A film about a film within a film. In order to avoid an X rating, 40 minutes of gay S&M footage was rumored to be cut and destroyed from the 1980 film, “Cruising.” Inspired by the mythology of this controversial film, filmmakers James Franco and Travis Mathews collaborate to imagine their own lost footage. Amid the backdrop of a frenzied film set, actor Val Lauren reluctantly agrees to take the lead in the film. Val is repeatedly forced to negotiate his boundaries during scenes on and “off camera,” as unsimulated gay sex happens around him. The film itself is constructed as a play with boundaries remaining queer in subject and form. As much a film about filmmaking as it is about an exploration of sexual and creative freedom, “Interior. Leather Bar.” defies easy categorization. NEW ENGLAND PREMIERE

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In Roberta's dream, she is trudging through the streets of Santiago, Chile carrying her bed on her back, having lost everything. In reality, she has a young son; an ex—the boy's father—who still adores her; a girlfriend, Javiera, who operates a “post pornography” website; and among other family members, a mother, Ana, whose disapproval she's come to expect. When she comes out to her mom, the older woman's reaction is predictably negative, which only encourages Roberta to bring her mother and her girlfriend together on a day‐long sailing trip. Trapped together on the open water, the three women have no choice but to talk to one another, even as they discover just how impossible communication sometimes is. Gorgeously shot, briefly erotic, writer/director Constanza Fernández's intimate drama touches on many things, including the challenges of coming out in a repressive society, the politics of sexual representation, and Chile's dark history and the tragic legacy of its “desaparecidos.” Mostly it is about the difficulty of relationships, whether between lovers or parent and child; how easy it is to hear but how hard it is to listen; and how difficult it is to understand and be understood. Roberta opens a Pandora's box with this voyage, as the woman who demands honesty from her lover and her mother finds out how hard it is to be honest, even with herself.

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On February 12, 2008, in Oxnard, California, eighth‐grade student Brandon McInerney shot his classmate Larry King twice in the back of the head during first period. When Larry died two days later, his murder shocked the nation. Was this a hate crime, one perpetrated by a budding neo‐Nazi whose masculinity was threatened by an effeminate gay kid who may have had a crush on him? Or was there even more to it? Looking beyond all the copious news coverage of this tragic event, Valentine Road tells the story of two victims: the deceased and the murderer. With keen insight, the film connects the human wreckage of Larry’s and Brandon’s troubled lives—both physically abused, both from broken homes, and both searching for a sense of belonging. Filmmaker Marta Cunningham puts a human face on a critical issue challenging communities everywhere. Namely, how do we help kids like Brandon and Larry before tragedy happens? Haunting, infuriating, and powerful, Valentine Road shakes us to our core as it calls to question our very notion of justice.

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