AGLIFF
2002 - Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival - Day 3
Well, first I must clear up a bit of a mistake from
yesterday. The words "gay" and "lesbian" are on the Agliff
banner and the Agliff banner is displayed in the lobby
of the Metropolitan. I took issue on my friend Johnny's
misconception about this with him. He did assure me that
the comment I quoted yesterday from some Agliff person
was a valid quote, however. And the main marquee outside
the building does only say Agliff. You would have to be
looking for the words "gay" and "lesbian" to really see
them. But they are there. My apologies to Agliff for the
misconception, however, they should better train their
staff and volunteers to deal with such issues.
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Scott
Dinger, Artistic
Director of Agliff
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I picked up an "Austin Chronicle"
with Agliff's Scott Dinger and Sandra Martinez
on the cover. It's a nice picture of them on the
front porch of the Agliff office with film reels
and film wrapped around them.
On Saturday, I was supposed to go toobing
with my roommates but my back was hurting and
I was way hungover from the night before, drinking
on 6th street, so I decided to lounge around the
pad. I spent some time watching webcams and looking
at shorts submitted to the Austin
Film Festival, where I screen films. J.K.
had made some other plans for the evening and
my pal Johnny Oh! was going to Cher. I had some
extra tickets to the films I was seeing that night
so I called my friend Dusty. I tried to hint around
that I wanted to see just him but he had plans
to see his ex-roommate Eric. Since Eric is a hottie,
I didn't mind if he came along. Of course, when
Dusty came he brought his boyfriend Earnest (and
no Eric!). Now, I like Earnest. He is a nice guy
and he and Dusty seem to really be happy together.
It's just... you never get to see Dusty anymore,
really. They are seemingly always together. Maybe
I'm just jealous that what they have is what I
want with J.K. and that is probably not going
to happen.
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Anyway,. I went to the first film, "The M.O. of
M.I." by myself. The writer, director, producer and
star were there. The 1920's Club sponsored the event
and plugged their business. There was a lot of people
there but not quite a full house. Scott Dinger introduced
the film and thanked everyone for coming out to the
movie rather than going to the Cher concert.
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"The M.O. of M.I." was filmed in Austin and
is a rather dismal and drab affair. I squirmed
in my seat all throughout it.
The Q&A afterwards was pretty typical except
a few audience members did question the overt,
angst-ridden homophobia of the piece. The writer,
Aaron Brown, tried to justify this piece of dung
he has created by saying that he wants to show
gay people of all types, including bad one and
evil ones. This is the same crap that the straight
entertainment world has tried to foist on us since
the days of "Cruising." Mr. Brown is, to put it
succinctly, a dumbass. Agliff has championed this
film all year, and they should hang their heads
in shame.
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The Cast
and Crew of "The M.O. of M.I."
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Cher
or Agliff??? What's a gay man to do?
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Speaking of Cher, I had dinner after the films
with Johnny Oh! at Wan Fu and he told me that
Cyndi Lauper didn't open. She fell off the stage
in Dallas and is apparently out of commission
for awhile. Some male comedian opened the
show. Johnny said Cher performed for about 95
minutes and had several elaborate costume changes,
during which they often played film and video
clips from her career, including her and Sonny
doing "I Got You Babe" from the 60's and on "Letterman."
Johnny had went to a documentary earlier in
the day called "The Most Unknowable Thing" and
highly recommended it. It's one of those personal
videographies of someone dying of AIDS, though.
And I just can't sit through another one of those,
even though this one sounds unique. After seeing
"The
Smith Family" earlier this year at SXSW,
I'm pretty much done for the year.
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Johnny also told me that the film was preceded by
a short called "The Last Moment." I knew I had seen
this film but couldn't remember where I did. (I figured
it out and I am not at liberty to say where I did see
it). I can tell you this: It's dreary crap about a gay
guy committing suicide. It's perhaps the most horrid
gay short I've seen since, well, since last years Agliff
festival. (I saw it in a room full of straight "film"
people and felt like I had to apologize to them all
for being gay after I saw it.) For what it's worth,
Johnny liked it.
Dusty and Earnest hooked up with me before "Straight,"
the movie I was seeing at 9:45, and they bought an extra
ticket as I only had two. We tried to sneak in on the
"badges" line but we were denied.
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There wasn't a very long line, so it wasn't
a big deal. Still, I was kinda upset that, as
a filmmaker, who gets two free tickets to a movie,
my companion is supposed to wait in the "tickets"
line and I am supposed to go in with my badge
and save him or her a seat. Not exactly the kind
of thing you wanna do to a date.
Oh yeah. There was this adorable young man
(okay - boy) working the door this night at Agliff.
He took tickets to "M.O.
of M.I." and he was there again for "Straight."
After we got in the theater, I stepped out to
go to the bathroom and couldn't resist saying
hi to him. He was cute and very gay. He seemed
so nice. I thought that perhaps he had worked
on the GYM (Gay Youth Media) Project film, as
I saw their film when it showed with mine during
the "My Gay Movie" showcase (see it again on Labor
Day)! He looked familiar, but he said that, no,
he had not worked on that film. But he was interested
in GYM and I told him he should check out the
screening on Labor Day. He was really nice and
sweet. I told Dusty I talked to him and Dusty
was like, "He's 12!" But really, he was probably
more like 16. Hey, all I said was I talked to
him. Sheesh.
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Aaron
Brown, the man behind "The M.O. of M.I."
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I don't read too much about films before I see them.
I was only looking for features and narratives (non-documentaries),
though. "Straight" started and there were problems with
the sound due to the fact it was a video projection.
After 10 minutes it was announced that the sound would
not be fixed and we could stay and see it "as is," go
across the way and see a shorts program or get a raincheck.
Someone was smart enough to ask if they were "boy or
girl shorts" and we found out they were boys. We decided
to go see the shorts. "Straight" turned out to be a
one-man show on stage, taped on video. The first ten
minutes didn't seem all that interesting, anyway.
The shorts program, was called "Friends to Lovers"
and it was surprisingly good. In the past, I have seen
shorts programs at festivals and usually like less than
half of them. All 6 of the shorts here were excellent.
A short rundown (so to speak):
The Boyfriend: Well directed, well acted and charming.
It accepted infidelity within a gay relationship as
normal but the film nonetheless wins us over with its
warmth and gentle humor. Good acting and great chemistry
from the principles.
Lunch with Eddie: Even though this story had a
framework around an AIDS issue, it was funny and sweet-natured.
The lead actors were all good but the main one, who
played a sort of ageing Jewish queen, was really wonderful.
He reminded me of that gay actor from the 70's who starred
in "Boys in the Band" but this film was not of that
ilk, of course. This script may have been a little typical
but it was well- filmed and, again, the acting and characters
were top-notch. The dialogue was wonderful and warmly
humorous.
Last Supper: A hilarious German film full of all
the drama and angst we would expect from a film from
that country. But this one has twists that make it unique
and pointed. A real comic gem.
INSIDE/out: This film is really wonderful. Nearly
silent, the opening seems to border on overwrought drama
when a young man, barely out, gets date raped. But the
film ends on a positive note and has a real sense of
reality to it. A story that is perhaps not as "scripted"
as we would like to believe. Perhaps based more on reality
that we would care to believe. A wonderful and sensitive
portrayal by the lead, who is also adorable by the way.
Probably the best dramatic gay short I've seen in a
long time.
Friends First: Almost a one man show. You'd believe
this was a video film shot by the main actor because
it is personal and poignant, but I believe it was directed
by someone else. A guy struggles with his feelings over
sex and friendship after he finds himself falling in
love with one of his closest friends. Told primarily
from the lead's perspective, the acting is quite good
here and the script is excellent. The production may
be a little videoesque, but this never detracts from
the story. In fact, it makes it seem much more personal.
Baby Blue: Although this one ends on a silly note
with some sexual moaning going way over the top as the
credits role, the film, which features a lot of images
of a sexy young man in various stages on undress, and
in the shower, is quite personal and poignant.
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Johnny
Oh! and Lodger.
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Shot on film, presumably 8mm, and then overdubbed
with a narrative soliloquy, the film is a wonderful
example of a filmmaker using the tools at his
disposal to make a film that is sexy, poignant
and insightful. A really nice and personal film
exploring youthful gay curiosity and sexuality.
So, anyway, after the shorts, I said my goodnights
to Dusty and Earnest and met Johnny at Wan Fu.
Our waiter was really cute and we each got to
tell the other about our day. Johnny Oh! is fast
becoming the best friend I ever had. We are different
in many ways, but we seem to both share an honesty
and openness about our lives that endears us to
each other. I just now realized that we met at
Agliff the year I moved here, 1999 (after the
screening of "Speedway
Junkie", so, in a way, this event is our anniversary.
I look forward to seeing more films with Johnny
at Agliff this year and then talking about them
afterwards. It is a great joy in my life to have
such a friend.
By the way, Johnny has given me permission
to put his picture up. So, it will be included
here.
Lodger 2002 @ Agliff 2002
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