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PROTECT QUEER INDEPENDENT FILM
INTIMATE SCREENINGS OF EXQUISITE QUEER FILMS, FEATURING: 9 to 5 by Colin Higgins; Clarissa by Arie Esiri & Chuko Esiri; Coward by Lukas Dhont; Elsinore by Simon Stone; Mouse by Kelly O’Sullivan & Alex Thompson; and Tangles by Leah Nelson.
FOREWORD By Allegra Madsen
“...A LIFE EXAMINED, BUT HEARD IN A DIFFERENT REGISTER.” Welcome to the Frameline50 Fall Showcase and the inaugural convening of our Film Society. The Film Society exists because some stories are meant to be returned to and watched together, again and again, until they become part of how we see the world.
B
I
N G O
IMAGINARY LIGHTSABER
ALL TIED UP
ALLEGRA THROWS SHADE AT THE ODYSSEY
WE THINK MALCOLM IS A FINE NAME
SOMEONE SAYS THE NAME OF THE FILM THEY’RE IN
SHARED THE SCREEN WITH SARAH PAULSON
EMOTIONAL BATHTUB SCENE
MINNIE MOUSE MENTION
THE SECOND TIME SHE GRACES OUR SCREEN
HE MAKES THE SNOW FALL
SHEAR BRAVERY
WORDS OF WISDOM FROM THE SISTERS
ALLEGRA DOESN’T WEAR SNEAKERS
OFF KEY, ON STAGE
POOLSIDE FLIRTATION
FL48 GUEST & DOLLY COLLABORATOR NEEDLE DROP
WHEN BEING GAY AND HAPPY SUITS YOU
CALLED OUT BY WHITE GLOVES
THE WING IS DEDICATED
ALLEGRA FORGETS TO INTRODUCE HERSELF
ONE DANCE THAT CHANGES YOUR LIFE
AT LEAST THREE EMMY WINNERS IN A SINGLE SCENE
GREETED BY THE GALAXY’S WISEST MENTOR
SF LANDMARK SPOTTED ON SCREEN
FREE SPACE
When we began putting together this program, we didn’t know that we would lose Dolly Parton, and that we’d open this month-long series with a tribute to one of the greatest storytellers of our time. I took for granted that Dolly was immortal and that we would always have her.
Bring your Bingo card to each Frameline50 Fall Showcase screening and mark it off as the series continues. (Daubers not included.)
Throughout time, people have found ways to communicate, share, and preserve stories. Something that’s fundamental to being alive drives us to create and share them. Dolly was a modern figure following an ancient tradition: telling stories through song. Earlier this year, it seemed every movie lover had to see The Odyssey. (A snarky aside: Given the epic’s strong female characters, some scholars argued its true author was a woman. Make of that what you will, watching the latest adaptation.) Whether composed by a woman or a blind bard, The Odyssey began as a song, which was sung so it could be remembered, repeated, and carried.
FRAMELINE FILM SOCIETY PRESENTS
Get Bingo? Shout it out before or after a screening — just don’t disrupt any movies or Q&As.
MOUSE
COWARD
VOGUE THEATRE
VOGUE THEATRE
WED OCT 21, 7PM VOGUE THEATRE
WED OCT 14, 7PM
We live in an age of infinite choice, where our stories risk becoming disposable. But if we succumb to one-and-done experiences, we miss the enduring beauty of art and its ability to evolve with us. That’s what this Fall Showcase is all about.
WED OCT 28, 7PM
TANGLES
ELSINORE
TUE OCT 20, 7PMPM
We open with Colin Higgins’ 9 to 5, a story you may already know. I encourage you to sit with the moment — when we’re watching it together in our movie palace, The Castro Theatre, celebrating an iconic storyteller. We’ll be gathering to do the work of ensuring Dolly is indeed immortal, because we will hear her songs, listen to her stories, and watch her perform.
From that layering comes a line that could stand as this showcase’s thesis: “Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be.” That’s what these old stories, told again and again and again, let us do: not just remember what we are, but dream what we may become.
CLARISSA
SUN OCT 11, 3PM THE CASTRO THEATRE
I love that this oral tradition runs all the way from ancient Greece to Dolly’s Appalachian log cabin. Whether it’s an ancient epic, a song about a coat of many colors, or a film from the 1980s about women getting revenge on their boss, these are stories meant to be experienced over and over. That’s how we come to love stories: We hear them again and again because they grow us, and grow with us. What they offer changes as we change.
Each film in this series examines the power stories have to shape us and what happens when a familiar story is sung again, in a new voice, for a new time. On October 21, we screen Clarissa, which retells Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway through the lens of modern-day Nigeria and the legacies of colonialism. The same interiority, the same ache of a life examined, but heard in a different register. We close at The Castro with Elsinore, which returns us to Hamlet through actor Ian Charleson’s final performance — his own struggle with AIDS layered over Shakespeare’s play until the two become inseparable.
9 TO 5 A TRIBUTE TO DOLLY PARTON
THU NOV 5, 7PM
PREMIER THEATER AT ONE LETTERMAN THEATRE
VENUES THE CASTRO THEATRE 429 CASTRO STREET SAN FRANCISCO
VOGUE THEATRE 3290 SACRAMENTO STREET SAN FRANCISCO
THE CASTRO THEATRE
PREMIER THEATER AT ONE LETTERMAN 1 LETTERMAN DRIVE AT INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC SAN FRANCISCO
PRESENTING SPONSOR Unfold for more information about each film. Scan the code to purchase tickets at frameline.org.
FALL SHOWCASE FILMS
THE CASTRO THEATRE
9 to 5
THE CASTRO THEATRE
HE
A TRIBUTE TO DOLLY PARTON
ELSINORE DIR Simon Stone | 2026 | UK
DIR Colin Higgins | 1980 | US
THU NOV 5 7PM
We can’t stay inside a lonely room and cry forever, so dry those tears and join us (a few doors) down at The Castro Theatre for a very special evening celebrating the life, talents, and values of the truly one-of-a-kind Dolly Parton. First, Peaches Christ will pay tribute to the beloved Jolene singer with a drag homage, and then we’ll start laughin’ and drinkin’ and havin’ a party with a screening of 9 to 5.
By 1989 acclaimed Scottish actor Ian Charleson (a sensational Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers), who had career-defining roles in Oscar-winning pictures Chariots of Fire (1981) and Gandhi (1982), yearns for his next great role. For Charleson, a gay man with AIDS, navigating Hollywood and keeping his personal life private is a minefield, and he’s drawn to the idea of revisiting his stage-actor roots. When Daniel Day-Lewis abandons Richard Eyre’s (Johnny Flynn, Ripley) production of Hamlet at the National Theatre mid-performance, Charleson is poised to take over the play’s title role.
SUN OCT 11 3PM
Directed by Colin Higgins (Harold and Maude), this cult classic centers on three women — the exuberant Doralee (Dolly Parton), the timid Judy (Jane Fonda), and the sharp-witted Violet (Lily Tomlin) — as they toil away at Consolidated Companies under the misogynistic Mr. Hart (Dabney Coleman). When talking trash and sharing their wildest revenge fantasies isn’t enough, the trio get even with their bigot of a boss.
But the actor’s ambitious return is halted when he develops Kaposi’s sarcoma, prompting his doctor (Oscar winner Olivia Colman, The Favourite) to forbid him from taking on such a strenuous role. Featuring memorable supporting turns from Joe Locke (Heartstopper) and David Dawson (My Policeman), who plays renowned queer filmmaker Derek Jarman, Simon Stone’s latest is a deeply resonant film about the power of art and human connection in the face of mortality, all moored by a career-best, Oscar-worthy performance from Scott.
Whether you love the film for its titular working-class anthem, its satirical screwball comedy that skewers sexism in the workplace, or the iconic trio at its center, 9 to 5 is undeniably one of the late Dolly Parton’s many great gifts to popular culture.
MOUSE
DIR Kelly O’Sullivan & Alex Thompson 2026 | US
TANGLES
VOGUE THEATRE
DIR Leah Nelson 2026 | Canada US
WED OCT 14 7PM
TUE OCT 20 7PM
Quiet and observant, high-schooler Minnie Dunn (Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.) has found her perfect complement in her outgoing, theater-loving best friend Callie Bell (Chloe Coleman, Big Little Lies). And between her uncertainty about what she wants in life and the fraught relationship she has with her hands-off mom (Tara Mallen, Ghostlight), Minnie really needs a confidant like Callie. But, when an accident upends Callie and Minnie’s relationship just before their senior year, Minnie finds herself forming a complicated bond with Callie’s mom, Helen (a remarkable Sophie Okonedo, Slow Horses). Featuring charming supporting performances from Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel) and David Hyde Pierce (Frasier), this queer coming-of-age story from Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, the directing duo behind Ghostlight, reveals just how knotted grief can be — especially when you haven’t yet found yourself.
PREMIER THEATER
CLARISSA
COWARD
VOGUE THEATRE
DIR Arie Esiri & Chuko Esiri 2026 | Nigeria US
DIR Lukas Dhont
2026 | Belgium France Netherlands
WED OCT 21 7PM
Between landing a promotion to cover artist at her queer activist zine to falling for her impossibly cool girlfriend (Samira Wiley, The Handmaid’s Tale), Sarah (Abbi Jacobson, Broad City) is finally hitting her stride in ‘90s San Francisco. But a trip home to visit her oddball family upends everything. Sarah’s mom, the oncevibrant Midge (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep), isn’t herself — and Sarah’s father (Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad) and sister (Beanie Feldstein, Booksmart) aren’t quite ready to see the concerning shifts. Pulled between her exciting life in the Bay and being there for her mother, Sarah tries to find her footing in a disorienting world — a world where Alzheimer’s disease is slowly eroding Midge’s sense of self. Based on Sarah Leavitt’s graphic novel and featuring powerhouse performances from its award-winning ensemble cast, which also includes Seth Rogen (The Studio), Bowen Yang (Fire Island), and Wanda Sykes, Leah Nelson’s animated directorial debut is an achingly beautiful story of acceptance and a meditation on the relationships that shape — and reshape — us.
WED OCT 28 7PM
A reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway set in Lagos, Nigeria, this lyrical sophomore effort from directors Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri is an exquisite portrait of a woman at a crossroads. While planning a posh dinner party for her husband’s colleagues, Clarissa (an extraordinary Sophie Okonedo, Ratched) realizes she’s far from the woman she’d hoped to become.
Cannes darling and Oscar-nominated director Lukas Dhont (Girl, Close) returns with an incredibly tender gay love story set against the backdrop of the Belgian front during World War I. Quiet, stoic, and ever-observant, a young soldier named Pierre (Emmanuel Macchia in a phenomenal acting debut) has very little to take his mind off of the horrors of trench warfare — until he meets the confident artist Francis (Valentin Campagne).
Featuring David Oyelowo (Selma), India Amarteifio (Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story), Toheeb Jimoh (Ted Lasso), and Ayo Edebiri (Bottoms), this bold adaptation ebbs and flows between past and present, between perspectives and places. What emerges is as much a meditation on desire and regret as it is an intricately layered examination of colonialism, class, and privilege in contemporary Nigeria. Gorgeously shot on 35mm and anchored by Okonedo’s singular ability to convey an entire life in a single frame, Clarissa renews its source material.
Instead of fighting on the frontlines, Francis spearheads a theatrical revue — a charming blend of drag, song, and dance — to keep his fellow soldiers’ spirits up. As Pierre and Francis spend more time together, stolen glances and quick dances evolve into a passionate romance. Torn between his traditional role as soldier and the alluring beauty of Francis’ art, Pierre grapples with his sense of self. Selected as Belgium’s Academy Awards entry, Dhont’s latest is a vital interrogation of valor and cowardice — and of how being truly vulnerable might be the bravest act one can commit in the face of war.
After the film, join us for a book club-style discussion of Clarissa and the reinvention of stories. RECOMMENDED READING
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf The Hours by Michael Cunningham Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
COMING ATTRACTIONS
VOGUE THEATRE
— Written & Edited by Kate Bove
CROSSWORD
You know how this works! Put your Film Society knowledge to the test and unlock a promo code valid for a discount on any Frameline50 Fall Showcase screening. 1 2
3
PROMO CODE BONUS
4
5
6
7 8
9
10
11 12 13
CAROL DAY 2026 MON DEC 21 ROXIE THEATER
‘Tis (almost) the season for Frameline’s annual Carol Day — and this year we’re totally going to show the movie. Starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, Todd Haynes’ exquisite Carol returns to its home at the Roxie Theater. Shake up your martinis, don your gloves (and gay apparel), and get ready to be flung out of space — again.
“SF’S–HOTTEST NEW HOLIDAY TRADITION.” Tony Bravo, San Francisco Chronicle
ACROSS 2. Belgium’s Oscar contender 3. One of Lady Champagne’s many last names 5. Our preferred Jesus 7. Minnie _____ 11. “_______ has changed!” - Kathleen Turner doesn’t agree 13. This year’s Hamlet movie DOWN 1. Beloved Frameline spokesperson (last name) 4. Lilly Wachowski’s favorite screening ever (film name) 5. Titular chaotic bisexual who didn’t get her due in 2025 6. Gillian Anderson’s preferred fast food chain 8. The cast of this movie has the most Emmys of all Fall Showcase films 9. She’ll buy the flowers herself 10. An iconic gay mountain 12. Frameline50’s best dressed guest (last name)
FRAMELINE51 JUN 16–26, 2027
The 51st San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival kicks off a sixth decade of queer cinema in theaters throughout the Bay Area.
STAY IN THE KNOW Scan the code to subscribe to our newsletter, The Gayzette, and follow us on social media. framelinefest
frameline
framelinedistro
frameline
STAFF
Allegra Madsen, Executive Director Matthew Ramsey, Director of Partnerships & Development Kate Bove, Associate Director of Programs Esme Agilar, Development Manager Aidan Dick, Marketing & Communications Manager Cali Guisto, Distribution & Community Outreach Coordinator Diego León, Development Associate
CONTRIBUTORS
Kaitlyn Ryan, Producer, Operations & Events Mitch Vaughn, Box Office Management Paco Aschwanden, Technical Coordinator Alex Murphy, Box Office Associate Christina Fahey, Box Office Associate OPERATION AND PRODUCTION SUPPORT
LogicFlare – Ryan Delgado, Managing Director DESIGN
The Grass Agency
FALL SHOWCASE FILMS
THE CASTRO THEATRE
9 to 5
THE CASTRO THEATRE
HE
A TRIBUTE TO DOLLY PARTON
ELSINORE DIR Simon Stone | 2026 | UK
DIR Colin Higgins | 1980 | US
THU NOV 5 7PM
We can’t stay inside a lonely room and cry forever, so dry those tears and join us (a few doors) down at The Castro Theatre for a very special evening celebrating the life, talents, and values of the truly one-of-a-kind Dolly Parton. First, Peaches Christ will pay tribute to the beloved Jolene singer with a drag homage, and then we’ll start laughin’ and drinkin’ and havin’ a party with a screening of 9 to 5.
By 1989 acclaimed Scottish actor Ian Charleson (a sensational Andrew Scott, All of Us Strangers), who had career-defining roles in Oscar-winning pictures Chariots of Fire (1981) and Gandhi (1982), yearns for his next great role. For Charleson, a gay man with AIDS, navigating Hollywood and keeping his personal life private is a minefield, and he’s drawn to the idea of revisiting his stage-actor roots. When Daniel Day-Lewis abandons Richard Eyre’s (Johnny Flynn, Ripley) production of Hamlet at the National Theatre mid-performance, Charleson is poised to take over the play’s title role.
SUN OCT 11 3PM
Directed by Colin Higgins (Harold and Maude), this cult classic centers on three women — the exuberant Doralee (Dolly Parton), the timid Judy (Jane Fonda), and the sharp-witted Violet (Lily Tomlin) — as they toil away at Consolidated Companies under the misogynistic Mr. Hart (Dabney Coleman). When talking trash and sharing their wildest revenge fantasies isn’t enough, the trio get even with their bigot of a boss.
But the actor’s ambitious return is halted when he develops Kaposi’s sarcoma, prompting his doctor (Oscar winner Olivia Colman, The Favourite) to forbid him from taking on such a strenuous role. Featuring memorable supporting turns from Joe Locke (Heartstopper) and David Dawson (My Policeman), who plays renowned queer filmmaker Derek Jarman, Simon Stone’s latest is a deeply resonant film about the power of art and human connection in the face of mortality, all moored by a career-best, Oscar-worthy performance from Scott.
Whether you love the film for its titular working-class anthem, its satirical screwball comedy that skewers sexism in the workplace, or the iconic trio at its center, 9 to 5 is undeniably one of the late Dolly Parton’s many great gifts to popular culture.
MOUSE
DIR Kelly O’Sullivan & Alex Thompson 2026 | US
TANGLES
VOGUE THEATRE
DIR Leah Nelson 2026 | Canada US
WED OCT 14 7PM
TUE OCT 20 7PM
Quiet and observant, high-schooler Minnie Dunn (Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.) has found her perfect complement in her outgoing, theater-loving best friend Callie Bell (Chloe Coleman, Big Little Lies). And between her uncertainty about what she wants in life and the fraught relationship she has with her hands-off mom (Tara Mallen, Ghostlight), Minnie really needs a confidant like Callie. But, when an accident upends Callie and Minnie’s relationship just before their senior year, Minnie finds herself forming a complicated bond with Callie’s mom, Helen (a remarkable Sophie Okonedo, Slow Horses). Featuring charming supporting performances from Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel) and David Hyde Pierce (Frasier), this queer coming-of-age story from Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, the directing duo behind Ghostlight, reveals just how knotted grief can be — especially when you haven’t yet found yourself.
PREMIER THEATER
CLARISSA
COWARD
VOGUE THEATRE
DIR Arie Esiri & Chuko Esiri 2026 | Nigeria US
DIR Lukas Dhont
2026 | Belgium France Netherlands
WED OCT 21 7PM
Between landing a promotion to cover artist at her queer activist zine to falling for her impossibly cool girlfriend (Samira Wiley, The Handmaid’s Tale), Sarah (Abbi Jacobson, Broad City) is finally hitting her stride in ‘90s San Francisco. But a trip home to visit her oddball family upends everything. Sarah’s mom, the oncevibrant Midge (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep), isn’t herself — and Sarah’s father (Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad) and sister (Beanie Feldstein, Booksmart) aren’t quite ready to see the concerning shifts. Pulled between her exciting life in the Bay and being there for her mother, Sarah tries to find her footing in a disorienting world — a world where Alzheimer’s disease is slowly eroding Midge’s sense of self. Based on Sarah Leavitt’s graphic novel and featuring powerhouse performances from its award-winning ensemble cast, which also includes Seth Rogen (The Studio), Bowen Yang (Fire Island), and Wanda Sykes, Leah Nelson’s animated directorial debut is an achingly beautiful story of acceptance and a meditation on the relationships that shape — and reshape — us.
WED OCT 28 7PM
A reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway set in Lagos, Nigeria, this lyrical sophomore effort from directors Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri is an exquisite portrait of a woman at a crossroads. While planning a posh dinner party for her husband’s colleagues, Clarissa (an extraordinary Sophie Okonedo, Ratched) realizes she’s far from the woman she’d hoped to become.
Cannes darling and Oscar-nominated director Lukas Dhont (Girl, Close) returns with an incredibly tender gay love story set against the backdrop of the Belgian front during World War I. Quiet, stoic, and ever-observant, a young soldier named Pierre (Emmanuel Macchia in a phenomenal acting debut) has very little to take his mind off of the horrors of trench warfare — until he meets the confident artist Francis (Valentin Campagne).
Featuring David Oyelowo (Selma), India Amarteifio (Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story), Toheeb Jimoh (Ted Lasso), and Ayo Edebiri (Bottoms), this bold adaptation ebbs and flows between past and present, between perspectives and places. What emerges is as much a meditation on desire and regret as it is an intricately layered examination of colonialism, class, and privilege in contemporary Nigeria. Gorgeously shot on 35mm and anchored by Okonedo’s singular ability to convey an entire life in a single frame, Clarissa renews its source material.
Instead of fighting on the frontlines, Francis spearheads a theatrical revue — a charming blend of drag, song, and dance — to keep his fellow soldiers’ spirits up. As Pierre and Francis spend more time together, stolen glances and quick dances evolve into a passionate romance. Torn between his traditional role as soldier and the alluring beauty of Francis’ art, Pierre grapples with his sense of self. Selected as Belgium’s Academy Awards entry, Dhont’s latest is a vital interrogation of valor and cowardice — and of how being truly vulnerable might be the bravest act one can commit in the face of war.
After the film, join us for a book club-style discussion of Clarissa and the reinvention of stories. RECOMMENDED READING
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf The Hours by Michael Cunningham Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
COMING ATTRACTIONS
VOGUE THEATRE
— Written & Edited by Kate Bove
CROSSWORD
You know how this works! Put your Film Society knowledge to the test and unlock a promo code valid for a discount on any Frameline50 Fall Showcase screening. 1 2
3
PROMO CODE BONUS
4
5
6
7 8
9
10
11 12 13
CAROL DAY 2026 MON DEC 21 ROXIE THEATER
‘Tis (almost) the season for Frameline’s annual Carol Day — and this year we’re totally going to show the movie. Starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, Todd Haynes’ exquisite Carol returns to its home at the Roxie Theater. Shake up your martinis, don your gloves (and gay apparel), and get ready to be flung out of space — again.
“SF’S–HOTTEST NEW HOLIDAY TRADITION.” Tony Bravo, San Francisco Chronicle
ACROSS 2. Belgium’s Oscar contender 3. One of Lady Champagne’s many last names 5. Our preferred Jesus 7. Minnie _____ 11. “_______ has changed!” - Kathleen Turner doesn’t agree 13. This year’s Hamlet movie DOWN 1. Beloved Frameline spokesperson (last name) 4. Lilly Wachowski’s favorite screening ever (film name) 5. Titular chaotic bisexual who didn’t get her due in 2025 6. Gillian Anderson’s preferred fast food chain 8. The cast of this movie has the most Emmys of all Fall Showcase films 9. She’ll buy the flowers herself 10. An iconic gay mountain 12. Frameline50’s best dressed guest (last name)
FRAMELINE51 JUN 16–26, 2027
The 51st San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival kicks off a sixth decade of queer cinema in theaters throughout the Bay Area.
STAY IN THE KNOW Scan the code to subscribe to our newsletter, The Gayzette, and follow us on social media. framelinefest
frameline
framelinedistro
frameline
STAFF
Allegra Madsen, Executive Director Matthew Ramsey, Director of Partnerships & Development Kate Bove, Associate Director of Programs Esme Agilar, Development Manager Aidan Dick, Marketing & Communications Manager Cali Guisto, Distribution & Community Outreach Coordinator Diego León, Development Associate
CONTRIBUTORS
Kaitlyn Ryan, Producer, Operations & Events Mitch Vaughn, Box Office Management Paco Aschwanden, Technical Coordinator Alex Murphy, Box Office Associate Christina Fahey, Box Office Associate OPERATION AND PRODUCTION SUPPORT
LogicFlare – Ryan Delgado, Managing Director DESIGN
The Grass Agency
* Available only to seniors (aged 65+), full-time students, and people with disabilities. Please visit frameline.org/membership for more information. ** Base tax-deductible amount listed in parenthesis. Terms and conditions apply.
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2 Gold
2
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1 Gold
2
Patron $600
20
2
Supporter $225
6
1
Friend Dual $150
4
Friend $80
2
Friend Discount $55
2
($52)** ($94)**
($141)**
($460)** ($720)**
($1,312)**
Visionary Star $3,000 ($4,720)**
Visionary Director $5,500
FL51 Name Reserved FL51 FL51 FL51 Vouchers Festival Listed on Seating On-Screen Lounge at OR FL51 Assets Select Shirt(s) & Website Recognition Access Screenings Passes
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INTIMATE SCREENINGS OF EXQUISITE QUEER FILMS, FEATURING: 9 to 5 by Colin Higgins; Clarissa by Arie Esiri & Chuko Esiri; Coward by Lukas Dhont; Elsinore by Simon Stone; Mouse by Kelly O’Sullivan & Alex Thompson; and Tangles by Leah Nelson.
2
Mailed FL51 Program Guide
FALL SHOWCASE FALL SHOWCASE
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Luminary $10,000+ Priority Discounts Entrance to Invites to In-Theater Year-Round on Tickets & Merch Screenings Screenings
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JOIN OR RENEW TODAY
PROTECT QUEER INDEPENDENT FILM
FOREWORD By Allegra Madsen
B
I
IMAGINARY LIGHTSABER
N G O
ALL TIED UP
SHARED THE SCREEN WITH SARAH PAULSON
OFF KEY, ON STAGE
ALLEGRA DOESN’T WEAR SNEAKERS
HE MAKES THE SNOW FALL
THE SECOND TIME SHE GRACES OUR SCREEN
MINNIE MOUSE MENTION
WE THINK MALCOLM IS A FINE NAME
ALLEGRA THROWS SHADE AT THE ODYSSEY
EMOTIONAL BATHTUB SCENE
WORDS OF WISDOM FROM THE SISTERS
SHEAR BRAVERY
“...A LIFE EXAMINED, BUT HEARD IN A DIFFERENT REGISTER.” Welcome to the Frameline50 Fall Showcase and the inaugural convening of our Film Society. The Film Society exists because some stories are meant to be returned to and watched together, again and again, until they become part of how we see the world. When we began putting together this program, we didn’t know that we would lose Dolly Parton, and that we’d open this month-long series with a tribute to one of the greatest storytellers of our time. I took for granted that Dolly was immortal and that we would always have her. Throughout time, people have found ways to communicate, share, and preserve stories. Something that’s fundamental to being alive drives us to create and share them. Dolly was a modern figure following an ancient tradition: telling stories through song. Earlier this year, it seemed every movie lover had to see The Odyssey. (A snarky aside: Given the epic’s strong female characters, some scholars argued its true author was a woman. Make of that what you will, watching the latest adaptation.) Whether composed by a woman or a blind bard, The Odyssey began as a song, which was sung so it could be remembered, repeated, and carried.
POOLSIDE FLIRTATION
ALLEGRA FORGETS TO INTRODUCE HERSELF
FREE SPACE
GREETED BY THE GALAXY’S WISEST MENTOR
AT LEAST THREE EMMY WINNERS IN A SINGLE SCENE
ONE DANCE THAT CHANGES YOUR LIFE
CALLED OUT BY WHITE GLOVES
WHEN BEING GAY AND HAPPY SUITS YOU
FL48 GUEST & DOLLY COLLABORATOR NEEDLE DROP
SOMEONE SAYS THE NAME OF THE FILM THEY’RE IN
THE WING IS DEDICATED
SF LANDMARK SPOTTED ON SCREEN
Bring your Bingo card to each Frameline50 Fall Showcase screening and mark it off as the series continues. (Daubers not included.) Get Bingo? Shout it out before or after a screening — just don’t disrupt any movies or Q&As.
FRAMELINE FILM SOCIETY PRESENTS 9 TO 5 A TRIBUTE TO DOLLY PARTON
CLARISSA
WED OCT 21, 7PM VOGUE THEATRE
SUN OCT 11, 3PM THE CASTRO THEATRE
I love that this oral tradition runs all the way from ancient Greece to Dolly’s Appalachian log cabin. Whether it’s an ancient epic, a song about a coat of many colors, or a film from the 1980s about women getting revenge on their boss, these are stories meant to be experienced over and over. That’s how we come to love stories: We hear them again and again because they grow us, and grow with us. What they offer changes as we change.
MOUSE
COWARD
WED OCT 14, 7PM VOGUE THEATRE
We live in an age of infinite choice, where our stories risk becoming disposable. But if we succumb to one-and-done experiences, we miss the enduring beauty of art and its ability to evolve with us. That’s what this Fall Showcase is all about.
WED OCT 28, 7PM VOGUE THEATRE
TANGLES
ELSINORE
TUE OCT 20, 7PMPM PREMIER THEATER AT ONE LETTERMAN THEATRE
We open with Colin Higgins’ 9 to 5, a story you may already know. I encourage you to sit with the moment — when we’re watching it together in our movie palace, The Castro Theatre, celebrating an iconic storyteller. We’ll be gathering to do the work of ensuring Dolly is indeed immortal, because we will hear her songs, listen to her stories, and watch her perform. Each film in this series examines the power stories have to shape us and what happens when a familiar story is sung again, in a new voice, for a new time. On October 21, we screen Clarissa, which retells Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway through the lens of modern-day Nigeria and the legacies of colonialism. The same interiority, the same ache of a life examined, but heard in a different register. We close at The Castro with Elsinore, which returns us to Hamlet through actor Ian Charleson’s final performance — his own struggle with AIDS layered over Shakespeare’s play until the two become inseparable. From that layering comes a line that could stand as this showcase’s thesis: “Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be.” That’s what these old stories, told again and again and again, let us do: not just remember what we are, but dream what we may become.
VENUES THE CASTRO THEATRE 429 CASTRO STREET
THU NOV 5, 7PM
THE CASTRO THEATRE
VOGUE THEATRE 3290 SACRAMENTO STREET
SAN FRANCISCO
SAN FRANCISCO
PREMIER THEATER AT ONE LETTERMAN 1 LETTERMAN DRIVE AT INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC SAN FRANCISCO
PRESENTING SPONSOR Unfold for more information about each film. Scan the code to purchase tickets at frameline.org.