The Fifth Annual Cinema Q Program powered by Out Front

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CinemaQ Film Festival JULY 18 – 21

Paul Iacono and Megan Mullally in a scene from G.B.F. e

, C I G A M E H T , S E E I D I V O U G M E E H T TH , S Y A G E TH DENVERFILM.ORG

CINEMA Q

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WELCOME

IN HIS OWN WORDS

Fest will highlight new direction in queer cinema

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elcome to another great year of queer cinema! This is our fifth year as a festival and our seventh as being Denver’s only dedicated film program focused on bringing the best in LGBTQ cinema to your eyes on a regular basis. I must say that this year is shaping up to be our best program yet — if not our biggest — so get ready for four jam-packed days at the Sie FilmCenter.

I certainly won’t go so far as to call it a “focus” this year (as that would require planning), but more of a “happy accident” that we hit on a cache of films that share the perspective of LGBT people of color.

Normally, we’re lucky to find one film a year that pays attention to the intersection of race and sexuality, but this year we have a selection that includes the restored Shirley Clarke doc Portrait Of Jason, the eyeopening and controversial The New Black, and the latest film from director Rodney Evans, The Happy Sad. All of this, coupled with, the role (and in-person guest) Ty Martin plays in our opening night film, Before You Know It, and it’s really starting to look like there is a new — and consistent — spark in LGBTQ filmmaking focusing on this new direction.

Speaking of underserved communities on film, Before You Know It is a great documentary that shines a spotlight on the aging population of our world — which is very important, because no matter which side of the rainbow you side on, we will all become members of this community in time.

The film is one of the most fascinating and touching to come along in quite some time and we’re even more honored to welcome director PJ Raval and two of his subjects to Cinema Q In-person!

This year we’re overflowing with so many folks coming to Denver! The lovely Mink Stole will be on hand to talk about her years spent working alongside her late friend Divine, sex positive filmmaker Travis Mathews will talk about Interior. Leather Bar and his In Their Room series, and director Mark Thiedeman and actor Sam Pettit will be here to talk about their Arkansas-set romance Last Summer.

And there’s even more films to explore. This year, July 18 – 21 is going to rock your cinematic world.

Don’t miss the Cinema Q Film Festival!

KEITH GARCIA PROGRAMMING MANAGER • DENVER FILM SOCIETY

Ty Martin in Before You Know It. Martin will be a part of a post-screening Q&A during the opening night of the Cinema Q Film Festival at 7 p.m., Thursday, July 18.

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A scene from Last Summer. The Cinema Q Film Fest will show this feature on at 4:30 p.m., Saturday, June 20.

The best of the best Kinky Boots at noon, Sunday, July 21.

The sexually–charged Interior.

Leather Bar. will hit the screens at 7:30 p.m., Friday, July 19. The film is a play on the 1980 picture Cruising, which starred Al Pacino as a police officer trying to solve a series of murders occurring within New York City’s gay leather and kink scene. Legend has it Cruising was deemed too provocative by the MPAA, and 40 minutes of the film’s most erotic sequence was subsequently cut. Interior. Leather Bar., directed by James Franco and Travis Matthews (I Want Your Love) is, according to Garcia, “half documentary, kind of fiction, and an amazing social piece.”

Director Travis Matthews will be present for a postscreening Q&A. Cinema Q will also be screening his other project In Their Rooms, a voyeuristic and honest look into what gay men do in their most intimate space – their bedrooms.

Other personal favorites of Garcia’s include Before You Know It (“a heartbreaking and sincere depiction of that question, ‘what will it be like to be an older LGBT person?’”), Last Summer (“A simple film from Arkansas that is a lot about nothing extraordinary, but an absolutely beautiful visual treat”), and Portrait of Jason (“A snapshot of what it was to be black, gay, and basically out in the 1960s. We’re so excited this was restored for a whole new generation to just admire.”). The director and a subject of Before You Know It will be in attendance for the film’s opening night screening (7 p.m., Thursday, July 18).

Garcia is also certain the audience, especially the lady festival attendees, will adore Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf?

“Sometimes it’s hard to bring in a good amount of lesbian films. Often times, the stories just aren’t being told,” Garcia said. “But Vagina Wolf is really a great, awesome film. It’s hilarious, and a lot of fun.”

“Hilarious and fun” also describe Cinema Q’s closing night pick, G.B.F. The teenage comedy is a laugh riot featuring fresh jokes and (still an anomaly within the genre) fully-realized gay characters. It’s a perfectly fitting ending to a wonderfully executed LGBT film festival.

IN FIFTH YEAR,FEST WILL FEATURE LOVE, DRAG AND ELDERS

By Kristen Ziegler

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eith Garcia, programming manager for the Denver Film Society and the brains behind its Cinema Q Film Festival, didn’t know where to begin.

Now in its fifth year, Cinema Q is at its biggest and best yet. There are more films than ever before, and more special guests, making it an impossible task to pick out 2013‘s the highlights and must–sees.

“The films are all really great and interesting,” said Garcia. “I just want to bring the best of the best to Denver and Cinema Q.” And that he did. The film festival boasts some of this year’s most highly anticipated queer films, including the documentary I Am Divine and the James Franco codirected Interior. Leather Bar. “I fell in love with Divine after she died. I saw her in Hairspray and thought, ‘Wow, the mother is actually played by a man?’” Garcia reminisced about his early discovery of the larger–than–life drag queen legend.

And as many LGBT culture buffs have a similar story about the impact Divine had on their experiences exploring queer popular culture and coming into their own identities, the documentary, I Am Divine, which will play at 9 p.m., Saturday, July 20, is a Cinema Q must–see. Exploring the life and the importance of the cult queen, Garcia said the film “really does a great job capturing the incredible icon, who ultimately became a tragic one.”

Following I Am Divine, John Waters actress, underground starlet, and friend of Divine, Mink Stole, will be in-person for a Q&A. Also a cult film icon, Stole has appeared in a number of films, including Waters’ Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, Polyester (which will also be screened at midnight, Sunday, July 21), Hairspray and Cry-Baby, as well as other queer classics like But I’m a Cheerleader and the Peaches Christ (a.k.a Joshua Granell) directed All About Evil.

Drag fans are also in for a feast of fun, as Cinema Q will host a Dynasty–themed drag brunch, followed by a screening of DENVERFILM.ORG

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INTERVIEW

Not your average teen movie G.B.F. CHALLENGES THE STATUS-QUO OF GAY TEENS IN CINEMA

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By Kristen Ziegler

al Mineo claimed his character in the movie Rebel Without a Cause, Plato, was the first gay teen character on the big screen. Although Plato’s sexuality was never blatantly addressed, there were sweet, subtle indications that he had it bad for James Dean’s Jim Stark.

And that very don’t ask, maybe tell a little ... and perhaps kind of show something approach to gay teens in mainstream film would continue to be standard only up until recent years. They were disco–dancing, Oscar Wilde– reading, Streisand ticket–holding friends of Dorothy without ever positively affirming their identities themselves, and they were “too gay to function” without even having a samesex love interest. Recent depictions of queer teens in films like Easy A and Perks of Being a Wallflower were pioneers in that the characters were out and exploring what being gay meant, but still resigned to ultimately sympathetic sidekicks.

Darren Stein wants to change that.

In his new teen comedy, G.B.F., Stein (Jawbreaker) allows rounded, fully realized gay characters shatter stereotypes, bust out of boxes (and closets) and run the show.

Hi, Darren! Your latest film, G.B.F. is a fresh and funny picture with a lot of heart directed by yourself, and written by an up-and-coming screenplay writer, George Northy. How did this project come about?

George Northy’s script for G.B.F. was one of five finalists at the Outfest Screenwriter’s Lab. Outfest is a Los Angeles film festival with a screenwriting lab that introduces [new] writers with established writers who give notes on the script. Then they pair each script with an established director for a staged reading that happens during the festival. I was paired with G.B.F. at the recommendation of the screenwriter Guinevere Turner, and I thought the script was so fantastic. I called George and asked if I could option the script to direct it as a feature. We shopped the script at studios first, then brought it to producers Stephen Israel and Richard Bever who helped us find the financing independently.

You utilized the fundraising site IndieGoGo in getting the cash together for this project. How do you feel about your experience with the site? Are places like IndieGoGo and KickStarter the future of independent films?

We really used IndieGoGo as a way to raise post-production completion financing. The biggest chunk of the financing came from private investors earlier on. But IndieGoGo was a great way to engage the fan base for the cast early on, and really make people feel like they were discovering a new film that spoke to them somehow.

G.B.F. is, in a sense, a very traditional teen comedy. It’s all about prom, popularity, teenage angst, and is pretty much spoken in a language that likely sounds foreign to anyone who is not Generation Y! But having gay lead characters is kind of a twist on that classic formula. Why did you feel it was important to make a film about gay teens?

In mainstream teen comedies, the gay teens are always relegated to the sidelines – whether they’re the sidekick, comedic relief or object of derision. What was so impactful to me about G.B.F. was that it put the gay teen in the driver’s seat as the main character.

Gay teens haven’t always been depicted in such a fully fleshed out, realized, and flattering light in television and film. Do you think, especially within the context of the ever-popular teen comedy genre, that this is changing?

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A scene from The New Black. The Cinema Q Film Fest will show this documentary at 2:30 p.m., Saturday, June 20.

It’s about time there was a film that presented a gay teenager’s story in the context of a big comedy that all people can relate to, not just a gay audience. I call G.B.F. a “gateway movie” because, at this moment in time, it’s the phenomenon of the “Gay Best Friend” that provides the catalyst to tell the story. But in the future, teen movies will have gay heroes, and the ‘gay’ thing won’t be the central motif. ...but speaking of gay stereotypes on the screen, let’s talk fashion! The clothing in this film is over-the-top, age inappropriate, totally bold – and absolutely fabulous!

Who or what served as the inspiration behind the looks of characters like mean girls Fawcett and Caprice?

Fashion is always a big part of teen films, and since G.B.F. plays with pre–existing teen movie tropes, it was fun to really play up the costuming in a hyper–colorful, semiabsurd, but still relatable, way. I hired stylist and fashion designer Kit Scarbo [Kit Pistol from Project Runway], who I knew as a friend. I’ve always been inspired by her personal style, which is fashion–forward to say the least. It was fun to work with her on her first movie where she was really given the freedom to take the fashion to that over–the–top place. The teen genre is a great place to do that, where kids are experimenting with all kinds of trends. We referenced a lot of Almodovar and ’80s teen films. Christian Siriano, who won Project Runway the year Kit was on, designed Fawcett’s prom dress. I’m pretty sure Caprice was Kit’s favorite character to dress since she’s naturally such a fashion plate and probably the most experimental of the girls, style–wise.

The cast of G.B.F. feels remarkably right. Paul Iacono DENVERFILM.ORG

was a lot of fun, and you got some pretty neat gay icons like Natasha Lyonne and Megan Mullally.

How did such a perfect cast come together?

Casting is everything for any movie, and I think that rings particularly true for teen films. Some of the most memorable casts come out of teen films, when you think about Dazed and Confused, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and, of course, all the John Hughes films. And it was fun to reference films from the past by casting Natasha Lyonne from American Pie, Rebecca Gayheart from Jawbreaker and Jonathan Silverman from Girls Just Want to Have Fun. You also directed the cult favorite Jawbreaker, which starred Rose McGowan, Judy Greer, Marilyn Manson, and Colorado girl Pam Grier. Imagining your dream project right now, who would your fantasy cast consist of?

My dream cast would consist of any combination of Toni Collette, Chloe Sevigny, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Grace Zabriskie and Susan Sarandon. And Jonah Hill and Mindy Kaling.

They’re really cracking me up right now. And Judy Greer. It would be really fun to work with her again.

G.B.F. premiered at the Tribecca Film Festival and has since been playing the festival circuit. Who is the audience you are hoping this film will reach?

I would love for G.B.F. to reach the same audience every teen film that preceded it has reached – whether you’re talking Clueless, Mean Girls, Easy A! I’d love the film to reach teen audiences, college kids, people in their 30s, 40s, 50s – any age, really. Any one who loves a good teen or coming–of–age film.

I know teen girls and gays will love it, but I really want the film to reach the widest audience possible.

INTERVIEW

Understanding Divine CO-STAR ON COUNTERCULTURE LEGEND

By Nic Garcia

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hen a 300 pound drag queen named Divine made her cinematic debut, no one could have known this countercultural leading lady would change the face of the art form, movies and music the way she did. More than two decades later, filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz is exploring the impact Divine had, not such on counterculture, but the zeitgeist of American art. Co-star and participant in I Am Divine, Mink Stole shares her insights on the legend before making a guest appearnce at the Cinema Q Film Fest.

What do you think was Divine’s greatest contribution to pop culture?

Well, he certainly changed the drag world! Men of all shapes and sizes can do drag now and have fun with it! And there’s so much more now to drag entertaining than just putting on a big wig and tucking into a sequin gown to lipsync Barbra Streisand tunes. Not that any of that is easy, but now drag has to be even more clever, funnier, and it helps to be able to sing for real! Think of it – one of the great musical theater roles now is Edna Turnblad, and to play that you have to be big, and you have to be able to sing!

As a co-star and as a friend, what mark did you leave on Divine?

What mark did I leave on Divine? I don’t know how to answer that. As they say in court: “Calls for speculation.”

Divine, the queen of counterculture, is the topic of film maker Jeffrey Schwarz’ I am Divine. The Cinema Q Film Fest will show this documentary at 9 p.m., Saturday, June 20. Following the movie will be a Q&A with co-star Mink Stole. Then one of Divine’s classics, Polyester, at will play at midnight.

It’s interesting that Divine started out as counterculture, but all he ever wanted was acceptance. That mirrors, in some way, the larger LGBT community’s struggle. What can we learn from that?

Everybody wants acceptance; that’s part of being human.

The question is, who do we want to accept us, and for what? Let me explain. Divine was isolated as a teenager, but was accepted – celebrated even – very early on by the counterculture; his big struggle came from trying to be

Denver Film Society member, $60; General, $65

Special Presentations

Opening Night Film and Reception DFS member, $15; General, $20 Closing Night Film and Reception DFS member $12; General, $15

Regular Screenings

DFS member, $11; General, $13

Venue & Parking Information

All screenings take place at the Sie FilmCenter. Free parking is available in the garage adjacent to the theatre at 2510 E. Colfax Ave., next to the Tattered Cover and Twist & Shout.

What was your favorite scene you shared with Divine?

Every scene in Female Trouble, with the dinner party being the highlight.

What do you think Divine would say about today’s modern Drag Queens? What’s your opinion?

Hard to say. Part of me thinks he’d be flattered and honored, even thrilled, by how many drag queens consider him as a role model, and part of me thinks he’d want royalties.

There can never be another Divine, Pink Flamingos, or Mondo Trasho, but do you believe there is still a need for a counterculture in today’s formulaic blockbuster movie industry?

There’s always a need for counterculture. Hollywood wants to make money, and there’s a big audience for the blockbuster, but there will always be those of us who want something else, something with a story that doesn’t depend on explosives or vampires or drunk frat boys.

What didn’t we learn about you, Divine or your relationship with her from the documentary?

Is this my chance to plug my new CD with my Wonderful Band? It’s called Do Re MiNK and it’s available on iTunes, Amazon, and CDBaby, or you can order an autographed copy directly from me at minkstole.com.

THANK YOU

HOW TO FEST Ticket Prices CinemaQ Festival Pass

accepted by the established entertainment industry, which didn’t want to look past his drag roles to the brilliant actor he truly was. But I don’t think he ever cared about whether or not he could get married. The LGBT community has been fighting for decades to have the same rights as heteros in housing, employment, and, of course, marriage. This does require acceptance by a majority of the populace and is worth fighting for. But even when this is a done deal (we hope sooner than later), you’re probably still not getting an invitation to dine with the self–righteous born–again who sets an empty place for Jesus at every meal. The one thing matters; the other doesn’t.

Become a member

Experience The Cinema Q Film Festival at a higher level as a Denver Film Society member. Memembership begins at $60. Become a member today, visit www.denverfilm.org/join/.

Denver Film Society Members enjoy so many wonderful benefits. The support of Film Society members make it possible to bring the best in cinema to Denver, nurture tomorrow’s talents and introduce influential cinematic voices from around the world. These voices include those proudly shared and screened during our Cinema Q Film Festival. Not only are you supporting independent film, but you start saving the day you join.

The fifth annual Cinema Q Film Festival would not be possible without the following sponsors. On behalf of all movie lovers, thank you for your support.

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SCHEDULE Interior. Leather Bar • 7:30 p.m. With postfilm Q&A with director Travis Mathews

The 1980 film Cruising (starring Al Pacino as an undercover cop investigating a murder in the NYC gay leather bar scene) was plagued with controversy, and its director was forced by the MPAA to cut 40 minutes of sexually explicit material. Those 40 minutes have never been screened publicly. Filmmakers James Franco and Travis Mathews set out to reimagine what might have transpired in those lost scenes in this intriguing film about the making of a film.

The cameras roll as Franco and Mathews assemble a mix of gay and straight men, including the likeable Val Lauren in the lead role. What emerges is a portrait of the fascinating dynamics that drive the filmmakers’ need to challenge normalcy, the interplay of celebrity and experimentation, and the dilemma faced by actors struggling to reconcile who they are with the idea of performing in a sexually explicit, gay, S&M film.

The Most Fun I’ve Ever Had With My Pants On • 9:30 p.m.

A scene from Kinky Boots. The Cinema Q Film Fest will show this feature on 35 mm film at 2 p.m., Sunday, June 21 as a part of its Dynasty Drag Brunch.

A kinky (and Divine) weekend at the cinema FROM CULT CLASSICS, TO RIVETING DOCS, THE LGBT EXPERIENCE WILL BE HIGHLIGHTED ON SILVER SCREEN THURSDAY, JULY 18

Before You Know It • 7 p.m. Post-film Q&A with director PJ Raval and additional guests. Ticket price includes Opening Night Reception in Henderson’s Lounge at the Sie FilmCenter.

The subjects of Before You Know It are no ordinary senior citizens. They are go-go booted bar-hoppers, love struck activists, troublemaking baton twirlers, late night Internet cruisers, seasoned renegades and bold adventurers. They are also among the estimated 2.4 million lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans over the age of 55 in the United States, many of whom face heightened levels of discrimination, neglect and exclusion. But Before is not a film about cold statistics and gloomy realities, it’s a film about generational trailblazers who have surmounted prejudice and defied expectation to form communities of strength, renewal and camaraderie – whether these communities be affable senior living facilities, lively activist enclaves or wacky queer bars brimming with glittered trinkets and colorful drag queens.

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FRIDAY, JULY 19

The Campaign • 5 p.m.

This locally produced marriage equality documentary examines the struggles and harsh defeat of the hard-fought No on 8 Campaign, as well as how public attitudes toward same-sex marriage have evolved since the ’50s. In 2008, after a long-fought legal battle, same-sex couples briefly won the right to marry in California. To make same-sex marriage illegal again, opponents quickly put a proposition on the November 2008 ballot. Proposition 8 asked if the California Constitution should be changed to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. Incredibly earnest campaign workers are interviewed in the bustling campaign office, as are voters on the street and at rallies at City Hall.

Who’s Afraid Of Vagina Wolf? • 7:15 p.m.

As another birthday rolls around, 40-year-old filmmaker Anna (played by the director) returns to her never-changing list of resolutions: lose 20 pounds, get a girlfriend, and direct a feature film. Imagine Liz Lemon, if she were a lesbian cinéaste with a dash of Cuban blood in her. This year, Anna plans to knock (at least) two of those resolutions out with one stone, as she begins writing a lesbian remake of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, devised to win the affections of her leading lady, Katia (Janina Gavankar of The L-Word). With Anna planning to act opposite her beautiful crush, her two best friends, Penelope (Go Fish’s Guinevere Turner) and Chloe (True Blood’s Carrie Preston), round out the four-person cast. Unfortunately, things don’t run smoothly, as egos begin to clash and crewmembers start sleeping with one another.

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Freespirited young lesbian Andy (writer-director Drew Denny) and her reserved childhood friend Liv (Sarah Hagan, Freaks and Geeks) are traveling across the Southwest to disperse Andy’s father’s ashes. Starting out building campfires, drinking, snuggling and reminiscing about the good old days, tensions arise as the trip progresses, forcing them to examine the core of their relationship. Are they friends or something more?

Denny’s autobiographical comedy about connection, the open road and, yes, how to have fun with your pants on, is a joyride of sweet twists and turns.

The Watching Hour presents: Cruising• 10 p.m. Introduced by INTERIOR. LEATHER BAR director Travis Mathews

(Archival 35mm presentation) For equal opportunity skank in queer cinema, you can’t get much nastier than this incendiary pair of thrillers from 1980 which delve deep into the underbelly of New York’s post-disco gay scene and come up covered in grime. William Friedkin’s Cruising sparked a storm of protests as rookie cop Al Pacino goes undercover as a leather-clad bar boy hunting down a serial killer who knifes his hogtied victims in the back. Al learns how to sniff poppers and thrash around hilariously on the dance floor before finally getting his man… or does he?

SATURDAY, JULY 20

Portrait Of Jason • Noon

(Newly restored 35mm print) For 12 hours over the course of the evening of December 3, 1966, director Shirley Clarke and her friends interviewed Jason Holiday about his life, his loves, his work and his beliefs. Jason, a 33-year-old hustler dreaming of a career as a nightclub entertainer, dazzles the audience with stories of confrontations with his family growing up in Trenton, the orgies he has attended, and the hustling that has formed the pattern of his life as a black, gay man. He recalls his college days before dropping out, working as a bar hustler and as a servile houseboy in San Francisco, becoming a heroin addict and spending time in jail, and his time in a hospital mental ward. He describes his existence while waiting for his dream to come true.

The Most Fun I’ve Ever Had With My Pants On • 12:15 p.m.

Encore.

The New Black • 2:30 p.m.

The New Black is a documentary that tells the story of how the African-American community is grappling with the gay rights issue in light of the recent gay marriage movement and the fight over civil rights. The film documents activists, families and clergy on both sides of the campaign to legalize

gay marriage and examines homophobia in the black community’s institutional pillar—the black church and reveals the Christian right wing’s strategy of exploiting this phenomenon in order to pursue an anti-gay political agenda.

The New Black takes viewers into the pews and onto the streets and provides a seat at the kitchen table as it tells the story of the historic fight to win marriage equality in Maryland and charts the evolution of this divisive issue within the black community.

In Their Rooms: San Francisco, Berlin, London • 2:15 p.m.

In Their Room (2009-present) is an on-going multi-city documentary series about gay men, bedrooms and intimacy.

The series veers into the bedrooms of men where you see them doing everything from the most banal to the sometimes more erotic. The throughline of the series highlights the ways in which gay men in disparate cultures deal with connection, intimacy and loneliness in the modern world. In an age of accelerated gay acceptance and visibility, it’s shocking that many of these stories are being left undocumented.

Who’s Afraid Of Vagina Wolf? • 4:45 p.m.

Encore.

Last Summer • 4:30 p.m. with director Mark Thiedeman and Actor Sam Pettit

For two small-town teenagers in love, this is that one last chance they will spend together before going their separate ways.

Baseball star Luke knows that the intelligent Jonah will go off to college in the fall, and over the course of the next few months these boyfriends will lose themselves in nature, bicycle rides and each other while they still can. With echoes of Terrence Malick, writer-director Mark Thiedeman offers up a debut feature that balances haunting beauty with adolescent passion.

C.O.G. • 7 p.m.

Recent college graduate David (Jonathan Groff, Glee) decides to get close to nature, and the working class, by spending a summer picking apples in Oregon with his friend Jennifer. Even after she blows him off, he charges ahead on a picaresque journey that will take him from orchard to processing plant to an arts and crafts workshop, guided along the way by an increasingly eccentric and motley bunch of mentors. The first feature based on the writings of David Sedaris, C.O.G. captures the author’s stringently funny perspective and establishes writer-director Kyle Patrick Alvarez as a gifted young storyteller.

Reaching For The Moon • 7:15 p.m.

Veteran filmmaker Bruno Barreto (Dona Flor And Her Two Husbands) returns with a steamy tale of an unlikely romance between two extraordinary lesbian artists, set against the backdrop of political upheaval and a clash of cultures. Grappling with writer’s block, legendary American poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto) travels to 1950s Rio de Janeiro to visit her college friend, Mary (Tracy Middendorf). Hoping to find inspiration on Mary’s sprawling estate, Elizabeth winds up with much more — a tempestuous relationship with Mary’s bohemian partner, architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Glória Pires), that rocks the staid writer to her foundation. Alcoholism, geographical distance and a military coup come between the lovers, but their intimate connection would span decades and forever impact the life and work of these two extraordinary artists.

Pit Stop • 9:15 p.m.

Recovering from an ill-fated affair with a married man, Gabe finds solace in the relationship he maintains with his ex-wife and daughter. On the other side of town, Ernesto evades life at home with his current live-in ex-boyfriend by spending much of his spare time in the hospital with an ailing past love.

Impervious to the monotony of their blue-collar world, they maintain an unwavering yearning for romance. Far from the gay centers of the world, director Yen Tan explores the complex and oft-forgotten lives of gay men in small-town America.

A scene from Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf. The comedy will be screened at 7:15 p.m., Friday, June 19 and again at 4:45 p.m., Saturday, July 20.

I Am Divine • 9 p.m. with post-film Q&A with actress Mink Stole

I Am Divine is the story of Divine, aka Harris Glenn Milstead, from his humble beginnings as an overweight, teased Baltimore youth to internationally recognized drag superstar through his collaboration with filmmaker John Waters. Spitting in the face of the status quos of body image, gender identity, sexuality, and preconceived notions of beauty, Divine was the ultimate outsider turned underground royalty. With a completely committed in-your-face style, he blurred the line between performer and personality, and revolutionized pop culture. I Am Divine is a definitive biographical portrait that charts the legendary icon’s rise to infamy and emotional complexities.

The Watching Hour presents: Polyester Introduced Mink Stole • Midnight

(Archival 35mm presentation) Ladies and gentlemen, the first superstar couple of ’80s indie cinema: Tab Hunter and Divine!

This shocker of a crazed pairing came courtesy of John Waters’ Polyester (filmed in “Odorama”, in which patrons of its original theatrical run were given scratch-n-sniff cards to relive key odors throughout the film!) Frustrated housewife Divine bounces back from her disastrous marriage to a porno theater owner and finds love in the arms of study Tab, but all is not as it seems in this crackpot ode to classic crime melodramas.

SUNDAY, JULY 21

Dynasty Drag Brunch • Noon

This year our partners at The Biennial of The America’s are celebrating Denver’s History and we’re joining in the celebration by shining a sequined shoulder pad on the television show DYNASTY, notoriously “about” but never “filmed” in Denver.

The opulence! The luxury! The hair!

Kinky Boots • 2 p.m.

(35mm presentation) Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton), owner of the traditional men’s footwear factory that has survived in his family for generations, faces the imminent closure of his beloved business which would have a severe impact on the employment prospects of local people.

That is, until a chance meeting with flamboyant cabaret act Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor) convinces him that, to stay afloat, his company’s footwear range will have to branch out.

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Reaching For The Moon • 2:15 p.m.

Encore.

Valentine Road • 2:30 p.m.

In February 2008, a classroom shooting shattered the coastal, working-class town of Oxnard, California. As the community reeled and the national media descended, a 15-year-old lay dead and his 14-year-old attacker awaited trial for murder. Was this a hate crime, retaliation for unwanted playground flirting or something more complex?

Valentine Road picks up where the traditional media coverage left off, delving deeper to explore the entwined paths of victim Lawrence “Larry” King and his killer, Brandon McInerney. Family, friends, teachers and classmates of the two young men, as well as their attorneys, law enforcement officials, jurors and mental health professionals, discuss the aftermath of the deadly incident, the trial and its impact on the community.

The Happy Sad • 4:30 p.m.

In the age of polyamory and blurred lines of sexuality, what really makes for a happy relationship? Two young couples in New York—one black and gay, one white and heterosexual—find themselves intertwined as they create new relationship norms, explore sexual identity, and redefine monogamy in this captivating new film directed by Rodney Evens (Brother to Brother).

Pit Stop • 4:45 p.m.

Encore.

G.B.F. 7 p.m. Ticket price includes a post-film Closing Night reception in Henderson’s Lounge at the Sie FilmCenter

The fight for supremacy between a school’s most popular girls takes an unexpected turn when Tanner (Michael J. Willett) becomes its first openly gay student. As they race to bag the big trend in fashion accessories, the Gay Best Friend, Tanner, must choose between skyrocketing popularity and the friends he is leaving behind. Darren Stein (Jawbreaker) returns with another comic sendup of high school clique culture, including memorable performances by Megan Mullally and Natasha Lyonne.

CINEMA Q

JULY 3, 2013

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he 2013 Cinema Q Festival – the fifth annual – presents four days of films superior to any I’ve seen assembled in one year at an LGBTthemed film fest in the more than 20 years I’ve been reviewing film. The Denver Film Society’s Sie FilmCenter will be queer cinema central from the crack of dawn until way past midnight. You could fill up an entire four days of movies, but if you only have a chance to take in one or two, here are a few of my favorites that shouldn’t be missed.

The Happy/Sad

An impressive cast of 20-and 30-somethings inhabits Rodney Evans’ drama about relationships — intense and casual, gay, straight, lesbian, exploratory (“just getting off” as one character terms it).

This film is largely about understanding, misunderstanding, and change of heart. The film adaptation of a stage play was initiated with a Kick Starter crowdfunding campaign in 2011, and the results are thoughtful and feel real for the most part. The cast is good-looking, but not intensely; and they’re emotional, but not overly so. This film defies its modest budget with careful planning and maximizing of character and plot. In just a few areas its state pedigree comes through as talkiness. The stories of sexual fluidity are presented with a new facet: consequences and misread signals.

This is a satisfyingly untidy set of stories.

THE FIVE FILMS YOU CAN’T MISS AT THE CINEMA Q FEST

Comedies, sex and politics make perfect weekend

By Steve Cruz

Interior: Leather Bar

G.B.F.

Queer comedies are often a disappointment: ill timed, puerile, weak stories and/or characters. Too often they are simply strenuous. Not so with G.B.F. I could glow and lather all over this incredibly smart comedy directed by teencomedy veteran Darren Stein (Sparkler, Jawbreaker), featuring the first cinematic script of advertising professional turned screenwriter and producer George Northy.

Part Clueless, part Mean Girls, Heathers and Carrie – and every John Hughes high-school melodrama – G.B.F. has all the classic hallmarks of a cult favorite and star-maker that within a decade will be looked upon as the launch for a crop of big names.

Simply put: it is restrained, confident, and an innovation in its genre: the kids have heart and the adults have brains. It’s very interesting to see Natasha Lyonne – the lead actress in But I’m A Cheerleader – return as a school teacher, who could very well have sprung from the same character. Megan Mullally delivers a great character as the mom of a queeny boy who thinks he’s still in the closet.

Clique leaders Sasha Pieterse as Fawcette (a Denise Richards pretty girl, only smarter) and Xosha Roquemore as the all-legs Blacktastic hottie with wicked sense of comic timing really flip the genre of stupid pretty girls on its head.

The premise: the hottest and most ruthless girls in school decide a Gay Best Friend is the season’s must-have accessory, and initiate somewhat shy and not-quite-out Tanner (Michael J. Willett) as their Gay of choice.

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JULY 3, 2013

those who have found themselves opposed for no reason other than who they love and the wise words of those who love them is heartbreaking.

The question arises repeatedly: how can those who know such bias and opposition now become the oppressors? For some people it seems any kind of comparison or parallel between Black civil rights and equal rights for gays and lesbian treads on sacred ground and is deeply offensive.

For others, the thought that the struggle for equality by gays and lesbians is shouted down by many Blacks is mind boggling.

Blood boiling and tear-inducing, The New Black breaks apart the idea that Blacks are a monolithic community and examines those who supported our equal rights early-on, such as Jesse Jackson.

Then there are those who continue to rail against homosexuality, and Richen doesn’t shy from the trend toward homophobia in many Black churches. The middle ground is vast and varied: many still think being gay is a choice, while many support gays and lesbians raising children, still others would not be upset if their child was gay or lesbian, while others would consider it impossible to tolerate.

The trailer ends with a stunning statement from Sharon Lettman-Hicks, Executive Director and CEO of the National Black Justice Coalition: “Let’s be clear: this is the unfinished business of Black people being free.”

A scene from The New Black. The Cinema Q Film Fest will show this documentary at 2:30 p.m., Saturday, June 20.

Tanner’s just-recently-defriended gay sidekick Brent, Mullally’s queeny gay son played

by Paul Iacono, is left on the sidelines with Tanner’s other discarded buddies.

Speaking of Iacono, his performance transcends the stereotype he portrays: he’s quite amazing. I was surprised to find out that he and Willett have prior brushes with acting brilliance. Iacono played the ultra nerdy lead in 24 episodes of The Hard Times of RJ Berger. The young actor is gay and out. Willett played the bitchy bleachy gay boyfriend in United States of Tara.

Both actors show impressive breadth and separation of type.

Back to G.B.F.: Will Tanner and Brent ever be friends again? I’m not going to spoil it, but you should prepare to take notes as priceless one-liners zing like battlefield crossfire.

I Am Divine

Ricki Lake, Tab Hunter, Bruce Vilanch, Mink Stole, Holly Woodlawn, Michael Musto and other luminaries from John Waters’ cinematic grindhouse – including Waters himself – come together for Jeffrey Schwarz’ lovely, hilarious and bawdy documentary. Glenn Milstead, a shy and CINEMA Q

oversized man, became Divine, the shittalking, shit-kicking, shit-giving and shiteating phenomenon who was the cinematic muse of John Waters. Edith Massey and David Lochary are included posthumously via archive footage. There’s little to say other than this is a long-awaited must-see for Waters and Divine fans, and an absolute be-there for young queers who don’t know Divine.

Polyester, John Waters’ 1981 cult classic starring Divine and mid-century heartthrob Tab Hunter, returns to the big screen at Cinema Q, too. Be sure to make it Double Trouble.

The New Black

This documentary, by award-winner Yoruba Richen, reaches into a hotbed situation with both hands and pulls out understanding.

The issue of marriage equality is a multipronged battle between Black gays and lesbians, family, friends and allies, and loud intransigent opposition that finds a lot of its cohesiveness in religion.

Select disinformation and willful ignorance of some of the subjects in the film is infuriating. The personal stories of

DENVERFILM.ORG

This anxiously awaited project helmed

by James Franco comes to the Denver screen and early reviews have been widely divided. Expectations were a main driver as to whether people liked it. I did, but not for the reasons I expected.

When the movie Cruising came out, starring Al Pacino and Paul Sorvino, William Friedkin was compelled to cut 40 minutes from the film in order to avoid an “X” rating. This film project put together by Franco and filmmaker Travis Matthews is neither a recreation of those 40 minutes nor is it dedicated to the footage produced. A lot of it is about process from the directors and actors. And there is some bullshit mixed with honesty and emotion.

Franco kept pushing for actual sex, not simulated. I was questioning his fascination, and glad for it.

In the end, I was reminded how difficult it is to create film: there are opinions from all sides and emotions run high. People are invested for different reasons and trying to match up motivations is often a sales job. I was fascinated to watch cinematic diplomacy in action, surrounding a 33-yearold film that is clearly still controversial.

Friedkin’s film Cruising returns to the big screen. Be sure to take advantage of this rare opportunity to see it again, and keep in mind that the film was first shown in mainstream theaters in 1980. S&M was unknown to many people, Al Pacino was absolutely a hot rocket, and many gays and lesbians took issue with the film because it was feared this was the way we would be seen to the world.