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News from the Rehoboth Beach Film Society
(Not) Coming Soon To a Theatre Near You!
A few weeks back we looked at some of the
bigger films dealing with GLBT issues or containing a strong
representation of GLBT characters that will be hitting the local theaters
in metropolitan locations. Now we will be looking at some of the
“smaller” films that will only grace the screens during festivals,
(possibly the 2008 Rehoboth Beach Independent Festival) and then will be
fodder for the Netflix queues. These films are not always of lesser
quality, but normally the small budgets relegate them to festival and DVD
releases, which is not always a bad thing.
Breakfast with Scot • Breakfast
with Scot tells the tale of what happens to Sam and Ed when circumstance
transports Sam’s 11-year-old nephew into their peaceful and prosperous ménage.
Kids were never in the plan for this corporate lawyer and his
hockey-player-turned-sportscaster partner—much less an unabashedly gay
child. Scot arrives with lace-fringed socks and a pink hairbrush, however,
he’s receptive to the efforts of his worried, surrogate parents to boost
his masculinity. Not only does he take up hockey, he enlists Ed as coach.
But when Scot’s new-found machismo gets out of hand and a fight breaks
out, Ed and Sam instantly regret shoving Scot back into a closet he was
never born into. With a starring role by Tom Kavanugh (Ed) and the
blessing of the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs, this was a big hit in
Canada.
The Secrets • This haunting and
lyrical drama explores the place of women and sexuality in Orthodox
Judaism. The Secrets focuses on two young women, Naomi and Michelle, and
their efforts to help a third woman make penance for her past sins. In the
midrasha (Jewish women’s seminary) at Safed, Naomi, the devout daughter
of a rabbi, meets secular roommate Michelle, and the two become fast
friends. When assigned to bring food to a dying French woman, Anouk (Fanny
Ardant), they learn of her quest for salvation and agree to perform
Kabalistic rituals to help her. In so doing, they awaken within one
another forbidden feelings that force them to question their path in life.
The World Unseen • In this
beautiful 1950s South African set drama, an unexpected love develops
between two Indian women against the backdrop of the beginnings of
apartheid. Rebellious café owner Amina, in her trousers and male shirts,
makes her own rules. Her café harbors those who are most affected by the
new racial laws. When she meets the more traditional Miriam, a pretty
young wife and mother, she is immediately smitten. Strait-laced Miriam,
stuck in a loveless marriage, is fascinated by Miriam’s unconventional
ways, but can they take the risk of acting on their feelings?
Tru Loved • Sixteen-year-old
Gertrude aka Tru is a typical high school teenager from an atypical home.
She is raised by her two moms, interracial couple Leslie and Lisa, who
have just moved to a new town in suburban southern California while her
two dads remain in San Francisco. At school, Tru catches the eye of Lo,
the closeted star quarterback who soon makes a deal with Tru to pretend
they are an item. It’s seems like a perfect solution—it keeps Lo’s
friends and family from asking too many questions, and it allows Tru to
instantly find a place to belong in her new school. But when Tru befriends
picked-upon, openly gay student Walter and decides to join him in forming
a Gay-Straight Alliance, she falls for GSA member Trevor, a handsome
metrosexual who has been raised by his gay uncle. Her new love affair
threatens to expose Lo’s true desires and standing as big man on campus.
Boystown • Dark and sexy real
estate agent Victor is making a killing—literally! In an attempt to
transform Madrid’s Chueca neighborhood into the next Chelsea, he’s
come up with the perfect plan—murdering elderly women, making it look
like suicide, buying up their property, and selling to upwardly-mobile gay
couples. But when his latest victim leaves her apartment to Rey and Leo,
the friendly working-class bear couple next door, Victor must hatch a
scheme to get his way...no matter what. Boystown is a wickedly funny black
comedy.
Be Like Others • In Iran, where
homosexuality is punishable by death, gays and lesbians have limited
choices: forego same-sex relationships entirely, or change their sex since
transsexuality is actually permissible under Islamic law. While this is
surely a boon to actual transgendered Iranians, it instead becomes de
facto gender policing for those men and women who fall outside of the
culture’s rigidly defined heterosexual roles. Be Like Others examines
the lives of a number of men choosing to take this drastic step to be able
to survive in Iran.
Were The World Mine • Timothy is a
cute, gay, outcast at an all-boys prep school with a serious crush on
handsome jock, Jonathon, who fuels his Technicolor, musical theatre style
daydreams. Recognizing Timothy’s potential to realize his dreams is the
eccentric drama teacher, who convinces him to audition for the school’s
staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Perfectly cast as the mischievous
sprite, Puck, Timothy is delighted to discover that Jonathon will share
the stage with him. Jonathon’s homophobic coach, on the other hand, is
decidedly less than thrilled with the idea that his boys will be prancing
around on stage—some even playing female roles! Against this backdrop,
with no real support aside from Ms. Tebbit and his best friend, Timothy
nevertheless pushes forward. Inspired by the play to whip up a batch of
love potion, he’s surprised when it unexpectedly works—only too well.
Not only has he made Jonathon fall in love with him, but the rest of his
small town seems to be under the spell as well!
The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela
• Blurring the lines between fiction and reality, director Olaf de
Fleur’s unique feature focuses on Raquela, a transsexual Filipina
prostitute who dreams of escaping her harsh reality for a fairy tale life
in the West. Tired of working the streets, she turns to internet porn,
where she seems to hit the goldmine—a chance to travel to Iceland, and
an offer of a visa from Michael, the website’s New York based owner. But
is this all too good to be true?
Eleven Minutes • It all comes down
to eleven minutes—the length of time for a runway show during Fashion
Week in Bryant Park. Jay McCarroll’s been working toward those critical
eleven minutes for a year, and Michael Selditch and Rob Tate have been
granted an all-access pass to follow the designer as he prepares for the
introduction of his first line of clothing. After winning the first season
of the über-popular Project Runway, and being declared “the next great
American designer,” Jay has a lot riding on this show, and on selling
his line afterwards. Eleven Minutes is an always gripping, often quite
humorous exploration of the world of fashion, where art must co-exist with
business, and where you’re only as good as your last design.
So there you have it, some idea as to what
you would be missing if it weren’t for film festivals, as these films
will not be coming soon to a theatre near you.
For
more information, visit the Film Society web site at rehobothfilm.com
or call 302-645-9095.
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