Summer is the season for the Hollywood blockbuster and your local multiplex is sure to be reserving many of its screens to X-Men: First Class, The Green Lantern, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, and other action and adventure flicks. So, if you more inclined to seek out quieter, character driven or independent cinema, you will most likely find yourself at a local film festival once or twice over the next three months. To help you determine where to go and what to see, here are the top five most buzzed about movies coming to a festival near you.
Set in contemporary Tehran in the unseen world of Iranian youth culture and the underground art scene, Circumstance is a fictional story based on the real-life experiences of writer, director, producer Maryam Keshavarz. The sexy and visually sumptuous film focuses on wealthy Atafeh, and her best friend, orphaned Shireen, as they discover their burgeoning sexuality, explore their feelings for one another and test the boundaries of the world they were born into. When Atafeh’s brother, Mehran, returns home from rehab, the once close siblings find themselves at odds as Mehran’s newly adopted fundamental views cause him to turn on his liberal family. He disapproves of his sister’s increasingly intimate relationship with Shireen and becomes obsessed with saving Shireen from Atafeh’s influence.
Although several reviews, including those by staffers at Variety and Slant magazine have pointed to Mehran’s weak character development and contrived plot points in the latter half of the film, Circumstance is worth seeing if only for the “vivid Dubai-set fantasies of frequenting lesbian bars and making love in lush hotel rooms.”
Circumstance won the Audience Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was picked up for distribution by Roadside Attractions and Participant Media. You can catch it Provincetown International Film Festival in June and Outfest in July before it is released in select theaters on August 26.
Find out where it’s playing near you.
Co-Dependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same is a screwball comedy that is one part Woody Allen-esque romantic comedy and one part hilarious spoof of 1950’s era sci-fi B movies. The film-award-winning lesbian playwright Madeline Olnek‘s first feature – tracks Zylar, Zoinx and Barr, three lesbian space aliens from the planet Zots, who travel to earth to have their hearts broken and rid themselves of the romantic emotions that are destroying their planet’s ozone layer. Comedienne Lisa Haas plays Dyke Dollar, the unsuspecting earthling who falls hard for Zoinx.
The film premiered to great acclaim at Sundance Film Festival in January and then moved on to Nashville International Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival and Seattle International Film Festival, garnering critical praise along the way. Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Screen Daily have all given rave reviews for the film’s comedic script, performances, and Eisenhower-era appropriate production value. Catch it at Provincetown Film Festival, Rooftops NYC and Frameline (San Francisco) in June, Outfest (Los Angeles) and Q-fest (Philadelphia) in July and Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival in August.
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The life and near death story of Patty Schemel, the out drummer of Hole (from 1992-1997), premiered at SxSW and screened at Cannes before coming home to Washington to be highlighted at the Seattle International Film Festival last month. The documentary, which is less about music and more about drugs and addiction, tracks Patty’s life from her childhood in rural Marysville, Wash. to her years in Seattle drumming in punk bands such as Sybil and Doll Squad and her tenure as Hole’s second drummer.
Hit So Hard features interviews from Hole bandmates Courtney Love, Eric Erlandson and Melissa Auf De Maur as well as Roddy Bottum from Faith No More and Kate Schellenbach from Luscious Jackson. Yet what is most intriguing about the film is director P. David Ebersole‘s use of never before seen Hi-8 footage of video taken by Schemel herself during various tours and while she was living with Love and Cobain just prior to his death.
So far, Hit So Hard is slated to screen at Provincetown International Film Festival, Frameline (San Francisco), and Outfest (Los Angeles).
Find out where it’s playing near you.
Premiering at Frameline Festival in San Franscisco on June 18, Jamie and Jessie Are Not Together is the newest film from Hannah Free director Wendy Jo Carlton. Shot on location in Chicago, the film is a “romantic comedy with musical numbers” that centers around two friends caught in that age-old purgatory between “just friends” and “lovers.” When Jamie (Jacqui Jackson) decides to move to New York to pursue a career as a Broadway actress, smitten Jessie tries to make her jealous by dating other women. But Jessie’s plan backfires in a way she could never imagine.
Jamie and Jessie Are Not Together is the first ever feature-length lesbian musical. After premiering at Frameline (San Francisco) in June and screening at Outfest (Los Angeles) and Q-fest (Philadelphia) in July, other likely but not locked screenings include LGBTQ festival appearances in Durham, Atlanta and Tampa Bay.
Find out where it’s playing near you.
The feature-length documentary Wish Me Away is a personal and intimate look at Chely Wright, the first country music star to come out as openly gay. The film chronicles her pursuit of and rise to fame in Nashville, a hidden network of secret and lies, her emotional unraveling, a suicide attempt and her eventual rebirth.
Over a three-year period, award-winning filmmakers Bobbie Berleffi and Beverly Kopf were given unlimited access to both Chely’s public and private moments and documented her struggle with personal acceptance in a commercial music industry known for its associations with conservative values and patriotism. The film follows Chely as she develops a team and strategy for coming out to family members, the media and music industry and the general public.
Although there was a sneak peek of the film Wish Me Away at the Nashville Film Festival, it officially premieres at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 20 with an unplugged performance by Chely after the screening. It will also be the centerpiece film at Frameline (San Francisco) on June 22. Other opportunities to see Wish Me Away include screenings at the Kansas City Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in June and Outfest (Los Angeles) in July.
