Frameline40: San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival by Frameline

The king of queer film festivals San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival June 16 — 26, 2016 www.frameline.org

Grand

Premier Technology

Premier

Premier Creative

Contents

Kiki (p. 19)

Ovarian Psycos (p. 59)

Realness & Revelations (p. 67)

Paris 05:59: Theo & Hugo (p. 39)

Welcome to Frameline40

sponsored by

DIR Marlon T. Riggs 1989 USA 55 min

Thursday, June 23, 1:30 pm · Castro $8 members, $10 general · TONG23C Emmy Award-winning director Marlon T. Riggs’ Tongues Untied uses poetry, personal testimony, and performance, featuring poet Essex Hemphill and others, to address homophobia and racism. The stories told offer fierce examples: the man refused entry to a gay bar because of his color; the college student left bleeding on the sidewalk after a gay-bashing; the loneliness and isolation of the drag queen. Yet they also affirm Black gay male experience: protest marches, smoky bars, “snap diva,” humorous “musicology,” and Vogue dancers. Winner of the Best Documentary Prize at the 1990 Berlinale, Riggs’ groundbreaking work wasn’t well received by mainstream audiences, and the American conservative right cited the film as “pornographic art.” In reply, Riggs stated, “People are far more sophisticated in their homophobia and racism now ... they say ‘We object to the language, we have to protect the community’ ... those statements are a ruse.” While battling the controversy off-screen, Riggs reinforced the on-screen declaration that “Black men loving Black men is a revolutionary act.” Riggs’ semi-autobiographical work provides insight into a filmmaker, writer, and artist who captured the intersectionality of Black gay life in a way that continues to be unrivaled. Tongues Untied has found audiences through Frameline Distribution since its release, ensuring that it continues to be viewed, studied, and experienced across the globe. —ALEXIS WHITHAM

Preceded by: Voguing: The Message DIRS Jack Walworth, David Bronstein, & Dorothy Low 1989 USA 13 min

Special Presentation

Tongues Untied

Vegas in Space

DIR Philip R. Ford 1991 USA 85 min

SPECIAL PRESENTATION with Peaches Christ Productions Friday, June 17, 9:30 pm · Victoria $12 members, $15 general · VEGA17V Gender-bending astronauts, an evil Empress, and an adventure that will take you to the farthest, most fabulous reaches of the galaxy. It can only be Vegas in Space. An international cult classic and significant slice of San Francisco drag history, Vegas in Space is a rollicking musical space odyssey like no other. Directed by Phillip R. Ford and starring drag icons Doris Fish, Miss X, and Tippi, the film tells the tale of a trio of astronauts who must change their sex to infiltrate a planet of women and save the universe from the clutches of an evil galactic tyrant. Shot over the course of eight years and starring a cast comprised primarily of drag performers, the film became a midnight movie darling, playing Sundance, Cannes, and earning a coveted spot on USA Up All Night. An essential slice of drag culture and cinema, Vegas in Space paved the way for a generation of films and queens to follow. For the film’s 25th anniversary, Frameline, in association with Peaches Christ Productions and Troma Entertainment, is proud to present a fully-fledged celebration of the movie that took us to the stars. Featuring an accompanying pre-show featuring Vegas in Space cast and crew in person, including director Phillip R. Ford, Miss X, Ramona Fischer, Lori Naslund, Timmy Spence, Kate Guthorn, Silvana Nova, and Connie Champagne! —MICHAEL VARRATI

One of the most popular titles on Frameline Voices, this pre-Madonna primer on the roots of the gay Black and Latino dance form raises questions about race, sex, and subcultural style.

retrospectives & special presentation 35

Showcase

Girls Lost Pojkarna

DIR Alexandra-Therese Keining 2016 Sweden 105 min In Swedish with English subtitles

Some narratives are so bracingly unique that they demand to be seen. Such a tale is Girls Lost, a delectably twisted fairytale of gender fluidity directed by rising Swedish auteur AlexandraTherese Keining (Kiss Me, Frameline36). Based on Jessica Schiefauer’s popular young adult novel Pojkarna, which won the prestigious August Prize in 2011, the film centers on three teenage outcasts—Kim (Tuva Jagell), Bella (Wilma Holmen), and Momo (Louise Nyvall). Mercilessly bullied at school, the girls seek solace in their off-kilter friendship and daydreams of carefree existence as boys. One day, daydreams become reality: the girls imbibe the nectar of a peculiar plant they’ve been growing in Bella’s greenhouse and are temporarily transformed into boys. Delighted by their new bodies, and the spectacular mischief-making these bodies enable, the girls are unprepared for the woes that lie ahead—especially for Kim. Becoming dangerously enamored with her newfound identity and developing a mad crush on troubled bad boy Tony (Mandus Berg), Kim finds herself within the jagged brambles of homoerotic entanglements, as impossible decisions loom ahead. Unfurling like a thriller, and enhanced by an intoxicating soundtrack of Euro-trance, Girls Lost dares to take its fantastic plot seriously, plunging us deep into an otherworldly realm of gender nonconformity with artistic aplomb. This luscious supernatural tale of finding one’s true self also raises serious questions about identity, igniting our passionate attention: “If you are blind to what is different, this story is not for you. But if your eyes are open, you should listen carefully,” the film declares in its opening exhortation. Take heed, and open those eyes to the dark and magical wonders of Girls Lost—self-liberation lies somewhere down the shadowy serpentine path. — CURRAN NAULT

36 Frameline40

Saturday, June 18, 9:00 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · LOST18V Saturday, June 25, 9:30 pm · Piedmont $10 members, $12 general · LOST25P proudly sponsored by

Showcase

Growing Up Coy DIR Eric Juhola 2016 USA 86 min

In a highly conservative Colorado town, a pink-loving, pigtailed six-year-old girl named Coy becomes the unlikely poster child for transgender rights, in a landmark case that is reverberating in state courts across the country. Although she was born as a boy in a set of triplets, Coy’s gender identity was evident even as a toddler, leading her parents, Kathryn and Jeremy, to accept her early on as the girl she wished to be. At first their school is very supportive, but midway through Coy’s first-grade year, they ban her from using the girls’ bathroom. Infuriated and fearing for their child’s safety, Kathryn and Jeremy decide to fight the school’s decision (which defies Colorado’s anti-discrimination law), despite the further attention they know it will draw to Coy’s gender status. They engage the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, led by civil rights attorney Michael D. Silverman, who take their case, and the international media firestorm it generates is fast and often extremely furious. For a family with five children under the age of nine—including the triplets, a very young child, and a daughter with severe cerebral palsy—the strain is enormous. Throughout Eric Juhola’s intimate documentary, we feel the fraught tension between Kathryn and Jeremy’s need to protect their privacy and their child’s innocence and the need to fight for Coy’s rights—as well as the rights of the “thousands of Coys out there.” — JOANNE PARSONT

Saturday, June 25, 11:00 am · Castro $8 members, $10 general · GROW25C proudly sponsored by

This film is a recipient of a Frameline Completion Fund grant.

showcase 37

Showcase

The Intervention DIR Clea DuVall 2016 USA 91 min

Featuring an all-star, female-driven comedic ensemble, writer-director-star Clea Duvall’s directorial debut is a heartfelt homage to The Big Chill (and delivers upon decades of dreams in reuniting cast members from the iconic But I’m A Cheerleader). No one knows better than Annie (Togetherness’s Melanie Lynskey) what’s best for her friends in terms of relationships, especially her best friend Ruby (How I Met Your Mother alum Cobie Smulders). Ruby and hubby Peter are long overdue for a talking to about how toxic they are for each other, so Annie stages an intervention to tell Ruby and Peter that they’re better off divorced. They’re passive-aggressive without the “passive,” sex for the couple is a distant memory, and they can’t even agree on how old their kids are. But Annie’s weekend getaway of reflection turns into one of deflection and uncomfortable truths for everyone involved. Ruby’s sister Jessie (Duvall) and her longtime girlfriend Sarah (Orange Is The New Black’s Natasha Lyonne) are a few snores away from lesbian bed death. “Non-couple” Jack and Lola have very different ideas of commitment, but haven’t found the time to discuss it in between road tripping and humping like rabbits. And Annie herself, the ever-sloshed facilitator of this fiasco, won’t address the fact that she hasn’t committed to a wedding date with her doting fiancé, Matt. Winning Sundance’s 2016 Special Jury Award for Individual Performance, Lynskey’s busybody Annie truly shines as she unravels, especially during her blink-and-you’ll-miss-them hilarious interactions with Lola (Arrested Development alum Alia Shawkat). Over a rollicking score composed by Sara Quin (Tegan and Sara) and juxtaposed against a backdrop that should otherwise be peaceful and serene, The Intervention is a sharp, funny, and honest portrayal of the complexities of modern adult relationships. — ANGELIQUE SMITH

38 Frameline40

Saturday, June 18, 9:15 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · INTE18C proudly sponsored by

Showcase

Paris 05:59: Theo & Hugo Théo et Hugo dans le même bateau

DIRS Olivier Ducastel & Jacques Martineau 2016 France 97 min In French with English subtitles

Explicit sex has rarely been used to explore the contours of a new relationship as effectively as in Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau’s new film—an exquisite return for the pair after Born in ’68 (Frameline33) and Côte d’Azur (Opening Night Frameline29). In the wee hours of the night at a Paris sex club called Impact, Theo spots the handsome Hugo just a couple of naked bodies away. After some intense glances—and even more intense sex—they leave together, joyfully exclaiming that their intercourse “helped with world peace.” Riding their bikes through the mostly deserted streets, the two young men begin a conversation that will take them through the evening and traverse an extraordinary range of personal and psychological territory. Shifting from a lengthy X-rated sequence to the dialogue-driven territory of Richard Linklater’s Before trilogy or Andrew Haigh’s Weekend requires a careful balancing act indeed, but it’s what makes Paris 05:59 (winner of a Panorama Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Berlin International Film Festival) so remarkable. With a digital clock flashing on the screen now and then to state the current hour, the film follows Theo and Hugo in real time as they wander from a kebab joint to Theo’s apartment, discussing their current jobs, family and relationship history, and their possible future together. Ducastel and Martineau unfold their dialogue in carefully orchestrated scenes beautifully performed by Geoffrey Couët as Theo and François Nambot as the more impulsive Hugo. As the two discuss, argue, make out, and even enjoy being silent with one another, it’s a distinct pleasure to see how the mating dance can begin and evolve for many gay men. For Theo and Hugo, as they watch the dark give rise to day on a night they won’t soon forget, the hot sex is just the beginning. — ROD ARMSTRONG

Thursday, June 23, 9:15 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · PARI23C proudly sponsored by

This film contains sexually explicit material.

showcase 39

Showcase

Pushing Dead DIR Tom E. Brown 2015 USA 108 min

In what may be a comedy first, San Francisco writer-director Tom E. Brown shakes together some unlikely ingredients—healthcare bureaucracy, a gentrifying city, and the tribulations of being a longtime HIV survivor—and serves up an effervescent, quirky cocktail of pathos and black humor in his delightful feature debut. At the center of the outstanding ensemble cast is James Roday (TV’s Psych) as HIVpositive writer and bouncer Dan Schauble. When a bureaucratic snafu makes it impossible for him to get his prescriptions refilled, he quietly panics that even a short disruption of his pharmaceutical regimen could have disastrous consequences. But as he navigates a comically Kafkaesque insurance labyrinth, this cockeyed optimist is just as concerned about the emotional wellbeing of his lonely roommate, Paula (Robin Weigert), and of his recently separated boss, Bob (Danny Glover). Dan also finds welcome distraction in Mike (Tom Riley), a cute British painter. Brown (whose comic short Tradesman’s Exit was a Frameline39 hit) makes acute observations about a healthcare system that puts lives at risk with arbitrary rules, but his film is deceptively light, leavened not just by its often absurd humor but also by its strong relationships and its authentic local feel. Pushing Dead is in some ways a valentine to San Francisco’s traditional, all-inclusive nature, which welcomes artists and dreamers like Dan and allows them to flourish in makeshift families such as the one he’s created with Paula, Bob, and Bob’s wife, Dot (Khandi Alexander). The entire ensemble is terrific, led by Roday’s amiable performance as the generous, gentle soul at the heart of a film that is as warm as it is funny. — PAM GRADY

40 Frameline40

Saturday, June 18, 6:30 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · PUSH18C Tuesday, June 21, 9:30 pm · Elmwood $10 members, $12 general · PUSH21E proudly sponsored by

Showcase

Rara

DIR Pepa San Martín 2016 Chile, Argentina 88 min In Spanish with English subtitles

With her first feature film, writer-director Pepa San Martín delivers a powerful but brilliantly subtle family drama. The story, which is both a poignant coming-of-age tale and a basedon-a-true-story account of a same-gender marriage threatened by social forces, begins with a tableau of relative domestic harmony: Paula (Mariana Loyola) lives with her partner, Lía, and her two daughters, Sarah and Catalina. Her ex-husband, Victor, lives nearby with his new wife, Nicole, and the girls shift easily between the two homes. But internal tensions and external pressures slowly begin to unravel the family tapestry. Standard mother-daughter squabbles and explosive moments of adolescent angst that are par for the course in any family spark heightened anxieties in a family with lesbian parents living in a conservative-leaning community—an outwardly tolerant environment with a latent underpinning of insinuation and judgment. Co-written by Chilean director Alicia Scherson, the story is told chiefly from Sarah’s perspective, as she rides a tumultuous wave of pubescence toward her 13th birthday. As an eldest daughter and a child of divorce, Sarah (an exceptional Julia Lubbert) is well versed in the maneuvers needed to play one parent against another in order to get what she wants, but she has little understanding of the potential consequences for their fragile family dynamic. Unlike in most divorce dramas, the custody battle that looms on the horizon is not the focus of Rara—it is the everyday moments driving its characters to the precipice that are the true source of its power and authenticity. — JOANNE PARSONT

Friday, June 24, 6:30 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · RARA24C saturday, June 25, 5:00 pm · piedmont $8 members, $10 general · RARA25P proudly sponsored by

Preceded by: Xavier · DIR Ricky Mastro 2015 Brazil 13 min

Upon discovering his 11-year-old son Xavier’s attraction to boys, Nicolas follows the growth of his son through their shared love of music.

showcase 41

Showcase

Spa Night

DIR Andrew Ahn 2016 USA 93 min

From the nearly wordless opening scene in a steam-veiled LA bathhouse, the atmosphere of Andrew Ahn’s deeply felt feature debut is thick with frustrated yearning and sublimated desire. Gay sex is both illicit and alluringly mysterious to the virginal teenage protagonist, who’s very gradually starting to buckle under the lifelong pressure of pleasing his Korean-born parents and doing the right thing (which, when it comes to upsetting cultural norms, usually means doing nothing). The prospect of sex is a source of confusing and conflicting emotions, but so is everything else as he approaches the threshold of adulthood. David (Joe Seo, whose subtly nuanced portrayal of a good guy on the verge received a Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance at Sundance) helps out in his parents’ struggling storefront restaurant and avoids thinking about his future. But he can’t escape their expectations—or the conversations that invariably circle around to money. While David wrestles with the initial stirrings of gay identity, his parents grapple with the under-the-table economy and the grinding reality of their once-promising American dream. Raised in a culture where adults paper over disappointment and failure with a happy face, David is shocked by the fissures opening between his parents. He takes a part-time job in a Korean bathhouse, subconsciously aware that he’s nearing an explosion, of sorts, when he can no longer deny any part of who he is. With Spa Night, writer-director Ahn (who was on the editorial team of several Frameline documentary favorites including Vito, I Am Divine, and Tab Hunter Confidential) has crafted a visually impressive, steamily atmospheric first feature. — MICHAEL FOX

42 Frameline40

Thursday, June 23, 6:30 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · SPAN23C proudly sponsored by

Showcase

Strike a Pose

DIRS Ester Gould & Reijer Zwaan 2016 Netherlands, Belgium 83 min

In 1990, Madonna’s taboo-busting Blond Ambition tour blew the roof off of global pop culture and raised AIDS awareness while turning a sudden spotlight on seven male dancers. “Give me more of you,” the singer exhorted her young troupe, in rehearsals and performances, and they eagerly complied. A couple of the guys, however, hid secrets that withstood the glare and controversy of both the tour and the legendary behind-the-scenes documentary Truth or Dare, with its “scandalous” kiss that liberated so many young gay men. A quarter century after these intense formative experiences, the extraordinary new documentary Strike a Pose reunites the talented corps of dancers—who dispersed as suddenly as they came together—not only to relive a seminal cultural moment through their eyes, but also to try to make sense of the momentous changes they’ve lived through. AIDS took Gabriel, alas, in 1995. Today, Luis, Jose, Kevin, Salim, Carlton, and Oliver (the only one who wasn’t classically trained, and the only straight guy to boot) continue to grapple with reconciling the massive career break of that exuberant, high-profile tour with the poignant reality of day-to-day life in middle age. Deeper and richer than a mere cautionary fable about fickle fame, Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan’s empathetic portrait conveys the pressures of growing up in public, the difficulty of being a role model, the double-edged sword of ambition, and the burden of family expectations. Embellished with both vintage and current footage of the principals dancing, the film climaxes with a touching reunion dinner (sans the pop diva, with whom they still have an ambivalent relationship). Strike a Pose revisits an era when being HIV-positive carried a devastating stigma, and it honors how far we—and these talented, gutsy artists—have come. — MICHAEL FOX

Saturday, June 25, 8:30 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · STRK25C proudly sponsored by

showcase 43

Showcase

Summertime La belle saison

DIR Catherine Corsini 2015 France 105 min In French with English subtitles

This 1970s-set French love story is sure to provoke a rush of nostalgia (even if you weren’t there) for that heady time when political and romantic passions intertwined. Frustrated farm girl Delphine (Izia Higelin) trades the family farm (and her family’s pressure to marry) for a job in Paris. There she discovers a group of feminist activists, and before long she’s eagerly churning out abortion rights flyers on a mimeograph machine—but the real draw is the group’s firebrand, Carole (Belgian star Cécile de France). Despite the fact that Carole has a nice lefty boyfriend, she and Delphine are soon skipping political rallies for afternoons in bed together. But when a family emergency pulls Delphine back to the farm, their relationship is challenged. French auteur Catherine Corsini (La Répétition, Frameline26) has prepared a feast for the senses, capturing the rural beauty of France’s Massif Central region in long, serene wide shots, and representing the energy of the Parisian feminist meetings with rapid cutting. Glorious, 70s-style sex scenes—rock on the stereo, a joint or two, and lots of unabashed nudity— put the chemistry between the two stars on full display. The smart script pulls no punches. This is France in 1971, after all, and Delphine is torn between her love for Carole and her deep ties to family and farm, even if her rural community is as straitlaced as any in Kansas. Delphine’s choice won’t be easy, but the ride is sure fun. — MONICA NOLAN WITH GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM

44 Frameline40

Friday, June 17, 6:30 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · SUMM17C Thursday, June 23, 9:30 pm · Piedmont $10 members, $12 general · SUMM23P proudly sponsored by

Photo courtesy Timothy Greenfield-Sanders

Showcase

The Trans List

DIR Timothy Greenfield-Sanders 2016 USA 60 min

At one point during The Trans List, a riveting documentary group portrait, actress Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black) stares directly into the camera and emphatically asserts, “My voice matters. My truth matters.” These words, simple yet potent, remind viewers why documentaries like the The Trans List are so vital. While transgender narratives have recently become more common within the pop culture landscape, it’s rare that we actually get to hear transgender people voicing their own stories, telling their own truths. The Trans List foregrounds the lived experiences of its subjects, who are also some of the most fascinating and accomplished individuals of today (or any day), including Janet Mock, Kylar Broadus, Caroline Cossey, Buck Angel, Nicole Maines, Amos Mac, Laverne Cox, Bamby Salcedo, Shane Ortega, Alok Vaid-Menon, and Miss Major Griffin-Gracy. These are activists, artists, athletes, models, porn stars, military personnel, and entrepreneurs. Their stories extend beyond surface explanations of identity to deeper realities of politics and pleasure, telling captivating tales of love, desire, family, prejudice, and rebellion—from Cossey’s difficult days as an outed “James Bond Girl” to Griffin-Gracy’s striking memories of the Stonewall Riots. Directed by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, The Trans List follows other “list” documentaries, including The Out List (Frameline37) and the award-winning The Black List. As in these earlier works, Greenfield-Sanders wisely gives his charismatic subjects center stage while co-producer Janet Mock skillfully helms interviews. Boasting an impressive assemblage of transgender luminaries, The Trans List highlights the distinct individuality and diverse outlooks of its subjects, while simultaneously evoking the collective power of an indomitable community. — CURRAN NAULT

Saturday, June 25, 4:00 pm · Castro $8 members, $10 general · TLST25C proudly sponsored by

showcase 45

US Features

Akron

DIRs Sasha King & Brian o’donnell 2015 USA 88 min

A spark of attraction, a budding romance, a dark family secret: tender first love between a pair of college freshmen is put to the test when a tragic connection from far in their past is unexpectedly revealed. Benny is a first-year student at a leafy college in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. On the prompting of a friend, he joins a pickup touch football game, where he meets—and asks for the phone number of—handsome fellow freshman athlete Christopher. Flirting over text messages turns to dating and the hope of something more. In the midst of the excitement of their burgeoning romance, the pair sets off on a road trip to Florida for spring break, propelled by encouraging hugs and waves from Benny’s thoroughly supportive parents. Along the way, however, the two young men discover that they share a connection to a tragedy from years before. It is a revelation that will test their bonds with their families and each other. Akron offers a gay coming-of-age tale with a refreshing twist—none of its characters are in search of self- or familial acceptance, because they’ve all already achieved it. Set against the backdrop of Midwestern suburbia, where familial cohesion and domestic stability are cultural commodities, the film instead explores the damage that can be done by other kinds of buried secrets, and the resilience and forgiveness it takes to heal that damage. — MICHAEL LOPRESTI

BearCity 3

DIR Doug Langway 2016 USA 108 min

The beefy, burly boys of the sweet and frisky BearCity series return for a final rom-com romp in the delightfully satisfying climax to the popular trilogy, which from the start has celebrated let-it-all-hang-out body positivity, the comforts of coupledom, and the joys of camaraderie among a loveable group of gorgeous guys who all seemingly suffer from xyrophobia (fear of razors, naturally). This final installment finds nervous nelly Brent and papa bear Fred preparing for parenthood, with Brent’s wisecracking mom (the scene-stealing Kathy Najimy) providing baby-proofing tips and Fred’s sis serving as super-preggers surrogate. Will filmmaker Fred finish his bear epic before she pops? Meanwhile, silver fox Roger is broke and lonely, bumming beer from friends and yearning to rekindle a spark with sexy ex Tyler, now shacking up with closeted fireman Jay. Their buddy Michael has a shot at domestic bliss with Dalton, if only the cub’s phone-hacking teenage daughter will give the bow-tied suitor a chance (and if he can let go of his blood-stained beef jerky wrapper… but that’s another story). As plot strands tangle, the gang embarks on a campy camping trip replete with body paint, trysting twinks, a much-used outdoor sling, and an actual bear in the woods. Everyone has a roaring good time— including the grizzly—and viewers are sure to do the same as the beloved trilogy comes to a climax in a furry flurry of hirsute pursuit. —STEVEN JENKINS

Friday, June 17, 4:00 pm · Castro $8 members, $10 general · AKRO17C

46 Frameline40

Saturday, June 25, 4:00 pm · Victoria $8 members, $10 general · AKRO25V

Friday, June 24, 9:15 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · BEAR24C

sponsored by

Bruising for Besos

Daddy’s Boy

In this beautifully shot love story, Yoli is a seductive queer xicana artist who finds great passion with Daña, an alluring Puerto Rican nurse. But their growing intimacy stirs up their own troubled histories. Can Yoli break the cycle, face the past, and create something new for herself? Writer-director Adelina Anthony plays Yoli, a budding artist who has finally pieced together a new familia of friends in the queer and trans people-of-color community in LA. But her solid foundation, a boring job and a home with her best bud Rani (performance artist D’Lo), is rocked when she and Daña get together and get serious. Yoli makes marionette puppets of her family and contemplates using them to win an animation contest. For now, though, the puppets help her order her private memories of love and longing and the trauma she fled. Anthony deftly intercuts these marionette sequences delineating the family history with the progress of Yoli and Daña’s volatile relationship. As intimacy and connection deepen, the domestic violence that Yoli escaped, or thought she had, comes to the surface. New emotions also bring to light the deep inner conflict that Daña suffers as a closeted lesbian, good nurse and daughter, and devout Catholic. As their feelings grow, the danger of trusting each other amplifies. Yoli ultimately has a choice to heal or to forever be a puppet on a string.

Four young men, each somewhere near the crossroads where boyhood and adulthood meet, find their lives intertwined in the strange world of low-budget porn and male burlesque photo shoots in New York City. Max (Al Miro) is a suave, handsome Italian living in Canada who has become somewhat of a regular in the adult film scene. Checking into a hotel before the shoot, he struggles to put his feelings toward his distant father into a letter. Elsewhere in the city, Max meets and exchanges phone numbers with Fabian (Joe Lopez), a Puerto Rican from Queens with latent homosexual tendencies, who is grappling with the challenges of becoming a father for the first time and hearing an unexpected revelation from his own dad. Manuel (Jonathan Iglesias), a quiet but confident midnight cowboy from Arizona, makes his way to New York to shoot a porn scene with Max. While in town, he reaches out to his estranged older brother Jorge (James Koroni), a somber dancer in a loveless relationship with an overly critical photographer. With a nod to the French New Wave and a dash of Cassavetes, writer-director Daniel Armando weaves themes of fatherhood, family, and manhood into a beautifully stylized, enormously evocative, and highly erotic sketch of contemporary New York City that feels timeless with its stunning blackand-white cinematography.

DIR Adelina Anthony 2016 USA 90 min In Spanish & English with English subtitles

—CAROL HARADA

DIR Daniel Armando 2016 USA 78 min In English, French, & Italian with English subtitles

— JOE BOWMAN

This film contains depictions of domestic violence and trauma.

First Girl I Loved

DIR Kerem Sanga 2015 USA 91 min

Opposites attract in this alternately funny and heart-rending high school romance. Anne is a bike-riding, yearbook-editing, gangly nerd whose best friend is yearbook pal Cliff. Sasha is an attractive and popular athlete in the top 15 percent of the class. Anne finds herself smitten when she photographs Sasha playing softball, and she uses the yearbook as an excuse to interview her girl crush. Attraction sparks, and soon the girls are texting nonstop, thrift-store shopping together, and sneaking out to bars. But are they budding BFFs or something more? The line blurs during a sexy sleepover, leaving Anne clearly ready to bust out of the closet. However, even in these enlightened times, coming out can be complicated and painful—especially when odd man out Cliff turns jealous and Sasha gets nervous. Winner of a NEXT Audience Award at Sundance, First Girl I Loved unfolds in kaleidoscopic fashion, as writer-director Kerem Sanga moves back and forth in time to reveal the full story—handling the visual challenge of communicating these teenagers’ digital, device-driven lives with ease. Dylan Gelula (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt) as Anne and Brianna Hildebrand (Deadpool) as Sasha capture all the awkwardness and effervescence of first love, backed up by a terrific supporting cast of teachers and parents. In this middle-class SoCal community, everyone is, of course, OK with gay kids—except when they actually have to deal with them. Look for Cameron Esposito in a sweet cameo as a counselor who gives Anne the quiet acceptance she’s seeking. —MONICA NOLAN

Sunday, June 19, 7:00 pm · Elmwood $10 members, $12 general · BESO19E Tuesday, June 21, 7:00 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · BESO21V

Tuesday, June 21, 9:30 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · DADD21R

Sunday, June 19, 6:30 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · FIRS19C

sponsored by

US Features 47

Front Cover

Heartland

Her Story: Season One

Set against New York City’s slick and cutthroat fashion world, this culture-clash romance is stylish, charming, and captivating from the get-go. Ryan is a twenty-something Chinese American photo stylist working for a hip and happening magazine. With his career on the rise, he works toward getting a big front cover assignment while his quirky crew of fashionista friends supports his out and proud life in the Big Apple. But when his editor assigns him to re-style Ning, a handsome breakout movie star from China, Ryan’s life turns upside down. What Ryan expects to be a simple East-to-West makeover becomes a complicated and often antagonistic relationship fueled by each man’s stubborn beliefs, cultural arrogance, obscured emotions, and simmering passion. Soon Ryan and Ning find they have more in common than a shared Chinese heritage, as life launches them onto twisting roads of discovery and self-determination. The second feature written and directed by filmmaker Ray Yeung, Front Cover subtly confronts important issues of culture, class, and sexuality while delivering an entertaining and heartfelt story about complex people facing real challenges. Anchored by charismatic and moving performances from the two leads—Jake Choi as Ryan and James Chen as Ning—the film navigates the turbulence churned up when human chemistry collides with cultural assumptions. Funny, touching, and thoughtful, Front Cover deftly deconstructs multiple stereotypes as it drives to a surprising and satisfying level of insight, pathos, and humor.

Two very different women form an unexpected bond, but when their friendship sparks a reckless romance their worlds are turned upside-down. Lauren is at sea after the death of her girlfriend. Finding herself jobless and evicted, she retreats to her childhood home in Oklahoma and her well-meaning but less than accepting mother (splendidly portrayed by Beth Grant). Also returning to the nest is Lauren’s brother Justin, bringing his polished, Californian girlfriend, Carrie, with him. Carrie is a fish out of water, always overdressed and underprepared for the social niceties of this small town. Justin and Carrie are driven and business-minded, and the pair’s romantic and business relationships are inextricably linked as they try to launch a local branch of her family’s Napa winery. When a crucial meeting sends Justin out of town, Lauren’s grief and Carrie’s career and commitment anxieties draw the two women together, challenging them to face their fears and rise from the ashes of their former lives. Having worked extensively behind the scenes in film and digital platforms, Maura Anderson chose to make Heartland her feature directorial debut after she was first approached to produce. Set against the beauty of the plains, Heartland’s story is accompanied by a warm acoustic score. Velinda Godfrey, who plays Lauren, co-wrote the script with Todd Waring after the two met in a workshop led by Jeffrey Tambor. Together, Anderson and Godfrey lead a majority female cast and crew to bring this down-to-earth story to the screen.

The much anticipated sexy new-media series Her Story grapples forthrightly with the frictions and fissures of desire between trans and queer women, as they navigate sometimes paradoxical identities in Los Angeles. Showrunners Laura Zak (a mentee of Jill Soloway) and Jen Richards (as seen on E!’s I Am Cait) combine their creative forces with director Sydney Freeland’s (Drunktown’s Finest, Frameline38) to center the frame on the lives and loves of women of trans experience. Allie (Laura Zak), a budding journalist for Gay LA, notices Violet (Jen Richards), a super-cute server, while out with her old-school lesbian posse (including Fawzia Mirza, The Queen of My Dreams, Frameline36) and finds her curiosity piqued. Allie makes a bold inquiry, asking Violet if she is trans and if she can interview her for a story. Although hesitant, Violet accepts, sparking an excitingly unexpected relationship. Meanwhile, Paige (Angelica Ross), a fierce LAMBDA Legal attorney and Violet’s best friend, helms a challenging case against a transphobic women’s shelter, while coming out as trans to her gorgeous, grounded new boyfriend. Before long these women’s stories and communities intersect with consequences that force everyone to question preconceived, normative notions of who they are allowed to be and be with. With #realtalk realness and beautiful cinematography, Her Story exemplifies the storytelling power of new media when it is made by and for trans and queer women.

DIR Ray Yeung 2015 USA 88 min

—BRENDAN PETERSON

DIR Maura Anderson 2016 USA 100 min

— LAURA HENNEMAN

DIR Sydney Freeland 2015 USA 55 min

—HANNAH RUBIN

This series is a recipient of a Frameline Completion Fund grant.

Saturday, June 18, 6:00 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · HERS18V Saturday, June 25, 6:00 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · FRON25C

Thursday, June 23, 7:00 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · HEAR23V

Wednesday, June 22, 7:00 pm · Elmwood $10 members, $12 general · HERS22E

sponsored by

48 Frameline40

Lazy Eye

Retake

Slash

Judging by appearances, Dean is doing fine. He’s a successful graphic designer with a tastefully furnished apartment in Los Angeles. In his early 40s, he’s stylish, fit, well groomed—the model middle-aged urban homosexual male. But when Dean opens his email inbox one night to find an out-of-theblue message from an ex, his deeply rooted dissatisfaction with his life begins to rise to the surface. A hesitantly rekindled correspondence with Alex, who disappeared without a trace (or even a goodbye) after an incandescent summer fling 15 years earlier, eventually leads to an invitation to a weekend at Dean’s rustic retreat in the Southern California desert. Alex arrives with the air of a self-assured, free-spirited man of the world, though it soon becomes clear that he harbors his share of doubt and regret as well. What begins as a passionate second-chance fling inevitably turns into an emotionally charged rehashing of their longago romance, as both men grapple with the decisions that have led them to this point. Set amidst starlit swimming pools and the luminous Joshua Tree landscape, Lazy Eye features assured, naturalistic performances from its two handsome leads, Lucas NearVerbrugghe and Aaron Costa Ganis. The sharply observed script and sensitive direction are both by Tim Kirkman, director of Loggerheads (Frameline29) and Dear Jesse (Frameline22), who in this grown-up film explores one of the most intractable questions of middle age—whether turning back to the past is ever a viable way to move forward.

With a seductive gravitational allure, Retake pulls viewers into a world of love, loss, and intrigue from its opening scenes. Handsome businessman Jonathan (Tuc Watkins) has returned to San Francisco with a mission. He’s on the hunt for a brunette who is “rough around the edges,” temperamental, and scented with just the right cologne. Cruising the streets of the city, he finds what he’s looking for in a flirtatious young hustler played by Devon Graye, and a bold proposition is made: If this young man agrees to accompany Jonathan on a road trip to the Grand Canyon, he’ll get double his nightly rate, plus $1,000. But, there’s a catch: He has to role-play as someone named “Brandon” for the full ride. Eager to leave his life on the streets, he says yes, and an amorous game of manipulation and obsession commences. So begins the ambitious, risk-taking first feature by Nick Corporon (Empire, Frameline36), a film of romance and brooding suspense, with shades of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. The mystery of the real Brandon haunts the film for its duration. As the role-playing intensifies, the what and the who become captivatingly confused, as lines between fantasy and reality, desire and performance, blur. This is a perverse scenario, for sure, but these are also wayward souls, and their wounded humanity evokes genuine empathy. Grounded in the intimate complexities of authentic human relationships, Retake is a spellbinding journey of heartbreak and self-discovery.

The emphasis is on the “Q” in “LGBTQ” as two teens with a passion for writing fan fiction meet in writer-director Clay Liford’s sweet, hilarious, and sometimes poignant adaptation of his 2012 short of the same name (Frameline38), a film as much about friendship as it is about budding sexuality. Fifteen-year-old Neil’s (Michael Johnson, Teen Wolf) passion for writing “slash” fiction—erotic fan fiction that emphasizes same-sex fantasies—about a sci-fi icon, Vanguard (Tishuan Scott), is a secret that the shy adolescent keeps closely guarded. He’s thrown for a loop when he becomes close to his 16-year-old, seemingly worldlier, more self-confident classmate Julia (Hannah Marks, Awkward). His fantasies and crushes have been focused on males, but questions arise as he grows smitten with a girl who shares his interests. At the same time, after Neil begins posting his writing on a fanfiction website, he starts an online flirtation with its middle-aged administrator, Denis (Michael Ian Black, Wet Hot American Summer), furthering his sexual confusion. Dramatic re-enactments of Neil’s stories— complete with special effects the way a kid might imagine them—are hot and silly at the same time. They further the fun, as does a visit to a Houston Comi-Con that allows Neil and Julia to cosplay and further indulge their fantasies while adding new wrinkles to their relationship. Johnson and Marks are wonderful in this warm, funny film that perfectly captures the awkwardness and inchoate yearning of youth.

DIR Tim Kirkman 2015 USA 94 min

DIR Nick Corporon 2016 USA 98 min

— CURRAN NAULT

DIR Clay Liford 2016 USA 100 min

— PAM GRADY

—MICHAEL LOPRESTI

Tuesday, June 21, 4:00 pm · Castro $8 members, $10 general · RETA21C Sunday, June 19, 6:30 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · LAZY19V

Saturday, June 25, 7:00 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · RETA25V

sponsored by

Tuesday, June 21, 9:30 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · SLAS21V

US Features 49

Women Who Kill

Jasmine and Penny, a new couple of one month, are invited to a lunch party by hosts Jordan and Billie, a married couple living the lesbian dream after five years together. They have a beautiful home, a fabulous partnership, and Rosie, a darling pit bull pup they co-parent with another couple. While the hosts tend to the grill, Jasmine and Penny escape for a quickie—because it’s August 2, and they haven’t had sex all month. While rolling around in their pals’ bedroom, they stumble upon what appears to be an anonymous suicide note, which leads them to believe that maybe Jordan and Billie’s partnership isn’t as effortless as it seems. Featuring actress Jasika Nicole (Scandal, Fringe) and actress-writer Brittani Nichols (Transparent), Suicide Kale explores the thrill of new relationships and the tensions that arise after the comfort settles in and the excitement fades. Jasmine and Penny, determined to figure out who penned the note, devise a strategy to uncover the identity of the author. But nothing goes according to plan, leaving Jasmine and Penny to depend on their sometimes misguided intuition to get to the root of this crisis. This (mostly improvised) dark comedy takes on important topics, from frequency of masturbation to whether it’s a good idea to decorate your home with items that once belonged to a neighbor who died in a hot tub. You know, the type of stuff you and your friends typically discuss over beer and grilled veggie skewers.

We all know that mystery keeps a relationship alive and that love can be dangerous. But can it also kill you? Exes Morgan and Jean are “Women Who Kill,” paranoid co-hosts of a podcast about female murderers. They’re inches away from getting back together when the mysterious, sexy Simone joins their Park Slope food co-op and Morgan falls quick and hard. But Simone’s secrets make everyone’s fur stand on end, and jealous Jean is convinced she might be a killer with a past to hide. Now what’s a commitment-phobe to do when everything that felt right seems suddenly wrong? Hot off its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival, Women Who Kill is a whip-smart dark comedy that asks some clever questions about trust and intimacy. Is Googling someone the first step in a serious relationship? How soon is too soon to rent the U-Haul? Can you still get fat and happy with the love of your life even if she might be a deviant sociopath? In this feature debut, lauded writer-director Ingrid Jungermann (co-star and co-creator of the acclaimed lesbian web series The Slope and F to 7th) stars as Morgan alongside Sheila Vand (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night) as Simone and Ann Carr (The Actress) as Jean, with turns by co-stars Deborah Rush (Orange Is the New Black) as cranky co-op manager Grace and Annette O’Toole (Smallville) as creepy suspected killer Lila.

DIR Carly Usdin 2015 USA 78 min

DIR Ingrid Jungermann 2016 USA 93 min

— NATALIE MULFORD

—TAYLOR J. HODGES

This film contains discussions of self-harm.

Tuesday, June 21, 9:30 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · WOME21C Saturday, June 18, 3:45 pm · Roxie $8 members, $10 general · KALE18R

Friday, June 24, 9:30 pm · Piedmont $10 members, $12 general · WOME24P

sponsored by

50 Frameline40

World Cinema

Suicide Kale

Arianna

DIR Carlo Lavagna 2015 Italy 84 min In Italian with English subtitles

Arianna was born three times: once as a boy; three years later as a girl; and finally, fully, during a sultry lakeside summer, when she discovers that she is neither, or both—intersessuale. At 19, the captivating pale-eyed beauty looks as if she had stepped out of a Renaissance painting, with her boyish figure, tousled hair, and fine nose. But there is anxiety behind her eyes—she has not yet begun menstruating, and despite reassurances from her doctor father, the hormone patches have resulted in not much more than aching breasts. When she arrives with her parents at their country retreat near Lake Bolsena, it has been 16 years since her last visit there, and Arianna is struck by memories of her old bedroom, her threeyear-old best friend, and something else, something mysterious and indescribable. To make matters more confusing, her teenage cousin Celeste has suddenly blossomed and is busy exploring her sexuality while Arianna fumbles with her own. Amid the buzzing insects, lush greenery, and milky waters of the lake, Arianna begins working her way out of this maze of un-knowing. She investigates her past, probes her body, and slowly pieces together a new identity. Director Carlo Lavagna’s dreamily fragmented ode to selfdiscovery is ripe and unrushed; its sensitive camerawork, revelatory. With a convincing performance by newcomer Ondina Quadri in the title role, Arianna is a coming-of-age story that gives no pat resolution, but instead opens up into the beauty of uncertainty. —LUCY LAIRD

Closet Monster

Fire Song

Teenage lust, woozy visions, and a talking hamster voiced by Isabella Rossellini shape this queer coming-of-age tale that’s as strange, scary, and sublime as the real experience. Oscar (rising star Connor Jessup) is an arty teen with a turbulent home life and a smoldering crush on hardware store “bad boy” Wilder (Aliocha Schneider). An aspiring makeup effects artist, Oscar spends his days concocting wild photo shoots with best friend Gemma (Sofia Banzhaf) and his nights weathering the neglect of an aloof mother and volatile father. Haunted by a gay bashing he witnessed as a child, he begins having surreal nightmares—rendered with grisly Cronenberg-esque flair—that simmer to the surface of his mind and body, as his burgeoning queer desires do the same. Winner of multiple awards on the festival circuit and directed by Stephen Dunn, whose sexually irreverent short Pop-Up Porno was a favorite among Frameline39 audiences, Closet Monster is an impressive first feature that verifies Dunn’s reputation as a risk-taking visionary. Closet Monster is deliriously dark, but with a cheeky comic wit that emerges via Oscar’s closest confidant: “Buffy,” the wryly observant rodent voiced by Rossellini. Undoubtedly a reference to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a show further conjured by Oscar’s fantastical make-up effects, Closet Monster raises the specter of queer childhood in the ’90s. But bolstered by its distinct depictions and a stunning soundtrack of contemporary indie electronica, from Austra to Light Asylum, Closet Monster is unmistakably now and oh-so-cool.

Shane is at a crossroads after a family tragedy. He can take care of his mom, go through the motions with his girlfriend, and fend off despair on the beautiful, impoverished Anishinaabe reservation in northern Ontario. Or he can use a small inheritance to go to college in Toronto and dare to live openly as a gay man, but risk losing his culture. Either way, his longing is palpable in this tough and tender comingof-age story. Shane’s girlfriend Tara also wants to escape from this haunted place of wild rice and waterways. But Shane would rather have his secret boyfriend go with him. David is an apprentice medicine man, so he wants to stay to continue learning from the elders. Even as the two men become closer, Shane resists his own true nature as a Two-Spirit person destined to be a visionary leader, healer, or teacher because of his special access to both male and female energy. Will they go or will they stay? The clock is ticking. With his mother paralyzed by grief and the house falling apart, Shane needs a lot more money fast but has no good way to get it. He tries to “man up,” but he discovers too late what that really means. By embracing the fullness of his Two-Spirit nature, Shane finds a surprising way forward along with his community, in this stunning feature debut by First Nations director Adam Garnet Jones.

DIR Stephen Dunn 2015 Canada 90 min

DIR Adam Garnet Jones 2015 Canada 85 min

— CAROL HARADA

This film contains depictions of sexual violence.

— CURRAN NAULT

This film contains depictions of homophobic violence.

Wednesday, June 22, 9:30 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · ARIA22R

Monday, June 20, 9:15 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · CLOS20C

Saturday, June 18, 1:00 pm · Victoria $8 members, $10 general · FIRE18V

sponsored by

World Cinema 51

From Afar

Girl Gets Girl

DIR Lorenzo Vigas 2015 Venezuela 93 min In Spanish with English subtitles

DIR Sonia Sebastián 2014 Spain 88 min In Spanish with English subtitles

Desde allá

Winner of a Golden Lion at the 2015 Venice Film Festival, Lorenzo Vigas’s debut feature intertwines psychological angst and romantic nurturing in a dark drama. Armando (Alfredo Castro), a middle-aged single man who makes dentures and is terrified by the prospect of physical contact, spends his free time walking the streets of Caracas and cruising for tough young men. His interest is less in sex than in power, as he seeks control over these macho boys in return for payment. The dynamic changes after he invites home a volatile car mechanic named Elder and the teenager refuses to play by Armando’s rules. Rather than move on to another conquest, though, the older man becomes bewitched, stalking Elder in the streets and eventually offering him a kind of home life. Thus begins an elegantly gritty exploration of two confused and angry men negotiating a relationship that resides somewhere between that of lovers, friends, and father and son. Even as their domestic life gains stasis and balance, the power games that Armando seems unable to resist return to the fore. Vigas, in his debut feature, employs an assured sensibility, isolating his characters through the use of focus and close-ups and gaining a particular kind of emotional truth. The fine character actor Castro (a familiar face from Pablo Larraín’s films) gives Armando a mesmerizing watchfulness, while newcomer Luis Silva’s Elder is wound tight with unpredictable, feral physicality. Together they render their characters and the film resonant and unforgettably disturbing.

De Chica en chica

Sexy, smoky-eyed Inés can’t keep her hands off anyone she meets. But when she’s caught cheating on her girlfriend in the bathroom at a funeral, the aspiring and broke erotica writer escapes back to Spain after ten years away. Enter Inés’s chosen family, a colorful cast of characters who turn Girl Gets Girl into a nonstop romp. They’ve all got a few things to say to Inés when she turns up unexpectedly, including her ex Veronica, whom she left pregnant at the altar. Now their preteen daughter Candela wants to know who her father is, and when the gaggle of lesbians, gays, transpeople, and straight folks raising Candela gathers at her comingof-age menstruation-themed “Period Party,” it becomes a day of twists, revealed secrets, and self-discoveries no one will forget. Can Inés finally put aside her selfish desires and come through for her community? Full of campy surprises, stolen kisses, and plenty of lusty backstabbing, Girl Gets Girl has all the dyke drama and passionate hair-pulling of The L Word, paired with the vibrancy of an Almodóvar film. Written and directed by Sonia Sebastián, the film is based on the steamy online Spanish TV series Girl Gets Girl and stars Celia Freijeiro as Inés. — NATALIE MULFORD

Holding the Man

DIR Neil Armfield 2015 Australia 127 min

Sexy, beautiful, and heartbreaking, Holding the Man is based on the 1995 memoir of the same name by Australian actor, writer, and activist Timothy Conigrave, who completed the book mere days before he died. It is a love story for the ages: Tim and John Caleo fall for each other as students at a boys’ high school in Australia in the 1970s. Braving the disapproval of their families, church, and society, they continue their romance into their 20s and beyond, although career ambitions briefly lead them down separate roads. The sweeping narrative of the film, crisscrossing decades in the couple’s relationship, leaves no doubt about the irresistible magnetism drawing these men together. Mutual HIV diagnoses near the beginning of the AIDS crisis threaten to cut their perfect happiness short while also galvanizing Tim to become an AIDS activist. Even as his own health begins to fail, Tim nurses John through AIDS-related illnesses in some of the film’s most poignant scenes. Director Neil Armfield (Candy) delivers an extraordinary cinematic experience. Tender, honest performances by the lead actors—Ryan Corr (The Water Diviner) as Tim and Craig Stott as John—are supported by several stars of Australian cinema, including Guy Pearce (The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) and Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech). This powerful, emotional film is a fitting tribute to a beloved book and to two lives tragically shortened—among far too many others—by HIV/AIDS. — CHARLES PURDY

—ROD ARMSTRONG

Wednesday, June 22, 7:00 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · FROM22V Thursday, June 23, 9:30 pm · Elmwood $10 members, $12 general · FROM23E

Saturday, June 18, 6:30 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · GIRL18R

Friday, June 17, 9:15 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · HOLD17C

sponsored by

52 Frameline40

A Holy Mess

Horses

I Promise You Anarchy

DIR Helena Bergström 2015 Sweden 108 min In Swedish with English subtitles

DIR Fabián Suárez 2016 Cuba 95 min In Spanish & French with English subtitles

DIR Julio Hernández Cordón 2015 Mexico, Germany 100 min In Spanish & English with English subtitles

En underbar jävla jul

Both 27-years-old, Oscar and Simon have been together for several years and desperately want a baby, so they’ve gotten their close friend Cissi to agree to be their surrogate mother. Together, the three friends decide to become a modern Swedish family, going in on a “fixer-upper” in need of some major repairs. But nine months into their pregnancy, they’re all still wondering who the father is—Simon or Oscar? This coincides with the guys inviting both sets of their slightly homophobic parents (who have also never met each other) for Christmas, so they can share the happy news that they’re about to be grandparents. To add to the mix, a few unexpected guests crash the party. Alcohol flows freely, tensions simmer, secrets float to the surface, and all holiday hell breaks loose. Directed and co-written by acclaimed Swedish actress Helena Bergström, A Holy Mess has plenty of sharp, laugh-out-loud comedic dialogue. The strong ensemble cast includes standout performances by Robert Gustafsson and Maria Lundqvist as Oscar’s parents. Examining themes of tolerance, political correctness, parental responsibility, and what it really means to be a family, the film affectionately conveys the complexity of the human condition. As the soundtrack overflows with evocative holiday music including songs by The Jackson 5 and Smokey Robinson, innocent idealism is woven into an elaborate narrative mix that, in the end, achieves a deliciously infectious and heartfelt authenticity. —TIM SIKA

Friday, June 17, 7:00 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · HOLY17R

Caballos

Inspired by the work of famed photographer Robert Mapplethorpe (most notably the cover artwork he shot of Patti Smith for her seminal album Horses), Cuban poet and playwright Fabián Suárez’s imaginative first feature revolves around the thwarted longings of a quartet of artists in Havana: an ambitious photographer, a gorgeous model, a sullen DJ, and a wealthy patron of the arts who is dying of AIDS. The four lost souls of Horses convene at an evening soirée, hosted by the affluent Salomón (Pablo Guevara), whose health is in quick decline. Introducing himself as “Mapplethorpe,” lonely, handsome photographer Robi (Carlos Alejandro Halley) invites a striking model/ musician named Galaxia (Linnett Hernandez) to Salomón’s luxurious apartment, where Salomón’s unhappy boy-toy Jairo (Milton García, The Last Match) has been reduced to being a caretaker, due to Salomón’s lingering affections for Robi. Jealousy, curiosity, and seduction blend together in the overlapping, intertwining love triangles at the center of the film. Gorgeously filmed in black and white with a number of nods to Mapplethorpe—including its mischievous sense of humor—Horses touches on themes of post-revolutionary disillusionment and emigration as the film’s foursome contemplates leaving their native Cuba, whether through death, exile, becoming marginal, or simply disappearing. The film, coming on the cusp of a new era of cultural relations between the U.S. and Cuba, offers us an unusual, elliptical window onto our shared fascination with beauty and impermanence. — JOE BOWMAN

Te prometo anarquía

A gritty, visually arresting portrait of contemporary Mexico City, this spectacular new drama from writer-director Julio Hernández Cordón (Gasolina) follows a pair of skateboarding paramours who revel in their blissful sexuality while making a living through black-market blood trafficking. With drug-related violence at an alarming high, business in the underground blood trade proves lucrative for the charming, entrepreneurial Miguel (Diego Calva), who orchestrates groups of his friends and neighbors to get “milked,” as he calls it. As the demand for blood and the size of the jobs increase, he enlists his bisexual, rough-around-the-edges lover Johnny (Eduardo Eliseo Martínez) as his business partner, hoping to provide a distraction from his clingy sometime girlfriend Adri (Shvasti Calderon). However, as the stakes start to rise, Miguel and Johnny quickly find themselves in over their heads. With a sophisticated, assured screenplay that never feels heavy-handed, impressive performances from its cast of unknowns (the director found both of the leads via Facebook), and raw, realistic cinematography that calls to mind some of Gus Van Sant’s best work, I Promise You Anarchy is a powerful, daring tale of young love in the seedy underbelly of Mexico’s capital. — JOE BOWMAN

This film contains depictions of violence.

Sunday, June 19, 9:15 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · IPRO19C

monday, June 20, 1:30 pm · castro $8 members, $10 general · HOLY20c

Saturday, June 18, 9:15 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · HORS18R

Friday, June 24, 9:30 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · IPRO24V

sponsored by

World Cinema 53

Jonathan

Loev

Gorgeous cinematography, a bucolic German setting, and director Piotr Lewandowski’s lyrical storytelling style make Jonathan a uniquely sumptuous visual experience—and illuminate a tale about family, romantic love, and bittersweet regret. At 23 years old, Jonathan (played by the stunning Jannis Niewöhner) and his aunt struggle to keep their family farm afloat while also caring for Jonathan’s emotionally distant father, Burghardt, who is dying of cancer. As Burghardt’s condition worsens, the family hires Anka (played by the equally stunning Julia Koschitz), a nurse from a nearby town. While Jonathan and Anka begin to fall in love, a long-absent former friend of Burghardt’s arrives, revealing a secret that will dramatically alter both the course of Burghardt’s final weeks and Jonathan’s understanding of his family. This atypical story about a later-inlife coming out—and the repairing of a sundered father-son bond—is at times raw and emotional. Languorous romantic idylls and intimate lovemaking (sensitively lensed by Jeremy Rouse) are juxtaposed with heartrending scenes in which damaged people confront each other and their own fears and regrets. Among a stellar cast, André Hennicke, as Burghardt, gives a standout performance as a man facing his past mistakes and his own sorrow, while making brave choices about how he will live his final days. Jonathan is a beautiful first feature from a filmmaker of great skill and subtlety.

Sahil, a quirky music producer in Mumbai, has hit a rough patch with his boyfriend Alex. That’s just when Sahil’s longtime friend Jai, a successful and handsome Wall Street deal maker, arrives back in India on a business trip. Jai’s visit gives Sahil the perfect excuse to drop Alex for a bit and escape for a few days’ getaway in the gorgeous countryside with Jai. While the friends enjoy their remarkable rapport at first, differences soon begin to arise—emotions and tensions bubble to the surface until they finally explode in a way that threatens to impact the lives of all three men for a long time to come. Loev is a landmark film, honestly exploring gay relationships in India, where, to this day, same-sex love is punishable by harsh prison sentences. Writer-director Sudhanshu Saria has stated that he wrote the script to deal with a hurt he didn’t know how to process at the time—indeed, the film captures the complexity of attraction, societal disapproval, and moral ambiguity in a way that speaks of first-hand experience and insight. The performances of all three principals are superb and nuanced, making it tragic that Dhruv Ganesh (who plays Sahil), to whom the film is dedicated, died of tuberculosis shortly after the film’s completion. That Loev marks the feature film debut of director Saria makes this beautifully photographed film all the more courageous, impressive, and compelling.

DIR Piotr Lewandowski 2016 Germany 99 min In German with English subtitles

—CHARLES PURDY

DIR Sudhanshu Saria 2015 India 90 min In Hindi & English with English subtitles

— TIM SIKA

Me, Myself and Her Io e lei

DIR Maria Sole Tognazzi 2015 Italy 97 min In Italian with English subtitles

Sabrina Ferilli (The Great Beauty) and seventime Donatello Award winner Margherita Buy (His Secret Life) star in Italy’s first romantic comedy about a female couple, the second feature film from Maria Sole Tognazzi (daughter of Ugo Tognazzi, star of La cage aux folles). Polar opposites in personality but perfectly aligned in love, Marina and Federica have built their five-year relationship on trust, respect, and chemistry. They share a beautifully appointed apartment in Rome, complete with a Bengal cat and an observant (and often disapproving) queeny maid named Rolando. A former beloved actress, the stunning Marina is gregarious and warm and has been open about her sexuality for years, while Federica is reserved, even “frosty,” as noted by family members, with a past that includes an ex-husband and a 24-year-old son. Federica’s fears about public perception tend to drive rifts between the two, although it is obvious they are very deeply in love. A chance meeting with a male crush from Federica’s past sets off a litany of doubts and threatens to disrupt the blissful world she and Marina have created together. Which version of herself will Federica ultimately choose? Striking a mature balance between comedy and drama, Tognazzi finds the universal chord in her characters’ romantic struggles and delicately unfolds an affectionate story of love and compassion, graciously observing tempestuous hearts searching for their true home. —LEAH LOSCHIAVO

tuesday, June 21, 1:30 pm · Castro $8 members, $10 general · LOEV21C Sunday, June 26, 4:00 pm · Castro $8 members, $10 general · JONA26C

Friday, June 24, 7:00 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · LOEV24V

Monday, June 20, 9:15 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · MEMY20R

sponsored by

54 Frameline40

Take Me For a Ride

Tomcat

You’ll Never Be Alone

DIR Micaela Rueda 2016 Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia 70 min In Spanish with English subtitles

DIR Händl Klaus 2016 Austria 114 min In German with English subtitles

DIR Alex Anwandter 2016 Chile 81 min In Spanish with English subtitles

UIO—Sácame a pasear

Sara has attempted to fit in with her classmates, but by the beginning of her senior year, she can’t really be bothered anymore to hang with the other teens at school or try to rekindle a dissatisfying relationship with the boy next door. Isolating herself in the smoky haze of a hidden alcove, she is content to live her life apart, spending contemplative solo afternoons in the soft Quito sunlight. That solitude ends when new girl Andrea transfers to the high school and finds her way into Sara’s alcove to share a smoke. The girls quickly become inseparable, discovering a mutual love of live music and tentatively sharing feelings of alienation, of “being weird” in a restrictive culture that doesn’t welcome much difference. Micaela Rueda’s beautifully observed debut captures the obsessive euphoria of falling in love, focusing on the secluded, dreamy moments when it seems that the world is inhabited by only two people. Laced within the intoxication of the girls’ passion is the volatile threat of social and parental rejection, endangering their private sphere. Will they have the courage to follow their hearts, to embrace and proclaim their love? —LEAH LOSCHIAVO

Kater

Living in an idyllic country home outside Vienna, Andreas (Philipp Hochmair) and Stefan (Lukas Turtur) have built a harmonious lifestyle together, along with their beloved tomcat, Moses. Andreas manages a respected orchestra in the city, and Stefan plays the French horn in the ensemble. They have a gorgeous garden where Moses can wander and where they host dinner parties with their close-knit circle of friends. Their sex life is as lively and passionate as it has ever been. But their Garden of Eden– like existence unravels after a shocking, violent incident that shatters the two lovers’ perceptions of one another, as well as their understanding of themselves. Winner of this year’s prestigious Teddy Award for Feature Film at the Berlinale, Händl Klaus’s sophomore feature plays like a queer Force Majeure, if it were directed by Michael Haneke (the director himself had small acting roles in that Oscar-winning filmmaker’s The Piano Teacher and 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance). Anchored by strong, daring performances from noted stage actors Turtur and Hochmair and accompanied by a lovely classical score, Tomcat is a provocative, stirring examination of what happens to a loving couple when trouble finds its way into paradise. — JOE BOWMAN

This film contains a scene of disturbing violence.

Nunca vas a estar solo

After 25 years managing a factory that produces mannequins, quiet, introverted Juan (Sergio Hernández) hopes to be made a partner with the company. At home, his eighteen-year-old son, Pablo (Andrew Bargsted), has dreams of stardom, studying dance at a respected art school. In addition to teaching neighborhood children choreographed dance numbers and clubbing with his best girlfriend, Mari (Astrid Roldan), on the weekends, Pablo’s life revolves around performing, auditioning, and occasionally sneaking around to sleep with a neighbor boy. While Pablo and his widowed, hard-working dad don’t have a whole lot in common, neither seems to let that get in the way of caring for each other. Everything changes, however, when Pablo is brutally attacked by a group of homophobic kids from the neighborhood. With legal action and medical insurance proving to be both unhelpful and costly, Juan decides, in desperation, to seek out his own form of justice for his son. Powerful and haunting, with a memorable performance by Hernández as the aggrieved father, You’ll Never Be Alone marks the directorial debut of Chilean pop star Alex Anwandter, who based the film on the real-life attack on one of his young fans by a group of neo-Nazis in 2012. Anwandter also wrote, produced, and scored the film, which took home the Teddy Jury Prize at this year’s Berlinale. — JOE BOWMAN

This film contains a scene depicting homophobic violence.

Thursday, June 16, 10:00 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · YNBA16C Saturday, June 25, 9:00 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · UIOT25R

Wednesday, June 22, 9:00 pm · Castro $10 members, $12 general · TOMC22C

Wednesday, June 22, 4:00 pm · Castro $8 members, $10 general · YNBA22C

World Cinema 55

Documentaries

Check It

DIRS Dana Flor & Toby Oppenheimer 2016 USA 90 min

Desperate to survive in a city where being true to who you are can get you killed, a group of black gay and trans teens form a gang in Washington, D.C., to protect one another. Check It, the first documented gang of its kind, is dedicated to keeping black gay and trans youth safe when no one else will. After starting off with just a few people in 2009, the group has grown so large that no one can keep an accurate count of its members. In a country where black bodies are seen as criminal from birth, Check It functions as a radical act of resistance. This intimate portrayal follows Check It members, using what few resources they have, as they navigate the world—including Tray, a gay teen determined to make sure that other young people don’t have to go through the same hardships he did; Alton, a trans woman who has been taking care of herself and her friends since she fled her home at the age of 14; and Skittles, a talented amateur boxer who refuses to sacrifice his femme aesthetic when he steps into the ring. This crew of teens does their best to defend one another from state, police, and interpersonal violence, determined to be seen as the brilliant beings they are. — TAYLOR J. HODGES

This film contains graphic images and discussions of violence.

Conversations with Gay Elders: An Intergenerational Film Project DIR David Weissman 2016 USA 60 min

In this unique project-in-progress screening, documentary filmmaker David Weissman brings us inside both the stories and the unusual process that comprise his ongoing mission to capture the experiences of gay men of the pre-Stonewall generation. Now living in Portland, Oregon, longtime San Francisco resident Weissman—as in his previous films We Were Here (Frameline34) and The Cockettes (Frameline25)—is fiercely dedicated to listening to the voices and stories of a generation of gay men that is quickly passing. But in this project, after conducting his on-camera conversations with “gay elders,” Weissman turns the filmmaking itself into an intergenerational collaboration by pairing each elder’s footage with an editor from a much younger generation. The resulting filmed dialogues become an informal history as listened to and, in a sense, interpreted by a new generation of gay men. Weissman’s focus is to create multiple in-depth individual character studies rather than a single feature film, and to amass a rich repository of these histories for future generations. This program will feature excerpts from four of the conversations shot thus far, selected by the young editors. These excerpts include San Franciscans Robert Dockendorff (76) and Jack Lasner (87) as well as New Yorkers Gene Fedorko (72) and Daniel Maloney (77). Following the screening will be a discussion including director-producer Weissman, subjects Dockendorff and Lasner, and editors Alex Bohs, Aron Kantor, Jake Stein, and Ben Zweig. —peter l. stein

56 Frameline40

Sunday, June 19, 3:30 pm · Roxie $8 members, $10 general · CHEC19R

Monday, June 20, 4:00 pm · Castro $8 members, $10 general · CONV20C

sponsored by

Femme Brutal

The Freedom to Marry

Fursonas

When all the world’s a stage, crafting identity and desire is a performance that develops with and without an audience. In this Austrian documentary, the seven queer- and lesbian-identified performers who make up the performance troupe Club Burlesque Brutal discuss—in honest, ironic, and often humorous tones—their varied experiences with identity and power. Clips of live performances—which range from raw and political to fiercely sexy—are seamlessly merged with discussions in which the women provide the camera and each other a candid view on the thrills and challenges of performing. Unpacking a wide range of issues—such as audience gaze, femme identity, and what body parts each is most comfortable exposing (or not)—the women offer varied insights and perspectives that are both political and personal. The women frequently appear united on stage, but the intimate exchanges between performers reveal the often contrasting and unique queer identities of each, both in and out of character. And just as offstage life inevitably influences their performances, their discussions shed light on the ways onstage experiences impact life when all the glitter and costumes are gone. Although specific to the burlesque troupe, the thought-provoking insights uncovered in this film also touch on broader concepts of performative identity and the creation of a public persona as a source of social commentary and power—issues relevant to a variety of audiences.

It’s 102 nail-biting days before last year’s Supreme Court decision on whether same-sex marriage will be legal in all fifty states, and Evan Wolfson—“the Marriage Guy”—isn’t pacing the floor. Instead, he’s confidently preparing supportive briefs to let the justices know that America is ready for this momentous change. In fact, Wolfson saw the revolution coming decades earlier. When Wolfson wrote his 1983 thesis, titled Gay People and the Freedom to Marry, at Harvard Law School, the legal argument was so unheard of that he risked becoming a laughingstock. But nothing, not even the AIDS crisis, deterred him from becoming the godfather of the marriage equality movement for the next 32 years. Spearheading action in the United States and decisively influencing it abroad, Wolfson ultimately founded the game-changing advocacy organization Freedom to Marry. By sharing the stories of real LGBT people and their lives of love, commitment, and family—including the story of his own relationship with his husband Cheng He— Wolfson helped transform the country’s understanding of who gay people are and why discrimination is wrong. Director Eddie Rosenstein’s inspirational documentary traces the marriage equality movement’s historic progress, also profiling Mary Bonauto, Civil Rights Attorney for GLAD, who joins forces with Wolfson to argue the case of a lifetime—as, at the edge of our seats, we count down (all over again) towards the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges decision. This film adds crucial context to that momentous day.

Misunderstood within the mainstream, furries—or folks who don anthropomorphic body suits for role-play—come into snuggly view in Dominic Rodriguez’s sensitively rendered Fursonas. Avoiding sensationalism, Fursonas acquaints viewers with the unexpected individuals, many of whom are gay or bi, behind the plushy costumes—from androgynous dog-identified eccentric “Boomer,” to suburban mom “Freya,” to furry sex toy manufacturer “Varka” of Bad Dragon. Rodriguez furnishes an insider’s look at this outsider subculture, delving into the furry fray of intimate dramas and intragroup dilemmas. Topping the list of furry predicaments is the continued intrusion of the media—which opts for salacious exposés that paint participants as “sexual freaks.” No one is angrier about this than Uncle Kage, chief organizer of furry convention Anthrocon, who provides unintentional chuckles as his wine-fueled rants, against everything from frank sexual discussions to Boomer’s oddity, edge into absurdity. Winner of a Spirit of Slamdance award, Fursonas is a foundational document of a hitherto discounted community. Both fun and fascinating, Fursonas also raises profound questions about individuality and the human desire for acceptance—questions that will resonate with the furry, the furrycurious, and any viewer who has ever felt like a misfit.

— BRIAN BROMBERGER

In a world where fetish is the norm, the true nature of deviance stands out.

Saturday, June 25, 1:15 pm · Castro $8 members, $10 general · FREE25C

Sunday, June 19, 9:15 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · FURS19V

sponsored by

DIRS Nick Prokesch & Liesa Kovacs 2015 Austria 70 min In German with English subtitles

—SOPHIA LANZA-WEIL

Thursday, June 23, 9:00 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · FEMM23R

DIR Eddie Rosenstein 2016 USA 86 min

DIR Dominic Rodriguez 2015 USA 82 min

— CURRAN NAULT

PRECEDed by: Mask4Mask DIR Aron Kantor 2015 USA 4 min

Documentaries 57

Inside the Chinese Closet

DIR Sophia Luvarà 2015 Netherlands 72 min In Mandarin with English subtitles

Andy and Cherry are emblematic of a new generation of gay and lesbian people in China—desperately seeking to strike a balance between their sexuality and deeply rooted family pressures to maintain the illusion of heterosexual family life. Trying to live as an out gay man in Shanghai (he self-identifies as a bear), Andy hopes to someday find Mr. Right, even as his insistent, traditionalist father coaches him to find a lesbian who is willing to join him in a sham marriage. His search for a compatible bride—he does want some kind of love to exist with anyone he calls his wife—forms one half of this film’s astonishing dual portrait. Equally compelling is Cherry, a young, rural lesbian already in her own fake marriage, whose parents openly explore buying a baby for her in order to save face with their community and become grandparents. The film’s cameras follow Cherry’s gentle attempts to gain acceptance—for instance, as she shows her mother other lesbians online, explaining that she is not alone in her experience. The tension between a building wave of LGBTQ awareness in China and a powerful undertow of cultural conformity creates ever-present drama in the film, while Andy and Cherry, trying to navigate difficult paths to some kind of personal truth, reveal a quiet but unshakable integrity.

Irrawaddy Mon Amour

DIRS Nicola Grignani, Valeria Testagrossa, & Andrea Zambelli 2015 italy 58 min in burmese with english subtitles

Beauty and defiance blossom in this enchanting documentary about love and marriage on the banks of the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar/Burma. Kyauk Myaung is a unique gay-friendly village, where trans activist and shaman Myo Nyunt fiercely protects “the Third Sex” in an alliance with the local Buddhist monastery. Winsome watermelon vendor Soe Ko and handsome construction worker Saing Ko want to be married. More ominous than family opposition, the country’s military junta is the real threat to their bond. Under its rule, a person can be sentenced to a minimum of ten years in prison for engaging in consensual gay sex, and of course same-sex marriage is illegal. But things are changing in Myanmar, with longtime human rights activist and stateswoman Aung San Suu Kyi poised at the threshold of a new regime. In this environment, Myo Nyunt helps organize a pioneering gay meeting and a radiant wedding ceremony complete with the blessings of three monks, colorful dance performances, and a transcendent ritual of floating candles. As trans patriarch and teacher Thet Htar Phyu says, “Tell them that our love flows over men like the Irrawaddy River—it never stops flowing.” — FRAKO LODEN

—THOM VENEGONI

The Joneses

DIR Moby Longinotto 2015 USA, UK 80 min

It isn’t easy keeping up with the Joneses. A working-class family born and bred in the Mississippi Bible Belt, they are an uncommon clan with a unique set of challenges—which they meet with an innate philosophy that “family is everything.” And this family sure is something. At the heart of their story (both figuratively and literally) is sprightly Southern matriarch Jheri Jones, a trim, platinum blonde transgender woman with a bedazzled air of both brass and refinement. After marrying and raising four sons, she divorced and became her authentic self, Jheri, in her 30s and finally saved enough money to complete her gender confirmation surgery in her 60s. Now 74, she lives in her tidy trailer park home with two of her grown sons, after years of estrangement encouraged by her embittered and religious ex-wife. Brad, the eldest, suffered brain damage at childbirth and, while functional, has significant cognitive disabilities. Trevor struggles to find his place and purpose in life while dealing with anger issues that ultimately reveal a deeply held secret. Trevor’s twin brother Trent, diagnosed with schizophrenia and autism, lives in a homecare facility nearby, while Wade is happily married with two teenage kids who have yet to discover their grandmother’s story. In his feature documentary debut, Moby Longinotto gracefully embraces this family of outsiders who, despite all their struggles, always trust that “if there is enough love, you can overcome.” — JOANNE PARSONT

This film is a recipient of a Frameline Completion Fund grant.

Saturday, June 18, 11:00 am · Victoria $8 members, $10 general · CHIN18V Saturday, June 25, 3:00 pm · Piedmont $8 members, $10 general · CHIN25P

Wednesday, June 22, 9:15 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · IRRA22V

Saturday, June 18, 1:30 pm · Roxie $8 members, $10 general · JONE18R

sponsored by

58 Frameline40

Last Men Standing

Out Run

Ovarian Psycos

“We felt like every day was wonderful and anything could happen.” Rich and distinguished stories unfold among the lives of long-term survivors who have learned how to celebrate, heal, love, and thrive after the devastation of the early AIDS crisis. In this cathartic and intimate documentary, eight men look back on their experiences and then toward the future with the strength and resiliency they have cultivated over the past 30 years. Survivors are still affected by the trauma of not only their diagnosis but also the loss of community and way of life. Nobody knew they would grow old with AIDS. Many abandoned careers and went on long-term disability to wait out their death sentence, and now they face an uncertain economic future. As they age, and as the Castro neighborhood changes, long-term survivors are also creating new ways to connect, and to find meaning and community. This meditative documentary, the first fulllength film produced by the San Francisco Chronicle, draws attention to the emotional and inspiring history of the city’s gay community in the post-AIDS era.

Which country has the only LGBTQ political party in the world? Wrong! It’s the Philippines, where the Roman Catholic Church rules society despite a wary tolerance for baklas (gay men) and transgender people—as long as they stay in their “accepted” places. Those places are the entertainment world, in the form of transgender beauty pageants attended by snickering rubberneckers; beauty salons, where transwomen can do business and build community; and sex work, in the shadows of mainstream society. LGBTQ Filipinos on the whole are subject to discrimination and hate crimes. But the party-list system allows marginalized groups to vie for seats in 20 percent of the House of Representatives. In 2013, trans activist Bemz Benedito and the Ladlad (meaning “be true to your nature”) Party made a historic attempt to place three LGBTQ candidates in congressional seats on a platform that included filing an anti-discrimination bill and setting up homes for elderly baklas. This documentary takes us into the Philippines’ of-the-people political world, where beauty salons become campaign chapters and dubious party alliances are the norm. Should Ladlad’s platform include the controversial issue of same-sex marriage? Loss of confidence turns to bitter resolve when, a few weeks before election, a transwoman is beaten to death for using a women’s restroom. Emmy-nominated Bay Area documentarians S. Leo Chiang and Johnny Symons turn an incisive lens on international LGBTQ grassroots organizing and coalition building.

It is a powerful and strikingly beautiful sight to see twenty-plus young women of color biking through the streets of East LA with black bandanas emblazoned with white Fallopian tubes over their faces. Co-opting crew culture and reworking it with a feminist spin, The Ovarian Psycos Bicycle Brigade organizes rides in protest of violence in the community and against women. Founded by poet M.C. and activist Xela de la X and made up of cisgender and transgender women and gender-nonconforming rebellious spirits, this sisterhood is a refuge for those with past trauma, a support system in times of tragedy, and an outlet to confront pertinent issues that stem from misogyny and racism. The film gives us an intimate look at the lives of those who ride while showcasing their perseverance. New recruit Evie must balance family responsibilities with her newfound confidence and love of self. Street artist Andi longs for her mother and sister to support her cause. And Xela struggles with the time needed to maintain the group and her dedication to giving her nine-year-old daughter the life she longed for as a child growing up in a “postcolonized, traditional Mexican home.” In the midst of sexism, harassment, and misrepresentation, the Ovas are outspoken and unapologetic about healing and reclaiming their communities as they build on the legacy of the Chicanx civil rights movement.

This film is a recipient of a Frameline Completion Fund grant.

Monday, June 20, 9:30 pm · Elmwood $10 members, $12 general · OVAR20E

Sunday, June 19, 1:30 pm · Victoria $8 members, $10 general · LAST19V

Sunday, June 19, 1:30 pm · Castro $8 members, $10 general · OUTR19C

saturday, June 25, 7:00 pm · roxie $10 members, $12 general · OVAR25R

sponsored by

DIRS Erin Brethauer & Timothy Hussin 2016 USA 65 min

—THOM VENEGONI

PRECEDED BY: 1985 DIR Yen Tan 2015 USA 9 min

Adrian, a man with AIDS, is about to move in with his estranged mother. There’s one problem: he wants to hide his symptoms, so he makes a home appointment with a beauty consultant.

DIRS S. Leo Chiang & Johnny Symons 2016 USA 75 min

— FRAKO LODEN

DIRS Joanna Sokolowski & Kate Trumbull-LaValle 2016 USA 72 min

—ANGELIQUE SMITH

This film contains discussions of trauma and sexual abuse.

Documentaries 59

The Pearl

Political Animals

Four transwomen navigate the second half of life in this vérité-style documentary set against the backdrop of the Pacific Northwest. Mainly following separate narrative threads, the photojournalist filmmakers seek to illuminate these women’s individual triumphs and analogous struggles. Nina maintains two lives in British Columbia: one as a husband working nights as a pizza delivery driver, the other spent nurturing her true identity in private. She makes incremental strides toward coming out, but she fears hurting her family. Jodie and Krystal are Oregon sisters living together in an unconventional workshop space. They spent decades keeping their shared secret from each other before revealing their true gender identities. Jodie is self-employed and travels frequently, so she chooses to dress conventionally masculine on the job. The more confident Krystal has fully embraced her new life and returned to college. The eldest of the four subjects is Amy, who lived as a devoted husband for 46 years and then came out as female after the death of her wife. Faced with the prospect of a lonely existence, Amy chooses to open her Washington State home to other transwomen seeking solace, building a new family for herself while urging her transitioning housemates to be their beautiful, authentic selves: to “find the pearl and forget the shell.”

In 1994, Sheila Kuehl became the first openly gay member of the California State Assembly. “People think it was earlier,” she says in this eye-opening documentary. “It wasn’t.” She would be joined in short order by Carole Migden, Jackie Goldberg, and Christine Kehoe, who together took the LGBT civil rights struggle from the streets to the state capitol. Combining present day interviews with a wealth of news clips, photographs, and archival footage, Political Animals tells the story of these four pioneering lesbian politicians and the battles they fought to pass a wide range of anti-discrimination laws. Zippy animation clarifies the sometimes arcane nuts and bolts of the legislative process, and mini-bios of each politician reveal backgrounds that include lesbian separatism, Berkeley’s free speech movement, and a role on the 1960s television show Dobie Gillis. The film traces the passage of domestic partnership legislation and how it paved the way for marriage equality, but the real story is the way these out and proud politicians banded together and slowly transformed the state assembly itself. Initially confronted with fear, indifference, and jawdropping homophobia—Assembly member Peter Frusetta’s rambling monologue on hormonally challenged heifers must be seen to be believed—the four women gradually won acceptance and support from an expanding group of straight allies. This is a must-see documentary for political animals of all stripes.

DIRS Jessica Dimmock & Christopher LaMarca 2016 USA 95 min

—CHRIS KEECH

DIRs Jonah Markowitz & Tracy wares 2015 USA 90 min

Real Boy

DIR Shaleece Haas 2016 USA 72 min

Bennett Wallace is 19, a musician, and in recovery. When he meets his idol, Joe Stevens of the band Coyote Grace, Bennett’s personal and aspirational lives collide. Joe serves as Virgil to Ben’s Dante while he goes on a journey (both literal and figurative) to forge his identity as a transgender man and an artist. Navigating the difficult terrain of fractured family bonds, Bennett finds his parents and sister reacting to his coming out with varying degrees of dismay—but he maintains a deepening, if at-times tense, relationship with his mother, Suzy, as she struggles to understand his identity. When Bennett and his best friend, Dylan, plan a trip to Florida to undergo top surgery at the same time, what seems a culminating event becomes more of a way station. Director Shaleece Haas’s ambitious visual style imbues Real Boy with the personal and confessional, enriching the story with home videos from Bennett’s early childhood and beautiful animations that bring his journals to life. Woven throughout, Bennett’s music reveals itself as the soundtrack to his coming-of-age—especially evident in a touching moment when Joe invites the young musician to perform alongside him onstage, and from the audience, Suzy realizes that with or without her Bennett is finding his own way. While the story centers around Bennett’s transition, it ultimately reveals how our closest, most complicated relationships can be a source of hurt as well as redemptive, authentic healing. —MORDECAI STAYTON

— MONICA NOLAN

Sunday, June 19, 11:00 am · Castro $8 members, $10 general · POLA19C

Sunday, June 19, 4:00 pm · Victoria $8 members, $10 general · RBOY19V

Sunday, June 19, 11:00 am · Victoria $8 members, $10 general · PEAR19V

Monday, June 20, 7:00 pm · Elmwood $10 members, $12 general · POLA20E

Thursday, June 23, 7:00 pm · Elmwood $10 members, $12 general · RBOY23E

sponsored by

60 Frameline40

The Revival: Woman and the Word

DIR Sekiya Dorsett 2016 USA 82 min

Among a congregation of queer women of color artists, the Holy Trinity—“the poet, the people, and the poem”—is the heart of a tour centering on the power, inspiration, and real-talk of a group of five poets who hit the road to perform in seven states in nine days. Featuring Jade Foster, Be Steadwell, Jonquille Rice, T’ai Freedom Ford, and Eli Turner, the journey to grow community ultimately challenges and impacts their own relationships to the people and art in their lives. Touching on the history of Black women creating space for art and resistance in 1970s Harlem, to gender presentation and fashion, to confronting racism and police violence, filmmaker Sekiya Dorsett captures a story of queer women of color rarely told. Through stunning performances and conversations that surface in a cramped tour minivan, this documentary provides an intimate look at a range of experiences and identities—enriched with interviews from leading Black feminist thinkers, elders, and historians, including Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Nikki Finney, Alexis Deveaux, and CC Carter. Ultimately, the life-saving, lifegiving power of words is the foundation of a project so moving it will leave you saying “amen.” —SOPHIA LANZA-WEIL

PRECEDed by: Oh, I Get It DIRS Sara McCaslin and Danny Tayara 2015 USA 9 min

Standup comedians in Seattle paint a picture of oppressive comedy culture and “the queer feminist comic intervention” needed to change it.

Suited

DIR Jason Benjamin 2016 USA 77 min

You move differently when you’re comfortable in your own skin, and although it’s what’s on the inside that counts, sometimes your outside can help the inside along. The Brooklyn-based tailors Bindle & Keep specialize in bespoke suits for the LGBTQ community. People travel far and wide to be fitted by the unlikely duo of Rae, an apprentice-turned-clothier who identifies as trans-masculine, and Daniel, a straight man who’d never considered the LGBTQ market when he started his original business. Suited, a poignant documentary produced by Girls showrunners Lena Dunham & Jenni Konner, focuses on the individual needs and stories of multiple Bindle & Keep clients on the trans spectrum. The desire for a well-fitting garment isn’t merely about fancy textiles or looking dapper; rather, it’s connected to a deeper holistic need for embodiment and empowerment. We meet Derek, a trans man from a rural town who is not only having an important medical procedure but is also getting married to the woman of his dreams. Cab-driving Mel doesn’t care which pronoun you use; she just wants to have an awesome suit to kick off her 40th birthday. Try to stay dry-eyed listening to the stories of Everett, an African American law student searching for a job in a conservative field where employers have no problem saying they don’t want to deal with the “trans thing,” or Aiden, a 12-yearold getting his first suit for his bar mitzvah. Each story begins with childhood pictures that mark the beginnings of very separate journeys, but ends with the common thread of how something as simple as a well-tailored suit can be identity- and dignity-affirming.

Treasure: From Tragedy to Trans Justice, Mapping a Detroit Story DIR dream hampton 2015 USA 63 min

Shelly “Treasure” Hilliard, a young African American transwoman, died violently in 2011 after Detroit police threatened, coerced, and eventually exposed her as an informant against her drug dealers. Though director dream hampton does not shy away from the gruesome reality of Treasure’s murder, heart-wrenching interviews keep the focus on Treasure as a friend who conveyed “24-hour realness,” as part of a vibrant local trans community and as a sister and daughter loved by a family that supported her living her truth. As the details of what led up to the crime unfold, we are also shown affirming safe spaces within the desolation of the city, like the Ruth Ellis Center, where trans justice advocates and outreach workers teach classes and rally around each other to promote healing in the aftermath of a tragedy. Treasure’s murder isn’t merely a hate crime; on a broader level, it is a travesty that displays the interworking consequences of society’s failings: racism, transphobia, the exploitation of sex workers, classism, systematic oppression, government indifference, and the continued criminalization of black bodies. —ANGELIQUE SMITH

This film contains discussions of transphobic violence.

— ANGELIQUE SMITH

Saturday, June 18, 3:30 pm · Victoria $8 members, $10 general · SUIT18V

Thursday, June 23, 7:00 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · TREA23R

Saturday, June 18, 11:00 am · Roxie $8 members, $10 general · RVWW18R

Sunday, June 19, 9:30 pm · Elmwood $10 members, $12 general · SUIT19E

saturday, June 25, 12:00 pm · piedmont $8 members, $10 general · trea25P

sponsored by

Documentaries 61

Two Soft Things, Two Hard Things

Uncle Howard

Upstairs Inferno

In this gorgeous animated tale, an Inuit man hunts like the best of men and sews like the best of women. Tension builds like a taut bowstring about whom he should take as a partner, and the arrow hits home when he meets his match.

Gay filmmaker Howard Brookner epitomized the promise and talent of New York’s vibrant independent film scene in the 1980s. His breakthrough 1983 documentary about the Beat icon William S. Burroughs, Burroughs: The Movie, launched what should have been a long and stellar career. But three days shy of his 35th birthday, in 1989, as he was about to release his first star-studded studio film (Bloodhounds of Broadway, starring Madonna and Matt Dillon), Brookner died of AIDS, and he has been largely forgotten. In this captivating documentary, Brookner’s nephew Aaron—who as a child idolized his handsome, dashing uncle—reconstructs Howard’s unconventional life and work. The result is a touching homage that preserves his cultural and cinematic legacy for a new generation. Aaron’s quest takes him around New York City to meet with those who had been close to Howard, including his NYU classmates and Burroughs collaborators Jim Jarmusch (Stranger Than Paradise) and Tom DiCillo (Living in Oblivion), as well as poet John Giorno, keeper of Howard’s archives, stored for decades inside Burroughs’s well-preserved apartment, nicknamed “The Bunker.” Aaron’s treasure hunt for images turns up never-before-seen outtakes from Howard’s three completed movies, and conjures up his fertile life in New York’s largely gay counterculture, including glimpses of Andy Warhol, Allen Ginsberg, Patti Smith, Robert Wilson, Merce Cunningham—a veritable who’s-who of Downtown creativity. Uncle Howard is a poignant family album and an indispensable perspective on the AIDS crisis and the groundbreaking film world of the 1980s.

A forty-year-old mass-murder-mystery is at the center of this captivating and thoughtful documentary from filmmaker Robert L. Camina. In 1973, a devastating fire consumed the UpStairs Lounge, a New Orleans gay bar and occasional church. Thirty-two people died. Despite a conspicuous can of discarded lighter fluid at the scene, law enforcement officials turned away from evidence of foul play. Meanwhile, the community at large chose to ignore what was clearly a hate crime. No one was ever prosecuted, and the crime lives on as a tragic chapter in New Orleans history. Camina combines emotional interviews with survivors—some of whom have never spoken out before—with intense archival footage to capture a very specific time and place for LGBT people. While the horrible crime helped to unite the New Orleans gay community, the bigoted and uncomfortable reaction of the straight world was a disturbing reminder of what it meant to be out in the South in 1973. Narrated by New York Times best-selling author Christopher Rice, this festival audience award–winning film is a mesmerizing mix of crime drama and human connections that brilliantly captures the heartbreaking feelings of unconditional love and overwhelming loss. An unsettling snapshot of what is considered to be the largest mass murder targeting gays in American history, Upstairs Inferno gets inside the hearts and minds of a handful of vibrant people who are connected by tragedy and compassion.

Saturday, June 25, 2:00 pm · Roxie $8 members, $10 general · TWOS25R

Friday, June 17, 7:00 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · UNCL17V

Thursday, June 23, 9:30 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · UPST23V

sponsored by

DIRs Mark Kenneth Woods & Michael Yerxa 2016 USA 71 min

A great un-shaming is uniting and healing Inuit and LGBTQ communities in the eastern Arctic. The territory of Nunavut was built upon decades of relocation, re-education, and Christianization of nomadic Inuit people. Colonization and shame have shadowed the community, hitting LGBTQ people especially hard, as the systematic destruction of native culture has driven the Inuit’s original complex, inclusive sense of sexual orientation and family structure underground. Directors Woods and Yerxa methodically trace colonization from the 1950s, through the gradual thaw leading to LGBTQ protections in the Nunavut human rights act in 2003, up to the current state of affairs. The moving story comes alive through the voices of returning LGBTQ Inuit adults and the new generation of youth; tribal elders reviving ancient inclusiveness; white LGBTQ activists and scholars; and an Inuit filmmaker and LGBTQ ally who’s making it all visible. As indigenous values and contemporary mores come together, the way opens up for Inuit people to lead this continuing and exciting journey. —CAROL HARADA

PRECEDed by: He Who Has Two Souls DIR Fabrice Luang-Vija 2015 France 17 min In French with English subtitles

62 Frameline40

DIR Aaron Brookner 2016 USA 96 min

DIR Robert L. Camina 2015 USA 96 min

— BRENDAN PETERSON

— CHRIS KEECH

Who’s Gonna Love Me Now? DIRS Tomer Heymann and Barak Heymann 2015 Israel, UK 90 min In Hebrew & English with English subtitles

In this intimate documentary (winner of Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2016 Berlinale), a 40-year-old gay Israeli man living with HIV in London must confront his looming fears and attempt to resolve long-simmering differences with his conservative Jewish family. When we first meet the amiable yet emotionally fragile Saar Maoz, he’s living alone comfortably and leading a busy life as a member of the London Gay Men’s Chorus while working full-time at an Apple Store. Raised by a strict military father and steadfast mother, he was forced to leave the family’s kibbutz when his sexual orientation became known. Now, after 20 years’ estrangement and a set of emotional and physical setbacks, Saar and his remarkably candid parents and siblings attempt to navigate through profound cultural, religious, and personal conflicts. The film presents no villains or victims, asking us instead to step deep inside a close-knit but divided family, each member committed in his or her own way to honoring firmly held moral values while pained by the sacrifices that entails. With restrained yet assured hands, the filmmakers—brothers Tomer and Barak Heymann, makers of Paper Dolls (Frameline30) and The Queen Has No Crown (Frameline35)—shade in every brutally honest hue of this complicated dynamic. The film’s universal message of acceptance through understanding is sure to resonate, as will the rousing musical scenes (including lively choral versions of “Go West” and “Holding Out for a Hero”). —CHRIS KEECH

Women He’s Undressed

DIR Gillian Armstrong 2015 Australia 100 min

In this glitzy, dishy documentary, esteemed director Gillian Armstrong (My Brilliant Career) traces the rise and fall and rise again of one of the most prolific costume designers of Hollywood’s golden age: three-time Academy Award winner OrryKelly. Born in a small Australian town in 1897, the artistic young Orry George Kelly left for Broadway in the 1920s to seek his fortune. Finding he wasn’t quite cut out for the life of a chorus boy, he worked as a set painter and costume designer while his handsome British boyfriend, Archie, struggled to make it as an actor. The pair headed to Hollywood in the 1930s. Archie ditched Orry, (mostly) retreated into the closet, and became Cary Grant. Orry, who refused to hide his sexuality, eventually became the head costume designer for Warner Brothers— responsible for dressing leading ladies (such as Bette Davis, who adored him) in as many as fifty movies a year. Along the way, he dropped “George” from his name and added a hyphen, for a bit of exoticism. An outspoken creative genius, Orry-Kelly worked on three decades’ worth of classic films: Jezebel, 42nd Street, Casablanca, Oklahoma, Auntie Mame, Some Like It Hot, An American in Paris—and hundreds more. This enchanting, inventive documentary, rich with film clips, features tributes from today’s top costume designers and the reminiscences of those who knew him, bringing Orry-Kelly—the man and the artist— to glorious life. Women He’s Undressed is a must-see fashion extravaganza for film lovers. — CHARLES PURDY

Monday, June 20, 7:00 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · WHOS20V

Sunday, June 19, 4:00 pm · Castro $8 members, $10 general · UNDR19C

sponsored by

Documentaries 63

Shorts Programs

Bi Candy

TOTAL RUNning TIME: 88 min

Binary-breaking shorts in this year’s batch of Bi Candy range from the adorable and romantic to the real and raw. In Spectrum, two friends must confront their sexuality when a wingwoman loses focus. Viviane meets an attractive stranger while sightseeing, and they discover How to Kiss in Paris. Noam, a young Israeli transman now living in NYC, is anxious to reconnect with his childhood friend Natan in The Friend From Tel Aviv. In the haunting autobiographical short ID#1:Writer, a bisexual woman refuses to be reduced to one label as she explores her overlapping identities. In Tits on a Bull, a women’s rugby team comes undone as their star player struggles to choose between following the playbook and breaking all the rules by pursuing the team captain. Meeting someone new has many challenges, and Lionel finds himself grasping at Straws to figure out which way(s) his new acquaintance swings. Three college friends go camping, only to awake to the harsh reality of their inebriated decisions in More of Last Night. And male participants in the popular #StillBisexual campaign reveal how they came to accept their identity in Why Should I Give a S#*t about Bisexuals? (Men’s Edition). — CURATED BY APRIL & ALLEGRA HIRSCHMAN

SPECTRUM dir Katrina Kudlick 2015 USA 16 min / how TO KISS IN PARIS dir April Hirschman 2016 USA 6 min / the fRIEND FROM TEL AVIV dir Federica Gianni 2015 USA 11 min / ID#1:WRITER dirs Emília OndriaŠovÁ & adriana piroŠkovÁ 2016 Slovakia 4 min / TITS ON A BULL dir Tim Worrall 2015 New Zealand 16 min / STRAWS dir Christine Deal 2015 USA 8 min / MORE OF LAST NIGHT dir Chase Casanova 2014 USA 16 min / WHY SHOULD I GIVE A S#*T ABOUT BISEXUALS? (MEN’S EDITION) dir korina birosh, jordan blower, & Alexandra Hansen 2016 USA 11 min

Wednesday, June 22, 7:00 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · BICA22R

Coming Up Queer TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 88 min admission free screening!

Back by popular demand, this year’s Coming Up Queer free program returns! From skate parks to Georgia rodeos, these short films showcase diverse LGBTQ youth perspectives. In a story of familial love between a butch mother and her feminine son, Pink Boy follows BJ and Jeffrey as they both learn to embrace Jeffrey’s inner princess. When a struggling young Muslim girl feels unsafe at the skate park, a group of girls forms an all-female force field on the half pipe in Crystal Lake. In Swirl, a bout of bullying transforms into a defiant dance of joy when two handsome outcasts find each other in solidarity—and maybe a little romance, too? The short documentary Becoming Johanna follows a 16-year-old transgender Latina struggling with both school and a mother who prays for her to be someone else. Luckily, she finds mentors and a family of choice who enable her to thrive. And in Veracity, popular Olivia is inadvertently outed after developing feelings for the new girl at her high school. Written by a high school senior from Chicago’s South Side, Veracity explores both the stigma of being gay in the Black community and the ultimate power of friendship. —ALEXIS WHITHAM

PINK BOY dir Eric Rockey 2015 USA 15 min / CRYSTAL LAKE dir Jennifer Reeder 2016 USA 20 min / SWIRL dir Lance McDaniel 2015 USA 6 min / BECOMING JOHANNA dir Jonathan Skurnik 2016 USA 27 min / VERACITY dir Seith Mann 2015 USA 20 min This program contains strong language, depictions of teen drinking, and a scene in which a character considers self-harm.

Sunday, June 19, 1:00 pm · Roxie free · COMQ19R sponsored by

64 Frameline40

Pull out guide

Film Schedule /frameline /framelinefest @ framelinefest #FL40

Grand

Premier Technology

Premier

Premier Creative

Schedule at a glance THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Castro

6/16

SATURDAY

6/17

Roxie

Victoria

6/18 Castro

11:00 am Fun In Boys Shorts

FIBS18C p.65

1:30 pm We Need to Talk

7:00 pm A Holy Mess

SUMM17C p.44

7:00 pm Uncle Howard

HOLY17R p.53 W

UNCL17V p.62 D

9:15 pm 9:15 pm Holding the Man Guys Like Us 10:00 pm You’ll Never Be Alone YNBA16C p.55 W

HOLD17C p.52 W

10:00 pm Opening Night Gala at The NWBLK

FILM18C p.29 D

6:30 pm Summertime

9:30 pm Vegas in Space

GUYS17R p.65 S

VEGA17V p.35 t

11:00 am The Revival: Woman and the Word RVWW18R p.61 D

1:30 pm The Joneses

3:30 pm Film Hawk

AKRO17C p.46 U

KIKI16C p.19

FIGS18C p.65

4:00 pm Akron

7:00 pm Kiki

Roxie

1:30 pm Fun In Girls Shorts

WENE17C p.68 S

SUNDAY

JONE18R p.58 D

3:45 pm Suicide Kale KALE18R p.50 U

6:30 pm Pushing Dead

6:30 pm Girl Gets Girl

9:15 pm The Intervention

9:15 pm Horses

PUSH18C p.40

INTE18C p.38

11:00 am Inside the Chinese Closet CHIN18V p.58

1:00 pm Fire Song

Castro

11:00 am Political Animals POLA19C p.60 D

1:30 pm Out Run

FIRE18V p.51 W

OUTR19C p.59 D

3:30 pm Suited

4:00 pm Women He’s Undressed

SUIT18V p.61 D

6/22 Castro

6:00 pm Her Story

HERS18V p.48

6:30 pm First Girl I Loved

FIRS19C p.47 U

9:00 pm Girls Lost LOST18V p.36

9:15 pm I Promise You Anarchy IPRO19C p.53 W

THURSDAY

Roxie

Victoria

6/23

Elmwood

Castro

1:30 pm Living with Pride

Roxie

Victoria

Elmwood

Piedmont

3:30 pm Trans Stories— On Film & Online PANL22R p.33

TOMC22C p.55 W

COMQ19R p.64 S

3:30 pm Check It

CHEC19R p.56 D

6:15 pm Flashback 1977 FLAS19R p.34 s

9:00 pm Up Close & Personal UPCL19R p.68 S

7:00 pm From Afar

BICA22R p.64 S

FROM22V p.52 W

9:30 pm Arianna

9:15 pm Irrawaddy Mon Amour

ARIA22R p.51 W

P2 Frameline40

IRRA22V p.58

7:00 pm Her Story

HERS22E p.48

9:30 pm Sticky Fingers

STIC22E p.67 S

6:30 pm Spa Night U

SPAN23C p.42

9:15 pm Paris 05:59: Theo & Hugo PARI23C p.39

Castro

4:00 pm Worldly Affairs WORL24C p.69 S

UPCL23C p.68 S

7:00 pm Bi Candy

6/24

CELL24C p.34 s

4:00 pm Up Close & Personal



YNBA22C p.55 W

9:00 pm Tomcat

1:00 pm Coming Up Queer

1:30 pm The Celluloid Closet

TONG23C p.35 s

AWOL22C p.21 C

RODG19R p.69 F

FRIDAY

1:30 pm Tongues Untied

LIVI22C p.34 s

6:30 pm AWOL

10:30 am R & H’s Cinderella

p.19

WEDNESDAY

4:00 pm You’ll Never Be Alone

Roxie

UNDR19C p.63 D

GIRL18R p.52 W

HORS18R p.53 W

6/19

Victoria

7:00 pm Treasure

TREA23R p.61 D

9:00 pm Femme Brutal FEMM23R p.57 D

7:00 pm Heartland

7:00 pm Real Boy

HEAR23V p.48 U

RBOY23E p.60 D

9:30 pm Upstairs Inferno

9:30 pm From Afar

UPST23V p.62 D

FROM23E p.52 W

7:00 pm Southwest of Salem

6:30 pm Rara

RARA24C p.41

SOUT23P p.25 C

9:30 pm Summertime SUMM23P p.44

9:15 pm BearCity 3

BEAR24C p.46 U

MONDAY

Victoria

6/20

Elmwood

11:00 am The Pearl

Castro

TUESDAY

Roxie

Victoria

Elmwood

6/21 Castro

Roxie

Victoria

Elmwood

7:00 pm 7:00 pm We’ve Been Bruising for Around/This Is Me Besos

7:00 pm Realness & Revelations

PEAR19V p.60 D

1:30 pm Last Men Standing

LAST19V p.59

1:30 pm A Holy Mess D

4:00 pm Real Boy RBOY19V p.60 D

1:30 pm Loev

HOLY20C p.53 W

LOEV21C p.54 W

4:00 pm Conversations with Gay Elders

4:00 pm Retake

RETA21C p.49 U

CONV20C p.56 D

6:30 pm Lazy Eye

7:00 pm Bruising for Besos

LAZY19V p.49 U

BESO19E p.47

9:15 pm Fursonas

9:30 pm Suited

FURS19V p.57 D

SUIT19E p.61 D

6:30 pm Southwest of Salem U

SOUT20C p.25 C

9:15 pm Closet Monster

CLOS20C p.51 W

3:30 pm LGBTQ Film as an Agent of Social Change

7:00 pm Transtastic TRAN20R p.67 S

9:15 pm Me, Myself and Her MEMY20R p.54 W

7:00 pm Who’s Gonna Love Me Now?

7:00 pm Political Animals POLA20E p.60 D

WHOS20V p.63 D

9:15 pm Only in San Francisco

9:30 pm Ovarian Psycos

OVAR20E p.59 D

ONLY20V p.66 S

PANL21R p.33

7:00 pm Being 17 BEIN21C p.23 C

WEVE21R p.68

Roxie

Victoria

Piedmont

WOME21C p.50 U

Roxie

Victoria

GROW25C p.37

11:30 am Queer Student Shorts

WENE25V p.68 S

QUEE25R p.66

1:15 pm The Freedom to Marry

FREE25C p.57 D

11:00 am We Need to Talk

TLST25C p.45

2:00 pm TBA125V Two Soft Things, Two Hard Things

4:30 pm Sticky Fingers

4:00 pm Akron

AKRO25V p.46 U

REAL24R p.67

7:00 pm Loev

LOEV24V p.54 W

7:00 pm Kiki

KIKI24P p.19 D

9:30 pm Oh the Horror!

OHTH24R p.66 S

9:30 pm I Promise You Anarchy IPRO24V p.53 W

9:30 pm Women Who Kill WOME24P p.50 U

7:00 pm Ovarian Psycos OVAR25R p.59 D

8:30 pm Strike a Pose

STRK25C p.43

REAL21E p.67

9:30 pm Pushing Dead

SLAS21V p.49 U

PUSH21E p.40

Castro

11:00 am Fun In Girls Shorts FIGS26C p.65 S

12:00 pm Treasure

9:00 pm Take Me For a Ride

TAKE25R p.55 W

1:30 pm Fun In Boys Shorts

FIBS26C p.65 S

3:00 pm Inside the Chinese Closet CHIN25P p.58

5:00 pm Rara

4:00 pm Jonathan JONA26C p.54 W

RARA25P p.41

6:00 pm Front Cover

7:00 pm Realness & Revelations

6/26

Piedmont

1:30 pm TBA1

STIC25R p.67 S

FRON25C p.48 U

9:30 pm Slash

TREA25P p.61 D

TWOS25R p.62 D

4:00 pm The Trans List

DADD21R p.47 U

BESO21V p.47

SUNDAY

Castro

11:00 am Growing Up Coy

9:30 pm 9:30 pm Women Who Kill Daddy’s Boy

SATURDAY

6/25



7:00 pm Retake

RETA25V p.49 U

9:15 pm TBA2

TBA225V

7:30 pm AWOL

AWOL25P p.21 C

9:30 pm Girls Lost

LOST25P p.36

7:00 pm Looking

LOOK26C p.27

9:30 pm Closing Night Party at Oasis

Q Opening/Closing C

Centerpiece

s retrospective Showcase U

US Feature

World Cinema

Documentary

Shorts program

Family matinee

t Special program  Panel

p.27

frameline.org P3

Text your vote

Support LGBTQ filmmakers... text us your Festival favorites! Vote with your fingertips and support your favorite films as they compete for the Frameline40 AT&T Audience Awards. Filmmakers can receive cash prizes for Best Feature, Best Documentary, and Best Short to fuel their filmmaking dreams. It’s up to you! If you like what you see, send the film’s text voting code (listed on the Frameline40 mobile film schedule and at frameline.org/festival) to the phone number 55333. You’ll have six hours after the start of the screening to vote, and you can vote for as many films as you want! But, to keep it fair, you can only vote once for each film. For those without text-messaging capabilities, a small number of paper ballots will be available upon request in the lobby. Standard messaging rates may apply (a small price to support LGBTQ film).

Fun In Boys Shorts

Fun In Girls Shorts

Guys Like Us

Why the long face? Break out the smiles and the popcorn as we celebrate homo hilarity in nine comic shorts. We start (like all good lightweight bouts) with a Weigh In—a queer send-up of hyperventilating boxing promos. In the charming animation Bittersweet, an anxious schoolboy scrambles to retrieve a valentine he’s sent to his secret crush, while a cake delivery goes horribly wrong (until it goes just right) in Spark. Two longtime San Franciscans recount their unlikely first date in The Glory Hole, which calls for a sexy black latex dance break (Mask4Mask). In the post-apocalypse, our time-traveling hero breaks protocol to visit his sex-starved younger self, in Time Quest...while the human jukebox at a carnival serves up a gay fantasia in MeTube 2: August Sings Carmina Burana. Enjoy a fairy flashback to Frameline’s founding decade (that’s the ’70s, kids): a filmmaker who found a box of fabulous Super 8 movie reels re-fashions them into The Radical Fairy Prince: A Love Story. And we close with a visit to a London bathhouse, where some of the guys are so unresponsive you’d think they were zombies—oh no! They are! It’s Sauna the Dead—A Fairy Tale.

The unabashed horror of LBD and LTRs, misadventures in queer baby-making, rugby scrums Down Under, and ride-or-die loyalty are all part of this year’s grin-inducing and powerful collection of queer women’s shorts! Cara has something important to tell her grandfather, and she’s worried he might find it a bit shocking in Dance Card. When a slump in work/life Partners Kate and Leigh’s sex life forces them to reconsider their relationship, they must confront how intertwined their lives have become. Tensions rise when a woman and her wife ask her brother to be the sperm donor of their baby...or the uncle...or the Spunkle! Virgin Territory is a queer and questioning coming-of-age story about a teen who wants to have sex for the first time to commence her long-desired exploration. Set in rural New Zealand, Tits on a Bull follows a women’s rugby team’s star player, Phoenix, as she struggles with the new relationship blossoming between her and the team captain, Mel. When Mac, a young butch Latina dies, her novia, Hope, must overcome personal grief in order to respectfully send Mac off into the afterlife as she would’ve wanted, in the ride-or-die inspired Vámonos.

This handsome collection highlights a robust representation of transguys and transmasculine folks. From dashing gender outlaws to hunks with hearts of gold, the heroes of these stories navigate landscapes of loss, develop brotherly bonds of friendship, and discover the pure exhilaration of being someone’s “Mr. Right Now.” These shorts showcase a spectrum of stories about self-defined men. MoC Spanish hottie Victor needs to explore hir gender. But secrets don’t last forever, and Victor XX will have to defend the true image that the mirror reflects back. Tear Jerker is a portrait of Elliot, a guy faced with difficult life circumstances trying to find new ways to express old and familiar feelings. Shot in the stunning beauty of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Finn Paul’s meditative (the here and now) a visit is a hybrid portrait of a friendship between two transgender pals. After being estranged from his family for three years, Julian (Kingston Farady, Black Is Blue, Frameline38) returns home to spend Thanksgiving with his family in Transcend. Will Julian have his seat at the table? Two young guys meet at an underground party after midnight on New Year’s Eve, and push each other to try something new in Say U Will.

Total Running Time: 66 min

—PETER L. STEIN

THE WEIGH IN dir The Perez Bros. 2014 USA 2 min / BITTERSWEET dir Allen Martsch 2015 USA 5 min / SPARK dirs Kuba Szutkowski & edgar kapp 2016 Netherlands 8 min / THE GLORY HOLE dir Daniel Maggio 2014 USA 4 min / MASK4MASK dir Aron Kantor 2015 USA 4 min / TIME QUEST dir John Dilley 2015 USA 7 min / METUBE 2: AUGUST SINGS CARMINA BURANA dir Daniel Moshel 2016 Austria 6 min / THE RADICAL FAIRY PRINCE: A LOVE STORY dir Bobby R. Poirier 2015 USA 9 min / SAUNA THE DEAD—A FAIRY TALE dir Tom Frederic 2016 UK 21 min

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 68 min

— DES BUFORD

DANCE CARD dir Renee Crea 2016 Australia 7 min / PARTNERS dir Joey Ally 2015 USA 7 min / SPUNKLE dir Lisa Donato 2016 USA 11 min / VIRGIN TERRITORY dir Emily Robinson 2016 USA 15 min / TITS ON A BULL dir Tim Worrall 2015 New Zealand 16 min / VÁMONOS dir Marvin Lemus 2015 USA 12 min

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 76 min

— DES BUFORD

VICTOR XX dir Ian Garrido López 2016 Spain 20 min / TEAR JERKER dir Amy Adler 2016 USA 15 min / (THE HERE AND NOW) A VISIT dir Finn Paul 2015 USA 13 min / TRANSCEND dir Kai Towns 2015 USA 17 min / SAY U WILL dir Chris Cruse 2015 USA 11 min

Saturday, June 18, 11:00 am · Castro $8 members, $10 general · FIBS18C

Saturday, June 18, 1:30 pm · Castro $8 members, $10 general · FIGS18C

Sunday, June 26, 1:30 pm · Castro $8 members, $10 general · FIBS26C

sunday, June 26, 11:00 am · Castro $8 members, $10 general · FIGS26c

Friday, June 17, 9:15 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · GUYS17R

sponsored by

Shorts Programs 65

Oh the Horror!

Only in San Francisco

Queer Student Shorts

Have your nightmares gotten too vanilla? Our queer-y scare-y camp-y creepshow will fix that fast! Get ready to gasp, clutch your sweetie (or the stranger next to you), and scream bloody murder at this gothic grouping of queer horror flicks…with a few giggles thrown in for good measure. In Tonight It’s You, handsome CJ arranges a late-night hookup with misfit Hunter, only to discover more going on in Hunter’s backwoods farmhouse than he bargained for. Don’t be fooled by the sophisticated stop-motion doll animation that gives B. childlike charm; the bloody story—of repressed bombshell B. and her bisexual boyfriend K.—is a perverse twist on Saturday morning Barbie-mation. In Russia, vicious homophobes have been known to ambush unsuspecting gays they find online, but the attacks rarely turn supernatural, as they seem to do in PYOTR495. In the sweetly comic Monster Mash, two fanboys meet at a horror costume party and try to find common ground in their love of genre flicks. And we close with a trip to a London gay bathhouse, where the fixed stares of the guys wandering in towels make you wonder if we’ve arrived at the zombie apocalypse. Look again… we have! Welcome to Sauna the Dead— A Fairy Tale.

From dancing leather daddies and celebrated drag kings and queens to the imaginatively sexy and romantic and a trip to a Furry convention, this batch of shorts truly embodies the “only in San Francisco” spirit. We start on Folsom Street, which gorgeously combines the gay leather and S&M world of the 1970s and the universe of choreographer Bob Fosse—and whips up into a sexually charged dance frenzy. The dancing continues with Be Fabulous, First Stop: Sexitude, which looks at D’Arcy Drollinger’s body-positive, sex-positive, agepositive Sexitude dance class—with plenty of neon spandex, fishnet stockings, and gold booty shorts. SF drag icon and cinephile Peaches Christ gets profiled in A Wig and a Prayer—The Peaches Christ Story. The owner of a small vintage shop has more on her mind than selling clothes in Be Right Back. Jeff and Cosgrove tell us their charming and true story of love at first sight... 22 years ago at The Glory Hole. In Furries, local filmmaker Eric Risher takes a trip to a convention in downtown Pittsburgh where thousands gather, wearing tails, hats with ears, and full-body animal costumes. The film looks beyond the fur to discover the importance of identity, creativity, and the community’s people.

The strength and resilience of the queer community and family is at the fore of this diverse program of shorts. Pink Boy showcases the love between a butch mother and her feminine son, in one sense opposites, but united by a determination to be who they truly are. An anxious high school student scrambles to get back the love note he accidentally sent to his crush in Bittersweet. Three Asian American women share their experiences, frustrations, and identity amid the backdrop of San Francisco’s Castro District and other neighborhoods in Do Not Think For a Moment. In the experimental sci-fi short Persistence of Memory, a reserved programmer grapples with the loss of her beloved as she begins employment at a controversial tech company specializing in artificial companions. A young transgender woman considers a dangerous black market procedure that may be her only way to gain a more feminine body, in Vessels. Written by Janaya Green when she was a high school senior in Chicago’s South Side neighborhood, Veracity explores the tensions and stigma of being queer in the Black community, as well as the ways in which we save each other.

— KEVIN SCHAUB

— CURATED BY KARLY STARK & the QUEER CINEMA institute at san francisco state university

TONIGHT IT’S YOU dir Dominic Haxton 2014 USA 16 min / B. dir Kai Stänicke 2015 Germany 15 min / PYOTR495 dir Blake Mawson 2016 Canada, Russia 15 min / MONSTER MASH dir Mark Pariselli 2014 USA 21 min / SAUNA THE DEAD – A FAIRY TALE dir Tom Frederic 2016 UK 21 min

FOLSOM STREET dir Aron Kantor 2015 USA 6 min / BE FABULOUS, FIRST STOP: SEXITUDE dir Meghan Ryan 2015 USA 5 min / A WIG AND A PRAYER – THE PEACHES CHRIST STORY dir Jeff Schlags 2015 USA 19 min / BE RIGHT BACK dir Hilda Schmelling 2016 USA 13 min / THE GLORY HOLE dir Daniel Maggio 2014 USA 4 min / FURRIES dir Eric Risher 2016 USA 33 min

PINK BOY dir Eric Rockey 2015 USA 15 min / BITTERSWEET dir Allen Martsch USA 5 min / DO NOT THINK FOR A MOMENT dir Adria Siu & Vivian Wang USA 4 min / PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY dir Natalie Tsui 2015 USA 16 min / VESSELS dir Arkasha Stevenson 2015 USA 15 min / VERACITY dir Seith Mann 2015 USA 20 min

Friday, June 24, 9:30 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · OHTH24R

Monday, June 20, 9:15 pm · Victoria $10 members, $12 general · ONLY20V

Saturday, June 25, 11:30 am · Roxie $8 members, $10 general · QUEE25R

sponsored by

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 88 min

—PETER L. STEIN

66 Frameline40

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 80 min

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 75 min

Realness & Revelations

Sticky Fingers

Transtastic

These captivating shorts celebrate an abundance of voices of queer and trans folks of color. From homecomings to crossings over, to redefining the meaning of familia and just kickin’ it with the peeps, these films feature QTPOC folks who keep on keepin’ on with resilience and resistance. Capturing diverse portraits of queer and trans Asian Americans, Gaysians is an illuminating patchwork documentary that explores relationships with family and culture. After being estranged from his family for three years, Julian (Kingston Farady of Black Is Blue, Frameline38) returns home to spend Thanksgiving with his family, in Transcend. Exploring the intersection of gender identity, immigration, and health, Afuera finds an undocumented transgender woman making sacrifices to live as the woman she always was. Created as part of the 2016 Outfest Fusion One Minute Movie Competition, I Was features a femme woman of color rhythmically reflecting upon coming out. When Mac, a young MoC Latina dies, her novia, Hope, must overcome personal grief in order to respectfully send Mac off into the afterlife as she would’ve wanted, in the ride-or-die inspired Vámonos. Crystal Lake is about a crew of young girls who take over a skate park, forming an all-female force field on the half-pipe. There on the reclaimed ramp, they are thriving and visible.

This stirring collection centers images of transgender and gender-nonconforming folks, celebrating the beautiful richness of self-discovery and the driving determination of living an authentic life. Directed by Nicole Opper (Off and Running, Frameline33) Mezzo celebrates the life and artistic endeavors of Breanna Sinclaire, an African American opera singer and the first openly trans woman to study at a major conservatory. Victor needs to explore hir gender. But secrets don’t last forever, and Victor XX will have to defend the true image that the mirror reflects back. The powerful Vessels (winner of the prestigious 2015 Iris Prize for Best Narrative Short Film) follows Diamond, a young Latina transgirl, as she seeks gender confirmation by visiting a hermana who is a “pumper.” Two young guys meet at an underground party after midnight on New Year’s Eve, and they push each other to try something new in Say U Will. Writerdirector Jake Graf (Brace, Frameline38) returns with a lyrical soul-gazing short: as Dawn creeps across London, two lost outcasts meet in the darkness, more afraid of themselves than each other.

—DES BUFORD

Love and lust come in a variety of shapes and forms. In these sexy, rambunctious shorts, we capture rabble-rousers on wild rides through first crushes, friend crushes, and online crushes. This collection of stories gives a fresh twist on rebellion and living out your truth, all accompanied by an energetic soundtrack by new music artists. Sticky Fingers finds Lucy and Cassie, two best friends, exploring their complicated relationship over a night of punk rock, shoplifting, and hair dye. And Cassie certainly embraces her edgier side under the guidance of the more radical Lucy. Raniya, a young Danish woman with Middle Eastern roots, discovers her sexuality by secretly flirting through a dating app, and eventually meeting up with Julie. But Raniya’s love is tested when she must decide between her allegiance to her family or herself. One Last Night presents an urban adventure in Tel Aviv: before Orr leaves for Berlin, she and Noa fall into one last night of rock, sweat, and tears. But trouble brews as Orr comes to the rescue of a friend, and both she and Noa get arrested. In Arrivederci Rosa, two old school friends from Rome meet up again in London. Rosa’s a radiant beauty; Andi’s a bit of a nerd. Rosa’s lust for life helps her friend to see it’s not about being gay, being straight, or being Rosa—it’s just about being true. Come along and experience this musicdriven collection for the ride of a lifetime.

GAYSIANS dir Vicky Du 2015 USA 13 min / TRANSCEND dir Kai Towns 2015 USA 17 min / AFUERA dir Steven Liang 2016 USA 15 min / I WAS dir Joshua Walker 2016 USA 1 min / VÁMONOS dir Marvin Lemus 2015 USA 12 min / CRYSTAL LAKE dir Jennifer Reeder 2016 USA 20 min

STICKY FINGERS dir Gabriella Moses 2015 USA 12 min / RANIYA dir Sidsel Møller Johnsen 2016 Denmark 28 min / ONE LAST NIGHT dir Kerem Blumberg 2015 Israel 22 min / ARRIVEDERCI ROSA dir Flaminia Graziadei UK 2015 19 min

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 78 min

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 81 min

— FRANCES WALLACE

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 74 min

— DES BUFORD

MEZZO dir Nicole Opper 2015 USA 14 min / VICTOR XX dir Ian Garrido López 2016 Spain 20 min / VESSELS dir Arkasha Stevenson 2015 USA 15 min / SAY U WILL dir Chris Cruse 2015 USA 11 min / DAWN dir Jake Graf 2016 UK 14 min

Tuesday, June 21, 7:00 pm · Elmwood $10 members, $12 general · REAL21E

Wednesday, June 22, 9:30 pm · Elmwood $10 members, $12 general · STIC22E

Friday, June 24, 7:00 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · REAL24R

saturday, June 25, 4:30 pm · roxie $10 members, $12 general · STIC25r

Monday, June 20, 7:00 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · TRAN20R

sponsored by

Shorts Programs 67

Up Close & Personal

We Need to Talk

These six short docs profile fascinating people in some incredibly insightful ways. Persistence of Vision chronicles the experiences of blind photographer John Dugdale and the changes in his creative process after his loss of vision. Libertad is the inspiring story of Alejandra, an incredibly charming health care worker in the Bay Area, who always knew deep down inside that she was a chola, not a cholo. In Mezzo, we meet 25-year-old Breanna Sinclaire, a talented African American opera singer and the first openly transwoman to study at a major conservatory—right here in San Francisco. In A Doll’s Eyes, Jonathan Wysocki searches for the meaning behind his lifelong obsession with the movie Jaws only to discover a fear deeper than the shark stalking his imagination. Those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s live an average of eight years after their symptoms first become noticeable—it’s been 12 years for Greg when we meet him and his partner of 40 years, Michael, in the incredibly moving, Alzheimer’s: A Love Story. In the sublime SXSW 2016 Jury Award-winning film, These C*cksucking Tears, we’re introduced to Patrick Haggerty, the man behind the world’s first and only gay-themed country music album, Lavender Country, 40 years after its release. —KEVIN SCHAUB

It’s the sweaty palms, the nervous laughter, the uncomfortable silence, the gulp: those moments when a hard truth needs to be disclosed, and can’t be avoided any longer. These moments—risky, private, erotic, intense—are at the crux of five marvelous short dramas about male intimacy that challenge the stereotype that guys just don’t—or won’t—talk. In Before Midnight Cowboy, lonely Cameron is getting over a breakup and has turned to a paid cuddler for regular companionship, when a nervous disclosure threatens to change their ongoing professional relationship. We Could Be Parents is an astonishing 15-minute confessional, delivered in one take, in which a Swedish lad lays out all the reasons his ex should give him another chance. Inside his New York bedroom, Dustin plans to celebrate his third anniversary with Colby by taping their hot sex, but the scene that unfolds isn’t quite what they’ve scripted in the sharply observed Raw Footage. A tender glimpse of an aging couple set in snowy Norway, Thanks for Dancing finds two former pro skiers broaching—and avoiding—the fact that this may be their last winter together. And in downtown LA, a driver for a ride-sharing service is falling for one of his passengers; the secret he decides to share may steer them off course in Pick Up.

PERSISTENCE OF VISION dir Rodney Evans 2016 USA 11 min / LIBERTAD dir Brenda Avila-Hanna 2015 USA 10 min / MEZZO dir Nicole Opper 2015 USA 14 min / A DOLL’S EYES dir Jonathan Wysocki 2016 USA 13 min / ALZHEIMER’S: A LOVE STORY dirs Monica Petruzzelli & Gabe Schimmel 2016 USA 17 min / THESE C*CKSUCKING TEARS dir Dan Taberski 2015 USA 15 min

Before Midnight Cowboy dir James Sweeney 2015 USA 13 min / We Could Be Parents dir Björn Elgerd 2016 Sweden 15 min / Raw Footage dir J.R Reid 2015 USA 11 min / Thanks for Dancing dir Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken 2015 Norway 19 min / Pick Up dir Joshua Rogers 2015 USA 20 min

Total Running Time: 80 min

Total Running Time: 78 min

— PETER L. STEIN

Sunday, June 19, 9:00 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · UPCL19R

Friday, June 17, 1:30 pm · Castro $8 members, $10 general · WENE17C

thursday, June 23, 4:00 pm · castro $8 members, $10 general · UPCL23c

saturday, June 25, 11:00 am · victoria $8 members, $10 general · WENE25v

sponsored by

68 Frameline40

We’ve Been Around / This Is Me Total Running Time: 52 min

Directed by Emmy Award-nominated filmmaker Rhys Ernst (co-producer of Transparent), this double-anthology screening honors the rich histories of transgender trailblazers and explores the current lived experiences of trans and gender non-conforming (GNC) folks. It can be hard for a community to know its roots when the historical academy has ignored them, and revered origin stories have been subject to cis-washed, whitewashed fictionalizations. Ernst’s films offer a refreshing alternative by presenting the past through the eyes of the trans community and documenting tomorrow’s histories today. We’ve Been Around is a series that chronicles the lives of Lucy Hicks Anderson, Albert Cashier, Little Ax, and Lou Sullivan, and the founding of S.T.A.R. From the narrators to the composer to the animator, the series was made with a breadth of talent from the trans community, including Transparent actress Alexandra Billings, writer and filmmaker Susan Stryker, and trans historian Monica Roberts. This Is Me is an online series surveying contemporary issues faced by the trans and GNC community. From gender-neutral language to public restrooms these episodes explore the real-life struggles and triumphs of individuals like D’Lo (starring in Frameline40’s Bruising for Besos), Valerie Spencer (Beautiful Daughters), Rocco Kayiatos (Original Plumbing magazine), Lily Rubenstein (Looking), Miss Barbie-Q (Leave It On The Floor), and more, bringing humor and honesty to these timely issues.

— DES BUFORD

An expanded Q&A with filmmaker Rhys Ernst will follow this screening.

Tuesday, June 21, 7:00 pm · Roxie $10 members, $12 general · WEVE21R

Total Running Time: 75 min

You don’t need a foreign adapter plug to feel the electric charge coursing through the four films in this year’s selection of global romantic encounters. As the couples in these films discover, though, while flying sparks can sometimes lead to a lasting flame, they might just be signs of a hazardous connection. Detecting the difference is the challenge for all the sexy fellows in these marvelous short films. We begin in Australia, where a handsome doctor is developing a strong after-hours bond with Sami, the hospital’s young Arabic translator. But all is not what it seems in Sami’s world, beautifully rendered in You Deserve Everything. We spin the globe to land in London, where a onenight “No Strings” hookup between Bryn, a Welsh loner, and Sean, his friendly Irish bedmate, threatens to go deeper, much to Bryn’s chagrin. On we move to a Los Angeles club in Say U Will: it’s past midnight on New Year’s Eve, and Marcus meets the alluring Ray. As they discover more about each other, what will their resolutions dare to be? And our global adventure ends, fittingly enough, on an airplane, where strangers Leon and Felix discover they have an uncommon connection. Seizing the moment requires they first have to resist playing out their entire future in their heads in the delightful Welsh Iris Prize winner, Spoilers. —PETER L. STEIN

You Deserve Everything dir Goran Stolevski 2015 Australia 19 min / No Strings dir Eoin Maher 2015 UK 23 min / Say U Will dir Chris Cruse 2015 USA 11 min / Spoilers dir Brendon McDonall 2016 UK, Australia 22 min

Family Matinee

Worldly Affairs

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella DIR Robert Iscove 1997 USA 88 min admission free screening!

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella turns the classic Brothers Grimm fairytale on its head. Cinderella, a teen girl working as a live-in servant for her cruel stepmother and evil stepsisters, wants nothing more than to run away from the family that mistreats her. With a little help from her fairy godmother, a magical pumpkin carriage, and a strategically placed glass slipper, Cinderella is able to attain the freedom she’s desired all her life. This film features an impressive array of accomplished actors: starring “The Queen of Broadway” Bernadette Peters as the wickedly fabulous and shrewd Stepmother; Whoopi Goldberg (The Color Purple) as the effortlessly regal Queen Constantina; Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) as Lionel, the overworked royal assistant; Brandy (Moesha) as the ever-honest and kind Cinderella; and, of course, the late legendary diva Whitney Houston as the wise and powerful Fairy Godmother with the voice to match. Packed with gorgeous costumes and vibrant sets, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella features stunning musical numbers you can’t help but sing along to. (You will always remember the words to Brandy and Whitney Houston’s “Impossible/ It’s Possible” duet, won’t you?) Brandy’s iconic portrayal of Cinderella carved out another path of possibility for Black actresses and showed Black girls coming of age in the ’90s that they too can be at the center of a fairy tale. — TAYLOR J. HODGES

Friday, June 24, 4:00 pm · Castro $8 members, $10 general · WORL24C

Sunday, June 19, 10:30 am · Roxie Free · RODG19R

sponsored by

Family Matinee 69

Ticket Info Regular Screening General Public Member/Discount

$12.00 $10.00

Matinee

SCREENINGS UP TO & INCLUDING 5:00 PM

General Public Member/Discount

$10.00 $ 8.00

Centerpiece Films & Vegas in Space General Public $15.00 Member/Discount $12.00 Opening Night Film & Gala General Public $90.00 Member/Discount $75.00 Opening Night Film Only General Public Member/Discount

$35.00 $30.00

Closing Night Film & Party General Public Member/Discount

$60.00 $50.00

Closing Night Film Only General Public Member/Discount

$35.00 $30.00

DISCOUNTS NOTE: Discounts are not available day of show. Frameline Members: When ordering, you must present your membership card or have your I.D. available. Limited to two discount tickets per screening (available online). Students/Youth (21 & under) & Disabled/Seniors (55+): When ordering, you must present a valid photo ID (proof of discount eligibility). Send a photocopy of your ID with your Ticket Order Form when ordering by fax. Limited to one discount ticket per screening. Discount not available online.

HOW TO BUY TICKETS

PASSES

Advance member ticket sales start Friday, May 27. General ticket sales start Friday, June 3.

Streamline your Frameline40 experience with a Castro Pass or as a member with a Gold Card. Skip the box office lines, ditch individual tickets, get priority entry, and enjoy the flexibility to decide each day which movies you’ll see. Daytime moviegoers will want to nab a Weekday Matinee pass!

Online:

Daily, 24 hours at frameline.org

Walk-up: Daily,* 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Frameline40 Box Office, presented by Showtime®, located at Strut, 470 Castro Street, San Francisco. *Closed Monday, May 30 Fax: Daily, 24 hours at 415.861.1404. Download order forms at www.frameline.org Day-of-show Tickets: Only available for purchase at the appropriate theater’s box office beginning a minimum of thirty minutes prior to the first screening of the day. Discounts not available. Cash only. Payment: Visa, MasterCard, and American Express are accepted. Personal checks and money orders are also accepted on walk-up orders only. Cash only on day-of-show tickets. Ticket Delivery Via Mail: Tickets/passes purchased online or by fax before June 6 will automatically be mailed within three business days to the billing address listed on the ticket order. Please email boxoffice@frameline.org if you would like your tickets held at Will Call or mailed to an alternate address. NOTE: Orders received on or after June 6 will automatically be placed at Will Call. Will Call: Tickets held at Will Call will be available at the theater of the ticket order’s first screening ONLY on the day of that screening. Will Call will open thirty minutes prior to the first screening of the day at each venue. If you miss the first screening for which you have Will Call tickets, we’ll hold your tickets at the theater where your next screening is taking place (and so on). Only those people listed on the ticket order will be allowed to pick up Will Call tickets. Please bring a valid photo ID so our Will Call volunteers can make sure you get the proper tickets. Sold Out? You might still get in! When advance tickets are no longer available, a separate Rush Line will form outside the venue, anywhere from 15 minutes to one hour prior to the screening. As soon as the number of unoccupied seats has been determined, typically a few minutes before showtime, those tickets will be sold to individuals in the Rush Line.

THE FINE PRINT: All orders are final. No refunds, exchanges, substitutions, or replacements. Frameline is not responsible for lost, stolen, forgotten, or damaged tickets or passes, or any item misdirected by the Post Office. If a screening is cancelled, tickets must be returned to the Frameline Box Office within 48 hours of the cancelled screening date. Service fees are non-refundable. The service fee is $2.00 per ticket or pass, up to a maximum fee of $8.00 per order. Returned checks are subject to a $25.00 fee. Frameline Box Office location is generously provided by Strut.

70 Frameline40

Gold Card: This pass is presented in appreciation of Frameline members at the Benefactor ($725) and Visionary ($1500) levels. Entitles bearer priority admission (subject to house manager discretion) to all Frameline40 screenings including Opening and Closing Night Films and Galas. Present this pass at the Gold Card Door for admission. Gold Card bearer may be accompanied at the Gold Card Door by ONE guest with a valid ticket or pass. Gold Cards are not sold separately. To become a Benefactor or Visionary member, please go to www.frameline.org, contact membership@frameline.org, call us at 415.703.8650 x 301 or visit the Frameline Box Office, presented by Showtime®, inside Strut, 470 Castro Street. Castro Pass: $225 each. This pass entitles bearer admission to all Frameline40 screenings at the Castro Theatre, excluding Opening and Closing Nights. Present this pass at the Members Door for admission. Castro Pass bearer may be accompanied at the Members Door by ONE guest with a valid ticket. Quantities are limited. Weekday Matinee Pass: $35 Members/ $40 General Public. Spend your weekday afternoons in the luxury of the Castro Theatre, where many of the Festival’s hidden treasures screen Monday through Friday before 5:00 pm. With a dozen programs to see, you’ll save plenty purchasing a pass instead of individual tickets. Pass holders gain admission to all Frameline40 weekday matinee screenings at the Castro Theatre. The Weekday Matinee Pass is not valid for Castro weekday screenings starting after 5:00 pm, all Castro weekend screenings or screenings at other venues. Matinee Pass holders may be accompanied at the Members Door by ONE guest with a valid ticket.

Connect with us! WEBSITE: frameline.org

BOX OFFICE: boxoffice@frameline.org FESTIVAL HOTLINE: 415.703.8655

facebook.com/frameline

twitter.com/framelinefest

instagram.com/framelinefest

Frameline40 Ticket Order Form

Questions? Please contact boxoffice@frameline.org. Please print legibly or processing may be delayed. Fax to Frameline at 415.861.1404.

PLEASE CHECK ALL THAT APPLY

NAME

I am a Frameline Member. I am joining Frameline, and my membership payment is included.

BILLING ADDRESS

CREDIT CARD PAYMENT

Visa

CITY

STATE

ZIP/POSTAL CODE

COUNTRY (OTHER THAN USA)

(

HOME PHONE

)

American Express

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE

)

DAY PHONE — IMPORTANT

NAME (AS IT APPEARS ON CREDIT CARD)

PROGRAM CODE

MasterCard

ACCOUNT NO.

DATE

PROGRAM TITLE

SECURITY CODE

QUANTITY PRICE PER TICKET

DISCOUNT TYPE*

EXPIRATION DATE

SUBTOTAL

SUBTOTAL = $ * DISCOUNT TYPES

M = Member D = Disabled S = Senior (55+) ST = Student Y = Youth (21-) Please enclose proof of age or student status.

Membership (SEE BELOW LEFT)

Castro Pass

@ $ 225

Weekday Matinee Pass

@ $ 35 / $ 40

($2.00 per ticket, up to $8.00 maximum; not charged if membership payment only, and not charged for purchases made at the Frameline Box Office).

One-time Additional Donation

Please make a special gift to support the future of queer film.

Basic.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $50

Benefactor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $725

Basic Discount.** . . . . . . . . . $35

Visionary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,500

Dual Basic.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $95

Visionary Star.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2,500

Supporter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $175

Visionary Director. . . . . . . $5,000

Dual Supporter. . . . . $300

Luminary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,000

Donation = $ GRAND TOTAL = $

Join Frameline/Renew Membership

Visit www.frameline.org/membership for a complete list of member benefits, including advance member ticket sales beginning on May 27, 2016.

Service Fee = $

TICKET DELIVERY INFORMATION

Your tickets will automatically be mailed to the billing address listed above unless you select one of the options below. Orders received on or after June 6 will automatically be placed at Will Call. On the day of the screening, your tickets may be picked up at the theater’s Will Call desk.

I would like my tickets held at Will Call (photo ID required). I would like my tickets held at Will Call. However, I also authorize the following person to pick up my tickets at Will Call (photo ID required):

Patron.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $400 **Please enclose proof of age or student status. This option is not available online.

PRINT AUTHORIZED PERSON’S NAME

frameline.org 71

Venues Castro Theatre

15 TH ST.

MUNI Metro: K, L, M, T (exit at Castro station)

2961 16th Street (between Capp & Mission) www.victoriatheatre.org

ST ET RK A M

The lot is located on 17th Street between Church and Sanchez. Parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Please see the parking schedule at frameline.org. Please note that Frameline is not responsible for cars left in the lot after closing; cars can be picked up the following day as soon as the lot reopens.

Bus: 14 Mission, 22 Fillmore, 33 Ashbury/18th, 49 Van Ness/Mission

Street parking can be difficult to find throughout the Castro and Mission Districts. If you do find a space, please be aware of parking restrictions on many streets.

BART: 16th & Mission station

In the Mission District, you also might try the parking garage at 42 Hoff Street, off 16th Street between Mission and Valencia.

Festival Box Office Strut Open daily 1 pm – 7 pm 470 Castro Street (between Market & 18th) www.frameline.org

Opening Night Gala

The NWBLK 1999 Bryant Street (at 18th Street) www.thenwblk.com

SOMA 5

72 Frameline40

ar ke t

l Fo

T 1

CASTRO

MISSION

Bryant Harrison

Oasis 298 11th Street (between Howard & Folsom) www.sfoasis.com

Closing Night Party

San Francisco

17th Mariposa 18th

POTRERO HILL

101

280

Frameline is pleased to partner with Everett Middle School in providing parking for $10 per car per day as a fundraiser for this wonderful neighborhood school. All proceeds will go directly to funding classroom supplies.

SO UT H VA N NE

19 TH

MI SS IO N

DO LO RE S

NO E

Victoria Theatre

Victoria

20 TH ST.

PA R K I N G

BART: 16th & Mission station

Roxie

18 TH ST.

Festival Box Ofﬁce

3117 16th Street (between Valencia & Guerrero) www.roxie.com Bus: 14 Mission, 22 Fillmore, 33 Ashbury/18th, 49 Van Ness/Mission

17 TH ST.

1 Castro

VA LE NC IA

CH UR CH

MUNI Metro

Parking Lot

SA NC HE Z

Roxie Theater

16 TH ST.

GU ER RE RO

BART: transfer to MUNI Metro at the Embarcadero, Montgomery, Powell, or Civic Center stations

CA ST RO

Bus/Streetcar: 24 Divisadero, 33 Ashbury/18th, 35 Eureka, 37 Corbett, F Market

429 Castro Street (between Market & 18th) www.castrotheatre.com

Festival Info Rialto Cinemas® Elmwood

Festival Box Office Presented by

2966 College Avenue (at Ashby), Berkeley www.rialtocinemas.com

Located inside Strut, 470 Castro Street (between Market & 18th) in San Francisco.

AC Transit Bus: 9 to College Ave., 51/851 to Ashby Ave. BART: Rockridge station » AC Transit 51/851 to Ashby Ave. Ashby station » AC Transit 9 to College Ave. Driving: Hwy 24 E » exit at Claremont Ave. turn left, then slight left at College Ave.

Berkeley

BUSINESS HOURS:

Ashby

Driving: Interstate 580 E » exit at Broadway Auto Row/Webster St., keep left to merge onto Broadway, then turn left at Piedmont Ave. AC Transit Bus: C to Piedmont Ave., 12 to Linda Ave. BART: 12th Street station » AC Transit 12 to Linda Ave. MacArthur station » AC Transit C to Piedmont Ave. PA R K I N G Parking is available on surrounding neighborhood streets where meters run until 6 pm Monday through Saturday.

y wa dm

e Pi 7

• All seats are general admission, and multiple seat-saving is not permitted.

4186 Piedmont Avenue (at Linda), Oakland www.landmarktheatres.com

Ord your ticer k online ets frameli at ne.org

Patron Courtesies

Lin

Ave

Landmark Theatres Piedmont

Oakland

Mac Art h

o Pabl

880

AVAILABLE SERVICES:

• Walk-up ticket sales • Membership services • Festival merchandise • General Festival information

ad Bro

San

580

Daily 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm (closed on Memorial Day)

Parking is also available in the Elmwood Parking Lot just west of College Avenue on Russell Street, one block north of the theatre. Alta Bates Summit Medical Center has a parking garage located on Colby Street between Ashby Avenue and Webster Street.

Ticket sales open to the general public beginning Friday, June 3.

College

PA R K I N G In the Elmwood neighborhood, two-hour parking is strictly enforced until 6 pm. If you drive south on College Avenue, there is unlimited parking throughout the Rockridge neighborhood.

Tickets go on sale to Frameline members beginning Friday, May 27. Become a member and receive immediate discounts on Festival tickets and merchandise.

la Oak

Ave

• While waiting in line, please be considerate of our neighbors and local businesses. We remind patrons that it’s illegal to 13 smoke while waiting in line or near entrances to venues. • Frameline believes in everyone’s right to choose the restroom they are most comfortable using. Please disregard any exclusionary signage that may be visible at our venues.

• Please refrain from wearing perfumes and other scented products so that attendees with environmental sensitivities can comfortably enjoy the films. Thank you.

Services for People with Disabilities

Frameline is committed to accommodating audience members with disabilities, offering early seating as needed. Please make yourself known to the theater house manager for assistance. All screening venues are wheelchair accessible. Assisted listening devices are available at the Rialto Cinemas® Elmwood.

All screening venues have wheelchairaccessible bathrooms. At the Roxie, please ask the house manager for the key to an accessible bathroom. American Sign Language interpretation will be provided at the Festival Awards presentation and many introductions and post-screening Q&A sessions of subtitled films throughout the Festival. Please visit www.frameline.org for details on ASL-assisted screenings.

frameline.org 73 frameline.org

Every year, about 50,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with HIV.

TOGETHER WE CAN HELP STOP THE VIRUS. Gilead proudly supports Frameline40: San Francisco LGBTQ Film Festival. LET’S GET STARTED

HelpStopTheVirus.com

49ERS FOUNDATION IS PROUD TO SUPPORT THE FRAMELINE40 SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL LGBTQ FILM FESTIVAL

The Oakland A’s are proud of our continued partnership celebrating Frameline40. 76 Frameline40

E E R F

ITY

009

814

UN OMM C ND NGS ROU EENI R R YEA M SC L I F

fram elin e.or g/en core

Photo by: Ana Grillo

Frameline Encore is made possible in part through the generous support of:

31 29 97 00

e, fres r u e s o eri e iing sBay se r o a Enccreen the ncre rse e i e n s f v i o o i mel und es s t o d Fraar-roh sidt aim ty t ye bot tha ibili on idge cess ies. Br e ac stor th eer qu

s ed Q&A ent ng nd eprescludi a ms rr in ant es fil undences vari niti e or ze ie er mmu Encphasiexper gend r co m e BTQ from quee LG ose and th ople or. pe col of

progressive local lending since 1986

a portion of the proceeds of each loan we complete is given to organizations, like Frameline, who foster hope in our community Beth Hoffman owner/broker AlternativeMortgageSources.com 415.861.5708 BRE #00685309

NMLS #337855

The Bay Area’s only

independent daily news site

for arts, culture, politics, and more!

Serving our clients, with unique insight into the needs of women and the LGBTQ community, for over 10 years. Learn more about our distinctive approach to Comprehensive Wealth Management at www.robasciotti.com. 78 Frameline40

48hills.org facebook.com/48hills

@48hills

48hillsonline

Creating safer schools for LGBTQ youth & allies Through Youth in Motion, We have sent thousands of ﬁlms with LGBTQ inclusive curriculum guides to nearly 900 schools and gay-straight alliances all across the county. Our 2016 release, Expanding Gender: Youth Out Front, explores the varied identities of trans and gender expansive youth and young adults through four documentaries that allow these brave individuals to share their own stories. To register your school, donate, or simply learn more about our program, please visit our website. frameline.org/youth-in-motion

/YIMframeline

Youth In Motion is made possible through the generous support of:

@YIMframeline

Additional support provided by:

BEING NEIGHBORS IS MORE THAN JUST GEOGRAPHY. We are proud to sponsor Frameline40 - San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival. At Bank of the West we’re committed to being active members of the communities we call home. We’re as dedicated to lending a helping hand around the neighborhood as we are to providing the personal banking, business banking and wealth management services that may be just right for you.

Proud to support Frameline40 San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival

Dan Healy 415.699.0552 DanHealyHomes.com LIC# 01301070

/ DanHealyHomes

80 Frameline40

Frameline Voices showcases free LGBTQ films with an emphasis on stories by and about POC, trans folks, youth, and elders. Stream free films today on YouTube or Vimeo! frameline.org/voices

Made possible through the generous support of:

@framelinevoices

is a proud sponsor of Frameline40 www.kokomowinery.com | 4791 Dry Creek Road, Healdsburg, CA 95448

Hilton San Francisco Union Square is proud to support Frameline40 & the San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival.

82 Frameline40

SALUTES

Frameline The San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival

1625 POST STREET SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115 415.922.3200 HOTELKABUKI.COM

AND ALL OF ITS AMAZING ARTISTS.

HOTEL KABUKI IS A JOIE DE VIVRE HOTEL

Come by Hard Rock Cafe at PIER 39 during your stay. Look for special discounts at ALL film festival venues or show this program for a collectible souvenir with any purchase.

s o r h b t H band y o B t s e g g Bi Ever

#THISISHARDROCK

SAN FRANCISCO

84 Frameline40

featuring

well-sTrung

tickets at sfgmc.org or (415) 392-4400

join hardrockrewards.com

UNT797SF16_SF_Frame40_3.5x9.5.indd 1

JUNE 24 8 p.m. june 25 2:30 + 8 P.m. NoursE TheaTEr

4/6/16 5:25 PM

Some things get better with age...

Happy Anniversary, Frameline40! Bring your Frameline40 ticket stub during the festival for 50% off a glass of wine

From your friends at Castro Village Wine Co. 4121 19th Street

girl friday events events with moxie for nonprofit people

proud sponsor of frameline40

frameline.org 85

586 Castro St, b/w 18th and 19th San Francisco, CA 94114 P 415.431.2988 F 415.431.2908 E eyegotchasf@yahoo.com

86 Frameline40

Mudpuppy's Tub & Scrub

Luis Asst. Groomer

Bentley Black Lab

Full Service, Expert Dog Grooming and Bathing in the Heart of The Castro. Extra love included. 888-505-2998 mudpuppys.com

Mudpuppy's 536 Castro Street SF, CA frameline.org 87

Serving the Castro since 1981!

La Mediterranee Noe @LaMedNoe

16th Street

St M ar ke t

Castro Street

288 Noe Street, SF (415) 431-7210 lamednoe.com

Noe Street

Café | Restaurant | Catering

17th Street

Castro Theatre

18th Street

Proud to Sponsor Frameline

Connecting Advertisers with LGBT Audiences

88 Frameline40

Wealth is a vehicle, not a destination. Wherever you want to go, whatever you want to do, We can help set your wheels in motion. We’re proud to support Frameline in its 40th year.

aspiriant.com

frameline.org 89

simply the best.

cat er in g an d e v e n t pl a n n i n g

tas t ecat er in g . c o m 415-550-6464 san fr an cis c o

90 Frameline40

frameline.org 91

We Make Everyday Life Better, Every Day

Gi Cards Available At The Box Office or Online at store.landmarktheatres.com

We invite you to be part of an organization that improves the world around us with the unique ideas and innovation that only you can bring.

LandmarkTheatres.com

The Clorox Company is an EEO/Affirmative Action Employer.

92 Frameline40

www.TheCloroxCompany.com/careers

NI-32704

Please view our career opportunities online and reference Frameline.

www.tinyspuds.com

San Francisco Values, San Francisco Food

FOR THE

THE JOURNEY

J O H N S T O N, K I N N E Y & Z U L A I C A LLP

With thirteen attorneys in two locations, we serve the LGBT community with expertise, experience and sensitivity. We offer services in: ESTATE WINERY & TASTING ROOM 925.456.2305 | O PEN DAILY FROM 11:00 AM TO 4:30 PM C OMPLIMENTARY W INERY T OURS 11:00 AM & 2:00 PM 5565 T ESLA R OAD , L IVERMORE , CA 94550

VINEYARD TASTING ROOM 925.456.2405 | O PEN DAILY FROM 11:00 AM TO 6.30 PM W INE TASTING IN THE CAVES ON S ATURDAY AND S UNDAY AT 4:00 PM 5050 A RROYO R OAD , L IVERMORE , CA 94550 ESTD

1883

• Family Law • Estate Planning • Trust & Probate Administration • Beneficiary Representation

SAN FRANCISCO

415.693.0550

V I N E Y A R D S

FAMILY OWNED . ESTATE GROWN . CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE .

94 Frameline40

• Tax Planning • Wealth Transfer • Prenuptial Agreements • Entity Formation & Real Estate

SANTA ROSA

707.237.7371

www.jkzllp.com | www.jkzllp.com/español

is a proud sponsor of frameline40

frameline.org 95

Hand-crafted Chocolates and Confections available in Gift Sets and Favors Poco Dolce Confections 2419 3rd Street San Francisco, CA 94107 415.255.1443

96 Frameline40

pocodolce.com

frameline.org 97

studsf.com

98 Frameline40

Official Digital Cinema Provider of the 2016 Frameline Film Festival (213) 375-8327 | SIMPLEDCP@GMAIL.COM | WWW.SIMPLEDCP.COM 100 Frameline40

frameline.org 101

g n i k a M Love

atthew & Sebastian artini BEAUX-tenders M ver Pear us Apart M g Love Makin the Ne SEC VODKA • TRIPLE ABSOLUT PEARS SHAVING ER NG GI ESH GINGER BEER • FR

2 for1 Happy Houry Everyda ‘til 8

2344 MARKET BEAUXSF.COM

倀爀漀甀搀氀礀匀甀瀀瀀漀爀琀猀䘀爀愀洀攀氀椀渀攀㐀

㈀昀漀爀㄀搀爀椀渀欀猀 ⴀ 愀琀愀渀礀琀椀洀攀䨀甀猀琀猀栀漀眀礀漀甀爀琀椀挀欀攀琀猀琀甀戀漀爀䜀漀氀搀䌀愀爀搀儀䈀愀爀匀䘀㐀㔀㘀䌀愀猀琀爀漀匀琀⸀ 102 Frameline40

䄀挀爀漀猀猀昀爀漀洀吀栀攀䌀愀猀琀爀漀吀栀攀愀琀爀攀

aphy photos by FBFE Photogr

@BEAUXSF Twitter & Facebook: NCASTRO Instagram : @BEAUXI

PROUD HOME OF FRAMELINE THE SAN FRANCISCO LGBT FILM FESTIVAL FOR 35 YEARS

429 Castro Street, San Francisco • castrotheatre.com

104 Frameline40

GET 40% OFF A ONE YEAR FANDOR MEMBERSHIP fandor.com/promo/frameline40 Image Courtesy of Breaking Glass Pictures

Celebrating Our 37th Anniversary

LAURENCE ANYWAYS a film by Xavier Dolan

WATCH IT ON

Serving a seasonal selection of fine ingredients, including sustainably harvested fish and farmers’ market produce. Hayes Street Grill is proud to be a sponsor of Frameline’s 40th San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival.

Lunch Monday through Friday Dinner nightly 320 Hayes Street @ Franklin San Francisco (415) 863-5545

frameline.org 105

106 Frameline40

frameline.org 107

Proud to support

Frameline

PRESENTS

SEP 16TH - OCT 8TH VICTORIA THEATRE RAYOFLIGHTTHEATRE.COM 108 Frameline40

THE

ACA D E MY is proud to support

FRAMELINE SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL LGBTQ FILM FESTIVAL

J U N E 2 0 16

frameline.org 109

415 626-2545

www.danielripley.com 110 Frameline40

frameline.org 111

San Francisco’s Premier 5-Star FIJIAN-INDIAN CATERING COMPANY

event s · we dd i ngs · pr ivat e chef · pr ivat e & g roup co ok i ng cla sses www.curryous.com

Italian Restaurant & Full Bar

escapefromnewyorkpizza.com

Just around the corner from the Castro Theatre at 4072 18th Street

For dinner reservations: 415.252.9325

poesiasf.com

112 Frameline40

WITH THIS COUPON. ONE PER CUSTOMER. NOT VALID WITH OTHER OFFERS. EXPIRES 12/31/2016.

PROUD SUPPORTER

frameline.org 113

A DOCUMENTARY SERIES ABOUT THE PEOPLE , PLACES AND MOMENTS THAT SHAPED THE BAY AREA.

CATCH SEASON ONE ON DEMAND

NEW EPISODES IN 2016

NBCBAYAREA.COM/REVELATIONS

Supporting Frameline40 San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival

114 Frameline40

Empowering data and technology to connect with all customers. Mobivity helps more than 40,000 businesses and brands dissolve the gap between online and offline marketing, allowing them to unlock valuable sales data and marketing trends to transform customer transactions into intelligent marketing opportunities.

mobivity.com

116 Frameline40

NEW CONSERVATORY THEATRE CENTER

PRESENTS

WEST COAST PREMIERE

“A BEWITCHING, BEGUILING MUSICAL”

THINK GLOBALLY.

– WORLD-TELEGRAM & SUN

LISTEN LOCALLY. Proud to support creativity in the Bay Area. MUSIC BY BURTON LANE

LYRICS BY ALAN JAY LERNER

NEW BOOK BY PETER PARNELL BASED ON THE ORIGINAL BOOK BY ALAN JAY LERNER DIRECTED BY ED DECKER MUSICAL DIRECTION BY MATTHEW LEE CANNON

Proud to sponsor Frameline40.

MAY 13 - JUNE 12 BUY TICKETS AT NCTCSF.ORG BOX OFFICE: 415.861.8972 25 VAN NESS AVE AT MARKET ST

www.kalw.org 118 Frameline40

spank it.

parkcafelife.com enjoy our sister locations: Duboce Park Cafe & Precita Park Cafe

Award Winning lgbt films + series

NOW ON

ST TW

UR FIR JOY YO

EE!

S, FR O WEEK

*SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY

120 Frameline40

festivals

theatrical

digital

educational

fiscal sponsorship

nonprofit. on purpose.

Frameline Board & Staff Board of Directors

Frameline40 Staff

Michael J. Colaneri, President

Programming

Liz Pesch, Vice President

Machu Latorre, Secretary Chris Cowen, Treasurer Xavier Barrera

Eugene Clifton Cha Jill Golden

Jason Russell Nick Smith

Lesley Weaver

Through January 31, 2016

Eric Whitney

Christopher Wiseman Emeritus Linda Harrison, Chair Adam Berman Dan Flanagan Glenn Kiser

Michael Kossman Tom Magnani

Thom Matson

Randolph (Randy) Quebec

Frameline Staff Frances Wallace

Executive Director

Des Buford

Director of Exhibition & Programming

TJ Busse

Finance Manager

Andy Bydalek

Digital Media producer

Kevin Schaub

Program & Hospitality Manager

Peter L. Stein

Senior Programmer

Programming & Hospitality Team

Mariana Lopez

Membership & Administrative Manager

Sage Yockelson

Alex Hudson

Thom Venegoni

Sandy Holmes

Operations Steve Abbott Seat Captain

Don Chan

Travel Coordinator

Jesse Dubus

Print Traffic & Exhibition Media Manager

Choriko Bogues

Box Office Manager

Ken Katen

Karl Knapper Kerrie Kubo Hy Levy

Barbie Leung Dan Luther

Greg Morris

Screening Committee

Beth Pielert

Natalie Bell

Sam Berliner

Joseph Bowman Vincent Calvarese Joe Carlin John Carr

Luis Casillas

Celeste Chan

Jennifer DeVere Brody

Jackie Dennis Elsa Eder

George Fencl

Sarah Raab

Michael Fox

Jess Salgado

Carol Harada

Shawn Yee

Taylor Hodges

Jamie Mott

Michael Dunn

Candace Roberts

Pam Grady

Jonathan Woo

Laura Henneman

Sponsorship

Kapish Singla

Steven Jenkins Chris Keech

Frako Loden

Eric Jost

Curran Nault

Amy Anner

Brian Bromberger

Joe Bowman

Festival Identity & Design

Technical Director

Alex Albers

Michelle Fugardo

Erica Johnson

Milton Magana

Hal Rowland

Rod Armstrong

Glynda Cotton

Lucy Laird

Asher Jelinsky

Michelle Miguelez

Volunteer Coordinator

Program Note Writers

Gyllian Christiansen

Sponsorship Associate

Phillip Lorenzo

Operations Manager

House Managers

Sade Huron

David Liu

Alexis Whitham

122 Frameline40

Dulce Garcia

Shaleece Haas

Frances Chen

Director of Distribution & Educational Programming

Maggie Francisco

Uma Sakhalkar

David Warczak

Director of Marketing & Strategic Partnerships

Dan Fourrier

Mary Guzman

Margot Breier

Communications Manager

Nick Friedman

Phoebe Heaton

Taylor Hodges Reena Karia

Sarah Flores

Will Gardner

Jon Carroll

Youth In Motion Program Coordinator

Russ Flanagan

Michael W. Dunn

Christine Bois

Director of Development

David M. Field

Dominique O’Neil Jordan Plath

Mucho

Festival Trailer

Sophia Lanza-Weil Michael LoPresti Leah LoSchiavo

Natalie Mulford

Dirtyglitter

Curran Nault

Aron Kantor

Joanne Parsont

Production Company Director / Producer

Michael Magdaleno

Production Coordinator

Monica Nolan

Brendan Peterson Charles Purdy

Joe Picard

Holly Roach

Aaron Caramanis

Tim Sika

Director of Photography Art Director

Jarred Garza

Costume Design

Hannah Rubin Angelique Smith

Mordecai Stayton Thom Venegoni

Sarah Raab

Events

Veronique Richard

JC Rafferty

Larsen Associates

Michele Sieglitz

Publications

·· Karen Larsen ·· Vince Johnson

Oscar Raymundo Afonso Salcedo

Girl Friday Events

Publicity

Events Producer

Publicists

Harry Silverlock

Denise Granger

Dustin Smith

Brianna Nelson

Lex Sloan

Texas Starr

Bob Sullivan

Tommy Sunderland Kelly Sundin Thuy Tran

Anand Vedawala Philip Walker

Kolmel WithLove

Taylor Whitehouse

Print Broker

Publications Manager

Charles Purdy Copy Editor

Julie Ann Yuen Designer

Brian Ray

Public Relations & Outreach Coordinator

Acknowledgments Alex Albers

Yvonne Andreas

Matthias Angoulvant Rod Armstrong Keith Arnold

Austrian Films

David Averbach Neelu Bhuman Scott Boswell Joe Bowman

Ky Boyd & Michael O’Rand

Breaking Glass Pictures Megan R. Brodkey Todd Brown

David Castro

Castro Merchants

Center for Asian American Media Gyllian Christiansen Cinephil

Treasurer José Cisneros

Steve Clark Hall & the Eureka Valley Promotion Assoc. Planning Committee Kevin Clarke

Brian Collette

Jesse Coombs

The Correa Family Noah Cowan

Chris Damon

Lisa Daniel

Steven Kahl

Masashi Niwano

SFSU Cinema Students

Ryan Delgado

Kate Kendell

Jenni Olson

Krista Smith

JC Decaux San Francisco David Donahue Rob Duncan

Cheryl Dunye Ela Elbaz

Zoë Elton

Nathan Faustyn

The Film Collaborative

Films Transit International Sarah Flores

Isabel Fondevila Mark Ganter Bryan Glick

Stephen Gong Tim Grady

Joshua Grannell

Thomas & Phoebe Hannon Chris Hatfield

Heklina / Stefan Grygelko Danielle Henry

Allegra & April Hirschman Marcus Hu

Brian Hubbard Alex Hudson

Marc Huestis David Hung

Patrick Hurley Tony Jenkins

Jewish Film Institute

Aron Kantor

Michael Kerner

Rick Norris Outfest LA

Sam Singer

Rick Solomon

Joanne Parsont

Sony Pictures Classics

Ana Perromat

Dan Sperry

Hona Pittaluga

Sawyer Steele

K.C. Price

Jim Stephens

Juan Ramirez

The Armory

Michael Repsch

Swank Motion Pictures

Jan Rofekamp

Johnny Symons

Rachel Rosen

Lucas Verga

Cheryl Rosenthal

David Weissman

Gavin Rynne

Wide Management

Don Nasser

San Francisco Film Society

Jeffrey Winter

Kathy Nelson

Christopher Scanlan

Danny Nicoletta

Hilda Schmelling

Glenn Kiser Sue Krenek

Dolby Laboratories Sophia Lanza-Weil

Anne Laurent-Delage Lexi Leban

Letty Ledbetter

Dawn Logsdon

Michael Lumpkin M-appeal

Florencia Manovil Travis Mathews

Madhukar Mayavan Michael McNamara Melanie Miller

Lauretta Molitor

Cornelius Moore

Lucy Mukerjee-Brown Kathleen Mullen Andrew Murphy NAMAC

Cat Perez

Skywalker Sound

Brandon Peters

Karly Stark

Jason Plourde

Ruthe Stein

Christopher Racster

Strand Releasing

Orly Ravid

The Stud

B. Ruby Rich

Swedish Film Institute

Jeff Root

Christopher Trout

Jay Rosenblatt

Philip Walker

Carol Rossi

Christopher White

Samuel Goodwyn Films

Supervisor Scott Wiener

Steve Nasser

Rick Solomon

Nicely Done Solutions

Kirsten Schaffer

Ninth Street Independent Film Center

Torsten Schulze

Stacey Wisnia Kathy Wolfe

Wolfe Releasing XYZ Films

Kim Yutani

John Schwenger

Frameline40 Staff

frameline.org 123

Frameline Members & Donors

Many thanks to our wonderful members! Donors to Frameline at the Supporter level and above (as of April 1, 2016) are listed below. We sincerely regret any errors or omissions. Please contact the Development office for corrections at 415.703.8650 x 309.

Luminary

Anonymous Chip Conley Christopher Cowen & Mark Metasavage The Hurst Family Fund Steve Parker Jim Stephens & Abraham Brown

Visionary Director

The Bob Ross Foundation David Castro & David Rowley Eugene Clifton Cha & Niklas Lindström Michael Colaneri & Mike Copani Bill Dickey & Matthew Huyck Bob Dockendorff Kevin Feldman & Tom Nash Linda Harrison & Ellen Anderson James C. Hormel & Michael P. Nguyen Michael Kossman & Luis Orrico Hào A. Lê Brent Lok & J. Wade French Anne Madden & Dana Morse Thomas Matson & Hank Stuart Patrick McCabe Liz Pesch Randolph Quebec & Cal Long Mark G. Reisbaum & Michael T. Case Jason Russell & Roy Hom John Schlesinger & Richard Starkeson Allen Schuh In Memory of Martin Delaney Nick Smith Lesley Weaver & Katherine Catlos Robert Weston Eric Whitney & Richard Bae

Visionary Star

Nancy Lynn Baker, PhD & Cathy Hauer Adam Berman & Alex Scotta Mario Bertucci, Jr. Moira Luz Dawson & Elizabeth Deeley

124 Frameline40

Martha Ehrenfeld & Carla McKay Tim Eicher & Jeff Eubanks Anne-Marie Eileraas Dan Flanagan & Geoff Kerr Jill Golden & Gail Belle Anthony Jenkins Machu Latorre & Eugenia Amador Lori Lewis & Ilya Pratt Jan S. Marks Carl F. Merritt, Pharm. D. Scott Montgomery & Marc Rand Drs. Dee Mosbacher & Nanette Gartrell Debra Palmer K.C. Price Christopher E. Wiseman & Eric W. Sleigh

Visionary

Anonymous Larry Ackerman Julie Ansell & Orla O’Keeffe Ana Athanasiu Family Fund Lori Barnes & Paula Richmond Clara Basile Alvin H. Baum, Jr. Donald Bird & David Young David P. Black Fund of Horizons Foundation Ky J. Boyd & Michael O’Rand Michael Brown & Joseph Chang Robert Bryant & Reymundo Garcia Kenneth Bukowski Tom Burke & Axel Brunger Darren Cadiz & Keith Kue Debra Carmona & Susan Zimbelman Vivien Chan & Kris Morrow Denis Chicola & Ron Newman Jennifer R. Clark In Memory of Peter P. Connolly Dennis Crader & Anthony Hebert Deedee Crossett & Lauren CrossettWeymouth

Brad Crowell & Gary Koehler Pam David & Cheryl Lazar Gary Demyen & Les Partridge Curtis Dennison & Julio Garay Garcia Dennison Anne Sterling Dorman Michael Dunn & Zachary Haehn Rob Epstein Jeffrey Friedman Martin Fung & Michael Hughes Dipti Ghosh & Meggy Gotuaco Thomas Groden & Thong Bui Gary Grossman, PhD & Matt Dahlberg Harold Hagen & Stephen Hiller Steve Clark Hall Victoria Hall Wayne Hazzard & E. Eastman Rachel Herbert & Dana Oppenheim Gerald Herman Jackie Hicks & Beth Yates The Hoadley-Gale Fund of Horizons Foundation Crispin Hollings & Luis Casillas James Hunter Patrick Hurley Suzanne Israel & Laurie Hanover David Jackson Katy Johnson & Margo Rosen Steve Kahl Anna Karydas & Lindy Koll Cole Kinney & Dale Becherer Gerald LaBuda & Daniel Healy Mauricio Leon James Lewis & Frankie Vargas Lisa Ellen Lippincott John M. Lobato Roger Low Michael Lumpkin & Mark Page Thomas Magnani & Christopher Orsine Glen Mathison & Zoel Fages Bert Mittler Douglas Mylcraine & Kevin Bradford

Missy Nery & Mirna Rivera Robert Newbold & Tiago Pinto Ron Norris & Jason Douglass O’Hanlan-Walker LGBT Equality Fund of Horizons Foundation Dave Oppenheim & Ray Spears Marguerite Pakozdi & Amy Toder Doug Paxton & Joe Vassallo Kristin Perry & Sandra Stier Michael Phillips & Mark Street Simon Pitchford & Jim Munson William Powell & Don Wilson Anna & Rob Prestezog Mark Reisman, MD & Rogelio Chapa Jay Remick & Michael Amodt Debra Resnik & Kathryn Werhane Robert Riekman Diane Sabin & Jewelle Gomez Judy Schultz & Glenna Dowling Marcey Shapiro, MD & Star Woodward Sam Sirko & Lou Smith Bryn Smith & Kevin Voccia Randall Solomon & Joseph Mallet Rick Solomon & Steven Saylor Bill Tompkins & Dan Steves Andrew Utiger & Joseph Tally Steven Vance & Jose Barajas Frances Wallace Rudd & Gerard Walter-Canaday Bill Weber & Aaron Starr Jack Weeden Stephen Wereb David Wertheimer Fiona Wilmot & Jeanette Howard William J. Woods Robert J. Wygand III & Michael Alexovich Dawn Zemo & Stephanie Stehling

Benefactor

Anonymous Mitch Altman Alejandro Amaya Art Anderson Timothy Arbogast Caryl Athanasiu Thomas Atkins & Mike Rowan Hank Baird & Ray Harbort Laurie Baker Roy Bateman Victor & Michael Bishop-Williams Victor P. Bonfilio, JD, PhD John Bors, M. D. Andrew C. Boulter Roland Brunner & Selene Steese David Bulanda Michael Burke & Jose Mendez Louis A. Camera Lisa Carlin John Carr Hector Carrillo & Steven Epstein Jon C. Carroll Charles Cassell Edwin Charlebois Gregory Clinton & Gregory Morris Janice Corran & Linda Polse Dr. Denys Crain-Gully, Sr. Paul Culver Calvin Doucet Nancy DuBois James Dyvad Gregg Ebertz Christopher Esposito John Farnham & William Glass Tim Fincham The Hon. Tara M. Flanagan Erin Flynn & Chloe Atkins In Loving Memory of Michael Charles Atkins James Ford Dan Fourrier James H. French Allan Galanter & Cal Domingue John A. Geishecker Teresa Hernandez Kirk Hinman & Ramon Santos Ernest Hopkins

James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center of San Francisco Public Library Eric Hsu & James Chambers Marc Huestis James Hughes Carl Jaeger & Freeman Productions Tom Jarman Michael Jennis & Michael Butler Connie Jeung-Mills Tim Jones Kenneth Katen Evan Kavanagh & Andrew Harkins Erwin Kelly & Bill Franklin Daniel Killar Amy Kindrick & Ramona Doyle David King & George Palis Jennifer Kroot A. Landucci Gary Lomax & Dennis Tyler Richard L. Madison, Jr. Liaura Mathews Richard Mazzarisi Stephen McNeil & Brian Mailman Andrew Meagher Seth Meisler & John Devine Lauretta Molitor & Susan Hunsicker John Newmeyer Michelle Ney Neil Oktavec John C. Osborne Mary Peelen & B. Ruby Rich Joel Perlstein Jean Podrasky Paul Quick Maria Ramiu Alan R. Ratliff Elan Rosenquist Cheryl & Chiara Rosenthal F. Allen Sawyer Lisa Schen & Dawn Harbatkin Tom Seago Michael Siever Arthur Slepian & Gerry Llamado Eric Smith & Mark Garrett Jerry Smithson & Gary Nichols Jessica Spurling

Robert & Joan Sullivan Rodney Turner & Ken Thongcharoen William Turner Oliver C. Vogel Brett Wayn Bruce Westland & Greg Fritz Kelly Wilkinson & Edith Peck Bret Wright & Bill Elias Claude Wynne & David Douma Samuel Young Stephen Young & Peter Cullinan Jonathan Zimman & Glenn Roberts Andrew Zimmerman Ron Zuckerman

Patron

Dan Alvear Tod N. Arnoldy Jordie Bornstein & Audrey Gilles John M. Carr & Michael Lownie Ron ‘Moose’ Casey Frank Castaldini Jennifer Chaiken & Sam Hamilton Michele Cobble & Michelle Echenique Glenn Davis & James Takagi Rob Delamater & Craig Daniel Leonardo DiGiovanni Frank Early & Eric Hanson Sonja Erickson Tim Farr Peggy Garner Carlos Gonzalez Lauren Green & Kelly Lockwood Olof C. Hansen Joe Hege & Jeff Johnston Brad Henderson & Lennard Torres Alan Hibdon Jason Holstein & Ryan Keyt Jeffrey Huang Glenn Kiser Michael MacDonald Avery McGinn Catherine McKenzie Eric Montgomery & John Wong Wendy D. Nemeroff John Newberry Liliana Palacios Jan Pardoe & Cathy McIntosh Timothy Pennypacker & Allen Orsi Gretchen & Becky Peterson-Fisher

Michael Petty & Scott Madden Catherine Plato & Danielle Belfield Keith Pugliese & Joe Mutow Charlie Ridlon Fred Rimando Roger Ritland & Thomas Ossenbeck Douglas W. Roth Sharon Schrank & Jody Sanford Andrew Schwartz & John Mark Eggerton James Seeman & Michael Caccioppoli, Jr. Michael Sharpless Blair Skellie Kevin Slattery & John Cunningham Ken Smith Martin C. Soto Annie & Victoria Steinberg-Behrman Ken Stram & Steaven Campbell Susan Sullivan & Jennifer Matt Justin Taylor Karen Trilevsky & Linda Pon David Tsai Cary J. Yageman Sue Yom & Kim Dang Mark Ziegler & Douglas Roth

Dual Supporter

Anonymous Fahim Abbasi & Mark Worden Scott Abel & Yasunori Kiba Mark Andrews & John Blazek Ed Babin & Barry Eisenberg John Bare & Ignatius Bau Marlene J. Barneveld & M. Kathleen Archambeau Mark Baumli & David Costa Steve Branton & Eric Jones Lawrence C. Button & Stephen E. Leach James Clayton & Joseph Nesci Phillip Cole, MD & Chris Morris Su Cox & Cathy Keyes Janice Czyscon & Crystal Hyslop Julie DeVincenzi & Dawn Hatch In Memory of Frank Dziobek David L. Elfrink

Jeffrey Fraenkel & Alan Mark Brian Freeman & Peter Stein Kevin Gardner & Paul Morrell Sharon Gillars & Mary Beth Peterson Jim Gladstone & John Lau Susan Greef & Maureen Prochaska Sara Haber & Beth Sousa Alicia Hernandez & Kathleen Hunt Maria Hernandez & Diane Gil Constance Hiatt & Kathi Doster Karen Hirst & Elizabeth Rigali John Hudson & Peter Weiser Ilyas Iliya & Alan Freedman Alex Ingersoll & Martin Tannenbaum Dennis Isner Win Jones & Joanne Scarpa Jerry LaBarge & Carlos Castrillo Krishneel Lall & Asish Purushan Noel Legorburu & Marc Scruggs Dianna Mullins & Clare Dunnett Tony Negri & Kha Hoang Pablo Nelson & Paul Backhurst Charles & Joerg Oliver Heather Olsen & Rona Jawetz Robert L. Owen, MD & ChinShun Wu Mary Sue Philp & Dvora Honigstein David Podger & Christopher Jones Michael Rabanal & Alfredo Victorio Martin Rios Scott Sidorsky & Vince Thomas Bob Siedle-Khan Dachiele Sierra & Kevin Lee Daniel Slaughter & Stephan Blachowski Brad Smith & Mark Schoenberg Guy Smith Hillary Smith & Alexis Bourdamis Karlin Sorenson & Krista Lucchesi Dana Stevenson & Jennifer Schmich Luke Stewart & Georgy Avakov

Allen Swim & Jeffrey Baker David Takacs & Larry Carbone G Anthony Talbot & Mark Duffy John Throckmorton & Jacques Vuillin Tim Tune & David Pinch William & Brad Whitehead Allen Wood & Jim Macrae Linda & Deo Wright Mitchell Youngman Jorge Yviricu & Tom Blommers Adam Zhang & Ofer Rog

Supporter

Anonymous Leonard Abel Joy Abounds Douglas S. Adams Coyote Amrich Alex Austin SB Robert L. Baker Tarick Bedeir Nancy Bell Tyson Bell Gabriel Benitez Peter Berman James Brashear Sean Brient Larry Brinkin Brian Bromberger John F. Brown Richard Brown Edward O’Malley Buckley Jasmine Buczek Dan Burcham Allen Burke Nikki Bynum Diane Caliva K. Lee Callahan John C. Cassady Timothy Cassidy Audrey Chan Humphrey Chan Patrick Chew Bruce A. Christenson Steve Ciano Michael Clune Etan Cohen In Loving Memory of Michael Cole JD & Ryan Cowell James W. Cranney Billy Curtis Rodney Dayley Jacki Dennis Paul Devine David M. Donahue Lynne Eggers Eric Eichorn

Clair Estrada Bill Fanning David Farrell Brett Fisher Kate Fitzpatrick Mark Forester Maggie Francisco Lucas Freedman Clark Freshman Andy Friend Philip Fukuda Jasmine J. Gee Margo George Robert Goldfarb Jared Goldfine Paige Graff Mari K. Griffin Marvin J. Halpern Eleanor Haney Samuel Harrison Steven J. Hatton April Hawkins C. Alexander Heeger Nancy Hinds Curt Holzinger Vincent Hom Gregory Hunter Jenn Jackson Theo Joire Joseph Kanuch Nancy Kates Michelle Kay Amanda Kennedy Grace Kim Ronald Kisling Edric Kwan Tom Lakritz Alejandro Lara Aaron Leifer Alan Lessik Raquel Lewis Douglas Ley Edward Lim Bernie Lin Salvador Lopez Michael LoPresti Chuck Louden Anthony Macias Valerie Maestas Richard A. Maggi Dante Javier Diego Mandala Rob Manning Jason Martin Shahpour (Shawn) Matloob Jeffrey Mitchell Matthews Shireen McSpadden Mark Menke Celestina Meow Meow Leslie Miessner Joseph Miller Robert Mison Christopher Moore Sara Moore Lambert Moss

Mark Mullin Peter Nye Ayofemi Oseye John Pacheco John M. Peloquin Katie Pfeiffer Sharon L. Ponder Holly Reese Brian Reinhardt Cathy E. Rice Larry Rivera Ernest Patrick Rodriguez Hal Rowland Wendy Rustay Gavin D. Rynne Jim Salveson Evaristo Lito Sandoval Roy Schachter Ben Schaeffer Rachel Scheibe Ashley Selman Mark A. Senick M. T. Silvia Maureen Smith Rob Smith William Lonon Smith David Sovereign Todd Stallkamp Bill Stewart Bradley Stow Maureen Sullivan Steve Sullivan Kelly Sundin Denise Tarantino Jean Teather Ralph A. Thomas Naomi Tilsen Robert S. Tinkler Laura Tow Paul Tremblay Cheri Tsai Tim Vigue Glenn Wagner Kenneth Wallace LauraLee Wells Michael Westcott Sheryll White John Williams Danny Wilson Stephen B. Wilson, Jr. Philip Witkay Howard Wong Peter Wong Yu Wu Siobhan Xie Jack Yang

frameline.org 125

Become a member!

Help us change lives one film at a time. 126 Frameline40

Membership

Support LGBTQ film — join us! Frameline is the nation’s only nonprofit organization solely dedicated to the funding, exhibition, distribution and promotion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media arts. As such, we depend upon your financial support to fulfill our mission. Membership is vital to our hands-on work in creating a lasting impact today and for the future of LGBTQ people everywhere. Join today to enjoy exciting benefits, including special invitations to screenings and events throughout the year, priority access, and advance discount ticket purchasing. For more details about membership, please visit frameline.org/membership or call us at (415) 703-8650 x 301.

This special group of donors has made a lasting commitment to securing Frameline’s future by including us in their estate plan. Legacy Circle is open to anyone and there are many ways to make a planned gift:

·· You can name Frameline as a beneficiary in your life insurance policy or in your employee retirement plan, IRA, or tax-sheltered annuity.

·· You can include Frameline as a beneficiary of any amount in a will, a living trust, a lead or charitable remainder trust, and in other life estate plans. A planned gift can also generate financial benefits for a donor during his or her lifetime.

Legacy Circle members receive:

·· Recognition in Frameline publications (unless you wish to be anonymous)

·· Invitations to special events, including an exclusive Legacy Circle gathering

·· News and announcements throughout the year If you have included Frameline in your will, living trust, or estate plan, please let us know so that we can welcome you to the Legacy Circle. For more information, please visit frameline.org/legacycircle or call us at 415.703.8650 x 309

frameline.org 127

Film & Program Index #

(the here and now) a visit 65 1985 59

Afuera 67 Akron 46 Alzheimer’s: A Love Story 68 Arianna 51 Arrivederci Rosa 67 AWOL 21

B. 66 Be Fabulous, First Stop: Sexitude 66 Be Right Back 66 BearCity 3 46 Becoming Johanna 64 Before Midnight Cowboy 68 Being 17 23 Bi Candy 64 Bittersweet 65, 66 Bruising for Besos 47

The Celluloid Closet 34 Check It 56 Closet Monster 51 Coming Up Queer 64 Conversations with Gay Elders: An Intergenerational Film Project 56 Crystal Lake 64, 67

Daddy’s Boy 47 Dance Card 65 Dawn 67 Do Not Think For a Moment 66 A Doll’s Eyes 68

Femme Brutal 57 Film Hawk 29 Fire Song 51 First Girl I Loved 47 Flashback 1977: Frameline’s Founding Year 34 Folsom Street 66 The Freedom to Marry 57 The Friend From Tel Aviv 64 From Afar 52 Front Cover 48 Fun In Boys Shorts 65 Fun In Girls Shorts 65 Furries 66 Fursonas 57

128 Frameline40

Gay USA 34 Gaysians 67 Girl Gets Girl 52 Girls Lost 36 The Glory Hole 65, 66 Growing Up Coy 37 Guys Like Us 65

He Who Has Two Souls 62 Heartland 48 Her Story: Season One 48 Holding the Man 52 A Holy Mess 53 Horses 53 How to Kiss in Paris 64

I Promise You Anarchy 53 I Was 67 ID#1:Writer 64 Inside the Chinese Closet 58 The Intervention 38 Irrawaddy Mon Amour 58

Jonathan 54 The Joneses 58

Kiki 19

Last Men Standing 59 Lazy Eye 49 Libertad 68 Living with Pride: Ruth C. Ellis @ 100 35 Loev 54 Looking 27

MASK4MASK 57, 65 Me, Myself and Her 54 MeTube 2: August Sings Carmina Burana 65 Mezzo 67, 68 Miracle on Sunset Boulevard 34 Monster Mash 66 More of Last Night 64

No Strings 69

Oh the Horror! 66 Oh, I Get It 61 One Last Night 67 Only in San Francisco 66 Out Run 59 Ovarian Psycos 59

Paris 05:59: Theo & Hugo 39 Partners 65 The Pearl 60 Persistence of Memory 66 Persistence of Vision 68 Pick Up 68 Pink Boy 64, 66 Political Animals 60 Pushing Dead 40 PYOTR495 66

Queer Student Shorts 66

The Radical Fairy Prince: A Love Story 65 Raniya 67 Rara 41 Raw Footage 68 Real Boy 60 Realness & Revelations 67 Retake 49 The Revival: Woman and the Word 61 Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella 69

Sauna the Dead – A Fairy Tale 65, 66 Say U Will 65, 67, 69 Slash 49 Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four 25 Spa Night 42 Spark 65 Spectrum 64 Spoilers 69 Spunkle 65 Sticky Fingers 67 Straws 64 Strike a Pose 43 Suicide Kale 50 Suited 61 Summertime 44 Swirl 64

Take Me For a Ride 55 Tear Jerker 65 Thanks for Dancing 68 These C*cksucking Tears 68 This Is Me: And My Sisters, Episode 5 68 This Is Me: Closets, Episode 1 68 This Is Me: From The Bathroom, Episode 3 68 This Is Me: Generations, Episode 2 68

This Is Me: Right This Way, Episode 4 68 Time Quest 65 Tits on a Bull 64, 65 Tomcat 55 Tongues Untied 35 Tonight It’s You 66 The Trans List 45 Transcend 65, 67 Transtastic 67 Treasure: From Tragedy to Trans Justice, Mapping a Detroit Story 61 Two Soft Things, Two Hard Things 62

Uncle Howard 62 Up Close & Personal 68 Upstairs Inferno 62

Vámonos 65, 67 Vegas in Space 35 Veracity 64, 66 Vessels 66, 67 Victor XX 65, 67 Virgin Territory 65 Voguing: The Message 35

We Could Be Parents 68 We Need to Talk 68 We’ve Been Around – Albert Cashier 68 We’ve Been Around – Little Axe 68 We’ve Been Around – Lou Sullivan 68 We’ve Been Around – Lucy Hicks Anderson 68 We’ve Been Around – S.T.A.R. 68 The Weigh In 65 Who’s Gonna Love Me Now? 63 Why Should I Give a S#*t about Bisexuals? (Men’s Edition) 64 A Wig and a Prayer – The Peaches Christ Story 66 Women He’s Undressed 63 Women Who Kill 50 Worldly Affairs 69

Xavier 41

You Deserve Everything 69 You’ll Never Be Alone 55

Zeitgeist 1977: The First Festival 34

TESTING TREATMENT PREVENTION There is no cure, but when we add it all up, we can help stop the spread of HIV. Find out more at HelpStopTheVirus.com © 2016 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. UNBC3047 04/16

HBO PROUDLY SUPPORTS

FRAMELINE40

SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL LGBTQ FILM FESTIVAL