Results tagged “insideout2008”

Well, this is it: the last day of this year's Inside Out festival, and consequently, the last day of our extensive coverage. It's been a gay, gay blast, but some of us are about ready for a nap. If you haven't caught any screenings so far, this is your last chance for a whole year, and there are still a few cool things to catch. You'll be happy to know that seminal gay Aussie movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (pictured) is just as funny today as it was 14 years ago when it was released and not only introduced us to Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving, but also resuscitated Terence Stamp's career. If you haven't seen the movie (or if by some terrible mistake you thought To Wong Foo... was the great drag queen road movie of the mid-90s), now is your chance to catch it in all of its sparkling, glittery glory on the big screen. And if you are already one of the initiated, even better. Put on your best wig and brush up on your ABBA lyrics so you can take full advantage of the "sing-and-drag-along" screening. We're not saying going will necessarily bring you to Paradise, but it might just bring you to you.

Inside Out film goers who had their hearts set on seeing With Gilbert and George, a documentary about the lives of the European "living sculpture" artists are in for something of a disappointment as the screening has been cancelled. In its place, the festival will be showing Shelter for a second time. If you can stand a complete change of mood, the film really is charming and worth a look. Another screening of interest is the Queer Youth Digital Video Project, an initiative started by Inside Out which will consist of 14 short films made on the cheap by queer youth specifically for the festival.

It's closing weekend for Inside Out, but there are still a bunch of interesting films left to see. One of the most exciting screenings today is The Witnesses (pictured), the new film from acclaimed French writer-director André Téchiné, who also made the queer-themed The Wild Reeds. Set in and around Paris in 1984, the film follows a small and rather incestuous group of friends who all become affected by the onset of the AIDS epedemic. The arrival of beautiful teenager Manu shakes up the lives of promiscuous couple Sarah and Medhi, as well as their gay friend Adrien, especially when both other men fall in love with the charismatic Manu. Things go from messy to messier when Manu is diagnosed as HIV positive. At once charming and heartbreaking, this beautifully made film is both a detailed character study and a fascinating look at the early years of the AIDS crisis. All of the cast are excellent, particularly Johan Libéreau as Manu and the always-fabulous Emmanuelle Béart as Sarah.

It's a pretty quiet day at Inside Out, with only six screenings. Fans of European movies/men might take interest in Italy's Saturn in Opposition, and the artfag must-see of the day is definitely the doc Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff + Robert Mapplethorpe. If you're feeling in the mood for something South American, Argentina's La León (pictured) is the clear choice. Set in a small and remote rural community in northern Argentina's Paraná Delta, this strikingly photographed black-and-white film tells the story of Alvaro, the only gay in the village. Most of the community's fishers and workers are content to let the private Alvaro be, but alpha male Turu considers Alvaro to be a threat and tries to turn the community against him. There is so little dialogue in the film that when characters do speak, it's often something of a surprise. The tone is so sleepy and the pacing so slow and restive that you couldn't necessarily be blamed for drifting off in the middle of the movie. But if you've just had a coffee and are ready to really focus on something, you might find La León very rewarding. Plus, think about all the jokes you can make to your friends afterwards about "Gay Pride."

Inside Out rages on. One of the biggest-name movies of the festival screens tonight: Paul Schrader's The Walker. The film stars Woody Harrelson as a "Walker," a well-to-do gay man who "walks" wealthy women around to society events their husbands are too busy for (interestingly enough, this "profession" also came up in Sunday's Savage Grace). These women include the always-fabulous Lily Tomlin and Lauren Bacall. But things get complicated when Harrelson's character gets drawn into a messy murder mystery after his best friend (played by Kristen Scott Thomas) discovers her lover has been killed. Willem Dafoe also has a small role as Thomas' politician husband. A gay-themed murder mystery with a cast that awesome sounds like a really good time, but unfortunately, The Walker never really lives up to its potential. Sloppy editing really upsets the film's pace and makes the story hard to follow, and for a film being screened at Inside Out, the gay storyline is underdeveloped and unbelievably castrated. Harrelson and his boyfriend (played by Run Lola Run's sexy Moritz Bleibtreu) are about as affectionate to each other as a couple of maiden aunts.

The long weekend may be over, but Inside Out is still going strong. Tonight the festival will be presenting its Centrepiece Gala: a screening of Australian gay surfer movie Newcastle. It seems worth noting that this is the second gay surfer movie of the festival, following the much-buzzed Shelter, which played last Friday. But despite obvious superficial similarities, the two films are actually quite different. Newcastle is about three brothers, for all of whom surfing has been a major presence in their lives. Oldest brother Victor is a never-was surf star, bitter about his life's disappointments. Younger brother Jesse is an up-and-comer who might be surfing's Next Big Thing. Fergus, on the other hand, is pasty, kind of emo, and never touched a surfboard until he laid eyes on Andy, one of Jesse's dreamy surf buddies. As these things tend to do, the whole plot culminates in a tragic camping trip (what's up with that trend?). Perhaps Newcastle doesn't benefit from comparisons to Shelter, which is a better film. It's also not quite so much a gay movie as a movie with gay characters. Although Fergus's sexuality and attraction to Andy is important, it never becomes the focus of the film, which is definitely the relationship the brothers have with each other and with surfing. On the other hand, most of the film is crammed full of beautifully photographed nude and semi-nude Aussie hunks, which is hard to complain about.

It's Victoria Day Monday, and what better way to celebrate that old queen's birthday than by watching a bunch of gay movies at Inside Out? Things kick off at noon with a gay daddy doc double-bill at the ROM. We didn't get a chance to check out Fatherhood Dreams, a Canadian film about four gay men who are all fathers in different ways, but we did see Daddy's Love, a film about a Norwegian single gay man and the American woman who agrees to be the surrogate for his child. It's interesting to see how someone without a partner goes through the process of becoming a parent (especially the bits that involve his adorable and supportive mom). Another doc worth catching is The Beirut Apt, which shows interviews with various gay people living in Lebanon, a country rife with contradictory cultural identities and institutional homophobia. Shot only a year ago, the film also serves as an interesting chronicle of local citizens' reactions to the recent Hezbollah-Israeli conflict.

The Inside Out festival continues today with ten different screenings. One of the more high-profile films in the festival is Savage Grace, the new film from Tom Kalin starring Julianne Moore. Kalin is probably best known for is 1992 film Swoon, based on the infamous Leopold and Loeb murder case. So it should come as no surprise that Savage Grace is based on the real life murder of Barbara Daly Baekeland by her son Antony. Julianne Moore plays the doomed heiress whose increasingly codependent and unhealthy relationship with her gay son culminates in incest and eventually her own death. Moore is outstanding as Barabara, devouring every piece of celluloid she touches and Eddie Redmayne is eerily compelling as her creepy son. The whole piece is quite beautifully shot and well-made in general, but the subject matter has a certain Ick Factor which means the film is definitely not for everyone.

It's Day 3 at the excellently-programmed Inside Out festival. One of the more interesting films to catch this afternoon is It's Still Elementary: The Movie and the Movement (pictured) over at the National Film Board. It's actually a documentary about another documentary, 1996's It's Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School, a groundbreaking film that showed elementary school teachers discussing homosexuality with children. But don't worry if you haven't seen its predecessor: It's Still Elementary is still a really fascinating doc exploring the controversy and the impact of the earlier film. It's also evidence that arguments that younger children "won't understand" these kinds of conversations are entirely bogus, and the now-grown-up kids from It's Elementary have only good things to say about being involved in the project.

Officially, this is Day Two of the 18th annual Inside Out Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival, but it's the first fully programmed day, with 8 different screenings happening. And things are starting off with a bang! There are so many cool screenings going on today, you're actually spoiled for choice.

Gay movies get a bad rap. Even some of the most avowed homosexualists we know cringe at the thought of curling up in front of anything other than Brokeback Mountain, or possibly The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. Well, the mouthful that is the Inside Out Toronto Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival is doing everything it can to change that. The festival, which opens its 18th season tonight, showcases films from around the world with queer themes, be they docs or dramas, shorts or features, high camp or horror. Torontoist has been to the press screenings, we've worked our way through the tall stack of screeners sitting next to our TV, and we feel uniquely qualified to bring you the following news: these gay movies don't suck. On the contrary. In fact, the high level of quality in the films being presented, as well as their diversity, makes this year's Inside Out not just a brilliantly programmed gay film festival, but a brilliantly programmed film festival period. And if you're still not sold, there will be a special sing-and-drag-along presentation of Priscilla on closing night as a part of this year's Australian Focus.