The Real Ellen Story by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato (1998, 52 min.) tells the behind-the-scenes story of the outing of Ellen DeGeneres. It traces the famous coming-out episode that 42 million Americans tuned in to. Candid interviews with Ellen, her partner, Anne Heche; her mother Betty; her brother; the show's writers; a former Disney executive; and gay and lesbian activists emphasize the impact this show had on people around the world. Find out, among other things, why the episode was code-named by the network The Puppy Episode. Off the Straight and Narrow by Katherine Sender (1998, 63 min.) is a comprehensive history of gay, lesbian, and bisexual representation on American television. It travels from the near invisibili- ty of gays and lesbians before the '70's to the reportage of AIDS in the '90's. Clips from famous gay and lesbian moments in television history are used in this intriguing documentary to investigate media representations and to challenge stereotypes.

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In Edge of Seventeen, the year is 1984, the music playing is Boy George and the Bronski Beat, and Eric and his best friend Maggie are almost 17. They don matching polyester uni- forms for their summer job at a lunch wagon, managed by a supportive lesbian, played endearingly by comic Lea De Laria. It is at the lunch wagon that Eric has his first sexual experience, with fellow worker and college student Rod, causing Maggie to feel left out and jealous. When he returns to school, Eric begins exploring a new look, one inspired by the British bands he listens to and the gay club he begins to frequent. Edge of Seventeen is an uncompromising depiction of the complexities of sexual experience, from the heady romance of a first kiss to the messy realities of adult sex. It is hard to resist this charming and humorously authentic look at life and music in the '80's.

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East by Shamiran Samano (1998, 9 min.) is a sensual, erotic depiction of Middle Eastern queer identity. Dance With Me by Cassandra Nicolau (Canada, 1997, 9 min.) brings us into a Macedonian dance between a lesbian daughter, her disabled mother, and her loving grandmother. In Meninas by Paula Alves (Brazil, 1997, 17 min.), two girls' feelings for each other are discovered in a small conservative Christian town in Brazil. Tomboy by Donna Carter (1998, 5 min.) documents an African American tomboy's childhood experiences. I/Yo by Adriana Pacheco (1997, 13 min) meditates on Pachecho's childhood growing up in Colombia. Sambal Belacan in San Francisco by Madeleine Lim (1997, 26 min.) takes a poetic look at three Singaporean lesbians' search for "home."

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