The worst fear of many closeted teens came true for 16-year-old Zach Stark in 2005, when his parents sent him against his will to a camp run by the ex-gay Christian reform group “Love In Action.” Depressed and fearful, Zach began blogging, and from this “modern-day message in a bottle,” news of his plight spread internationally. Featuring interviews with activists, ex-clients, psychologists, the Rev. John Smid (director of Love In Action during Zach’s internment), and, for the first time, Zach himself, this inspirational documentary recounts the events that resulted from a young man’s cry for help. (Description courtesy of the Seattle Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.)

Event Info↗

Things get very complicated very quickly when Joe, an angsty drug dealer, meets Belle, a buoyant suicidal psychopath, in this dark comedy. After an outlandish accident in Tel Aviv leaves the pair with a body to dispose of, they embark on a madcap journey to lose the cops - and end up finding love in Sderot (the target of ongoing rocket attacks). Gritty but tender, Joe + Belle offers an absurd portrait of life in contemporary Israel. Come and see the film that AFTERELLEN.com calls “Totally offkilter, sexy and stylish in a distinctly grungy, almost ‘90s sort of way” that “manages to say something deep about love and violence while still offering all the gallows humor you could hope for.

Event Info↗

Set in a small town on the Belgian coast in the late 1960s and 70s, adolescent introverted dreamer Pim grows up accustomed to neglect from his selfish mother Yvette. Pim eventually finds succor at the home of Yvette’s co-worker Marcella where he heroworships her older son, Gino. Friendship grows into love when Gino, cautioning Pim to secrecy, supplies the besotted boy’s first sexual experiences. But when Gino begins a relationship with a French girl, jealous Pim focuses his wistful romantic fantasies on Zoltan, the hunky itinerant fun-fair worker who comes to board at his house. Winner: Alice in the City Award, Rome Film Festival; FIPRESCI Award and Best Feature Debut, Montreal Film Festival. (Description courtesy of Palm Spring International Film Festival.)

Event Info↗