John Cameron Mitchell, creator and star of the long running off-Broadway rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, has adapted his stage hit for the screen. Winner of the Sundance 2001 Audience and Director awards and the 2001 Berlin Teddy Award, this film tells the story of a transsexual would-be rock star. East German teenage boy Hansel agrees to a sex change operation in order to marry an older American man, thus becoming Hedwig. Shortly after their arrival in Kansas, Hedwig’s husband abandons her and she falls in love with confused 17-year-old Tommy, who steals her songs to become a rock superstar. The former soulmates’ paths continue to intersect as the Glam Era-inspired Hedwig rocks her way through the tragic story of her life, singing her soul nightly to audiences at a local restaurant chain. Visual flash and a retro-kitsch sensibility create the campy, underground appeal.

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Audience award winner at five festivals, Crush by Phillip Bartell (2000, 29 min) is set during a long hot summer in a (very) small town in rural Illinois, as 12-year-old Tina bonds with 16-year-old Robbie over their favorite TV show. Tina soon develops a major crush on Robbie. Robbie, however, develops a crush of his own… The Mountain King by Duncan Tucker is a sensuously photographed film that depicts a relationship between a persuasive hustler and a quietly closeted young man at the beach. …lost by Dan Castle was made in response to growing complacency about the continuing threat of AIDS and captures a day in the life of a young man foundering in a world of drugs, anonymous tricks, and AIDS. When Joseph asks his lifelong partner, Caesar, to send for a priest in The Confession by Carl Pfirman, it leads to a dramatic struggle in this moving exploration of love, faith and commitment.

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Life is an endless cycle of cooking, laundry, and dishwashing for New Jersey housewife Julie Johnson (Lili Taylor). But Julie’s been nurturing a secret passion: a flair for scientific theory. Taking a huge step, Julie enrolls in a night class at a local high school—a decision that her best friend Claire (Courtney Love) supports. When Julie’s domineering husband strongly disapproves, Julie finally gets up the nerve to throw him out. Claire moves in while Julie and, together with Julie’s children, they form an unconventional but loving family—but lingering issues threaten to tear them apart. A story about self-discovery and shaky potential, Julie Johnson explores one woman’s desire to break free of other people’s expectations and the bravery required to pursue her dreams.

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