Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Frameline 34 (SF Intl. LGBT Film Festival) - Official Press Release Wrap-Up

FRAMELINE34 JURY & AUDIENCES HONOR FAVORITE FILMS
Eleven-Day Festival Wraps with HOWL

San Francisco, CA—The world’s largest and longest-running festival celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender films and filmmakers, Frameline34, the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, closed Sunday, June 27 with Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s highly anticipated narrative debut HOWL, followed by a Closing Night party and awards ceremony at the San Francisco Botanical Gardens. The event drew together the LGBT, independent film, and media arts communities for eleven days of diverse, innovative, and socially relevant cinema.

Esteemed guests at the landmark showcase festival included filmmakers from around the world, along with cinema stars such as James Franco. The Festival screened 219 films in eleven days from June 17 through June 27 at the Castro Theatre, the Roxie Film Center, the Victoria Theatre, and the Rialto Cinemas Elmwood in Berkeley, with attendance this year topping 57,000 guests.

Returning this year were the juried awards for Outstanding First Feature and Outstanding Documentary. Taking home the Frameline Outstanding Documentary Award was the Brazilian film DZI CROQUETTES, which chronicled the popularity of revolutionary drag group modeled after San Francisco’s legendary Cockettes. Honorable Mention went to POSTCARD FOR DADDY, for its portrayal of recovery and hope in the face of incest. The Frameline Outstanding First Feature Award went to Javier Fuentes-León’s sold-out Centerpiece Film UNDERTOW, for heart-wrenching acting and narrative voice. Jury members for Outstanding First Feature included Suzy Capó of Mix Brasil, Kareem Tabsch from the Miami LGBT Film Festival and Sarah Neal from the Brisbane Queer Film Festival. Jury members for Outstanding Documentary were Bay Area media arts impresario Cindy Emch, Nancy Fishman of the Torino GLBT Festival, and Bard Yden of the Oslo Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

Taking home awards for the Frameline34 AT&T Audience Award were the Festival’s crowd-pleasing hits. Best Feature Film was awarded to Tunisian film THE STRING, the story of romance and filial duty during a hot North African summer. New Zealand sensation the Topp Twins and director Leanne Pooley were awarded the Best Documentary Award for THE TOPP TWINS: UNTOUCHABLE GIRLS, the soaring and personal story of the yodeling lesbian songstresses. Best Short Film went to REMEMBER ME IN RED, directed by Hector Ceballos, in which Fidelia arranges her best friend’s funeral amidst conflicting family demands around the transgender woman’s burial.

Many films of the Frameline34 festival were honored with standing ovations, gripping question and answer sessions with the filmmakers and cast, and laughter and cheers throughout. Among the festival hits were Opening Night film, THE SECRET DIARIES OF ANNE LISTER, attended by director James Kent and star Maxine Peake; the sneak preview of David Weissman’s WE WERE HERE; the world premieres of Ned Farr and Dreya Webers A MARINE STORY and Nicole Cann’s ELENA UNDONE local directors Billy Clift’s BABY JANE? and Scott Boswell’s THE STRANGER IN US, both attended by hosts of cast and crew; the documentary BEAUTIFUL DARLING attended by director James Rasin and star Holly Woodlawn; Cheryl Dunye’s THE OWLS, attended both by the director and star Guinevere Turner.

The popularity of the oldest LGBT film festival in the world continued in Frameline34, as many films played to sold-out audiences, including: 8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION, STONEWALL UPRISING, PLAN B, FROM BEGINNING TO END, BEAR NATION, THE SONS OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS, EL NIÑO PEZ, and OUT IN THE SILENCE. Ever popular were the shorts programs, which saw many sold out shows, including ARE YOU KRAZY?, GENERATIONS, TOUGH GIRLS, and SKINNYFAT.

Audiences were thrilled throughout the festival by the attendance of high-profile directors and stars who led intimate discussions following the films, attended parties, and stayed to watch other films. Among some of Frameline34’s many guest attendees were WE HAVE TO STOP NOW’s Jill Bennett and Cathy DeBuono, THE FOUR-FACED LIAR’s screenwriter and star Marja-Lewis Ryan, Topp Twins Jools and Lynda Topp, and Frameline34 Trailer stars Chico’s Angels.
Special programs this year were an Andy Warhol retrospective examining the earlier queer films by the pop art master, curated by Yale Professor Ronald Gregg, and a focus on South American LGBT films.

Frameline34’s annual Frameline Award for excellence in LGBT filmmaking went to distributors Wolfe Video’s Kathy Wolfe and Maria Lynn. As Wolfe celebrates their 25th Anniversary in 2010, Frameline honored them for their groundbreaking distribution efforts on behalf of queer film over the last quarter century. On hand to give out the award was film critic and academic B. Ruby Rich, who coined the term “New Queer Cinema.”
The Frameline Volunteer of the Year Award went to longtime volunteer Penni Kimmel, who had the honor of selecting Matthew Hill’s documentary THE REAL ANNE LISTER, the dry-witted documentary that digs up dirt on the Regency-era rule-breaker, to receive a $2500 grant.

About Frameline34: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival
Frameline34: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival screened June 17-27, 2010 at the Castro Theatre, (429 Castro Street), Roxie Theater, (3117 16th Street), and the Victoria Theatre, (2961 16th Street) in San Francisco, and in Berkeley at Rialto Cinemas Elmwood, (2966 College Avenue). The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival is presented by Frameline, a nonprofit LGBT organization whose mission is to strengthen the diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and further its visibility by supporting and promoting a broad array of cultural representations and artistic expression in film, video and other media arts. 

3 comments:

Michael Guillen said...

Black on dark blue? Are you being spiteful again?

Jay, aka The Angry Little Man said...

Me? Spiteful?! No, just negligent with my font colors. Argh.

Michael Guillen said...

MUCH better.