Ask AfterEllen.com (March 3, 2009)

Want to know the status of a particular movie, TV show, or band? Wondering what a certain actress is up to these days? Send your entertainment-related questions to askafterellen@gmail.com — with your first name, city and country — and we'll try to answer as many as we can.

Question: Gostaria de saber em que paises já houve a estréia do filme I Can't Think Straight? Estou procurando este filme a muito tempo, tenho chances de vê-lo até 2010?

— Késsia, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Answer: I don't know exactly what you're asking since I don't speak Portuguese, but I suspect it's about when I Can't Think Straight will be available to watch in your country, since we keep receiving emails about this from women all over the world.

Lots of them. From all over. Lots.

I have good news for you (and me)! Writer/director Shamim Sharif told us in a previous column that she's posting all DVD and festival screening dates on the movie's official MySpace page at MySpace.com/icantthinkstraightep.

So please, for the love of lesbian movies, check there! And if there's no release listed for your city/country yet, it's probably because Shamim doesn't have one yet, so just check back later. On the MySpace page. Over there.

Question: Are you going to do a write up on Faith Trimel's film Family?

— Kweb, Baltimore, Maryland

Answer: Definitely! But you'll have to wait a little longer for our review, since Family just kicked off its tour of LGBT film festivals last month.

This new indie movie by Faith Trimel — who wrote and directed Black Aura on an Angel — is a coming-of-age dramedy about a group of lesbian friends experiencing problems in their personal and professional lives because they're closeted:

Some of the women must deny and reject the women they love while others struggle with the suffocating confines of closetedness for the sake of their careers. When the strain becomes too great, the women forge a pact to come out together within thirty days in every significant relationship and situation in their life.

The cast of Family

Trimel's plan is to play the film at national and international LGBT film festivals throughout 2009, and then look for a distribution deal towards the end of the year.

When I asked Faith if there was anything else our readers should know about the film, she said:

I think the blogs on the myspace page, particularly, the ones that include the film's production notes, director's notes, and interview really encapsulate the film. I think beyond that I just want to emphasize the diversity in the casting (just about all races are involved) the universality of the story, you know, being courageous enough to speak the truth — whatever that truth may be.

Watch the trailer here:

You can donate to the film on the official website, FamilytheFilm.net, and find more photos, blogs, and info on the film's MySpace profile.