The hub for LGBT and LGBT-friendly festival-goers during Sundance and other Park City film festivals
Sundance Institute presents the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, an exhibition of work that showcases the best of independent cinema from January 21 – 31, 2010. Screenings will take place in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. For more information, please visit: www.sundance.org.
* denotes film with no LGBT content, however, the filmmaker(s) identifies as LGBT
Director/Screenwriter: Reed Cowan
Producer: Reed Cowan, Steven Greenstreet, Chris Volz, Emily Pearson
Executive Producer: Bruce Bastian
Narrator: Dustin Lance Black
(USA, 2009, 75 min., color, b/w)
This investigative documentary uncovers the Mormon Church's systematic, well-funded and decades-long strategy to deny gays and lesbians civil rights, resulting in the over-turning of legal, same-sex marriage in California with the passage of Proposition 8 in 2008. The Church's efforts are not without a body-count. The film recounts the stories of many gay Mormons whose struggles to reconcile their faith and their sexuality has often led to tragedy and even suicide.
Director/Screenwriter: Javier Fuentes-León
Producer: Cristian Mercado, Manolo Cardona, Tatiana Astengo
(Peru, Colombia, France, Germany, 2009, 100 min., color)
Set in a religious Peruvian village, Miguel, a fisherman whose wife is about to have their first child, is having an affair with handsome artist, Santiago. When Santago drowns, his ghost urges Miguel to find the body and bury it at sea. Will Miguel succumb to tradition and remain silent, or will the villagers accept his true life and love? A lush romance told with elements of magical realism.
Director/Screenwriters: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Cast: James Franco, David Strathairn, John Hamm, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeff Daniel
(USA, 2009, 90 min, color, b/w)
The award-winning directors of Celluloid Closet and Paragraph 175 embark on their first narrative feature, combining live action and animation to tell the story of young Allen Ginsberg and illustrate the creative process behind one of the most famous poems of the Beat generation, HOWL. Framed by the famous obscenity trial that mainly ensued from Ginsberg's frank description of homosexuality in the poem, the film also includes the men who inspired and loved Ginsberg: Peter Orlov and Neal Cassady.
Director/Screenwriter: Adriana Maggs
Cast: Shawn Doyle, Tatiana Maslany, Jonny Harris, Mark O'Brien, Andy Jones, Julia Kennedy
(Canada, 2009, 95 min, color)
The story of parallel sexual awakenings in a dysfunctional family: Ray, a disgraced, former NHL star returns to Newfoundland to raise two young daughters after his wife leaves him to pursue her Hollywood dreams. As Ray starts to realize his attraction to other men, his eldest daughter, Ruby, begins an affair with a paralyzed older man.
Director: Ken Wardrop
Producer: Andrew Freedman
(Ireland, 2009, 80 min., color)
Hailed as a distinct new voice in Irish filmmaking, Ken Wardrop's debut as a feature documentarian is ripe with charm and human insight as 70 Irish women, young and old, candidly share their observations and criticisms of the relationships between men and women.
Director/Screenwriter: Luca Guadagnino
Cast: Tilda Swinton, Edoardo Gabbriellini, Pippo Delbono, Alba Rohrwacher, Marisa Berenson
(Italy, 2009, 120 min, color)
Tilda Swinton turns in her usual mesmerizing performance this time as a Milanese heiress whose family reunites to celebrate the birthday of their patriarch grandfather. As Swinton's character struggles with the constraints of family wealth, her own daughter struggles with traditions as well, leaving her boyfriend for a woman.
Director: Tamra Davis
Executive Producer: Maja Hoffmann
(USA, 2009, 88 min., color, b/w)
American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat was an embodiment of the materialism of the 80s as well as the critique of that era. Perhaps it was the disposability of society that fueled the furious evolution of Basquiat's art as well as his drug addictions which led to his untimely death at age 27. The film touches on his romances with women as well as his flirtation with major queer icons of the time, especially Andy Warhol.
Directors: Ricki Stern, Annie Sundberg
Comedian Joan Rivers perseveres through the highs and lows of her career and through the mercilessly fickle entertainment industry. No doubt her success and longevity as a pop icon are boosted by her loyal gay following.
Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Screenwriters: Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
Cast: Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Hutcherson
(USA, 2009, 104 min., color)
From the writer/director of High Art and Laurel Canyon comes this story of the modern family. Like any long-time couple, Julianne Moore and Annette Bening are just trying to keep the spark alive in their relationship. When their teenage children, conceived by artificial insemination, discover their biological father played by Mark Ruffalo, a romance develops between him and Moore.
Director: Pipilotti Rist
Screenwriters: Chris Niemeyer, Pipilotti Rist
Cast: Ewelina Guzik, Sven Pippig, Sabine Timoteo, Noemi Leonhardt, Elisabeth Orth, Oliver Akwe
(Austria, Switzerland, 2009, 80 min, color)
The first feature from acclaimed visual artist, Pipilotti Rist, follows the adventures of a young woman who literally paints the world with colors. Her efforts to bring happiness to society are supported by her sidekicks, including one who is transgendered.
Director/Screenwriter: Todd Haynes
Producer: Christine Vachon
Cast: Edith Meeks, Larry Maxwell, Susan Gayle Norman, Scott Renderer, James Lyons
(USA, 1991, 85 min, color, b/w)
One of the inspirations for New Queer Cinema, Poison launched the careers of director Todd Haynes and producer Christine Vachon after its premiere and Grand Jury Prize win at Sundance Film Festival in 1991. Three stylized stories highlight the themes of love and violence: a scientist isolates and ingest the sex hormone and becomes a monster; a child shoots his father and flies away; and two male prisoners have an illicit affair in a brutal prison world.
Director: Floria Sigismondi
Screenwriter: Floria Sigismondi, based on Neon Angel: The Cherie Curie Story by Cherie Curie
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Scout Taylor-Compton, Alia Shawkat, Tatum O'Neal
(USA, 2009, 105 min, color)
Well-known music video director, Floria Szigimond, chronicles the meteoric rise of the spirited Los Angeles teenage girl-band, The Runaways, through the eyes of lead-singer Cherie Currie and co-vocalist and guitarist Joan Jett. Jett's sexuality is never questioned nor overdone; she appears in a scene with her girlfriend and has a sexy encounter with Currie.
Director: José Padilha
Executive Producer: Nick Fraser, Dan Cogan, Sheila Nevin, Diana Barrett, Abigail Disney, Jim Swartz, Susan Swartz, Sarah Johnson Redlich, Emily Pottruck, David Pottruck, Julia Parker Benello, Juliette Timsit, Caroleen Feeney
(Brazil, 2009, 94 min, color)
A highly critical eye is turned on the field of anthropology during the observation of the Yanomani Indians of the Amazon Basin. One anthropologist recounts his sexual awakening with some of the male tribesman, but it is only one instance of questionable ethics in the field which begs the question: what is the truth and what is tainted by the observer?
Director: Jennifer Arnold
Executive Producer: Joan Huang, Sheila Nevins
(USA, 2009, 85 min., color)
An inspiring true story of how small acts of kindness are paid forward, this documentary chronicles the life of an impoverished boy from Kenya whose future changes dramatically when an anonymous donor funds his education. Now a Harvard-educated lawyer, he hopes to establish a scholarship to benefit future generations. Filmmaker Jennifer Arnold's previous works include LGBT festival favorites, "Maid of Honor" and "Where the Girls Are."
Director/Screenwriter: Juan Carlos Valdivia
Cast: Ninon Del Castillo, Pascual Loayza, Nicolas Fernandez, Juan Pablo Koria, Mariana Vargas, Viviana Condori
(Bolivia, 2009, 109 min, color)
In the rich "Southern District" of La Paz, Bolivia, a mother and her children live comfortably in their mansion while being waited on by their indigenous servants. Though the classes seemingly co-exist in harmony under one roof, the country undergoes massive social change. Eventually, the family faces the truth – including the discovery that the daughter is a lesbian – while realizing their days of comfort are over.
Director: Kalup Linzy
(USA, 2009, 90 min)
Video and performance artist, Kalup Linzy, brings his singular vision to the big screen with the same melodramatic soap-opera, Southern, black gay culture and drag-inspired elements which popularized his earlier works on the internet and on the contemporary museum circuit. The film is followed by a live performance by Linzy as the hot mess songtress, "Taiwan."
Director: Eyad Zahra
Screenwriters: Michael Muhammad Knight, Eyad Zahra
Cast: Bobby Naderi, Noureen DeWulf, Dominic Rains, Rasika Mathur, Tony Yalda, Nav Mann, Volkan Eryaman, Ian Tran
(USA, 2010, 84 min, color, b/w)
A Pakistani-American engineering student becomes roommates with an unlikely group of Muslim misfits who somehow reconcile their religious strictness with the Muslim, hard-core punk rock scene. One of characters in the household is queer.
Director: Joel Schumacher
Screenwriter: Jordan Melamed, based on the novel by Nick McDonell
Cast: Chace Crawford, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Kiefer Sutherland, Ellen Barkin
(France, USA, 2009, 93 min, color)
An all-star young cast makes up this ensemble story about privileged Upper Eastside Manhattan teens whose fast-track lives and drug deals careen out of control when one of them commits mass murder and another is mistakenly taken into custody. Based on the New York Times bestseller by Nick McDonnell, written when the author was only 17, the film adaptation also includes a gay fashion-forward character.
Shorts Program 4
Director/Screenwriter: Jamie Travis
Cast: William Cuddy
(Canada, 2009, 22 min., color)
During a game of Hide and Seek, young Tony disappears…forever. His best friend, Aaron, forms a queer attachment to the armoire in which his friend was last seen.
Shorts Program 5
Director/Screenwriter: Jenifer Malmqvist
Cast: Åsa Karlin, Lotten Roos, August Lindmark, Liva Leijsne Elkjær
(Poland, Sweden, 2010, 18 min., color)
Sarah plans a surprise for her wife, Katarina's fortieth birthday unaware that she is in for a surprise herself.
Shown before Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child
Director: Ira Sachs
Producer: Lucas Joaquin
(USA., 2009, 9 min., color)
From the director of The Delta, this short film compiles indelible images of the exteriors of the last residential addresses of a group of New York City artists who died of AIDS.
Shorts Program 2
Director: Martin Deus, Juan Chappa
Screenwriter: Martin Deus
Cast: Valentino Arocena, Felipe Villanueva, Katja Alemann
(Argentina, 2008, 15 min., color)
The nostalgia of the last days of high school enhances this story of two boys who share a secret love for each other.
Slamdance Film Festival will be held from January 21 – 28, 2010. All feature screenings are $11 or $9 for Utah residents. Shorts blocks are $6.00. The Slamdance Festival Box Office is located at Treasure Mountain Inn, at the top of Main Street in Park City. For more information, please visit: www.slamdance.com.
Director: Jacob Chase
Screenwriter: Marja Lewis Ryan
Cast: Marja Lewis Ryan, Emily Peck, Liz Osborn, Todd Kubrak, Daniel Carlisle
(USA, 2009, 100 min)
A twenty something couple encounter two best friends at the neighborhood NY bar, Four-Faced Liar. Soon, all are involved with lies, games, heartbreak and a serious case of same-sex attraction.
Director/Screenwriter: Yony Leyser
Cast: David Cronenberg, Gus Van Sant, Patti Smith, John Waters, Iggy Pop
Narrator: Peter Weller
(USA, 2000, 90 min)
The first posthumous documentary about William S. Burroughs, Beat Generation author, artist, drug-addict and queer icon, traces the life of one of the most colorful men of the 20th century. Like his contemporary and friend, Allen Ginsberg, Burroughs writings about homosexuality garnered accusations of obscenity but his works have inspired later generation. Additional interviews with Laurie Anderson, Sonic Youth, Penny Arcade and others illuminate the personal side of this American legend.
Director/Screenwriter/Producer: Jonathan Lisecki
Cast: Jenn Harris, Matthew Wilkas
(USA, 2009, 12 min.)
Matt and Jenn have been talking about having a child together since college. Even though Matt is gay and Jenn is straight, they decide to go through with it, the old-fashioned way. Hot, awkward sex ensues
Director: Laura Klein
Screenwriter: Ashley Christopher Leach
Cast: Mandi Beers, Sandra Epperson, Ashley Christoper Leach, J. Andrew McNeal
(USA, 2009, 20 min.)
With compelling writing and performances, this short film about two men discussing life and unrequited love, includes one of them telling a disturbing tale of an encounter in a public restroom.
ShowWX Presented by Microvision which takes place January 22- 23, 2010, at the Cinema Lounge at 333 Main Street, Park City, Utah will include high-concept screenings utilizing the groundbreaking new Microvision handheld tapeless HD projector. In three galleries over two afternoons, films will be projected onto ten-foot ice sculptures, giant ceiling installations, and onto the backs of nude art models.
Director: Matthew Mishory
Cast: Samuel Garfield, Jeremiah Dupre, Keith Collins
(USA, 2009, 13 min, Super 8/RED one)
A stylized and lyrical coming-of-age portrait of legendary painter, filmmaker and queer activist Derek Jarman's artistic, sexual, and political awakening in post-War England. Featuring an original score by Arban and Steven Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees and a special appearance by Keith Collins, Jarman's surviving muse.