arts Council, Bob Pohrer & Donnie Engle, CALOP, Just John Nightclub, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Regional Arts Commission, Deb Salls, St. Louis LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce, St. Louis Public Radio, Cindy Walker, Webster U. Film Series, and Ted Wight.

For the full schedule of screenings, including trailers and descriptions of the films, visit the festival website at www.cinemastlouis.org/qfest. Advance digital screeners of the features and some of the shorts are available for press review on request. Please inquire with QFest St. Louis artistic director Chris Clark.

FILM PROGRAMS

Cut!

Marc Ferrer, Spain, 2021, 79 min., Spanish, narrative

The Depths

Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Japan/Korea, 2010, 121 min., Japanese & Korean, narrative

Great Freedom (Grosse Freiheit)

Sebastian Meise, Germany, 2021, 116 min., German, narrative

Mama Bears 

Daresha Kyi, U.S., 2022, 90 min., documentary

Poison 

Todd Haynes, U.S., 1991, 85 min., narrative

Queer Shorts Programs 1-4

Multiple countries, program runtimes range between 79 and 99 minutes

Rebel Dykes 

Harri Shanahan & Siân A. Williams, U.K., 2021, 89 min., documentary

Sirens 

Rita Baghdadi, Lebanon, 2021, 78 min., Arabic & English, documentary

The Swimmer (HaSahyan)

Adam Kalderon, Israel, 2021, 83 min., Hebrew, narrative

The Therapy 

Zvi Landsman, Israel, 2021, 85 min., English & Hebrew, documentary

Two Eyes 

Travis Fine, U.S., 2019, 107 min., narrative

The Unabridged Mrs. Vera’s Daybook 

Robert James, U.S., 2021, 81 min., documentary

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair 

Jane Schoenbrun, U.S., 2021, 86 min., narrative

Social media: Facebook: @QFestSTL | Twitter: @QFestSTL | Instagram: @QFestSTL

QFEST 2011 Review: FISHNET

Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Brian Pelletier, FISHNET tells the story of Sulie and Trixie, a lesbian couple from Los Angeles working as dancers in a burlesque club. A tough, full-figured woman named Lady Jeanette, played by Emma Messenger, runs the club. Everything is going just fine, until a mobster shows up trying to muscle Lady Jeanette. In an impulsive effort to save the day, Trixie shoots the mobster and the two young women flee for safety to Sulie’s parents’ house in Texas.

Jillian Easton (VIRUS X, MEGA PIRANHA) plays Sulie, a woman from a conservative rural Texas upbrining, drawn to L.A. where she first met her creative passion and her romantic love. Rebekah Kochan (HOMEWRECKER, EATING OUT Series) plays Trixie, a wild, fun-loving L.A. woman and Sulie’s romantic partner. These two actresses offer the better moments in FISHNET, comfortable delivering the lines in a way that lifts the words just enough out of absurdity to be fun.

Many of the characters are ridiculous to a fault, possibly by design. Olga, played by Zabeth Russell, is a plump Russian burlesque dancer with an entirely different and undesirable interpretation of what her audience considers sexy. Annie the bartender, the two mobsters, Officer Dick, and even Sulie’s little brother Junior are all exaggerations by design. The filmmaker is poking fun at the various ways we see each other in real life, especially the ultra-conservative Christian right, but comedic license is also taken with just about every other perspective as well.

A great deal of attention is placed on Sulie’s relationship with her family, and how the secrets she and Trixie are keeping from them affect her decisions. Sulie is torn between the life she had and the life she hopes to have, blurred by the dangerous pickle that Trixie has put them in with both the law and the mafia. The story itself is one that’s been told many times, a story of a character waking up to their own truth, which occurs not just with Sulie but with other supporting characters as well. This awakening of self is an underlying theme in FISHNET, clouded by comedy.

FISHNET is a film billed as a comedy/musical. Upon seeing the film, I clearly got that the attempt was to be funny. At times, the humor poked through, but the overall result proved otherwise. The film gets bogged down in clichés, bad jokes and poorly executed comedic acting. Stereotypes run rampant in FISHNET, and whether are intentional or not, they simply don’t work. The silly nature of the firth two acts contrast directly with the third, which attempts to salvage a meaningful, heart-felt ending. After spending the first two-thirds of the film wading through cheesy dialogue, its difficult to take the outcome seriously.

In an effort to be fair and honest, I truly don’t believe FISHNET was meant to be taken seriously. The overwhelming impression I had was that this is a film meant to have fun with, even meant to be made fun of… I can see FISHNET developing a cult following, something along the “so bad its good” lines of Tommy Wiseau’s THE ROOM or TROLL 2, combined with an element of ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. For this expectation, an audience may just eat FISHNET up. Only time will tell. However, my reaction to seeing this film billed as a musical comedy is that this is not a musical. Aside from the opening credits sequence, the film is merely built around a style of musical theatre, that being burlesque, but lacks the trademark choreography and musical outbursts necessary for the genre billing.

FISHNET will screen at 4:30 PM on Saturday, April 16th, 2011 at the Hi-Pointe Theatre in Saint Louis.

QFEST 2011 Review: LEADING LADIES

LEADING LADIES is a quirky but charming comedy with a classical sensibility. Co-directed by Daniel Beahm and Erika Randall Beahm, the film is about two sisters and their overbearing stage mother, once a champion dancer. The light, playful nature of the film is evident from the opening credits. Great care was taken in staging, choreographing and staging the entire film to work whimsically with the musical score.

Shannon Lea Smith plays Tasi Campari, the younger sister and something of a wild princess. Tasi is also the dancer of the two sisters, her mother’s protégé. Laurel Vail (THE ECHO GAME) plays Toni Campari, the introverted and calm sister who often serves as the voice of reason in their family. Melanie LaPatin, a choreographer and actress in real life, plays the Campari girls’ mother Sheri. She’s a colorful, energetic handful of a woman with passion for what she does, whether her daughters always appreciate it or not.

While Tasi’s relationship with their mother grows more strenuous, Toni’s gay best friend Cedric (Benji Schwimmer) takes her out to a gay club where she meets Mona, but her sudden, unexpected revelation is dampened by Tasi’s bombshell announcement that she’s pregnant.

There’s an authenticity to Toni that draws the attention to her very aura, a sort of glow to her presence and personality that says “I’m a real person.” Vail scales back her performance as Toni, resulting in a very relatable character with real emotions and real insecurities.

Tasi’s pregnancy comes about abruptly, but LEADING LADIES is primarily Toni’s story and the pregnancy serves as the elastic waistband that pulls the Campari sisters’ relationship back into shape as Toni’s newly found romance is revealed to those around her, but the sisters’ secrets prove harder for their mother to swallow.

The Beahm’s have incorporated a wonderful attention to detail into LEADING LADIES. The viewer’s focus is immediately engaged by the richness of color and detail in the set design, the lighting and the wardrobes. The varied styles of music pair nicely with the film’s visual mood shifts, while the stunning confidence with the camera and composition is impressive for these first-time filmmakers.

LEADING LADIES is a feel good movie with a message and a joy to watch, and quite possibly one of the most endearing and sincerely uplifting movies I’ve seen in 2010 so far.

LEADING LADIES will screen at 7:00 PM on Friday, April 15th, 2011 at the Hi-Pointe Theatre in Saint Louis.

Red Carpet Opening Night Reception for the 4th Annual Stella Artois QFest April 14 with Director Tim Wolff

ST. LOUIS: Come get your Q on! The Vital VOICE and Cinema St. Louis will host a lively opening night reception on Thursday, April 14 to kick off the Fourth Annual Stella Artois QFest. QFest, the St. Louis-based LGBTQ film festival, runs April 14-17 at the Hi-Pointe Theatre, 1005 McCausland Avenue, 63117. The party will be held before the screening of documentary film THE SONS OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS with guest director Tim Wolff in attendance. Tickets are $20 and include free Stella Artois, wine from West End Wines, PI pizza, soda and popcorn courtesy of the Hi-Pointe, and a ticket to the 7:30 p.m. screening of THE SONS OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS.  The film has had sold out screenings across the country at a number of prominent film festivals and has just been picked up for theatrical distribution by First Run Features.  Advance tickets are available through the Cinema St. Louis offices or online via Brown Paper Tickets.

SYNOPSIS:

THE SONS OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS charts the evolution of the gay Mardi Gras krewe scene, illuminating the ways in which its emergence was a seminal factor in the cause of gay liberation in the South. Having come of age in New Orleans in the 1940s and ’50s, gay krewe members reminisce fondly about being inspired by the opulence of the Mardi Gras festivities. Krewe members, many of them now in their 70s and 80s, recount how the krewe scene created a safe space to gather at a time of vice crackdowns on gay clubs and how they became a powerful force in city politics through their activities. Throughout the decades, however, the lavish balls remain a constant place where, with oversized wigs and outrageous costumes, these unlikely political activists can strut their stuff in grand style.

Producer/director Tim Wolff received his education from the California Institute of the Arts Directing for Theatre and film program. He has produced a number of shows for HBO including two segments of the popular Real Sex series. DVD copies of THE SONS OF TENNESEE WILLIAMS, plus all of the other films and short subjects are available for press review by request. Director Tim Wolff will be available for advance interviews by phone and will be in St. Louis on Thursday, 4/14 and available all day for TV and radio interviews.

The 2011 Stella Artois QFest begins on Thursday, April 14, and runs through Sunday, April 17. Tickets are $12 each or $10 for students and Cinema St. Louis members with valid and current IDs. All screenings will be held at the Hi-Pointe Theatre near the intersection of Clayton and Skinker Boulevards.  QFest will present an eclectic slate of 21 films – 11 features (seven narrative and four documentaries) and 10 short subjects – from three countries, including two comedy features from Italy and a short subject from Singapore. The participating filmmakers represent a wide variety of voices in contemporary queer world cinema. For more information about the full schedule of screenings and events, plus full descriptions of the films and visiting filmmakers, visit our interactive festival website, complete with trailers, for all feature films. Be sure to visit the official QFest page on Facebook.

Stella Artois Presents the 4th Annual QFEST LBGT Film Festival

The fourth annual edition of the Stella Artois QFest will be held April 14-17, 2011, at the Hi-Pointe Theatre. QFest uses the art of contemporary gay cinema to spotlight the diversity and inherent complexities of living an alternative lifestyle in today’s society. The event will feature an eclectic slate of contemporary LGBTQ-themed feature films, documentaries, and shorts.

All screenings will be held at the Hi-Pointe Theatre, 1005 McCausland Ave., near the intersection of Clayton and Skinker boulevards.

Red Carpet Opening Night Celebration
Hi-Pointe, 5:30 – 7:15 pm

$20 admission includes beer from Stella Artois, wine from West End Wines, food from Pi Pizzeria, popcorn, soda, PLUS your ticket to the 7:30 film “The Sons of Tennessee Williams”

For the full schedule and more, visit the Official Website.