Lodger
looks at the Agliff 2004 Shorts
I saw more shorts at Agliff this
year than I have seen at any other festival and for
the most part I was very impressed with them.
Here's a list of the shorts I saw
there this year, pretty much in order from best to
worst. I tried to provide a little description and/or
criticism of each one. Most of these are made on video
and in color unless I state otherwise.
I did not see the following male
oriented shorts programs:
Family Burden
Freedom to
Marry
Great Expectations
Love is a
Many Gendered Thing
My Gay Movie
My Porn Star
Return to
Gender
Revolution
I thought I was going to see My
Gay Movie shorts and got the time wrong and missed
it. That made me feel like a bonehead. Which should
be a good thing at a gay and lesbian film festival
but, alas, isn't.
Lodgey Award for Best of the Fest
goes to:
The Milkman
The oddest fucking short I have
ever seen in my life - and I have seen hundreds. This
one is so weird I almost hesitate to describe it,
lest I ruin it for anyone. But it's too mind- blowing
not to detail. I can't resist. So here goes:
A huge man, easily over 400 pounds,
tries to give away little bottles of milk on a street
corner. He is pretty much ignored until a hot teenage
boy comes by, takes a bottle and downs it sexily.
The boy is obviously interested in the man in a sexual
way and after he walks off the Milkman follows him.
They go to the boy's compact car and the man, unable
to fit in the passenger seat, rides in the back with
the hatch door open.
The two go to a house. The boy begins
to undress the enormous man down to his amazingly
large tighty whiteys and they kiss sexily. The boy
undresses as well. He is fucking hot. Up to the point
the film seems a mind-blowing and amazing gay film
about two complete and total opposites hooking up.
(For a second you think the joke is going to be that
when the boy takes off the man's briefs, it turns
out to be a woman under all the fat, but that doesn't
happen). I mean no disrespect but the big guy here
is so fat that this love scene in unlike any you have
ever seen in your life!
The boy begins to touch the fat
guy's large droopy man- breasts and finds something
odd there, we are not sure what. He contemplates for
a moment then squeezes the man's breast again and
- I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD - milk shoots out all over
his face. The audience I saw this film with howled
at this point while my jaw dropped to the floor.
The film ends with a shot of the
Milkman sitting down, the hot naked boy in his lap
greedily suckling at his tit. I'm still not sure what
in the hell this film is about. I am not even sure
the Milkman is supposed to be a man. (And was that
his tit milk he is giving away in the beginning of
the film?)
At best this is a film about a man
with "something to offer" that only one hot young
boy can appreciate and then desire. Again - this film
by Ken Takahashi is unlike anything I have ever seen.
Amazing and unequalled in its uniqueness. (Viewed
as a part of the "Desperate Living" series of shorts).
An Honorable Mention goes to:
The Delicious
A wonderful and absurdist film about
a straight man who becomes enamoured with wearing
a dress. But it's even more odd than that. His desire
is not sexual in nature, but more a compulsion to
wear the dress and do some other things. Unable to
explain this obsession to his wife or his marriage
counselor, the man explains that he does not know
why is doing the things he does but he is aware that
the act is called "The Delicious." Absurdist filmmaking
rarely gets this comprehendible and funny. By Scott
Prendergast who, I believe, also plays the main character.
Words cannot begin to describe this film, it's one
that must be seen to be appreciated fully. (Included
in the "Desperate Living" Program of shorts. Also
Viewed as a part of the "Divine Comedies" series.
It was even more hilarious the second time around)
Lucky Bugger
The best truly gay-themed short
I will see all year. A young boy sits on a deserted
beach with his mother. Eventually getting bored, he
meanders through the dunes until he comes upon a Vespa.
(Is this supposed to be Italy in the 50's?) He peers
over and finds two young men on a blanket making out.
They notice him watching and one puts his finger to
his lips, silently motioning the boy to be quiet.
The boy nods to indicate he understands. We quick
cut to the two young men riding home on the Vespa,
then find the boy in a car ahead of them, peering
out of the back window to look at them and grinning
from ear to ear. Never before have a seen a short
that so simply and elegantly express that moment when
a young gay boy realizes that he is not alone, that
there are others in the world who feel as he does.
This is a magically and perfectly crafted short. You
will see few better. (In black and white and color.
Produced by Silver Cloud Video. Included in the "Youth
Gone Wild" Program of shorts.)
A Kiss in
the Snow
One of the most beautiful and subdued
gay shorts I have ever seen. This one is a perfect
example of what gay films should aspire to be about
in our post-closet society. Norwegian with subtitles,
the film tells of two boys, one of whom steals the
others girlfriend away. The three are playing in the
snow one day and the two boys begin to wrestle. The
new boy pins his newfound male friend to the ground
and then kisses him. The "girlfriend" looks on confused
and a bit put off (much to the delight of the gay
audience I saw the film with). Shortly thereafter,
the new boy moves away again. Some time later he writes
his friend a letter telling him that he is in love
with him and only "stole" his girlfriend so he could
be close to him. This reminded my of many friendships
I had as a teenager and how I used to write love letters
to boys (but of course I never sent them). To me,
this film was about the letter that we all wrote to
another boy we had a crush on as teens but never sent.
(Surprisingly this film has some very bad English
language pop music in it but other than that was perfect.
Directed by Frank Mosvold. Viewed as a part of the
series "Boy-O-Rama.")
Running without
Sound
A beautiful film about a hearing-impaired
teenage boy's struggle to come to terms with himself
and his sexual feelings. The struggle to communicate
with one of his hearing school teammates on whom he
has a crush, a near kiss and a silent argument make
this film by Judd King a quiet treatise on the frustration
those who are different, hearing-impared or not, have
while growing up. Lovely, honest, poignant and perfectly
enacted. It doesn't hurt that the lead actors are
also as cute as can be. (Viewed as a part of the series
"Boy- O-Rama.")
Stag Party
Hilarious and light-hearted, this
short begins with a straight women, about to be married,
asking her fiance's gay best man to make sure her
betrothed doesn't cheat at his stag party. But the
hilarity begins when the two men wake up, after a
night of smoking, drinking and dancing with strippers,
naked in bed together. A silly but satisfying film
from director Stewart Wade. With cute animated end
credits and a hilarious final disclaimer. (Viewed
as a part of the "Worried Straight Men" collection
of shorts.)
The Drive North
A thoughtful and well-made short,
"The Drive North" is about two young lesbian friends
who decide to move 13 hours away from their parents
and rural homes into a "punk house" in the city. A
collage of 8mm film, photographic stills, time lapse
pencil drawings, music montages and narration and
looped dialogue, the film is a perfect example of
what a college student or young filmmaker can do with
their limited resources and a lot of time and talent.
Tess Ernst who writes and directs here, also acts
and provides the perfect music score. A very nice
and interesting film with a good story and a poignant
ending. (In black and white and color. Shown in the
"Youth Gone Wild" series).
Nightlife
A CGI Gumshoe investigates a disappearance
of a homme fatale's boytoy lover in this hilarious
animated short. With vampires, mummies, zombies, Shakespeare
and cute young CGI guys in the mix, you can't go wrong.
A really funny film that will have you busting a gut
even if the animation is a little crude. (Directed
by Gregory Duke. Viewed as a part of the "Divine Comedies"
series.)
Booty Dance
The perfect example of how a short
could be made by one person with nothing but a computer,
although a few more than that worked on this one I
believe. Made up of nothing but computer generated
animations and text with narration, the film is a
comedy about the dynamics of the different ways that
gay men and lesbians dance. Hilarious and seemingly
simple, the film was by far the funniest short I saw
during the "Youth Gone Wild" Program of shorts. (Created
by Paula Durette.)
Spokane: My
Brother's Wedding
Dark, troubling, and very detailed,
"Spokane" shows us a middle-aged man's first homosexual
experience. Two guys meet at a wedding and soon leave
to get high. One is gay, the other straight, and the
talk soon turns to sexuality and even more graphic
sexual questions. They go to a titty bar and get wildly
drunk while flirting and playing with the dancers
there (in ways that would get them kicked out of most
titty bars). Eventually they end up in a hotel room
where they watch cable porn and then begin to have
sex, the gay man taking charge and totally controlling
the situation. There's a lot going on in this film
with questions of sexuality, sexual questioning, modern
sexual mores, closeted lifestyle, pornography, and
alcohol being important elements here. And, lest we
forget, these two do meet at a heterosexual wedding.
Not a film about gay marriage, mind you, but rather
one that makes us question are societal ideas of what
a "couple" is and what might have happened if this
"straight" man if he had grown up in a society that
accepted homosexuality. This is a troubling and somewhat
graphically sexual short with minor nudity. Very thought-provoking
stuff yet wonderfully subtle. (Although the straight
guy's breathing during the sex scenes is a bit distracting).
Directed by Larry Kennar. (Viewed as a part of the
"Worried Straight Men" collection of shorts.)
All Over Brazil
Horrible and unmemorable title.
Great film. Scottish (and almost in need of subtitles
for American audiences due to the thick accents),
the film is about a young teenage boy whose mum has
just died who likes glam rock. The film is also about
how his father, a typical male soccer fan, begins
to understand - or at least accept - his son's desire
to wear make-up and high heels and go to concerts
by "poncy boys." Nicely made, humorous and poignant.
With all the music in the film by Slade, the film
is also dedicated to them. Directed by David Andrew
Ward. (Viewed as a part of the series "Boy-O- Rama.")
Credit Role
The greatest short that you could
ever show at any film festival, no matter what the
theme. This funny, well written and perfectly acted
short reminds us of just how important movies our
to our culture and how those who make the movies are
responsible for much joy. A little bit of a "gay"
moment or two towards then end, these instance could
also just as easily be considered friendship and male-bonding
moments. Make sure you pay close attention to the
end credits here. If you program films for a film
festival and don't run this one by Shawn Postoff,
you're a fool. (Viewed as a part of the series "Boy-O-Rama.")
Stunt Cocks
Hilarious is the only word to describe
this mockumentary spoof about two brothers who make
their living in porn because they can spew copious
amounts of jism. Copious amounts? Try bucket-fulls.
Filmmaker Tom Hodges (who I met in Park
City in 2000) and who was in the film "Lucas"
many years ago has continued his career as a filmmaker
and really hits the mark here. With Ron Jeremy, "Kids
in the Hall's" Scott Thompson and Lou Diamond Phillips.
(Listed in the Agliff program as "Stunt C*cks." Why?
Viewed as a part of the "Divine Comedies" series with
my friend Johnny Oh! who claims to have met Thompson
at a Austin gay bathhouse a few years ago and has
absolutely no reason to lie about it. Johnny was excited
about seeing it a second time in the "My Porn Star"
series of shorts, where it was slated to play. For
some unknown reason, however, it didn't run as scheduled
there).
The Virile
Man
Austin's Zellner Brothers, David
and Nathan, often find amusing stories in the simplest
of ideas. Here David plays a heterosexual married
man with children who calls a phone psychic after
he has a sexual liaison with one of his male co-workers.
Funny and important, the brothers made the film by
actually calling several unsuspecting psychics and
improvising the discussion, (David is in a closet
when he calls) until they found one that worked well
for the film. (Viewed as a part of the "Worried Straight
Men" collection of shorts. I first saw the film before
a showing of "Dear
Pillow" at SXSW
in 2004.)
L'Ultima Notte
Slow, purposeful and deeply troubling,
this short shows a menage a trois between a young
French Canadian couple and a hunky Russian immigrant.
Or does it? The events unfold here leading to a surprising
and emotional conclusion leaving us to questions exactly
what happened and what is truly the disturbing element
of the film. Without a doubt, this "threesome" is
never as happy and sexy as one expects from fantasies
and pornography but filmmaker Mathieu Guez takes this
story to the next level providing one of the most
interesting and thought-stimulating shorts to be seen
in a festival. (Listed in the program anglicized as
"The Last Night," that title never appeared on screen.
There were a couple of lines of dialogue in French
with subtitles but the majority of the film is in
English. Music is very good and is credited to some
entity known as Lambchop: Is A Woman. Canadian. Viewed
as a part of the "Worried Straight Men" collection
of shorts.)
Drag Queen
Heist
Witty storytelling, good acting,
and solid filmmaking help to make this short by J.T.
Tepnapa one of the best you will ever see. Two "ethnic"
gay guys decide to dress in drag and rob a bank. Nothing
goes right, of course. While the film works to make
us like the protagonists, one wishes that they didn't
committed a small crime or two in order to get their
just reward. A funny informercial helps with the giggles.
Notice that there are some funny credits too. (Viewed
as a part of the "Divine Comedies" series.)
Quasar Hernandez
What is this film doing in a gay
film festival? Austin filmmaker David Zellner pulls
off quite a feat this year by having a gay short film
in SXSW and a straight short film in Agliff. Well,
almost. If one wants to read between the lines, they
can sense a sort of unspoken gay subtext here. A white
young man who has been acting as a "Big Brother" to
a young African-American boy tells him he has to stop
doing that and then delivers an absurd reason for
his departure after promising to be honest with the
young man. Sweet, unique and utterly Zellner-esque.
These guys (David and his omnipresent brother Nathan)
are the best thing happening in Austin's independent
film scene. Their odd and absurdist features "Plastic
Utopia" and "Frontier",
as well as their segment in "Six
in Austin" and their numerous short films make
them not only prolific but truly second only to Rick
Linklater in the upper echelon of local Austin filmmakers
who are making a difference here. That alone is reason
enough to have this film in Agliff. (Viewed as a part
of the series "Boy-O-Rama.")
Haircut
The camera provides the POV of a
unseen protagonist while the dynamics of dom/sub sexual
relationships are explored. The man (i.e. the camera)
gets a wake-up call, goes to a room that appears to
be in a dilapidated, abandoned building and is given
a haircut by a series of hot Asian guys while industrial
techno music plays. Not groundbreaking but sexy as
hell. Probably the most erotic short in the festival
(By Bryan Jackson who was in attendance when I saw
the film as a part of the "Desperate Living" Program
of shorts.)
styx
Dark, atmospheric and claustrophobic
drama set on a ferry boat. A young DJ is having an
affair with the ferry's engine mechanic and things
come to a head on this fateful voyage. The piece may
be disturbing to some as it contains a bit of violence,
suggesting that the young mechanic is having trouble
accepting his sexuality and is lashing out against
his fey, young lover in a physical way, but the film
ends metaphorically suggesting he is ready to come
to terms with his situation. A nice film but rather
dark and bleak in a way. (In German with subtitles.
Directed by Falk Ulbrich. Screened before the film
"Komrades,"
which is about Russian sailors.
Silent Landscape
One of the interesting things about
a "International" gay and lesbian film festival is
that you get to see some gay films from other countries,
obviously, and this allows you to sort of gage where
some countries and cultures are at in their evolution
towards accepting gay and lesbians into their society.
It's not an exact science, of course, as filmmakers
are as diverse as cultures are but you get the idea.
This film, made in Norway, features a Middle-Eastern
Muslim family and their reaction to the news that
a neighbor has seen their young teenage son kissing
another boy while peering up and looking in his window.
The object of their son's affection happens to also
be white and blonde, which may or may not be compounding
the problem. The story is told with no dialogue and
is effectively cut out of chronological order to act
somewhat as a flashback. A powerful and moving film
with its ethnic background intact. However, the same
story might be considered old hat if done with an
all Caucasian cast. Made by Rahman Milani. (Viewed
as a part of the series "Boy-O- Rama.")
Coffee
An amusing short set at a coffeehouse
where a poetry slam is taking place. Although there
is some male/female relationship drama that is a little
hard to understand, the film works wonderfully when
it revolves around a cute, spikey-haired gay boi seducing
a straight frat boy in the restroom of the place.
After this hot and steamy sequence, the rest of the
film really doesn't matter. (Directed by Todd Bartoo.
Viewed as a part of the "Worried Straight Men" collection
of shorts.)
Chevrogay
A cute, short, silent, B&W film
that cuts a few computer generated shots into a old
marketing film from the 50's for a Chevrolet car that
makes it look like a man is looking at another man
and being impressed and not looking at the car. Funny.
Made by Bryan Smith, it was the first short in the
series "Boy-O-Rama" which was sponsored by Five Star
Auto.
A Fine Romance
Although simplistic and unimportant,
this film is nonetheless nice to watch. A Radiohead
ambient song (I think it was one from the album "Kid
A") plays while two guys meet and kiss (part one),
have words like "Unsure" and "Bisexual" written on
their forehead and kiss (part 2), and ride bikes (part
3). The film is titled after an Ella Fitzgerald song
which plays at the end. By Jim Verburg. (Included
in the "Desperate Living" Program of shorts.)
The Varieties
of Religious Experience
This short is yet another that contemplates
gays and religion but it does so in a silent, 8mm
film that is in both black and white and color. It
starts with a young man holding a Bible cruising another
guy and then looking down ashamed when the object
of his lust looks back lovingly at him. The film then
cuts to two young men lying in bed wearing briefs,
laying side by side. One boy has on underwear with
pictures of Jesus' face as the pattern. The opening
titles even feature a "Wearing Underwear by..." credit.
Eventually the two boys move their hands ever closer
to one and other until their pinkies touch. (Directed
by Graham Hollings. Included in the "Youth Gone Wild"
Program of shorts.)
Strap 'Em Down:
The World of Drag Kings
This very short documentary features
a few drag kings performing and getting ready to perform.
The most intriguing thing in the movie is the appearance
of a woman who has had her breasts surgically reduced
(to completely flat) so she can appear to be male.
She sings topless here (lip-singing a boy band song
with a group of her fellow kings) and her scars from
the surgery are visible. (Directed by Anne P. Meredith,
the film runs just 4 minutes and screened before the
film "Drag Kings
on Tour")
Love and Deaf
Short story about a motor-mouthed
guy who talks all the time and how he finds the perfect
lover. The title gives away the punchline of this
film but filmmaker Adam Baran has a better ending
here than we expect. (Included in the "Desperate Living"
Program of shorts.)
Pool with
Two Figures
A no-dialogue short where a man
smokes and thinks about his absent lover while gazing
at a swimming pool. In his thoughts, he imagines his
lover naked swimming in the pool and as he does his
demeanor turns from anger to sadness to regret. Made
in Cuba by Juan Carillo and inspired by the David
Hockney painting that shares the title of the film
and that appears here at the end of the film. (Shown
prior to the film "Slutty
Summer.")
Proposal
A family dinner. Mom, dad, sister,
brother and male suitor. A ring. Guess who the guy
is proposing to... It is a gay film festival after
all. Although it has a few hilarious moments, including
a gag involving the music of rapper 50 Cents, the
end of this film can be seen coming a mile away. Still,
when the gay audience I saw this film with saw one
man proposing to another, they burst into spontaneous
applause. Take that you compassionate conservatives!
(Viewed as a part of the "Divine Comedies" series.)
Fairy Tales:
Next Gen
The story of Rumplestiltskin gets
a gay re-working in this short that mixes live action
and low-grade animation. While initially hilarious
and charming, the film is twice as long as it should
be. The second half of the film, which continues the
story of "Rumple" and has references to Cinderella,
Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Repunzel, and the Princess
and the Pea, is simply not funny. The three young
girls in the live actions sequence are quite good
at acting and since the final moment in the film relates
back to them, it is a little easier to like this overly
long short. Filmmaker Don Newcomb needs to meet a
good editor. (Viewed as a part of the "Divine Comedies"
series.)
I Like Mike
It's no "Soccer Practice." This
is a rather lame and typical music video featuring
a song by Jay Spears a guy in love with a baseball
player. There are some humorous moments when the film
switches to a shower scene and a Busby Berkley styled
formation of baseball players. I didn't think much
of this music video but the audience I saw it with
as a part of the "Boy-O-Rama" series burst into spontaneous
uproarious applause at its conclusion. (Directed by
Mark Herrier.)
I am Not a
Bear (AKA No Soy
un Oso)
In Spanish with subtitles, this
film features 8mm footage of actual bears (the animals,
not the gay stereotype) and its main character (the
gay stereotype). These pictures are taken at zoos
and animal habitats. Sometimes these images of the
bears are projected on the main characters face and
skin. The narration is a dialogue between a man and
his friend, presumably the filmmaker, talking about
why the chubby, hairy male focus of the film does
not consider himself the gay stereotype of a "bear"
(which is a chubby, harry, older man for those who
don't know). (Included in the "Desperate Living" Program
of shorts.)
Act of Faith
Short and to the point documentary
that discusses how homosexuality is specifically mentioned
as wrong in the Koran and therefore not allowed in
the Muslim faith. Three men are interviewed, a holy
man of some sort who explains what the Koran says,
an African-American gay man who practices the faith
and dismisses the mentions against his orientation
in his faith, and a gay man and former Muslim who
has rejected the religion and become a atheist. Not
particularly compelling, the film does surprise us
with its obvious yet unspoken comparison to the narrow-mindedness
of Christians and Christianity of late. A good short
to use as an introduction to the film "Garden"
at Agliff. Directed by Dan Bree.
Just for Leather
A silly film about a daddy hooking
up with a leather guy at a leather bar. The film,
which begins to get steamy, abandons the sex for a
joke. It isn't funny but the crowd that saw it with
me as a part of the "Desperate Living" Program of
shorts howled with laughter. Directed by Lawrence
Ferrera.
TV Dream Homes:
The Drawings of Mark Bennett
A rather poorly made documentary
(bad sound design, talking heads interviews) about
a somewhat odd and reclusive young man who makes blueprints
of fictional TV houses. Having made over 50 blueprints
of houses belonging to TV shows as if they were actually
real, his work finally become nationally renowned
and considered "contemporary art." Bennett, whose
sexuality is mentioned so quickly that there's really
no reason to show this film in a gay and lesbian film
festival, is, at least, an odd guy, making the interview
video, at least, interesting. Shown prior to the film
"You I Love."
Daniel
So slow and plotless as to be almost
pointless. There is a nugget of something relevant
going on in Jason Cooper's "Daniel" but I can only
guess what it is. A boy tries to kill a goldfish.
His parents go to a party and when the dad talks closely
with a male friend, his wife accuses him of it being
something more. The boy masturbates to a magazine
ad of a muscle man. The dad's friend comes to the
house and visits him much to the father's obvious
discomfort. There's something going on here but all
I can guess is that it is about how we keep secrets
in families and how sons learn their behavior from
their fathers, but your interpretation may be different
and just as valid as mine. Slowly paced with lots
of lingering shots of nature (bees, goldfish, trees),
the film could also be considered tedious and dull
by most viewers. I'm not so sure they'd be wrong.
(Viewed as a part of the series "Boy-O-Rama.")
Ron on the
Roof
A simple moment in a male/female
relationship that could be construed thematically
as being about homosexuality or bisexuality, but not
necessarily. A yuppie couple get high and the husband
acts despondent. He rebuffs his female partner's sexual
advances. In flashback, we see them as younger adults
getting high on a roof with another male, presumably
the titular Ron. These flashbacks, which are in the
"husband's" (we presume they are married) mind are
awash in bright white with saturated colors and it
all seems a bit pretentiously arty. Short and to the
point, the film is only slightly worth noting. (Directed
by Craig Cobb who also produced "Slutty
Summer" at this year's Agliff. Viewed as a part
of the "Worried Straight Men" collection of shorts.
This film should have run in the middle of that program,
not last as it ended the selections on a lame note.)
Wads & Wads
Used as an introductory-type piece
for the "Youth Gone Wild" program of shorts. This
8mm short featured two 20-something guys kissing with
a sheet between them while they threw glitter around
the room. Eventually they brought out this odd material
that had dollar bills printed on it and began using
it in bondage scenarios leading me to ponder whether
the piece was a wry commentary on how youthfulness
is a financial commodity in the gay marketplace or
whether it was just dumb.
Typing this just now is the first
time I snapped that the film was about wads (of cum)
and wads (of money). (Made by John Cafferty and Michael
Barry)
Dreaming Awake
Odd and pretentiously poetic film
about a amputee's feeling about his body now that
it has changed. With scenes of acupuncture and physical
therapy, the majority of the film is made up of black
and white images of bodies in motion with other bodies,
some normal, some not, while a Arvo Part song is played
by Kronos Quartet. Filmmaker John R. Killacky appears
in the film and does the narration. (Included in the
"Desperate Living" Program of shorts.)
Keep on Living
A amateurish music video, "Keep
on Living," at least, is an example of what young
people can do in the video age. Mixing old footage
from movies and newsreels of gay heritage moments,
the music video is really about a teenaged black drag
queen who is discovered by his father and instead
of heading into the closet, decides to "Keep on Living,"
by baking a cake out of these positive images from
our gay heritage (Harvey Milk, etc...) Not the best
short film you will ever see but certainly not the
worst either. I believe the song in the film was by
pop-punk band LeTigre. (In black and white and color.
From Paper Tiger TV. Included in the "Youth Gone Wild"
Program of shorts.)
Beneath the
Surface
At first I thought this long, rather
dull and pretentious short was screened because it
was the only African-American short that was submitted
to Agliff, but two others featuring that ethnicity
were also screened in the "Youth Gone Wild" Program
of shorts. A young guy sees a guy sleeping on a park
bench with a paper over his face. When he removes
the paper, a hunky youth in nothing but overhauls
gets up and walks away leaving the first boy to daydream
about the two making love in a garden. In black and
white and featuring some interesting super-imposed
shots, the film is too long and too amateurish to
be taken seriously. (Directed by Kirk Shannon- Butts)
Pink Sheep
Long and arduous, this short is
three interconnected stories that are unimportant
and typical. The short uses almost no dialogue and
tries to utilize the once clever, now dreadfully over-used,
Tarantinoesque device of rewinding back in time to
tell three different tangents off the same meeting.
First is "Jason's Story," a overly long look at a
heroin addict who gets high and has a vision of a
drag queen in a window frame that tells him to "consider
his existence" before he pukes twice and (presumably)
gives up the junk.
Then there's "Wheels and Dollybaby,"
a dumb story about a couple of lesbians who rob a
casino owner (a drag king posing as a man) and get
away with it.
And finally there's "Ivan's Story,"
where a cute puppyish boy gets caught kissing another
boy by his homophobic father before running away to
the big city. Ivan eventually meets up with his old
kissing buddy and dances the night away at a night
club.
I don't know what "Pink Sheep" is
but I can tell you this: It certainly isn't a movie.
(British. Made by a male and a female working together.
In black and white and color. Included in the "Youth
Gone Wild" Program of shorts.)
Wild Boys
(Wild Jungen)
An odd and stupid film about two
guys who stop a motorist and kill him by biting his
neck. The film seems to be 8mm and the credits lead
you to believe that it was perhaps culled from footage
from another film and made as some sort of artistic
statement. Narration has a guy telling a story about
a friend he had, "When I was 13," but the boys here
are obviously in their 20's. There is one cool shot
of electrical towers in a field of sunflowers but
otherwise this piece was homophobic and useless. At
the screening I attended one viewer complained loudly,
"I paid a lot of money for this!" after this short
was shown. (Made by Andrew Hull. Included in the "Youth
Gone Wild" Program of shorts.)
Daddy's Boy
A really typical short film. Any
time you see a short film where the main character
is a butcher, don't be surprised when it ends with
him killing or having killed someone. Here, in addition
to this typicality, we must also sit passively by
while he also talks to the camera as if he is hitting
the record button on a camera off an on throughout.
(British. Directed by Toni Harman. Filmed on video
but projected on 35mm. Included in the "Desperate
Living" Program of shorts.)
Biorhythms
A pointless documentary about a
young black rapper who has become estranged from his
mother due to her deep religious beliefs. The subject,
who I believe is named Larry Goodwin has okay rapping
skills but cannot put two coherent ideas together
when he is interviewed for the camera. At times his
thoughts become so unintelligible that the film becomes
meaningless. (Viewed as a part of "Youth Gone Wild.")
Worst of the Worst!
Nightshadows
One of the lamest, stupidest, most
disgusting gay films I've seen in years. A guy invites
a hot young boy to his apartment via the Internet
and then the boy starts teasing him that maybe he's
a serial killer as a part of their repulsive foreplay.
Of course, it comes as no surprise when the opposite
in fact turns out to be true. Then the numerous boys
the man has killed by slitting their throats (there's
lots of disgusting, lingering shots of hot young boys
being brutally murdered in this film. It's nauseating)
come back to seek their revenge as lifeless, bloody
zombies. Or perhaps it's just in the serial killer's
mind. Who cares. Whoever made this film with director
JT Seaton should immediately seek professional psychiatric
help. Maybe you can get a group rate. Why does Agliff
insist on running shit like this? Didn't they learn
anything from "The M.O.
of M.I?" You know, the real problem is that even
if this film were about straight people, it would
still suck. There's not a single new idea here. We've
seen this tripe a million times before. Film festival
fodder that belongs in Houston's Godawful Worldfest
but not in Austin. Film festivals should learn to
recognize this crap. (Viewed as a part of the series
"Boy-O-Rama" and boy oh boy did it stink up the place.)
