Life with Movies and Maxxxxx

Frameline33: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, the world’s premiere showcase for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender cinema, runs June 18-28, 2009, with screenings in San Francisco at the historic Castro Theatre, Roxie Theater and the Victoria Theatre, and in Berkeley at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood. Tickets are available via the website 24 hours a day, via fax, or in person at the Frameline Festival Box Office Counter.

Films in this program of short subjects are listed in order as presented via screener and subject to change. It screens twice: Saturday, June 20, 11:00 AM and Sunday, June 28, 2:15 PM, both at the Castro Theatre. This collection is a group of comedies about, by, for gay men and includes:

FREQUENT TRAVELLER (Dir. Patricia Bateira, Portugal, 2007, 8 min.) This could actually be expanded to be either a farce about the lengths one man goes to in order to be touched, or a creepy drama about how one man fulfills a particular fetish. It sort of depends on your mood! Regardless, director Patricia Bateira actually sets an ambiguous relationship between "partners" and opens up this brief 8 minutes to possibilities that I wasn't sure I really wanted to end so soon! It's a different way to open a collection of "comedies", but enjoyable, nonetheless.

The Island (dir. Trevor Anderson, Canada, 2008, 5 min.) The script features the Canadian filmmaker visualizing a piece of "fan mail" he receives. Through some niftily animated backgrounds and settings, his mind is allowed to wander, ala a monologue reminiscent of a "Buddy Cole" rant, what it might be like to "put 'em all on an island," all while marching through the snow. The monologue is more amusing than the visuals. However, Trevor Anderson has a clean, technical showcase here of style and substance, even if they may not be overly complimentary to each other.

BOY MEETS BOY (dir. KIM-JHO Gwang-soo, Korea, 2008, 14 min.) Boy sees boy and then... a Korean Bjork pops up out of nowhere for this non-linear narrative music video! There is an animated video within it, and the song repeats the phrase "Be careful when you hook up on the street..." Then, sort of out of the blue, one of the boys returns a camera to him that we see (in flashback) that he mugged him for. I think. 14 minutes is sort of short for a non-linear narrative and to keep it all straight. But it is pretty enough to look at and anybody who aspires to be Bjork-ish is ok in my book!

STEAM (dir. Damien Rea, USA, 2008, 3 min.) Well, three minutes is too long for a Calvin Klein steam iron commercial and too short for a "quickie" in the world of soft core porn, but that's what this adds up to, in my book. Except for the visual of a sweaty torso, and the easily accommodated running time, I'm not exactly sure what has prompted the apparent international appeal of this piece on the international festival circuit.

SUCKER (dir. Peter Pizzi, USA, 2008, 17 min.) Recorded in mini-DV, a NERDY guy picks up (exceptionally HOT!) guys on line for blow jobs and talks and talks and talks and talks about it. This walks a strange line between narrative and porn. Apparently, it is based on a short story, as it is a monologue, but it needs to be adapted into more "action" and less reciting of the short story. Not to mention that the main character just oozes a NEEEDINESS that is off putting to listen to, even for the seventeen minutes.

THIRTEEN OR SO MINUTES (dir. William Branden Blinn, USA, 2008, 14 min.) A pair of straight boys seem to have just had a night of... "exploring"? It's all sort of sweaty and more than a bit nice to look at, but... they're talking like girls after sex. And the cinematography is just "off", as faces fall out of frame. There is a LOT of dialogue, which leads me to believe it is an adaption of a one act play. No real movement or action, but face to face talking... It could have explored some much more enticing, if not intimate possibilities.

REUNION (dir. Dennis Hensley, USA, 2008, 11 min.) An awkwardly unlikable cast seems to be a bit of a trademark of Dennis Hensley, who co-wrote TESTOSTERONE, which screened at Frameline 28 (2004) (which predates this blog, but is in my "diaries" at the time.) Here, the cast of characters include "a gay TV home makeover show host returns to his small hometown for his 20-year high school reunion, boyfriend in tow, and discovers that his former classmates are not exactly what they once seemed." Frankly, though the concept and idea of "going back" to see who else might have 'come out' since high school has a bit of nostalgic appeal, I will give credit to this short that the reality of such confrontations are probably as anti-climatic as it is depicted here. I am afraid that is all that stuck with me about this one.

DISH (Dir. Brian Harris Krinsky, USA, 2009, 16 min.) Two 15 year olds boys talk and talk and talk and about sex, in graphic terms. One is a virgin and more or challenges himself to hook up with a slut. Their attempted sex scene is done off camera which is sort of cleverly executed. In the end, this could almost be considered teenage mumblecore, which is a frightening trend, as it is just TOO SOON to start with the navel gazing! Also, it is the first time I fell across the term "Emo kids".

Maxxxxx says
re STEAM and THIRTEEN MINUTES OR SO: "Time for shower?!"