Frameline 2012

It was Pride in San Francisco two months ago, and it's about time that I reviewed the films that I went to see:

Kiss Me (Netflix link / IMDb link)

I started off the filmfest with this import from Sweden.  Most lesbian films that I have seen deal with one girl realizing that she is falling for another girl, and then dealing with the consequences of being a lesbian.  It happens to be the typical formula for lesbian films that I have seen.  Two of the better done lesbian films of this nature were Imagine Me and You and Saving Face, and Kiss Me will probably be considered third place in this group of three.

The acting, scenery, and camera work were all fantastic.  I'm also one that believes there must be some type of believable chemistry between the two women in order to have a good film to begin with, and for this film, there is definitely a believable chemistry.  The story was a little slow in spots and it felt like some things were happening without much reason or explanation.  I suppose that is what the director/writer was hoping to convey at times, or they just didn't have any other way of presenting it on film.

Overall, it was a pretty good for an independent film.

North Sea Texas (Netflix link / IMDb link)

I watched this movie right after watching Kiss Me, so I went from a Swedish movie to a Dutch movie, both with English subtitles. My lesbian friend who went with me to see Kiss Me did not want to stick around for this gay-themed film.  Every year, I seem to find one or two gay male films that looks interesting, and almost every year they really disappoint me.  I should have learned from my friend.

This film is about a young boy named Pim who seems to be coming into his own sexual identity.  His mom, a single woman who plays her accordion on the road at night clubs with her loser boyfriend, seems distant from his life.  Pim hangs out at the neighbor's house where the single mom there does a better job taking care of him than his own mom.  Pim falls for the older boy in that house, while the neighbor boy's younger sister falls for Pim.  Pim and the younger boy end up having sex, but the neighbor boy isn't so into being out about things, and starts dating a girl in a neighboring town.  It was basically a repeat of the same things over and over, and since I had a lot of things to do the following day, I skipped out of this movie early since it wasn't really doing anything for me.


Facing Mirrors (IMDb link)

Facing Mirrors was definitely my favorite movie this year.  Since this movie is from Iran, it was in Farsi, with English subtitles...my third foreign movie in a row.

In Facing Mirrors, female-born Eddie is being forced to marry a man by her father.  Eddie's not so keen on that idea since he's more into transitioning to be a man than marrying a man.  To get out of town, he jumps in a taxi driven by Rana, a woman illegally driving a cab to make ends meet.  While there were a few over the top moments, it still played out well and was very heart breaking in the end.


It's Complicated

This was a collection of shorts.  It seems like the good shorts are few and far between on many of the short film collections, but I'm still not sure if finding that one good one is worth viewing all of the bad ones.


Bye Bye Blondie (IMDb link)

While this movie looked very interesting on paper, the actual film really failed to deliver.  White collar Frances shows up in blue collar Gloria's neighborhood.  Frances asks her to come live with her for some unknown reason related to their youth when the two first connected.  There were some interesting parts, but there was never any chemistry between the 40-something actresses.  Their younger selves had more chemistry, but the story never really found good cohesiveness in the two timelines.


I Stand Corrected (IMDb link)

This movie was a documentary on jazz musician Jennifer Leitham.  I actually enjoyed this film quite a bit as we saw the life of Jennifer as she went through transition in the jazz world.  While there were some slow parts, it was a very interesting movie, not only about Jennifer, but about the jazz world in general.  There were a number of interviews with many famous musicians, but it was quite apparent that Jennifer has experienced discrimination in her post-transition career.  Jennifer was on hand for the event and spoke after the film concluded.

Transgender Tuesdays (IMDb link)

In this excellent documentary on the Tom Waddell Health Center, we see the many stories about a facility that helps out transgender people by providing health care and hormones.  In a world where many transgender people are discriminated against, the Tom Waddell Health Center has been a beacon of hope in the San Francisco transgender community.

Me @ the Zoo (Netflix link / IMDb link)

I will admit, when I first read about this movie, I thought "no way, I'm not going to see it."  After talking a friend into going to the film with me, we gave it a shot.  It actually turned out OK and was pretty interesting.

The film is about Chris Crocker, the androgynous young man who proclaimed to the Youtube world, "Leave Britney alone!"  Chris' life is a mixed bag as he struggles to find fame while also being a homebody with his grandparents.  At times, his grandparents steal the show, even in their very non-Chris Crocker manner.  Overall, this film turned out fairly well and was perhaps my underdog film of the Frameline.

Lana Wachowski

In the trans-world, Larry Wachowski's transition to Lana has been common knowledge for quite some time.  In fact, even outside the trans-world, it's fairly well known that she goes by Lana as reported by TMZ several years ago.  For those not in the know, Lana Wachowski is one of the famous Wachowski's...the ones who brought us the Matrix trilogy, V for Vendetta, and a number of other movies.

In a recent article about the Wachowski's upcoming movie, Cloud Atlas, the media is reporting that Lana has made it official about her gender transition.  Good for her.

I saw the Cloud Atlas trailer the other day after a friend posted it on Facebook, and I have to say, the movie looks awesome.  It looks like they are telling the story of two lovers through time, gender, and sexual orientation.  To me, the visuals look fantastic, and to have a love story span that many hurdles will hopefully make for an amazing movie.

The Wachowski's have always been one to challenge identity (think the blue or pink pill in the Matrix) and gender roles (V for Vendetta), and I think her own unique journey has hopefully given her insight into creating a wonderful tale that challenges everything we think about love.  In fact, if you rewatch the Matrix with her journey in mind, one can see how things might be interpreted with even more context.

Granted, I'm thinking Cloud Atlas looks like a more elaborate version of Dead Again mixed in with The Time Traveler's Wife, The Fifth Element, and The Princess Bride, but that's totally OK with me, as I really liked all of those movies.  (I watched Dead Again, an early 90's movie, several months ago via Netflix.)  I also see that Hugo Weaving will be in his 5th Wachowski film.  Hugo is another actor that has played a variety of roles that have challenged gender identity or sexual orientation.  (I just wish they would let him say, "Hello, Mr. Anderson" in every film...it would be awesome!)

And to Lana, I hope this official outing takes some of the stress off making more awesome movies...but, just to let you know, you still owe us for Matrix 2 and 3!  =P

Inflation

I was out at a gathering earlier this week and arrived early to help set up at a bar.  I met up with a few friends and we sorted through the initial details before everyone else arrived.  Because we were early, though, none of us had eaten dinner.  I asked if they were up for food, and everyone seemed to agree that pizza would be the easiest thing to obtain.  I had passed a Dominos on the walk to the bar and told my friends that I would take care of the pizza.

I walked next door and ordered a large pepperoni from the guy standing behind the layers of plexiglass that separate the two of us.

"That'll be $8.77."

"$8.77?  Is that for a large?"

"Yes, ma'am...$8.77."

I was totally surprised.  I mean, I used to order a medium pepperoni pizza back in college for about $5...and this was back in 1988!  I think a large ran about $6-7 back then.

This is 24 years later and the price has gone up less than $3?  Crazy!  How can they still make a large pizza for that price and stay in business?

Anyway, this summer marks ten years since I started taking hormones.  The ten year mark is actually in a few weeks, but around ten years ago, I stored sperm at a cryobank in the hopes of one day "parenting" a child.

So, my renewal is up again.  When I first started, the price was $1000 for 5 years of storage.  Steep, I know.  Five years ago when I renewed, the price went up to $1225.  This time, it's $1495.  Basically, my $6 "pizza" went up to $9 in the past 10 years...instead of 24 years.

I'm not sure if I will renew again in five years as I will be 47 at that time, but then again, I'm pretty sure that I'll still like pizza....so, who knows.

Baby Picture

I sorta feel like I'm going through my late 20's again. A number of my teammates are either getting married, having babies, or both.

Unlike my late 20's, though, I now get invites to baby showers. The most recent baby shower invitation, though, has the following sentence:

As part of one of the baby shower games, we ask that guests bring a baby picture of themselves.

At first I wondered if I could simply use my own baby picture, but I realized that we can often gender kids even when they are babies. Not only that, but my mom definitely put me in some wicked boy clothes from the early 70's. I don't know if I would be more cautious about my friends seeing my birth gender or the 70's attire, for that matter.

The thought of using someone else's baby picture ran through my mind for like a millisecond, but there is no way that would even be possible.

I've often wondered what the possibility is of having my own baby photo's photoshopped to be more feminine, but I don't think it's really worth it, and really, I don't think I would feel quite right about it.

So, for the baby shower, I think I'll just take one for the team and not participate. I figure I'm saving them the pain of 70's fashion.

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2011

Today we honor those we have lost simply for being themselves. While Transgender Day of Remembrance is a somber reminder of how brutal the world is, we can also cherish those that we have. There are still many transgender people fighting the public fight, along with many behind the scenes trying to make the world a better place for all of us. Not only that, but everyone that lives their life true to themselves is helping make the journey a little easier for those still to come.

I just flew back from China yesterday, so I missed a number of local DOR activities on Friday, and chilled at a friend's place yesterday evening. With the weather and the roads a mess this afternoon, I decided not to venture over an hour to any of the distant ceremonies tonight, but I will simply light a solitary candle this evening to honor those transgender people that have been killed this past year.

2011 Transgender Film Festival

Tonight was the conclusion of the 10th Annual San Francisco Transgender Film Festival. For those that didn't know there were 9 of them before tonight, the festival started going by a new name this year. It used to be Trannyfest. While I'm sure there was always the issue of people disliking the use of Tranny in Trannyfest, the organizers said it was a lot easier for them to secure funding by changing the name so more people were clear on what exactly the film festival was about.

As I tell anyone else attending a short film festival, there will always be a variety of films...including good ones, bad ones, really bad ones, and some type of stoner flick.

Here's my rundown:

Lek and the Water Boy (Thailand)
An interesting film about a young boy as he explores his identity and sexuality kicked off the night, but it lacked a bit in the way of story cohesiveness and symbolism that it was trying to project.

Joan (Canada)
A stoner flick this soon...oh no!

The Lusty Gypsies (USA)
This one didn't make much sense to me, but it was a transsexual and a CD/DQ competing for time on stage while dealing with their own personal issues.

Living Together Apart (Netherlands)
Visually appealing, but that's only good for a few seconds...the rest was meh.

Lili Longed to Feel Her Insides (USA)
Interesting use of symbolism, but I didn't connect with it.

Mais Ou Menos (More or Less) (Brazil)
This film was pretty good quality, but used the typical hesitant and closeted gay lover scenario. I liked it overall and it was probably in my top three of the night...regardless of the predictable plot line.

The Panty Man (USA)
This film was more of a spoken word performance of a man who had a sexual relationship with another man who loved to wear lace panties. The spoken word was really good, along with the film and sound quality of the piece. This was in my top three, as well.

Dayzee Dee's Dazzling Drag Balls (USA)
This was a very short documentary on early drag performers. I felt it was way too short to give the material due credit. If they had material for an hour or more, this would make a great documentary as a regular film in a festival.

Help Wanted (USA)
The story was fitting for the trans world and the current economic situation. It was an excellent film for the times we live in, but also a good role model film for anyone dealing with undesirable economic situations.

The Girl Bunnies. Big Tree. (Canada)
Bad...and a stoner flick. Although this reminded me of "Charlie the Unicorn", at least this film had more plot. (Why are the two bad stoner movies from Canada?)

Guf. Bait. Body. (Israel)
A good use of language, but this film was too simple...basically taking any three phrases, three scenes, and just kinda rotating through them in different languages.

Perception (USA)
Basically too short to give it a review, this was a little piece of spoken word with a floating picture.

Transsexual Dominatrix (USA)
This was viewed last year (I think...or maybe I saw it at Framline...who knows. Sigh. I'm getting old.), so I'm not sure why it made it back in the rotation...except that it was made by the director of the event. I guess that is good enough for getting two airings...plus, it seemed to be one of the fan favorites.

Transitions
Meh.

James Dean (UK)
I'm betting this one was from Northern Ireland, because the actors seemed to have some gnarly Irish accents. The film is a prelude to a family on a road trip when one of the daughters decides there is still time to get dressed the way he likes. I made out about 75% of the words, even though they were speaking English. Overall, I liked this film, although I wish I could have made out the other 25%...which might have allowed me to like it even more. It was in my top three, as well.

My winner for the night? Well, believe it or not, I'm going to give my top honors to The Panty Man for nice use of spoken word, great camera work and lighting, story flow, and stunning visuals. Runner-up to Mais Ou Menos.

Frameline 2011

I'm late again this year in my review of all the films I watched at this year's Frameline Filmfest. Fortunately, one of the films I was unable to view in June was recently shown in Berkeley, so I was able to catch it, too.

The Night Watch (IMDb link)

I started off the filmfest with this import from the UK. (Let me preface this by saying I sometimes struggle with British and Irish films...it's either the accent, humor, or storyline. Yes, yes...Hollywood has either tainted me or I just do not get the English.) This movie is from a Sarah Waters novel and mixed in a variety of interconnected stories post-WW2. Most of the stories involved LGBT characters, but not all.

The characters, acting, and scenery were great. The stories were very interesting, too, but I think too much time was spent on one of the characters wandering aimlessly around London. Overall, I liked it, and thought it was a nice time-period piece with lesbian and gay characters.

We Who Are Sexy: The Whirlwind History of Transgender Images in Cinema

This one wasn't really a movie, but a collection of movie clips from over the years that had some sort of transgender topic or idea. These were not the mainstream movies or even some of the B-movies that have had transgender themes...these were the fairly obscure and hard to find movies. Some of the clips were entertaining, many weren't. Film historians Jenni Olson and Susan Stryker narrated these clips in person. I kinda wish I had skipped this one, but in the land of independent films, it's hard to pick out all the good ones worth seeing.

Renée (Netflix link)

Being an athlete, and a transsexual athlete at that, I really wanted to catch this documentary on Renee Richards, a transsexual tennis star from the 70's. When Renee burst on the scene in 1976, I was only 6 years old and had no idea what was happening in the world of tennis...let alone the transgender world. This documentary took a good look at her life, along with excerpts from many of her friends and competitors from that era. I really liked this film as it gave me a glimpse of how things were for a transsexual athlete in the 70's. This documentary was enabled through ESPN sports, so the editing and film quality were fantastic.

Judas Kiss (IMDb link)(Netflix link) (website)

The past few years I have tried to cram in any movie that at least looks decent. This one was from the gay male variety, so the theatre was mainly filled with gay men. The story involved a gay screenwriter getting a chance to go back and make things right in college. The acting was a little shy here and there, but overall fairly good. Being gay with the concept of time travel, though, opened up an interesting scene of having sex with one's self. This film ended up being a little corny and had some major gaps, but it was entertaining and had fairly good camera work.

Films: Transtastic (Trans Shorts)

I was late to this set of transgender short films because someone smashed into my car while I was driving on my way to the BART station. (More on that in another post.) As I like to tell any of my friends that go with me to any set of short films, there are usually all types...from the serious, to the funny, to the romantic...and typically there is always a stoner flick. In this case, we had them all, including at least one stoner flick.

My friend, Marty, had a film selected for this collection of shorts. I helped him and another friend, Lisa, brainstorm for an idea, but I was too busy to help write a script this year.

Fluidity - Bisexual Shorts

Continuing with the shorts theme, this was a collection of bisexual short films. My favorite involved a tea/coffee metaphor for being lesbian/straight. There was a stoner flick in this set, too.

Tomboy (IMDb link) (Netflix link)

Perhaps my favorite film of the fest was this French gem from Céline Sciamma. In this film, a young tomboy named Laure moves into a new neighborhood, and when she is initially mistaken for a boy, she runs with it for as long as she can. Obviously things can't go on like that forever, but between then and the end, Laure finds a way to live life uninhibited. Malonn Lévana, the very young actress that played Laure's younger sister, Jeanne, totally stole the show whenever she was featured. Definitely a must see!

Films: Girl Scouting

This was another series of lesbian short films. I can't remember any that particularly stood out as being good. There was definitely a stoner flick in there somewhere.

Longhorns

This was another one that looked good from the description, but turned out to not be that great. There were a few funny scenes, but nothing to make up for the rest of the film. This one was sort of a coming out story set in college..in Texas...in 1982...that mixed in some of the serious side of being gay with a lot of curious humor. The scene of three guys masturbating in bed while watching porn was pretty interesting. I thought this might be a "Brokeback Mountain" set in the 80's college scene, but it was far from that.

Orchids: My Intersex Adventure (website)

When I first saw the description for this movie, I had really high hopes. I even picked this one over an LGBT sports related film. The documentary was good, but not quite what I expected. I don't really know many intersex people, so I wanted to see this film to hear their stories.

In this documentary, two sisters born with AIS travel around Australia talking with other IS people. While their visits with other IS people showed a more varied picture of being IS, the story of the two sisters was more compelling, especially with their parents involved. It turned out to be a pretty good flick, but probably needed a little more content and a little more editing to refine it into a great film.

Films: Fun in Girls Shorts

This was a series of lesbian short films, with one definitely worth watching. As a bunch of women sit around playing cards, one gets a call that a family member has passed away. She's cautious about returning because she hasn't been back since..."you came out as a lesbian" says one of the other women. The main woman finishes with, "since I was a man." I was hooked.

All of the women were played by cisgender women, but it was an interesting film depicting how it is as a trans woman coming out to a lesbian partner. I've found that even though lesbian women have gone through their own journey, not all of them are OK with the journey that a trans woman takes.

Addendum:

Gun Hill Road (IMDb link)(Netflix link)

Esai Morales stars as the ex-con just released from prison. He returns home to his family only to find that things are changing. His son is gradually becoming more feminine and he believes his wife is cheating on him. He starts out doing things by the book, but gradually loses it as he deals with all of his hurdles, including his own pent up secret. Harmony Santana does a fantastic job as Michael/Vanessa in a story that brings out many facets of being a transgender youth. There are a few slow periods in the movie, and there probably could have been a little more interaction with Vanessa and her boyfriend, but overall I enjoyed this high quality film.


Summary: Hmmm...looking back over my list, I sure did see a lot of short films. They almost start to run together, but I typically remember the good ones. Most of the others tend to fall to the wayside.