Utah Film Center presents the 16th Damn These Heels Film Festival

Utah Film Center announced the feature films selected for the 16th annual Damn These Heels Film Festival and new elements to the Festival for film lovers, filmmakers, and all storytellers.

Damn These Heels will run July 12–14 at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center and is a festival that explores LGBTQ issues, ideas, and art through independent, documentary, and foreign films from around the world. Passes and tickets are now on sale on the Utah Film Center’s website at UtahFilmCenter.org. Additional titles will be announced on the website leading up to the Festival.

The longest-running LGBTQ Film Festival in the Mountain West, Damn These Heels has presented more than 230 films over the years. This popular LGBTQ film festival has been fully embraced and supported by the Salt Lake City community because of its unique and cutting-edge programming.

Over the past five years, Utah Film Center has programmed 92 films that did not play anywhere else in Utah but went on to run in larger cities. With festivals like Damn These Heels and other yearround screening programs, Utah Film Center continues to providing access to voices and stories that would otherwise be inaccessible for Utah audiences.

Patrick Hubley, Programming Director for Utah Film Center, said, “At the heart of Damn These Heels is both an appreciation for our inclusive community and a powerful expression of individuality. We invite audiences to come share in this meaningful cinematic celebration and explore this year’s lineup of complex, original, and thought-provoking stories that will stay with you long after the film is over.”

Damn These Heels remains a grassroots, locally-produced festival. Films are curated with help from a community programming committee and the Festival is supported through community partnerships with Encircle, Equality Utah, Utah AIDS Foundation, Utah Pride Center, and The Blocks, among others.

GUEST PROGRAMMER: This year, the film festival introduced a guest programmer to curate select films that have influenced them. This year’s guest programmer is Jordan Blok, a trans non-binary writer based in Salt Lake City who covers popular science, LGBTQ culture, issues, and trans health. They also have a deep, enduring love of lesbian revenge thrillers. New programmers will be chosen annually to showcase the depth and variety of LGBTQ cultural voices in Utah.

WORKSHOP: Join Giuliana Serena, founder and producer of The Bee, for two stimulating sessions of engaged listening and personal reflection inspired by the films at this year’s Festival. Space is limited for this intimate workshop, tickets are available on the Festival website.

VIRTUAL REALITY LOUNGE: Created in collaboration with Inter- Spatial, the DTH VR Lounge is a new element to the festival that audiences cannot miss. Intended to give festival-goers an opportunity to experience the creative power and storytelling potential of VR, the lounge’s program will feature some of the best LGBTQ+ themed stories that focus on the intersection of faith, identity, and sexuality, created to be experienced through this immersive platform. The lounge located on the Mezzanine level of the Rose Wagner will be open from 1–6 p.m. Space is limited and registration will be required. More details on the VR stories will be available on the Utah Film Center website soon.

FILMS AT THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL:

Adam

DIRECTED BY RHYS ERNST 95 MIN | 2019 | USA

Missteps of a cis man pretending to be a trans man for the sake of dating. Follow him through queer Brooklyn.

CAST: NICHOLAS ALEXANDER, BOBBI SALVÖR MENUEZ, MARGARET QUALLEY OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2019 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

An Almost Ordinary Summer (Croce e delizia)

DIRECTED BY SIMONE GODANO 101 MIN | 2019 | ITALY | ITALIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTI- TLES

Two families don’t realize they’re being brought together for a wedding for their respective patriarchs.

CAST: FABRIZIO BENTIVOGLIO, ALESSANDRO GASSMANN, JASMINE TRINCA OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2019 SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Bit

DIRECTED BY BRAD MICHAEL ELMORE 94 MIN | 2019 | USA

Laurel, a teenage transgender girl, moves to LA and falls in with a gang of intersectional feminist vampires.

CAST: NICOLE MAINES, M.C. GAINEY, DIANA HOPPER OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2019 FRAMELINE

Changing the Game

DIRECTED BY MICHAEL BARNETT 88 MIN | 2019 | USA

Three trans high school athletes fight for acceptance in their sports while embracing their authentic selves.

OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2019 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL, 2019 FRAMELINE

Fabulous

DIRECTED BY AUDREY JEAN-BAPTISTE 47 MIN | 2019 | FRENCH GUIANA | FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Lasseindra Ninja, an international performer, brings vogue to French Guiana, her home country. Through her workshop we witness the dance culture’s impact on this marginalized queer community.

OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2019 FRAMELINE

For They Know Not What They Do

DIRECTED BY DANIEL KARSLAKE 91 MIN | 2019 | USA

The director of For the Bible Tells Me So explores four American families as they face sexuality, identity, and the undeniable connection of the personal and political.

OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2019 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL, 2019 FRAMELINE

Gay Chorus Deep South

DIRECTED BY DAVID CHARLES RODRIGUES 100 MIN | 2019 | USA

The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus embarks on a deep south tour, confronting intolerance with fine music.

WINNER: AUDIENCE AWARD–2019 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL

Gracefully

DIRECTED BY ARASH ESHAGHI 60 MIN | 2019 | IRAN | PERSIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

A contemplative portrait of a rural qenderqueer drag queen, banned from performance after the 1970 Iranian Revolution.

WORLD PREMIERE.

The Handmaiden (Ah-ga-ssi)

DIRECTED BY CHAN-WOOK PARK 145 MIN | 2016 | SOUTH KOREA | KOREAN AND JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

A handmaiden to a Japanese heiress is plotting to defraud her until their relationship becomes more complex.

CAST: MIN-HEE KIM, JUNG-WOO HA, JIN-WOONG CHO WINNER: BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LAN- GUAGE–2018 BAFTA SELECTED BY THE 2019 DAMN THESE HEELS GUEST DIRECTOR, JORDAN BLOK

Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life

DIRECTED BY TOMER HEYMANN 106 MIN | 2018 | ISRAEL/GERMANY | ENGLISH AND HE- BREW WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

A rare and intimate story of one of the world’s most successful gay porn stars. A look at porn and escorting in a way that redefines family and cultural norms.

WINNER: BEST ISRAELI DOCUMENTARY–2018 JERUSALEM FILM FESTIVAL

Ma Vie en Rose

DIRECTED BY ALAIN BERLINER 88 MIN | 1997 | BELGIUM/FRANCE | FRENCH WITH EN- GLISH SUBTITLES

Ludovic is an innocent seven-year-old child who provokes horror in her community when she dresses in girls clothes and insists she’s a girl.

CAST: GEORGES DU FRESNE, MICHÈLE LAROQUE, JEAN- PHILIPPE ÉCOFFEY WINNER: BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM–1998 GOLDEN GLOBES SELECTED BY THE 2019 DAMN THESE HEELS GUEST

DIRECTOR, JORDAN BLOK

A Night at Switch n’ Play

DIRECTED BY CODY STICKELS 72 MIN | 2019 | USA

“Switch n’ Play” hosts experimental burlesque dancers, drag kings, and traditional drag queens in one venue.

OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2019 INSIDE OUT TORONTO

No Box For Me. An Intersex Story

DIRECTED BY FLORIANE DEVIGNE 58 MIN | 2018 | FRANCE | FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUB- TITLES

A lyrical film that questions gender and reflects on the way intersex people seek to reclaim their bodies.

OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2019 BFI FLARE, 2019 FRAMELINE

Olivia

DIRECTED BY JACQUELINE AUDRY 96 MIN | 1952 | FRANCE | FRENCH W/ ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Known as a “landmark of lesbian representation,” the film works in charged moments to explore unrequited love between a headmistress, her colleagues, and a pupil.

CAST: EDWIGE FEUILLÈRE, SIMONE SIMON, MARIE-CLAIRE OLIVIA, NOMINATED: BEST ACTRESS–1953 BAFTA

Retablo

DIRECTED BY ALVARO DELGADO APARICIO 95 MIN | 2017 | PERU | QUECHUA AND SPANISH W/ ENGLISH SUBTITLES

14-year-old Segundo, a story-box maker, observes his father in a situation that shatters his whole world.

CAST: MAGALY SOLIER, AMIEL CAYO, JUNIOR BEJAR OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2018 BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL, 2018 SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Sister Aimee

DIRECTED BY SAMANTHA BUCK, MARIE SCHLINGMANN 97 MIN | 2019 | USA

A famous 20s evangelist mysteriously disappears with her lover at the height of her stardom.

CAST: JULIE WHITE, MICHAEL MOSLEY, AMY HARGREAVES OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2019 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL, 2019 SARASOTA FILM FESTIVAL

Socrates

DIRECTED BY ALEXANDRE MORATTO 70 MIN | 2018 | BRAZIL | PORTUGUESE W/ ENGLISH SUBT

Teenage Socrates faces isolation for his sexuality on the margins of São Paulo following his mother’s death.

CAST: CHRISTIAN MALHEIROS, TALES ORDAKJI, CAIO MARTINEZ PACHECO. WINNER: SOMEONE TO WATCH 2019 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS, JURY PRIZE FOR BEST FEATURE–2019 OUTSHINE FILM FESTIVAL

Unsettled

DIRECTED BY TOM SHEPARD 81 MIN | 2019 | USA

The story of four LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers from Africa and the Middle East as they flee persecution to seek better and safer lives in the U.S.

OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2019 SAN FRANCISCO INTERNA- TIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Wounded By the Wind (Las Heridas del Viento)

DIRECTED BY JUAN CARLOS RUBIO 75 MIN | 2017 | SPAIN | SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Finding his deceased father’s love letter to another man, David seeks out his father’s lover for the truth.

CAST: DANIEL MURIEL, KITI MÁNVER OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2018 SEVILLE EUROPEAN FILM FEST