15th Annual Boston Gay & Lesbian Film/Video Festival

With her thoughtful depiction of relationships and sexual identity in the nineties, Rose Troche of Go Fish fame has created a sophisticated and witty romantic comedy. The story revolves around flatmates Leo and Darren, and their friend Angie. Leo seeks a substantial relationship while Darren is content with casual sex. Leo, disillusioned with the singles scene, finally joins a "new-man" therapy group, where he meets the handsome Brendan. What follows is a fun romp with sparkling humor and buoyant performances. "Bedrooms and Hallways is an original, lively examination of the trials and tribulations of lust and love, brimming with scintillating performances by a fine cast of young British actors" (Michèle Maheux, Toronto International Film Festival Catalog.)

Winner of the People's Choice Award at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Set in Vancouver, this delightful and very sexy new lesbian feature is a rollicking tale centering around the pretty 19-year-old bookstore clerk Maggie, and her diverse circle of friends and family. Maggie's life has been going great, especially since meeting Kim, an itinerant artist. They fall for each other hard and fast enjoying art, sex and chocolate. The only problem is that Maggie's recently divorced mother, Lila, has decided to move in. Then there is the transexual Judy who befriends Lila and is in love with Frances the lesbian bookstore owner who is fighting customs over banned books. A great soundtrack including artists like Bif Naked, Ani DiFranco, and Sara McLachlan all lend to the humor and romance of this "sexy, funny, touching and always generous" romantic comedy" (David Stratton, Variety). A reception follows screening. Special thanks to the Canadian Consulate General.

Through interviews with nine black men living in Philadelphia, Dancing on Pearls explores the ways in which race and sexual orientation intersect. Interviewees reminisce about childhood and adolescent experiences and reflect on a variety of topics, including religion, sexual attraction, the state of the local gay community, HIV, and the experience of loss due to AIDS.

In Edge of Seventeen, the year is 1984, the music playing is Boy George and the Bronski Beat, and Eric and his best friend Maggie are almost 17. They don matching polyester uni- forms for their summer job at a lunch wagon, managed by a supportive lesbian, played endearingly by comic Lea De Laria. It is at the lunch wagon that Eric has his first sexual experience, with fellow worker and college student Rod, causing Maggie to feel left out and jealous. When he returns to school, Eric begins exploring a new look, one inspired by the British bands he listens to and the gay club he begins to frequent. Edge of Seventeen is an uncompromising depiction of the complexities of sexual experience, from the heady romance of a first kiss to the messy realities of adult sex. It is hard to resist this charming and humorously authentic look at life and music in the '80's.

A stunning success at the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals, Get Real recounts a coming out story of sixteen-year-old Steven Carter, who bears a tremendous crush on the school's top athlete, the handsome John Dixon. Steven has absolutely no problems with being gay but is smart enough to know that his parents and friends may not be as accepting. He can't tell his parents, and none of his friends know; he can only confide in his best pal, the overweight, feisty Linda, who wants nothing more than a romance of her own. Then John notices Steven's attention. "Shore captures the secret lives and desires of his teenage characters with a fresh eye that makes this film youthful and invigorating" (Piers Handling, Toronto International Film Festival). Cosponsored by Fenway Community Health Center.

Are circuit parties merely hedonistic extravaganzas glamorizing body worship, rampant drug use, and unsafe sex? Or are they gatherings of the tribe, providing an empowering sense of community and essential fund-raising support for AIDS service organizations? These questions are at the heart of the controversy surrounding this annual series of nearly a hundred dances in more than a dozen cities worldwide. By filming the parties and interviewing organizers, attendees, and event beneficiaries, director Jose Torrealba conveys a sense of why these events are so popular. Juxtaposed with these elements are insightful interviews with such figures as Village Voice editor Richard Goldstein and columnist Michelangelo Signorile, whose book Life Outside did much to bring the controversy to a national level.

This English-language film from the director of Costa Brava is a sparkling comedy set in Spain, where the WonderNapKing Company is in crisis because of a severe decline in its sales of sanitary napkins. Rosa, a worker at the factory, is angry that her friends have been laid off, so she takes over as CEO with the intent to rehire her friends. When she learns that the demand for sanitary napkins is falling because women are having shorter periods due to stress, she hatches a plan to eliminate women's principal headache-men. All that remains is for Rosa and her compaderas to doctor a popular new brand of toothpaste with a radioactive material that causes men to disap- pear, thereby creating a world of ample employment, peace, and prosperity. Will Rosa's plan be sabotaged and bungled, or will she succeed? Honey... is a whimsical, witty and clever farce, certain to appeal to all "I Love Lucy" fans.

Set in the nightclub scene of London's Soho and the working-class neighborhood of Blackpool, Like It Is offers a fast-paced, gritty look at modern urban gay life. Craig, a scrappy, bare-knuckled fighter from Blackpool who is struggling with his sexual identity, meets Matt, an ambitious young record promoter, outside a gay nightclub. Even though their one-night stand goes awry, Craig eventually shows up on Matt's doorstep. Kelvin, the charming but sleazy record company owner (played impressively by Roger Daltrey of the Who), acts as Matt's mentor, whose role in his life seems to get more and more complicated. While dealing with their own demons, Matt and Craig, form a relationship that drastically changes both their lives.

Set in 1950s Brooklyn, this comedy follows George, a small-time mobster and his slow-witted sidekick, Dip, as they try to get ahead in the organization by setting up the boss with the hot new prostitute in town, the statuesque Glorice. George however doesn't know that there's more to Glorice than meets the eye, and discovers Glorice's secret only after the boss has already fallen for "her." Glorice will get some nice new jewelry out of the situation but George is afraid that once the truth is known, he'll be sporting a pair of cement shoes. Mob Queen features a sparkling cast, including New York drag performer Candis Cayne as the transsexual Glorice, and a remarkable degree of period detail. "Imagine Donnie Brasco trying to bluff his way through The Crying Game and you've grasped the gist of [Mob Queen]" (Dennis Harvey, Variety).

Winner of the 1998 Los Angeles Outfest's Outstanding Emerging Talent Award, Buck's Out of Season is a touching and subtle love story set in the picturesque seaside resort of Cape May, New Jersey. Micki, a restless, leather-jacketed, and Marlboro-smoking lesbian with loads of attitude, finds herself in a small town, caring for her dying uncle Charlie and running from everything, including her ex and her photography career. She finds a few surprises, one of which is the other lesbian in town, Roberta, a forty-year-old African-American waitress at the local diner and a good friend of her uncle. Jealousy, fear, and love all play a part in the story that ensues as both women struggle to find a way to trust. Buck has created a feature that is at once engaging, credible, and satisfying.

Gabi, a toughened Spanish street girl about to turn into a woman, is in the center of this mysterious action film. Combining elements of a classic crime thriller with those of an erotic drama the film enters into Gabi's dream world, where she fantasizes about a woman in green marble high-heeled shoes and about quitting her life of crime. Driven by passion, fearless, and untouched by remorse, Gabi is determined to get what she wants against all the odds. This seems more possible when she meets the older Carmina, who is initially amused by Gabi's attentions but is soon seized by her desire and life of crime. Gritty and intriguing, Pasajes takes us to the underworld of petty crime and obsessive desires.

In this documentary, out lesbian Reno, an oddball comedian and stream-of-consciousness performer, takes us on a search for her birth mother. Reno was adopted into a suburbanite all-American family, where she always knew she was different. The camera captures Reno's quest, complete with her ups, downs, and tantrums. Her journey is assisted by her loving friends. Included are depictions of Reno's fantasies and nightmares, featuring Lily Tomlin as her fairy godmother and Mary Tyler Moore as her mother. Reno herself gives the performance of her life as she uses her detective powers to solve the mystery of her birth. This is an adventure not to be missed.

Filmmaker Gigi Gaston and musician Sophie B. Hawkins ("Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover" and the popular album Whaler) have created a mov- ing and intriguing documentary that brings us further into both Hawkins's music and life. The Cream Will Rise is not only the record of a concert tour but also an exploration of the story behind this artist's rise to fame from an unhappy childhood to her present success. Unusually honest conversations with Hawkins, her mother, and her brother con- cerning their bouts with alcoholism, anorexia, and sexual abuse reveal an ongoing healing process as Hawkins revisits the sites of some of her most painful, as well as pleasurable, childhood memories. This film beautifully weaves and connects this troubled past with Hawkins's current life of achievement and fame. Throughout, Hawkins's music creates a mood that is not easily forgotten, and the viewer gains a deep respect for her honesty.

The Real Ellen Story by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (1998, 52 min.) tells the behind-the-scenes story of the outing of Ellen DeGeneres. It traces the famous coming-out episode that 42 million Americans tuned in to. Candid interviews with Ellen, her partner, Anne Heche; her mother Betty; her brother; the show's writers; a former Disney executive; and gay and lesbian activists emphasize the impact this show had on people around the world. Find out, among other things, why the episode was code-named by the network The Puppy Episode. Off the Straight and Narrow by Katherine Sender (1998, 63 min.) is a comprehensive history of gay, lesbian, and bisexual representation on American television. It travels from the near invisibili- ty of gays and lesbians before the '70's to the reportage of AIDS in the '90's. Clips from famous gay and lesbian moments in television history are used in this intriguing documentary to investigate media representations and to challenge stereotypes.

The Trio is a comedy spinning with freewheeling sexuality. Its cast of characters includes Zobel, an aging queen; his tired lover, Karl; and Zobel's feisty daughter Lizzi. All three travel around in a mobile home living off their earnings from their pickpocketing business. When Karl becomes unable to work, the ambitious young Rudolf, a boyishly charming misfit, takes his place in their cozy band of thieves. Although Zobel decrees "no exchange of bodily fluids within the team," both father and daughter get the hots for their newest member, and a very interesting ménage à trois ensues.

What does intellectual property law have to do with circumcision? Leave it to the director of Lilies and Zero Patience to unite these and other seemingly disparate topics into another of his fascinating and inventive combinations of musical camp, melodrama, experimental narrative, and documentary. The story brings three "Peters" together: They make love. They make art. They get busted. "Uncut is a densely layered, delirious romp in which ideas are hurled at blistering speeds [and whose] candy-colored pop art explosion will knock you out." (Joel Shepard, San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival Catalog).

International shorts on growing up gay including Stanley Beloved (20 min), A Kiss in the Snow (22 min), A Good Son (12 min), Yellow Fever (25 min), and Fairytale (25 min). Director David Kittredge will be present.

East by Shamiran Samano (1998, 9 min.) is a sensual, erotic depiction of Middle Eastern queer identity. Dance With Me by Cassandra Nicolau (Canada, 1997, 9 min.) brings us into a Macedonian dance between a lesbian daughter, her disabled mother, and her loving grandmother. In Meninas by Paula Alves (Brazil, 1997, 17 min.), two girls' feelings for each other are discovered in a small conservative Christian town in Brazil. Tomboy by Donna Carter (1998, 5 min.) documents an African American tomboy's childhood experiences. I/Yo by Adriana Pacheco (1997, 13 min) meditates on Pachecho's childhood growing up in Colombia. Sambal Belacan in San Francisco by Madeleine Lim (1997, 26 min.) takes a poetic look at three Singaporean lesbians' search for "home."

Program of shorts about gay and lesbian parents and their children including Letter to Maya (22 min), 1-800-Yer-Mama (6 min), Camp Lavender Hill (28 min), and Making Babies: The Gay & Lesbian Baby Boom (26 min).

Two personal documentaries: Summer in My Veins (41 min) and Nana, George and Me (48 min). Filmmakers Nish Saran and Joe Balass explore family, identity, and heritage.

Collection of lesbian shorts including Girl Talk (6 min), Come and Go (13 min), Virgin of the Sea (30 min), Picked (3 min), Boy Germs (14 min), and Sabor a mi (20 min). Directors Justine Franko and Christine J. Russo will be present.