United in Anger: A History of ACT UP explores the story of ACT UP (the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) from the grassroots perspective—how a small group of men and women of all races and classes, came together to change the world and save each other’s lives. The film takes the viewer through the planning and execution of a dozen exhilarating major actions including Seize Control of the FDA, Stop the Church, and Day of Desperation, with a timeline of many of the other zaps and actions that forced the U.S. government and mainstream media to deal with the AIDS crisis. United in Anger reveals the group’s complex culture—meetings, affinity groups, and approaches to civil disobedience mingle with profound grief, sexiness, and the incredible energy of ACT UP. Before there was Occupy Wall Street or the Arab Spring, there was ACT UP.

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Zenne Dancer is inspired by the true characters and stories of Zenne Can and Ahmet Yildiz, who was murdered by his father July 18, 2008 in Istanbul. It is the contemporary story of three unlikely friends: Ahmet, a hyper-masculine gay (bear); Can, a male belly dancer (Zenne); and Daniel, a German photo-journalist. One day they meet Daniel, a German photojournalist newly arrived in Istanbul. The three of them forge a friendship and Daniel and Ahmet grow even closer, as a relationship begins to blossom between them. Soon, Ahmet’s hyper conservative family, suspicious and fearful of Ahmet`s sexual orientation, has hires a man to spy on him When Ahmet’s family discovers Ahmet’s plans to leave the country, they decide to defend their family honor. Zenne Dancer is an honest and unflinching look at living opening gay in Turkey, confronted by a systemic, institutionalized and culturally embedded homophobia.

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In June 2003, the Episcopal Church in New Hampshire came under fire when it became the first to elect an openly gay man, Gene Robinson, as a bishop. Since that flash point, Robinson has been at the center of the contentious battle for LGBT people to receive full acceptance in the faith. Director Macky Alston (whose film, Family Name, won the Freedom of Expression Award at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival) follows Robinson into the breach in the struggle for equality. While resolute in his calling, Robinson grows increasingly critical of the central role that religious institutions have played in fostering homophobia and hatred. He is pointedly not invited to a once-a-decade convocation of bishops and courts controversy by attending. His presence the next year for the Episcopal General Convention underscores the impact of its impending decisions about the church’s stance on the consecration of future gay bishops and the performance of same-sex marriage ceremonies. While Robinson never intended to be the poster boy for gay bishops, Love Free or Die demonstrates that he has become a beacon of hope for millions. His history-making church provides a model for other communities of faith to treat all people with dignity and respect, regardless of their sexuality. (Description courtesy of the Sundance Film Festival.) Winner, U.S. Documentary Special Jury Prize for An Agent of Change, Sundance Film Festival.

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