Wanting to quit prostitution in Manila and start a new life, Sofia, a transgender woman, gets her chance when an old friend asks her to look after her twelve year-old son, Tomas, while she works overseas for a year. Sofia packs her bags and moves to the small town of Talisay where she becomes Donna, taking care of Tomas. As she’s about to settle into this quiet, idyllic life, the past inevitably creeps back up and she discovers that the town’s mayor Tiongson, who is seeking re-election, is a crony of Verano, one of her regular clients back in Manila. Determined to erase any trace of her past, Donna discreetly hatches a plan to remove Tiongson from power and rid the town of Verano’s influence.

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A beautifully told love story of what happens when one woman finally follows her heart. Mia and Frida meet for the first time at their respective parents’ engagement party. As their eyes meet over the champagne toast, both women recognise a deep attraction for each other. But standing in their way is Tim, Mia’s long term boyfriend and business partner, who has just asked Mia to marry him. Thrown together by circumstance, Mia finds it hard to resist acting on her desires for the beautiful and openly gay Frida. Although she insists it was just a one-time thing, she is drawn to the other woman as strongly as Frida is drawn to her. Realising the love and acceptance she experiences with Frida is what she truly wants in life, Mia’s actions have the potential to turn everyone’s lives upside down. How far will she go to keep the woman of her dreams? A beautiful and sensual film told elegantly by Keining with strong performances by all involved. (Description courtesy of Emma Smart, BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.)

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Festival favourite Ferzan Ozpetek (Ignorant Fairies; Saturn in Opposition) returns to with a light-hearted tale of family obligation and repressed desire that is as playful and sunny as a weekend on the Italian Riviera. Tommaso is the youngest son of the well-to-do and ultra-conservative Cantone family, who own a pasta factory in Puglia. He returns home for an important family dinner at which his father plans to hand over the business to Tommaso and his brother Antonio. But Tommaso has a comfortable life in Rome as an aspiring writer and a steady relationship with his boyfriend Marcoa life he has kept secret from his family. He has no desire to move back to his hometown or to give up his writing career, so he plans to announce to his family at the dinner that he is gay. That evening, however, just as Tomasso begins his speech, he is upstaged by his brother, who, to everyones surprise, reveals his own secret! Antonio is promptly disowned and their father Vincenzo collapses from a heart attack. With the family in a state of turmoil, Tommaso reluctantly steps in to run the factory with Alba, the daughter of their new business partner. The comedy follows Tommaso as he balances running the firm, consoling his outraged family and keeping his homosexuality a secret in case the news altogether kills his stricken father. A surprise visit from some of Tomassos friends, including boyfriend Marco, uncovers some well-hidden family secrets and helps to change some long-held beliefs among the family. Loose Cannons is a witty, penetrating drama, beautifully acted by its ensemble cast. The film takes a lighthearted approach, revealing each family member’s quirks in a story that meanders through an emotional terrain of unspoken feelings that are played out against a backdrop of sumptuous beauty. (Description courtesy of Inside Out: The Toronto LGBT Film Festival.)

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