Love and Other Disasters

As our way of saying goodbye to actress Brittany Murphy, who died last Dec. 20 at age 32, I'm posting these images from her little-seen-but-super-fab 2006 film, Love and Other Disasters. Matthew Rhys (TV's Brothers & Sisters) co-stars in this romantic comedy gem that ImageOut presented as a special screening back in 2008. And here's a link to some of the film's memorable quotes (trust me, you'd find more in the movie!) to remind you of how truly funny it is. If you haven't seen it yet, rent it now!

~MG

SAG Awards Nominations

The Screen Actors Guild Awards just announced their nominations this morning for television and motion picture performances. I think these are a better representation of what might be the favorites for the Oscars. Usually the Ensemble Acting nominations correspond to their Best Picture choices. So it is surprising that critical darling Up in the Air is missing from that list even if 3 of its actors are nominated for individual performances. I don't see any other glaring omissions. Do you?

Golden Globe Awards Nominations

Oh those quirky Foreign Press People are back with their 2010 nominations. Was there too much love for Sandra Bullock? Or Meryl Streep for that matter? Where are Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) and Soairse Ronan (The Lovely Bones) in the list? Happy to see all the love that Glee and its cast got, particularly for Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester). But what about showing appreciation for the great work of Eric Stonestreet (Cam) in Modern Family? The guy could practically just walk across the room and I'll be LMAOTF. Puhleeze ... Cam and Mitchell make for the best gay couple on TV in a very long time. Discuss. So did any of your favorites miss the Golden Globe cut? And does it really matter? Check out the complete list of nominations here.

NY and Boston Critics' Choices

The Hurt Locker blows away the competition with two film critics' awards. I'm also glad that my favorites Meryl Streep and Christoph Waltz are getting their dues.

Here are the winners from the New York Film Critics' Circle.

Best Film The Hurt Locker

Best Director Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Best Screenplay In the Loop

Best Actress Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Actor George Clooney, Up In The Air and Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Supporting Actress Mo’Nique, Precious

Best Supporting Actor Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Cinematography Christian Berger, The White Ribbon

Best Animated Film Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Non-fiction Film Of Time and the City

Best Foreign Language Film Summer Hours

Best First Feature Hunger, director Steve McQueen

Here are the picks of the Boston Society of Film Critics.

Best Picture The Hurt Locker

Best Actor Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Best Actress Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Best Supporting Actor Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Best Supporting Actress Mo’Nique, Precious

Best Director Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Best Screenplay Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man

Best Cinematography Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker

Best Documentary The Cove

Best Animated Film Up

Best Film Editing Bob Murawski and Chris Innis, The Hurt Locker

Best New Filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, District 9

Best Ensemble Cast Precious and Star Trek

Best Use of Music in a Film Crazy Heart

DC Critics' Choices

More awards for the early Oscar frontrunners from the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association.

Best Film Up in the Air
Best Actor George Clooney, Up in the Air
Best Actress Carey Mulligan, An Education
Best Supporting Actor Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress Mo’Nique, Precious
Best Director Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Best Screenplay, Adapted Up in the Air
Best Screenplay, Original Inglourious Basterds
Best Breakthrough Performance Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Best Ensemble The Hurt Locker
Best Animated Film Up
Best Foreign Film Sin Nombre
Best Art Direction Nine
Best Documentary Food, Inc.

National Board of Review Winners

Can you believe it's film awards season already? The National Board of Review, a not-for-profit organization of "a selective group of knowledgeable film enthusiasts, academics, film professionals, and students," just announced their choices for this year's Best Film, Actor, Actress, Director, etc with the George Clooney film Up in the Air winning the top prize. Along with the film winners in the different categories, the group also lists their Top 10 films. The NBR is usually the first critics' group announcing their choices.

Click here for a complete list of winners.

360|365 Festival Job Postings

Here's another reason why I truly APPRECIATE and LOVE our ImageOut volunteers. The 360|365 Film Festival (formerly High Falls FF) has these job postings on their website. These are positions and functions handled by our volunteers gratis at ImageOut! And we all do a marvelous job nonetheless.

Anyway, the good thing is there are jobs available in Rochester! So if you are looking for one, definitely check them out.

Meredith Baxter is On Board

Family Ties actress Meredith Baxter made the media rounds today confirming the rumors that she is a lesbian. Read the full story.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

Eating Out 4?

The inevitable is upon us. Well, if the latest Facebook update (and tweet) from creator Q. Allan Brocka is to be believed, the witty and funny writer/filmmaker supposedly has already started the process of writing the next installment in his successful and popular sexy comedy film series, Eating Out. The last one, All You Can Eat, was a huge hit among our ImageOut audiences.

So what would be a clever subtitle for this one? Discuss!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just as you are excited about consuming lots of turkey, gravy, stuffing, and pies, I am very glad to have Thursday off to catch some movies at the cinema. I actually started my Thanksgiving moviethon early with a preview screening of The Fantastic Mr. Fox last Tuesday. This animated gem from filmmaker Wes Anderson is (freely?) adapted from the 1970 children's book of the same title by Roald Dahl. I actually had second thoughts about watching the film but the rave reviews were hard to ignore. And I'm glad I went. It was a fantastic animated movie indeed (but second only to Pixar's Up this year) and the stop-motion technique employed in the film is a refreshing departure from the computer-generated images popular nowadays. Plus the film has lots of charm, wit, and heart with great talents like George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and Bill Murray providing the voices. I have to say though that this fairy tale about a sly fox who declares a stand off against the three richest and meanest farmers in the land is more for adults than it is for kids. After all, it is a movie that glorifies stealing.

Though what I am most excited about from this weekend's new films is Ninja Assassin! I know, I know. Who would have thought that a gentle soul like me would prefer a bloody and violent martial arts film for Thanksgiving, no? But I grew up watching Kung Fu movies on Sunday mornings. Haha. The trailer for this film looks amazing! Plus I cannot wait to see Asian heartthrob and Korean pop sensation and matinee idol, Rain, on the big screen. Oh, but no sticky rice tendencies just yet.

Any film plans for the long weekend?

~MG

Censorship at the Canadian Border

Inside Out, Toronto's LGBT Film Festival, ran into some issues with the Canadian border for three films that they were scheduled to screen at their satellite film festival in Ottawa this past weekend. Initially, the border guards were flagged by the R-Rated film Clapham Junction (an audience favorite from ImageOut 2008) but ended up holding prints for Patrik, Age 1.5 and I Can't Think Straight as well. It's a good thing Montreal did not have the same problems since I sent several films their way right after our Festival in October.

Click here for the full story. Thanks Paul for the link!

~MG

THE WOLF'S MOUTH wins in Turin

Italy's own Pietro Marcello won the top prize at the recently concluded 27th Torino Film Festival with his docudrama, La bocca del lupo (The Wolf's Mouth). Aside from the fact that this is the first time an Italian is taking home the festival's big award, it is also interesting to note that Marcello's film is a daring love story about two male ex-cons. Wow. This is the second Italian mainstream festival which gave its top prize to a gay-themed film this year, following Sweden's Brotherhood win in Rome. Now I know why I love those Italians. And it's not just for the clothes.

My best bet to see this film will probably be in Berlin. But I'm emailing my friend Davide right now just in case (he's a programmer for the festival).

~MG

Congratulations, Pandora!

Well, Rochester's Favorite Drag Queen (as voted by readers of City Newspaper) Pandora Boxx is going to be a Reality Show Star! Pandora has just announced in her Facebook page that she is part of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 2. This is exciting news for the Rochester community and local drag fans -- as if we don't have enough reasons to watch the show already! Congratulations, Pandora! We're all proud of you! And we will see you on the boob tube in February.

~MG

P.S. Season 1's Nina Flowers is an acquaintance when she was still a hardworking drag queen/DJ in San Juan, Puerto Rico. =)

At the Movies this Weekend

It seems to me that there's quite a few good movies opening in Rochester this weekend. Is your schedule filling up with movie dates yet? Or are you still debating on which ones to see first? Well at the top of my film list this weekend are two international film festival favorites and definite Oscar Award contenders, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire and An Education, both showing at the Little.

I feel that Precious has been talked about and recommended by many folks already so I don't think I need to convince anyone to go see it. I do have to say though that it was in my list of films to look out for ImageOut at the end of 2008, since one of the key supporting players is a lesbian character. The film was known then as Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire. That was before it won both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at Sundance. After that, I knew that the film would just take off and probably won't be playing the LGBT film festival circuit. {sigh}

An Education stars GLBT-friendly Peter Sarsgaard and the sensational Carey Mulligan, already considered to be a strong contender for the Best Actress award this season. It's a coming-out story about a 16-year old girl who falls for a man nearly twice her age and their ensuing romance. This film is a good alternative while everyone is lining up for either The Twilight Saga: New Moon or Precious.

Speaking of New Moon, what about that Taylor Lautner, eh? OMG. My heart skipped a beat just typing his name. Obviously, I'm on Team Jacob. But I still cannot understand the appeal that Robert Pattinson is generating. Please explain! Okay so maybe New Moon is a good Sunday night screening when everyone else who wanted to see it already went and I don't have to stand in line longer than I have to.

Don't forget that the Dryden at George Eastman House is also screening two note-worthy films this weekend: Austria's entry to Oscar's Best Foreign Language Film Award, Revanche, and The Yes Men Fix the World.

Hope to bump into you at the movies this weekend!

~MG

LIPSTICK MASSACRE this Weekend!

Well if you have three hours to spare (oh lordy!) this weekend, go see The Lipstick Massacre, a riotous new mystery play from the wicked mind of Michael Steck a.k.a. Pandora Boxx (one of our regular Flower City Flicks contributors) having its last weekend run at the Multi-use Community Cultural Center (MuCCC) at 142 Atlantic Ave. The Friday and Saturday shows start at 8pm. I've only heard very positive and enthusiastic recommendations from friends who have seen it. So I'm very excited to see what the fuss is about myself on Saturday.

Then there's Miss Gay Rochester on Sunday. It's going to be a busy weekend!

HUMPDAY this Friday at the Dryden!

Yes, the hilarious comedy Humpday is finally coming to Rochester this Friday (11/13), courtesy of the Dryden at George Eastman House! I've been waiting for this film on the big screen since early this year after debuting (and winning a special Jury Prize!) at the Sundance Film Festival in January. I thought it was maybe even something I could consider for the ImageOut There! Series. Luckily for the film but not so great for us, it got picked up for distribution right away and got a summer theatrical release instead. And now, it's finally here. So I'm just way excited to see it. Come join me at 8pm at the Dryden for a fun Friday evening. But before you go, make sure to check out the synopsis to make sure that the topic and crude humor are not offensive to you. Oh and it's not really gay per se (it's beyond gay!) but still very enjoyable just the same.

2012: Mega Disaster Movie

Just got out of the preview screening for 2012 and I'm a little miffed that no one told me the darn thing is 2.5 hours long. And I didn't have 2.5 hours to spare tonight! But I must admit that all the fantastic special effects made the length tolerable. Still, all the attempts at human drama could have used some major editing.

Basically, some cataclysmic phenomenon is brewing beneath us and the core of the earth is destined to melt away by 2012. The world as we know it would end -- with land masses shifting by thousands of miles, if not sinking at all. Water will once again cover most of the earth. But a chosen group of people will survive in order to preserve humanity ... along with some animals and arts and cultural artifacts and treasures. It's like the story of Noah's Ark but with super cool ships.

You won't have to burn too much brain cells watching this one. It's a disaster movie, people ... the mother of all disaster movies! So just be prepared to take it for what it is -- lots of destructions, lots of deaths, lots of overblown dramatic moments. But it truly is a showcase of amazing CGI effects. So just sit back and enjoy it.

It's just very tiring.

~MG

BROTHERHOOD: A Gay Neo-Nazi Film

A couple of weeks ago, the 4th International Rome Film Festival awarded its top prize to Denmark's Brotherhood (Broderskab), an astonishing film debut by Danish/Italian filmmaker Nicolo Donato (read the reviews from Variety and ScreenDaily). It's a story about two members of a violent neo-Nazi organization targeting the existence of Muslims in Denmark who, much to their surprise, fall in love with each other. Sweet! We've definitely seen gay neo-Nazis in action at ImageOut before, courtesy of Bruce LaBruce. But Brotherhood seems to be a cut above anything we've screened from that genre. How exciting!

As I've mentioned many times before, programming for the next ImageOut lineup begins as soon as the program guide for the current year goes to the printer in August. Yes, it's that early, as crazy as that sounds. So I'm all about noting down any films that I should be on the look out for. But this may very well be a title that could be picked up for mainstream distribution, or definitely end up in arthouse and indie cinemas. If not, then I hope it is something we can consider for ImageOut 18.

But wait ... it's from Denmark! Notice that we rarely have Danish movies in our film offerings? Festival participation of most films from Denmark is usually arranged through the Danish Film Institute and they are a snob when it comes to screening their films at "smaller" film festivals including ImageOut. For a few years now, the DFI claims that they go by a short exclusive (read prestigious ... in their minds, at least) list of film festivals that they are willing to work with. I could not even get screeners from those folks! So I've always been very resourceful when it comes to seeing Danish films just so I know whether I should be upset about missing a great title or what. Anyway, here's hoping that whatever happens, Brotherhood gets picked up by a US distributor for ImageOut to even stand a chance.

~MG

Buy your DVDs from Wolfe

Do you know that ImageOut gets a small commission when you buy your DVDs from the Wolfe website? Through Wolfe's festival affiliation program, ImageOut gets a percentage of sale when the buyer connects to Wolfe via the link provided on our website. Click here for more information.

A few of the titles from our 2009 Festival lineup are already available for DVD pre-order. Both Eating Out 3 and Make the Yuletide Gay are being released on DVD on 11/10.

Expand your DVD collection and help ImageOut at the same time! Make your DVD purchases from Wolfe through ImageOut.

Employment Opportunity at ImageOut

We only have one paid part-time staff at ImageOut to help run the office during the week. Maryjane Reina has been doing a wonderful job for us for the past couple of years and it will be tough to find someone to fill her big shoes. It would be great if you could help us find the perfect fit for this job. Click here for more information.

---------------------------------------

ImageOut is Seeking Applicants for Office Manager Position

ImageOut is looking for a new office manager to join our team on or about December 14th. As you know, ImageOut is a volunteer run organization but we do employ one part-time (25 hours per week) office manager who is essential to the daily operations of the Festival. If you or someone you know would be interested in exploring this opportunity please submit your resume and letter of interest to the ImageOut Board of Directors Co-Chairs, Deanna Baker and Jim Biebel at the ImageOut office, 274 N. Goodman Street, Rochester, NY 14607.

Christine Chew Receives IO Prize

It's not very often that I get to hand the prize in person to any winner of ImageOut's Audience Awards. So I was very excited when I could arrange a meeting with Toronto filmmaker Christine Chew whose film Falling for Caroline was recently voted as the audience favorite for Best Short at our 2009 Festival. Christine was just as excited as I was -- this win is the first one for her debut film! I'm glad ImageOut could be part of this historic achievement.
Christine wins a check for $500, courtesy of the ImageOut Board of Directors, and a Certificate of Recognition. Best of luck in your next projects and I hope we'll see you at ImageOut soon!

~MG

2009 Best Narrative Feature - ImageOut Audience Award

Congratulations to Sweden's Ella Lemhagen and her fabulous film, Patrik, Age 1.5, for touching and entertaining so many of our patrons in winning ImageOut 17's Audience Award for Best Independent Narrative Feature. This award comes with a Certificate of Recognition and a Kodak Film Stock Certificate worth $750. This win highlights the strength of women filmmakers this year as all of our 2009 Audience Awards were won by films with four females at the helm.

Many thanks to Andrea Krauss and our Marquee Sponsor, here! Films, for sharing Patrik, Age 1.5 to our audiences.

This category, yet again, shows a very strong competition among our 27 narrative features. The top films rated so close to each other that I am posting the points with three decimal positions. Here are your Top 15 Narrative Feature Films from our amazing lineup this year.

4.826 Patrik, Age 1.5
4.824 Hannah Free
4.821 I Can't Think Straight
4.812 Chef's Special
4.753 Just Say Love

4.740 Eating Out: All You Can Eat
4.701 An Englishman in New York
4.673 Baby Love
4.608 The Big Gay Musical
4.553 Night Fliers

4.516 ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction
4.475 Make the Yuletide Gay
4.453 Watercolors
4.450 The Baby Formula
4.438 Drool

2009 Best Documentary - ImageOut Audience Award

Congratulations to Susan Muska and Gréta Olafsdóttir and their amazing documentary film, Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement, for winning ImageOut 17's Audience Award for Best Independent Documentary Feature. It was truly one of the most moving and, at the same time, most entertaining screenings we had during the festival. They will receive a Certificate of Recognition and a Kodak Film Stock Certificate worth $750.

Our documentary lineup this year has been the strongest and most diverse we've had -- with discussions covering gender issues, same-sex marriage, homophobia in sports, masculinity within the GLBT culture, a legendary lesbian folk singer, a cult drag show, GLBT senior housing, teen bullying in schools, sexuality within the African-American community, and even homoeroticism in wrestling, to name a few. And our audiences agree! This has been the highest scoring documentary lineup I've seen since we started handing out Audience Awards. The competition was so tight I have to post the ratings with three decimal positions. Here's how you ranked all our documentary feature films.

4.885 Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement
4.879 Ferron: Girl on A Road
4.867 Swimming With Lesbians (Flower City Flicks)
4.824 Training Rules
4.817 A Place to Live: The Story of Triangle Square

4.750 Standing-N-Truth: Breaking the Silence
4.738 Diagnosing Difference
4.661 Out in the Silence
4.607 "Showgirls" Provincetown, MA
4.579 The Butch Factor

4.524 for my wife ...
4.500 Amancio: Two Faces on a Tombstone
4.456 Prodigal Sons
4.176 STRONGHOLD: In the Grip of Wrestling
3.661 College Boys Live

2009 Best Short Film - ImageOut Audience Award

The ballots have been tabulated and the results are in! Congratulations to Toronto filmmaker Christine Chew and her romantic comedy short, Falling for Caroline, for winning ImageOut 17's Audience Award for Best Independent Short Film. Her film was screened as part of Program 10 - Quick Licks (Women's Short Program). Chew receives a Certificate of Recognition and a check for US$500 from ImageOut's Board of Directors for winning the award.

Curious how some of your favorite short films fared? Here's a list of the Top 20 Short Films (together with the program they were part of), out of the 52 we screened at ImageOut 17.

4.66 Falling for Caroline (Quick Licks)
4.65 Second Guessing Grandma (Edie & Thea)
4.62 Thirteen or So Minutes (I Like Men)
4.61 Claiming the Title: The Gay Olympics on Trial (Training Rules)
4.59 Get Happy (Diagnosing Difference)

4.58 Zombie Prom (Zombie Prom)
4.50 Girl Talk (Zombie Prom)
4.46 I've Got U (Edie & Thea)
4.45 Raw Love (Zombie Prom)
4.44 The Window (Oh, Hell No!)

4.41 Mother Knows Best (I Like Men)
4.37 James (I Like Men)
4.33 I Am Gay (An Englishman in NY)
4.33 U-Haul Rap (Quick Licks/Hannah Free)
4.24 The Yellow Tent (Zombie Prom)

4.22 Kristy (Night Fliers)
4.22 Steam (I Like Men)
4.18 At Home [Or Love as Well] (Girl Seeks Girl)
4.10 Chased (Just Say Love)
4.09 Boy Meets Boy (I Like Men)

ImageOut 17: Quite the Success

Wow. It is indeed over ... at least, the film presentation part of the festival. Attendance must have been one of the best I've witnessed in my 7 years at ImageOut. Positive audience feedback and comments about the films, events, special guests, and the whole festival operation were generous and encouraging. Thanks to all our loyal patrons, sponsors, donors, members, guests artists, hardworking volunteers, and the theater staff in all of our venues.

Even the "strange" episode at last night's final film just made this year's festival even more special, in a way.

As we tally the paper ballots in the next few days, I will post some of the more interesting and colorful commentaries (anonymously, of course!) I read to share with the blog visitors. Of course, you can continue adding comments to any of the posts here as I am sure the filmmakers will continue to check how their films did here in Rochester.

On behalf of all the ImageOut Board and our volunteers, thanks again. You are all fabulous!

Just a reminder that our ImageArt! exhibition is still open to the public until Oct. 25. Have a look if you haven't yet.

~MG

photos by Matt DeTurck

Day 10: JUST SAY LOVE

Well folks, we have come to the end of ImageOut 2009 as we present the last film of our lineup, Just Say Love. This film challenges conventional storytelling in movies to present a story of finding connectedness in a most surprising way. I hope audiences will be pulled in by the intelligent writing, the captivating performances, and the unique stage-to-screen adaptation of this ImageOut There! Series offering. I am most intrigued by how the ImageOut audiences would react to the film. It is a treat to have both the filmmaker and the playwright/screenwriter at our screening, only its second time in a theatrical setting, to be able to answer questions.

NOTE: The short film Chased screened in this program.

Day 10: BABY FORMULA

If you like the mock-u-mentary genre, check out Baby Formula today. This fun comedy starts as a spoof of all things lesbian-baby, and later adds a whole other, very touching layer to the plot.

Day 10: MR. RIGHT

The British seems to have perfected not only the art of making fabulous period films but of making ensemble casts perform their very best as well. Even in gay movies! Mr. Right is a sexy comedy intertwining the stories of a group of London gay friends as they struggle with love, sex, and relationships. And each other. Join us for this gay comedy entry for ImageOut's last screening day.

Day 10: STRONGHOLD: In the Grip of Wrestling

Hola wrestling aficionados! Will someone be wearing a singlet to the screening today? Hmmm. Enjoy this thought-provoking and entertaining film on musings and discussions about homoeroticism and homophobia in wrestling, from upstate NY native Victor Rook. This is the first time that this film will be screened at a theater venue. ImageOut is honored to be its World Premiere screening.

Closing Night Party

I don't know about everyone else, but I had a blast at last night's Closing Night Party at Tribeca. Thanks to the Special Events Committee for putting together such a kick-ass party!
photos by Matt DeTurck

Day 9: PATRIK, AGE 1.5 (Closing Night)

I can easily say that this is by far the best Closing Night film I've programmed in my 7 years with ImageOut. I've seen Patrik, Age 1.5 in festivals twice already and audiences gave the film a standing ovation in both instances. It will make people think, laugh and cry. And I cannot wait to hear what the ImageOut audiences think about the film, possibly the winningest gay film in the film festival circuit this year.

Day 9: EDIE & THEA: A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT

From the filmmakers that brought us The Brandon Teena Story comes this sweet, tender, heartbreaking film about finding one's soul mate and life partner, and going through life's challenges no matter what. Though it's easy to say that the wonderful couple, Edie and Thea, could easily be the faces for the campaign for gay marriage, it is their touching love story and their inspiring relationship, politics aside, that truly make this film one of my favorite documentaries of the year.

NOTE: Three short films were screened in this program: Make A Mate, I've Got U, and Second Guessing Grandma.

Day 9: COLLEGE BOYS LIVE

The film's title and the publicity stills are just the beginning. Wait till you watch the stories of these young men on screen as they sometimes verge on being a Jerry Springer episode on webcam. I love that the audience would get more than what they expected from this film when they bought their tickets. At least, that's what I'm hoping for.

Day 9: STANDING-N-TRUTH: BREAKING THE SILENCE

Standing-N-Truth: Breaking the Silence is probably one of the most important films in our roster of strong documentaries this year as it tackles the issues of sexuality in the African-American community, and how religion sometimes play a big role in the repression of homosexuality especially among African-American youths. This powerful discussion will hopefully continue from screen to the ImageOut stage with filmmaker Tim Daniels in attendance.

Day 8: MAKE THE YULETIDE GAY

Rochester gets into the holiday spirit early with our Spotlight Screening of Make the Yuletide Gay, a very funny and sometimes over-the-top romp about coming out and familial acceptance. This film has been playing to packed festival audiences and inducing many laugh-out-loud moments. I'm very excited that filmmaker Rob Williams will be on hand for a Q&A after the screening. Even though we have sold out on advance tickets for this show, try the RUSH line tonight and join us for a jolly evening.

Day 8: DROOL

I love this movie! It was a blast to see this with a packed house in Toronto earlier this year. Anyone who has been to movies with me over this week has heard me rave about Drool. I hope Rochester has just as much fun with this screening!

Day 7: I LIKE MEN (Men's Shorts)

Very pleased with the huge turnout for this year's gay-themed shorts program. The flavor for this program is decidedly more international hoping to capture the diversity of themes and style of gay short films in the circuit. It's really difficult for me to choose a favorite as I selected each one for different reasons. Do you have one?

NOTE: The short films included in this program are:
A Day at the Beach
Steeling Magnolias
Nocturne (Noturno)
Frequent Traveller
Thirteen Or So Minutes
Boy Meets Boy
James
Steam
Mother Knows Best

Day 7: HANNAH FREE

So what did everyone think of our Narrative Centerpiece Film? During the screening process, Hannah Free was a favorite for many. We are very happy to have it as a highlight of this year's festival.

Day 6: for my wife...

Personal tragedy turns into activism and the fight for equal rights for all. This poignant and touching documentary is sure to be a contender for this year's "best documentary" audience award.

Day 6: ZMD: ZOMBIES OF MASS DESTRUCTION

The zombies are finally here! I wonder what all of you brave and adventurous souls would think of this wacky and gory political zomedy. But this is truly what ImageOut is all about. Bringing in films that you will never see played anywhere or that you think you might not even want to see. This is one of my favorite fun films in the lineup. But then again, I love my B-rated horror stuff. =)

Day 6: TRAINING RULES

Audiences are in for two well-made and fascinating documentaries at the Ingle Auditorium tonight. First up is Training Rules. It is stunning how many careers and even lives were destroyed by this one coach and her homophobic ways!

NOTE: the short film Claiming the Title:Gay Olympics on Trial screened as part of this program.

Day 6: HOLLYWOOD, JE T'AIME

Hollywood, Je T'aime, with Chad Allen leading a fabulous supporting cast, is charming and almost hopelessly romantic in a way. Sometimes, running away from love is not really an option.

ImageOut Festival Pictures Are Now Online!

As I'm sure most of you have already noticed, the ImageOut photographers have been out and about at every screening and festival event. Now you can see the product of their labors online at the ImageOut Festival Fotki account. More photos are being added daily, so make sure you keep checking back!

STEAM Wins Iris Prize!

The short film STEAM by Eldar Rapaport just won the prestigious Iris Prize for Best Short Film that carries a 25,000-pound cash prize. Yes, pounds and not dollars. It is the richest cash prize for GLBT short films. ImageOut is proud to be only the 6th festival to screen the short film since its premiere at NewFest in the spring. Four more festivals will screen it by the end of October. STEAM is included in the I LIKE MEN shorts program that I curated.

~MG

Day 5: "SHOWGIRLS" PROVINCETOWN, MA

Filmmaker C. Fitz will be on-hand to take your questions after this fun screening tonight at Ingle. Reminiscent of last year's hit Pageant, "Showgirls" Provincetown, MA is sure to be a hit too!
photos by Billijo Wolf

Day 5: CHEF'S SPECIAL

Oh give it to the Europeans for managing to give us comedies that are borderline slapstick without being over the top. Chef's Special is definitely one of the funny highlights of the 2009 lineup. It stars some of the famous comic actors in Spanish cinema. I hope to laugh with you at the theater.

Added 10/14: What a great turnout for the film last night! Everyone seemed to have a really entertaining and laugh-filled evening. Glad that we were able to include this one at the last minute due to a delay in its DVD release. =)

Day 5: Archive Night - Dracula's Daughter & Daughter's Of Darkness

I hope for a good turnout for ImageOut's vampire-themed Archive Night Double Feature tonight at the Dryden!

Day 5: AMANCIO: TWO FACES ON A TOMBSTONE

ImageOut has never been afraid of "heavier films". Ultimately, Amancio is a hopeful (and true) story of connection, communication, and the quest for justice for so many people without public voices. I hope lots of you can make it over to RIT for this one.

NOTE: the short films The Saint and Lot's Wife screened as part of this program.

Day 5: BoY

This entry from the Philippines is a tender story of young love that also touches on socio-economic and political issues in the country. But without resorting to heavy melodrama that is typical of the "macho dancer" genre films. One of the highlights of this film is the use of aquariums as more than just a scenic background thus almost making them another character in the film. The most amazing tidbit about BoY is that, except for the actors playing the mother and the father, everyone in the cast is a non-actor. The bar performers are really bar performers and the lead character is an actual art student. If you want to see a bittersweet and sexy story between two young men, BoY is your best bet.

NOTE: The short film Self Service from Israel was screened in this program.