25 Must-See Indie Films

Check out this article from IndieWIRE for their choices of the 25 films you must absolutely watch this summer. There are a few of these titles that are screening in a couple weeks at the new 360|365 Film Festival right here in Rochester. Which films are you most excited about?

DEATH AT A FUNERAL 2010

So the (apparently shot-for-shot) remake of the 2007 Frank Oz comedy, Death at a Funeral, is getting decent reviews. Maybe it will be okay. It might make the original British film more accessible to US audiences considering the remake stars Chris Rock and some other brilliant comedians. I still cannot associate Neil LaBute with an almost slapstick comedy like this film is. But very much looking forward to James Marsden's performance.

~MG

Who's Afraid of PHILLIP MORRIS?

I'm not sure how many of you know or are aware of the "new" Jim Carrey-Ewan McGregor starrer, I LOVE YOU, PHILLIP MORRIS. Well, all I can say is if I could book it for the film festival right now, it will definitely be a Closing Night movie in October! I say "new" because it has yet to be released here in the U.S. but it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2009. I was fortunate enough to see it in Berlin a couple of weeks later. It went MIA for more than a year amidst rumors of fear that the film is too gay. Well, it is a story of a con man (Carrey) who falls hard for another prisoner (McGregor) he met while incarcerated -- there's no amount of editing that could de-gay the movie. Sorry. In the last few weeks, it has gotten theatrical release in parts of Europe and Asia which got me very excited. I enjoyed the film so much that I would not mind seeing it again. But while it was scheduled to hit the US theaters on April 30, the release date has since been withdrawn and delayed indefinitely. Well, boo hoo! I hope the US distributor gets its act together. Or at least give the film to the queer film festivals!

UPDATE: It's being reported that the film's release date has been rescheduled for July 30th. We'll have to wait and see if this one sticks.

Here's the trailer:

~MG

THE RUNAWAYS Opens at the Little

Don't have movie plans for the weekend yet? THE RUNAWAYS, featuring Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie, opens at the Little Theatre tonight. It has limited screenings this week so make sure to check for show times to save you the disappointment of making a trip to the theater for nothing. The film is a coming-of-age story about the teen rockers in the groundbreaking all-girl rock band from the 70s. So is there enough chemistry between Stewart and Fanning to explode a cherry bomb? Oh do tell ...

Support local LGBT arts!

ImageOut loves movies, but we also love our local theater groups with missions that reflect our own!

The Programming Committee will be hard at work screening potential films tonight (we've been at it for months already), but everyone else should check this event out!



From: Bread and Water Theater

Rainbow Theater Festival Kickoff Party!

Join the casts of Lambda Project: The Art of Pride, Ladies and Gentlemen and Nijinsky's Last Dance for a night of entertainment and fun.

Come out and watch selections from the three wonderful productions offered as part of this year's festival as well as meet and mingle with our exceptional performers and artists. There will also be several original performances that you will only be able to see at the kickoff!!!

A special thank you to 140 Alex Bar & Grill (formally Nasty D's and formally formally RJ's) for their gracious donation of their second floor for the kickoff.

1/2 OFF APPETIZERS AND BUY ONE GET ONE FREE WELL/CALL AND DOMESTIC DRAFT BEERS AND GREAT ENTERTAINMENT!!!

LOCATION: 140 Alex Bar & Grill @ 140 Alexander St., Rochester, NY.

PERFORMANCE: April 1st at 8pm.

NY LGBT Health Awareness Month

Are you aware that March is being observed as the NY LGBT Health Month all over the state? And the Rochester LGBT Health Coalition has coordinated a lot of important activities for the community to enjoy. Check out the schedule and take note of a couple of ImageOut sponsored events.


Wednesday, March 10th, 6:00pm-8:00pm, AIDS Care, 259 Monroe Ave.

Sponsored by: ImageOut, Planned Parenthood & AIDS Care/everybodysgood.com

“Diagnosing Difference”: Free repeat screening of the thought provoking documentary from ImageOut 2009 that explores the GID (Gender Identity Disorder) classification and how it impacts trans people’s lives. The film will be followed by a brief moderated panel discussion including trans-identified members of the Rochester community. Free & open to all. For more information, contact Erik at (585)210-4192.

Thursday, March 25th, 6:00pm & 8:30pm, Cinema Theatre (Corner of Clinton & Goodman)

Sponsored by: ImageOut

Free Film Screenings & Volunteer Interest Fair: ImageOut’s LGBT Health Month screenings are the star attraction for March 25 at the Cinema Theatre! Award-winning documentary, and ImageOUT 2009 hit, "Swimming With Lesbians" will be screened again for one night only engagement and preceded by the lesbian short film "UHaul Rap." This program will begin at 6pm. Following that, ImageOUT is pleased to present the Rochester debut of the feature film "Dare," an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival. This film will begin at 8:30. Both screenings are free and open to the public---no ticket required (but please arrive early as seats may fill up quickly!) Between the films, from 7:30pm to 8:30pm, we invite you to visit ImageOUT in the Cinema's cafe to learn more about volunteer opportunities with ImageOUT. For more information, visit www.ImageOut.org

Happy Oscars Day!!

Traditions?
Plans?
Predictions?

We'd love to hear them!

RPDR Week Four!

Last week, episode 3 set-up a challenge right up our hometown gal's alley and Pandora Boxx did NOT disappoint! In my humble opinion, she should have won the Disco extra-greasy Shortening Commercial challenge. Tyra's baby was mildly amusing, but Pandora's Auntee was hilarious! And what is up with Santino Rice calling Ms. Boxx's country outfit "pedestrian?" I thought it was adorable and unique.

After catching the episode 4 preview over at Logo's website, I think this week's "Snatch Game" offers another good opportunity for Pandora to shine. The contestants are asked to present their best celebrity impersonations. Pandora has given us so many spot-on performances right here in Rochester; Madonna, Brittney, and of course Kathy Griffin. Who will she take on this time?

And don't forget the weekly official Rochester viewing party at Tilt! Doors open at 8.

Seen any good movies lately?

Being released in February usually means it will rank fairly low on the award-quality-meter, so Shutter Island is not being touted as a shoo-in for an Oscar or Golden Globe in 2011. However, I caught Director-extraordinaire Martin Scorsese's latest last night at The Little and was pleasantly surprised. I am often torn when going to see movies based on books; to read first or watch first is the question. this time I watched first and I am glad I did. Good twists and turns and a nice set-up to a "what's really going on here" type of feeling throughout most of the film. I even woke up this morning thinking about the very last minutes of the film.

My only complaint about my evening is the four fellow movie-goers behind me who talked through the entire film! Boy I hate that!

ImageOut Screens for NY LGBT Health Month!

ImageOut will join the Rochester LGBT Health Coalition in celebrating New York State’s LGBT Health Awareness Month (March 2010) with a night of special screenings on Thursday, March 25 at the Cinema Theatre, 957 South Clinton Avenue, Rochester, NY. We are pleased to be presenting our 2009 Mary Elizabeth Knight Award-winning local Documentary: Swimming With Lesbians, and a great film that just missed the October lineup; Dare.



A healthy LGBT community is an out and proud LGBT community, and Swimming With Lesbians recounts the struggle Western New Yorkers have experienced to be one such community. After Rochester-based director David B. Marshall contacted Madeline Davis, founder and keeper of the Buffalo LGBT archives to try to film the stories recorded in her 1993 book Boots of Leather, Slippers of Gold, it became clear that too many of the stories of Western NY’s gay history were being lost to the ages. This touching and very necessary film captures not only Buffalo’s hidden gay past, but Davis’ spirit and determination to keep history alive for the future. We are very happy to announce that Emmy Award-winning director Marshall will be in attendance to discuss the film after the screening. Preceding the documentary, 2009 festival favorite short U-HAUL Rap will start off the event with its tongue-in-cheek commentary on the fast-paced love lives of lesbians on the move.



ImageOut will be hosting an informal information sharing forum in the newly renovated cafè space at the Cinema Theatre. Learn more about LGBT Health Month participating organizations.

Like to volunteer with ImageOut? All of our committees will be represented to answer questions you may have and help you find a place to lend your talents to our 18th Festival year.





Dare comes to ImageOut’s Health Month celebration after enjoying official selection at 2009’s Sundance Film Festival. When a pompous actor tells good girl Alexa (The Day After Tomorrow’s Emily Rossum) that she hasn't lived, she embarks on a bold journey that takes her to mysterious bad boy Johnny (TV’s Friday Night Light’s Zach Gilford). Envious, her shy best friend Ben (Ashley Springer of Teeth) also dares to pursue Johnny, complicating Alexa's romance and pushing the boundaries among the three friends. Dare also features LGBT icons Sandra Bernhard and Alan Cumming. (www.darethemovie.com) This film is sure to bring some light, love, and smiles into the tail end of what has been a long cold Rochester winter.

ImageOut’s LGBT Health Month screenings are the star attraction for March 25 at the Cinema. Swimming With Lesbians and U-HAUL Rap begin at 6:00pm with Dare following at 8:30pm. As with last year’s March event, these screenings are free and open to the public. See www.everybodysgood.com for a full listing of the month’s events.

RPDR episode 2

Amen sisters!

Our hometown heroine, Pandora Boxx, won this week's first challenge, and rightfully so! Shafreeforal was definitely starbooty-licious.

Once again, Ms. Boxx managed to hover somewhere in the middle of the crowd during the episode's main challenge, but did get a bit more screen-time as the captain of her very own burlesque troupe. The team did finish last, but Pandora shook her money-maker (and a few cherry-pie coupons) to rise above the rest of her team. Her mad pole-dancing skills didn't hurt either!



On the final runway, Pandora shined, even if the judges didn't recognize. I thought her dress was unique and stood out way more than the other black cocktail dresses and other hot messes amongst the competitors.



Oh my, how could I forget? DITA VON TEESE was this week's guest judge!



Next week's challenge makes some pretty big promises for Rochester fans. Pandora has a chance to show off her amazing comedy acting chops. Let's hope Miss Thang delivers!

Prodigal Sons Director Profiled On Oprah Today

As a programmer, it's always gratifying when one of my favorite ImageOut films goes on to find success outside of the festival circuit, and I can't think of a film more deserving of that success than the documentary Prodigal Sons (as you'll recall, it was my pick as the best movie at at this year's festival). Watch the film's fantastic new trailer right HERE.

While I'm happy to report that the film has continued to play in festivals across the country, winning numerous awards along the way, I'm even more happy that the mainstream media is finally picking up on director Kimberly Reed's incredible story. In recent weeks, she's been profiled by Rick Moody in Details Magazine and now she's reached the holy grail of interview platforms: The Oprah Winfrey Show. The Oprah episode with Kimberly airs TODAY (February 11th) at 4 o'clock on ABC.

If you didn't get a chance to see Prodigal Sons at last year's ImageOut festival, so yourself a favor and make sure that you catch it when it comes to DVD on July 20th.

RPDR Episode 1

Yes, yes, it’s a week late, but better late than never!

Last Monday, Rochester (and the world) got our first glimpse of local drag superstardom when Miss Pandora Boxx crashed through dressing room door of Season 2 of RuPaul’s Drag Race with a triumphant and unforgettable “Hello fake ladies!”. Seriously, our girl P was the only contestant in those first few minutes who made a lasting, and non-annoying, impression. I am pretty biased though, I must admit.

Throughout Pandora and Michael’s entertainment careers, two attributes have always stuck out for me; an amazingly relevant and clever sense of humor, and intelligence. So far on the Logo show, both are talents are quite obvious, but I think there may be more of the later going on than meets the eye. In both episodes, Pandora has floated somewhere in the middle of the competition. I think this is deliberate. Miss P is just waiting to pounce! And when she does, it will be fan-*&%$#^@-tabulous!

Episode 1 highlights: Pandora’s entrance, Michael’s facial expressions in the workroom, and P-Bo’s spot-on Kathy Griffin!

I'll wait a day or two to post an episode 2 recap just in case any of you have yet to catch it, but I promise I won't too long!

Oscar Nominations!

I can't believe that we have yet to discuss this year's Oscar nominations, which where announced on Tuesday morning. Colin Firth, nominated in the "Best Actor" category for his role as a gay man mourning the death of his partner in A Single Man, and Lee Daniels, the openly gay director of Precious, are sadly the only nominees of major gay interest, but there are a few surprises among this year's nominations.

The nominees:

Best Picture:
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up in the Air

Though there are ten nominees this year, instead of the traditional five, this has rapidly become a two-movie race between Avatar (AKA the highest grossing movie of all time) and The Hurt Locker. I'm personally rooting for The Hurt Locker, which was absolutely brilliant. The movie is out now on DVD, so if you haven't had a chance to see it yet, do yourself a favor and put it at the top of your Netflix queue.

Best Director:
James Cameron, Avatar
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Lee Daniels, Precious
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air

Besides Daniels representing the gays, we also have Kathryn Bigelow, only the fourth woman to ever be nominated in this category. If she ends up winning, she will be the first female director ever to do so. With that in mind, it's hard to root against her, especially when her movie is as fantastic as it is.

Best Actor:
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

I'd love to hear Firth's name called on Oscar night, but Jeff Bridges has this one in the bag.

Best Actress:
Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie and Julia

The massive amount of goodwill for Sandra Bullock's performance helped The Blind Side (which I have yet to see, though it looked a tad sappy for my taste) garner that Best Picture nomination, and she's the clear front-runner here even against a legend like Meryl Streep.

Best Supporting Actor:
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

I haven't seen a single movie that any of these performances come from, but after sweeping just about every award so far, I'd say Christoph Waltz is a lock to win.

Best Supporting Actress:
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo'nique, Precious

As with most of the acting categories this year, there's not a whole lot of suspense in this race, since Mo'nique is all but guaranteed a win (and deservedly so). I was a little disappointed that Julianne Moore didn't receive a nod for her excellent work in A Single Man; I'd swap her in for Penelope Cruz's work in the snoozefest, Nine.

What does everyone else think of this year's nominations? What were the biggest surprises? Who do you think got snubbed?

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 2

It’s bbbbaaaaccckkkk!

RuPaul’s Drag Race has sashayed its way back onto national television for a second season. This time promises to be bigger and better than season 1; bigger challenges, bigger prizes, and bigger drama.

But the BIGGEST story for this season is that local drag and ImageOut icon Pandora Boxx is one of the 12 lucky contestants!!! Pandora has graced stages all over Rochester for a year or two (wink wink), and has graced ImageOut screens as part of our sold-out 2006 Flower City Flicks program in Gay (Means Happy) Show, which her alter-ego Michael Steck wrote, produced, and starred in as well. Steck was also at the helm of Mrs. Kasha Davis: The Life of an International Housewife Celebrity which appeared in the 2008 installment of FCF.

Even after just one episode, Ms. Boxx has proven to be, as the RPDR show website puts it, “a real contender” for the top prize, and has also squashed the old cliche that “nice gals always finish last.” How far will Pandora go? Ahem, in the competition I mean!

The LOGO network (a past ImageOut sponsor) show airs each Monday night at 9pm. If you don’t have LOGO at home, no need to fret! You can catch all the fabulousness at Rochester’s official Drag Race viewing party at Tilt Nightclub and Ultralounge. The event is even hosted by Pandora herself!

There are lots of places online where you can read about the show each week, and the ImageOut Blog is one of them! We’ll be blogging after each episode about the episode and the party, so be sure to check back here again and again!


Next up: Season 2, Episode 1 review

Sundance Film Festival

The movies and festivities start today at the popular winter indie filmfest, Sundance. There are a handful of LGBT titles in their lineup including some high-profile titles that I'm pretty sure will have a theatrical release soon.

HOWL, starring James Franco, centers around the young Allen Ginsberg but also touching on the obscenity trial the artist faced due to the publication of his poem, HOWL. This is the narrative feature debut of award-winning documentary filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (Word is Out, The Times of Harvey Milk, Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, The Celluloid Closet, Paragraph 175).

The Kids are All Right stars Julianne Moore and Annette Bening as lesbian lovers whose two teenage kids try to find out who their biological father (played by Mark Ruffalo) is. Of course, familial complications ensue.

Based on the novel by Nick McDonell, Twelve is a chilling chronicle of privileged urban adolescence on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. If that isn't enough to remind you of TV's Gossip Girl, the film also stars Chace Crawford. Not sure how gay the film is but one of the characters definitely is. And very fashion forward at that.

There are also promising documentaries about the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat and Joan "can we talk?" Rivers.

But the film I'm most excited to see is Undertow (Contracorriente). It looks very intriguing and definitely sexy. I can't wait to see it. Check out the trailer here.

It's also interesting to note that one of the short films in the lineup is Raw Love (Amor Crudo) which had it's East Coast Premiere at ImageOut 2009 last October.

Many people always ask me if I go to Sundance. The answer is no. It's too close to Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival in February) and I only have a very limited budget and can only spare so much of my precious vacation time from my actual day job. The GLBT selection has always been pretty limited at Sundance and whatever big titles they have end up either showing at Berlinale or being available at the European Film Market anyway. So it all works out. But maybe someday.

~MG

Review: A SINGLE MAN

This. Film. Is. Awesome. Just. Go. See. It.

A Single Man is about a day in the life of George Falconer (excellently played by Colin Firth) as he goes about his routine as a college professor while reminiscing about his happy life with his lover (the oh so sexy Matthew Goode) and realizing how empty it has been since his death. And the man has a plan.

Tom Ford's highly-stylized directorial debut may look very polished and almost too handsome. But make no mistake ... this film is quite heartfelt and dripping with honest and raw emotions. It's a touching film about love and coping with loss. Look for Julianne Moore's scene-stealing role as the resident fag hag.

You can still catch the film at the Little Theatre.

~MG

ImageOut Goes to Berlin!!!

CONGRATULATIONS to Programming Co-Chair Michael Gamilla for being invited to (and accepting) a seat on the Teddy Awards jury at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in February. The Teddy Awards are the GLBT awards for Germany's largest and most prestigious film festival.

Most of us here at home know how dedicated Michael is to ImageOut and the world’s LGBT film community, and this honor is a further testament to just how hard he works to bring the best in international films to Rochester each and every year. And as if the invitation alone weren’t enough, Michael has also learned that he will be the only American on the international jury!

Again, congratulations Michael, and thank you for bringing the world to ImageOut. Now go bring ImageOut to the world!

January 16 FREE Screenings

On Saturday, January 16, ImageOut is proud to bring back the Audience Award winning films from 2009 that captured people's hearts and votes. We are hosting encore screenings of FALLING FOR CAROLINE, EDIE & THEA: A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT, and PATRIK, AGE 1.5 at the Cinema Theatre. These screenings are free and open to the public so bring your friends and family along to show them why ImageOut should be on their agenda for 2010.

Saturday, January 16

Cinema Theatre, 957 South Clinton Avenue, Rochester NY

2:00pm

Falling for Caroline - Audience Award Winner for Best Independent Short

Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement - Audience Award Winner for Best Independent Documentary

3:45pm

Patrik, Age 1.5 - Audience Award Winner for Best Independent Feature

Nat'l Society of Film Critics Awards

The Hurt Locker wins another award and has been dominating the awards given by top film critics groups in the country. This time around, the National Society of Film Critics honors the film with it's three top awards. Here's their list of winners.

Best Picture The Hurt Locker
Best Director Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Best Actor Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Best Actress Yolande Moreau, Seraphine
Best Supporting Actor Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds and Paul Schneider, Bright Star
Best Supporting Actress Mo’Nique, Precious
Best Screenplay Joel & Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Foreign-Language Film Summer Hours
Non-fiction Film The Beaches of Agnes
Cinematography Christian Berger, The White Ribbon
Production Design Nelson Lowry, Fantastic Mr. Fox