We begin our run at the coolidge-corner-theater with two midnight screenings of John Cameron Mitchell’s acclaimed film Hedwig and the Angry Inch which tells the story of an ‘internationally ignored’ rock singer, Hedwig, and her search for stardom and love. Born a boy named Hansel who searches for love, Hedwig reluctantly submits to a sex change operation in order to marry an American G.I. The operation is botched, leaving her with an ‘angry inch’. Finding herself divorced in a Kansas trailer park, she forms a rock band and encounters a lover, Tommy, who leaves her, steals her songs, and becomes a rock star. Touring with her pan-Slavic band, The Angry Inch, Hedwig shadows Tommy’s stadium tour, performing in near-empty restaurants for bewildered diners and a few die-hard fans. Somewhere between the crab cakes and the cramped motel rooms, between the anguish and the acid-wash, she pursues her dreams and discovers the origin of love.

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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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Jenn and Matt are best friends from college who are now in their 30s. Single by choice, Jenn spends her days teaching hot yoga and running errands for her boss. Matt suffers from comic-book writer’s block and can’t get over his ex-boyfriend. They decide to fulfill a youthful promise to have a child together… the old-fashioned way. Can they navigate the serious and unexpected snags they hit as they attempt to get their careers and dating lives back on track in preparation for parenthood? “Gayby” is an irreverent comedy about friendship, growing older, sex, loneliness, and the family you chose. (Description courtesy of SXSW Film Festival.)

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