Agliff 2002 Festival Shorts
(Note: These reviews were culled
from the Filethirteen
Daily Coverage of Agliff 2002).
Friends to Lovers Program
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. 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.
Gay Propoganda
Many of them were just reworkings
of classic and popular films simply using a gay cast
of actors. None of these were particularly effective
or funny. I don't know what I expected, but I thought
it might be a little more than this, or a little more
interesting. Perhaps what works best about these shorts
is that they prove just how interchangeable (unimportant?)
gender and sexual identity has become in the new millennium.
These reworkings with gay characters, or gender switches,
seemed like mere weak imitations of greater film.
Of the 10 films in the program,
only one wasn't available for viewing, a lesbian reworking
of "Moonstruck."
"Casablanca," "From Queer to Eternity,"
"Goodfaigolas," "Polterqueer," and "Reservoir Dykes,"
were all rather lame. "The Gay Graduate," which was
also a lesbian reworking, was one of these too but
it worked much better than the other simple facsimiles
here. "Taxi Lesbian," a take-off on "Taxi Driver"
had a much better idea behind it without just being
about the lines of the original film being recited
by actors who look like the original actors (but are
sometimes a different gender), in sets that look similar
to the original sets.
But, for me, a gay man, the best
of the bunch was "Hung Frankenstien," a literal reworking
of the scene in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein,"
where the monster takes Madeline Kahn to bed for the
first time. The young gay guy who played the Kahn
role was hilarious! It worked perfectly.
There were three films in the program
as well that had absolutely nothing to do with cinema
(and one that did). I can't figure out what most of
these films were doing in this series of shorts. They
not only didn't fit, two of them were just bad.
The opening film, another short
by Randy Eisenberg (presumably of NYC), was funny
and vibrant and deserving of 3 snaps up, girl. This
was called "Nothing Too Painted" and it did start
with a scene that seemed reminiscent of several other
film, with a gay guy at a psychiatrist's office. This
film wasn't based on an idea that was all that original
but it did have a really nice queer sensibility, good
acting, good direction, good technical skill involved,
and was humorous. Eisenberg's film "Two Big Fags"
is also playing at the fest and is funny as hell.
The film that fit somewhat was a
spoof of 50's educational films that were purportedly
done by a doctor about male, teenage sexuality. Again,
there was nothing really original here, but it was
funny and sexy as hell. There were several young male
bodies suggesting or demonstrating masturbation techniques
and it was pretty damn hot, even in black and white.
I won't say too much about "Quacks
like a Duck," by Steve Ferger (the only filmmaker
in attendance) except that it didn't make any sense.
I think it was trying to reaffirm gay stereotypes
by suggesting that if a man is effeminate, he is gay.
Then again, maybe it was a suggestion that this stereotyping
is wrong. Whatever Ferger was trying to say, I didn't
get it. And the film failed to be amusing or interesting
although the acting and technique of the film were
consummate.
And now the cinematic atrocity.
This film had no opening titles and made no sense.
It eventually turned into a claymation piece about
a dog in love with a chicken. It was made by Don Thomas
and it was listed in the program as "Pedro and Tony?"
the question mark indicating that even Agliff didn't
know what to call this piece of dung. It was horrid
and so fucking long. It made no sense and was a complete
waste of time and celluloid (or video or whatever).
Words cannot express the utter awfulness that is this
film. It's the first cinematic train wreck I've seen
in a while. Someone again needs to remind Agliff that
quality should be the first criteria for including
a film. Just because it's probably the only gay claymation
piece ever made is no reason to show it. It has to
be worth my time to see it. This film was horrible.
It left a bad taste in my mouth, as if I had been
eating Play-Dough rather than watching it be molded
into a cinematic mess.
My Gay Movie
(Note: These reviews were actually
written when the series was shown for the first time
in July of 2002. The series was repeated again during
the festival on Labor Day at 12 noon. I went with
some friends, as my film "Rector" was included in
the program again. This time, "Rector" ran as the
second to last film, as they were not shown in the
same order. I liked it much better in this context.
The Gym Project film was shown second.)
The first film was by Deborah Abbott.
Deb is a Xena look alike who I met a couple years
back through Miss Xanna Don't. I believe they both
appear in the never-released "Rowdy Round-Up: Attack
of the Killer Piņatas" by Kevin (oh what the hell
is his name). Abbott is a really sweet young lady
and she was in no less than three of the evenings
films. (She won an award for Festival Whore for all
her trouble). Anyway, this first film was a 2 minute,
one-joke short that was pretty funny called "Pretty
as a Picture." It was a good start to the evening.
But the opening momentum was crashed
by "Five Words," a redundant and typical documentary
where several local lesbians said four words to describe
themselves. The fifth word was always "normal," as
if that were something to aspire to.
"The Right Girl" was a horrid and
starched project by some African American lesbian
out of NYC. It was poorly acted and trite. Much of
the same could be said for Jackie L. Hopper's "Sexy
Boy" short but at least he had the good sense to play
a remix of Air's "Sexy Boy" on the soundtrack and
pump it up so loud that it drownded out the dialogue.
"Cigarettes" was the only film I
thought people might like less than mine. A German
expressionist, nihilistic, lesbian music video that
looked like it fell right off of SNL's "Sprockets"
skit.
I will list the names of the participants
of the GYM Project off the program because they are
so fierce and wonderful: Travis Cordingly, Amy Auchey,
Caitlin Lowell, Israel Herrera, Joseph Wolbrecht,
Libby Coyne, Patrick David, and Stephanie Elkins.
This film only pissed me off because it was 15 minutes
long (the limit was supposed to be 8 minutes but three
films violated this). And, of course, because it was
so good and made mine seem to stink up the place.
After "Rector," my film, there was
a hilarious animated short made on computer called
"Injustice Woman." This had a hilarious superhero
female who talked like a black woman and went to kick
Osama Bin Laden's ass. It was fierce.
"A Word From Our Sponsors" was a
dreary 10 minute fiasco that purported to be about
a Gay TV cable station which included two guys sitting
down to watch the channel, a supposed movie and several
commercials all making the same joke about a dildo.
It was horrid.
"Oddly Happy" however wins my prize
as the most horrible film thing of the evening. This
was another one of those pointless and pedantic interview
documentaries where gay men and lesbians are interviewed.
Here they discussed three issues: what it means to
be gay, religion and kids. Not one of these gay persons
had a personality. You could not find ten gay people
as bland and uninteresting as the ones featured here
if you had a million years to search. To add to the
mind-numbing dullness of the film, each one was interviewed
while sitting on a couch covered in the most banal
leopard skin cloth one could find at Wal-Mart. This
film made me want to cut my skull open, take my brain
out, and kick it at the screen. This crap went on
for nine and a half minutes.
Thankfully this short was followed
by one of the most interesting, a little piece called
"The Best Several Minutes." About a disco diva enduring
the drama of a relationship break-up, the short starred
the fierce Tersa Matthews. This "girl" could have
fallen straight out of a John Waters vehicle. All
of you would-be campy film directors would be wise
to find this "actress." She has star written all over
herself (in pink magic marker, no less). This "girl"
has got what it takes. Director Ignacio Davis made
the film as a student project and it is wonderful
and campy fun, a bit unfocused, but made all the more
wonderful in its ragged charm by the pure ferocity
of all involved. I loved this film!
Finally, Abbott had her second film
selected close the festival, a little 9 minute opus
called "Toaster." About a lesbian relationship started
on the volleyball field, the film was cute, professional
and likable. All-in-all a good closer to the proceedings.
Other Shorts
The horrible short, "The Last Moment."
Now that I have officially seen it at the festival,
I can tell you it is an overwrought and ridiculous
melodrama about an old queen who commits suicide (for
no real reason). The story is told as he fucks a hot
little Italian number named Gabriel (who turns out
to be the angel Gabriel, of course). There is also
a really stupid segment where a busload of drag queens
and fairies go to the beach and get high and naked
with young children. This abomination is one of the
biggest pieces of shit I have ever seen. It suggests
that all gay men are suicidal, incapable of experiencing
true love. It also suggests that drag queens are only
happy on the outside. This film is just stupid as
fuck. Even my friend J.K. hated it.
The documentary "When Boys Fly"
was preceded by two shorts. One was a late addition
to the fest not included in the program which was
called "LTR." In case you live in a cave, "LTR" stands
for "long term relationship." With this film, I finally
realized why I hate "mockumentaries;" they want you
to laugh at people who are supposedly being caught
in the act (by the camera) of being themselves. That
is so misanthropic and cruel. It angers me. "LTR"
was another one of those film. It focused on two young
lovers in their early 20's, who were starting a relationship
and expected to be together (as only young lovers
could) for the rest of their lives. This film enjoyed
poking a finger at young love and laughing at it.
How sadly brutal.
"LTR" had some things going for
it, however. Most importantly, it had some truly funny
moments that were not making fun of the characters,
so much anyway. The best example of these was a joke
about gay commitment rings. And the leads were young
and hot and very easy to watch for 15 minutes. There
was also a funny twist in the plot involving the director/cameraman
of the piece. But all the good qualities about this
film were overshadowed, for me anyway, by it's savage
cruelty.
Next was a hilarious and gloriously
gay short called "Two Big Fags" that was basically
a conversation between two gay, urban, 20-something
males on a park bench. The script was awesome with
lots of barbs at modern gay life (but not at gay people)
and it was well acted and just fierce as fuck. It
was hilarious as well. This was a great short. The
film was made by Randy Eisenberg, who should be commended.
