Portland Queer Film Festival Guide 2016

Queer PRESENTS THE 20TH ANNUAL

portland

film festival

SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2016 • CINEMA 21

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Welcome

Welcome to the 20th Anniversary of the Portland Queer Film Festival!

SPONSORS Presenting Sponsor

As we reflect on the last two decades, we're struck by how far queer filmmaking has progressed (right along with great strides in queer rights). Honestly, the time has flown by.

As we celebrate this landmark occasion, we want to take this opportunity to thank Tom Ranieri for starting this festival over 20 years ago. We greatly appreciate his support and dedication, along with that of his fabulous staff at Cinema 21.

Of course, this festival would not be possible without all of our generous sponsors and YOU, the moviegoers. A special thank you to Tim Bias, Gary Boyer, Bill Dickey and Celia Lyon for their long time support. You are our heroes!

We also want to take this moment to announce our retirement from the festival. Everything, everywhere changes–and it's time for a change within the festival. The event is in good hands and we're excited to see what the next 20 years bring!

Premiere Sponsors

Festival Sponsors

See you at the movies!

Yvonne P. Behrens, Executive Director Gabriel Mendoza, Artistic Director

Thank You We'd like to thank the following for their support, without which the festival would not be possible.

To everyone who supported the festival by coming to see the movies, to Gabriel Mendoza, Yvonne P. Behrens, Marlene Andrejco, Bobby A. Purks, Bill Dickey, Gary Boyer, Tim Bias, Robert Ball, H. Dwayne Davis, Andrew Tweedie, Celia Lyon, Dick Fournier, Tom Baretto, Jacolyn C. Wheatley & Susan K. Johnson, Dale Schiff, Rainbow Tax & Accounting, Beth and Jennifer Wolfsong, Terry Bean, Devil's Food Catering, Singer Properties, Multnomah County Health Department, New Deal Vodka, Jupiter Hotel, John Cameron Mitchell, Teri Eastburn, Michael Tuckman, Adam Birnbaum, Michael Cronan, Leonard Louder, Kim Young, the entire Cinema 21 staff and PQFF volunteers!

VIP Sponsors

LIVING ROOM FOR ALL

Sponsors DALE SCHIFF LICENSED BROKER 503-449-1023 LIVINGROOMRE.COM #4SALEWITHDALE

Hospitality Sponsors

TERRY BEAN

SINGER PROPERTIES

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE Friday, September 16

7:00

Saturday, September 17

5:00 7:00

Sunday, September 18

Monday, September 19

Tuesday, September 20

Wednesday, September 21

Thursday, September 22

Other People

Followed by 20th Anniversary Gala

Lovesong Slash

Star of film Michael Johnston in attendance.

9:15

King Cobra

2:45

Contemporary Color

5:00

Real Boy

7:00

Director Jon Garica & star Ben Farmer in attendance.

Followed afterparty at Bar Mingo

7:00

Real Boy

8:45

Closet Monster

6:45

AWOL

8:45

Being 17

6:45

Political Animals

8:45

Miles

6:45

Summertime

9:00

Paris 05:59

The Fall: Covenant of Grace

TICKETS AND PASSES General Admission - $10 Full Festival Pass - $75 Admission to all screenings and events at all venues, including the October 15 screening of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

Advance Sales Advance sales available at www.pdxqueerfilm.com

Cinema 21 • 616 NW 21st Avenue Tickets for all films at Cinema 21 will be available at the box office at 616 NW 21st. Ave. on the day of each show.

Parking at Cinema 21 Parking is available to Cinema 21 patrons at the Legacy Health surface lot at the corner of NW 20th & Lovejoy (entrance on Lovejoy) after 5:30 pm on weekdays and all day on weekends.

Protect Yourself.

Protect Your Partner.

Multnomah County Health Department STD Clinic 426 SW Stark St., 6th Floor. Portland, OR 97204

Estate planning, adoption, assisted reproduction including surrogacy and donor agreements, business and real estate law. www.wolfsonglaw.com (503) 616-8880

Get a STD/HIV test today!

Call 503-988-3700 Most insurance accepted or sliding fee scale (no one is turned away for inability to pay)

LIVING ROOM FOR ALL

DALE SCHIFF LICENSED BROKER 503-449-1023 LIVINGROOMRE.COM #4SALEWITHDALE

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16 • 7:00 P.M • OPENING NIGHT

OTHER PEOPLE

Directed by Chris Kelly • USA • 97 minutes

"Emotions run deep and wide here; anyone who's ever lost a parent, longed for love and acceptance, or tried to find his or her true self should easily relate.

It's a terrific film." –Los Angeles Times

In his auspicious directing debut, "Saturday Night Live" and "Broad City" writer, Chris Kelly, creates a touching tragicomedy based on his own experiences as a struggling writer. Jesse Plemons plays David, a 29-yearold comedy writer who must leave his home in New York City for Sacramento where his mother, Joanne (Molly Shannon), is suffering from terminal cancer. David is going through the worst year of his life having just broken up with his boyfriend of five years and his career prospects looking bleak. As he flounders about in Sacramento trying to be supportive of Joanne while re-visting childhood friends he also longs to connect with his emotionally distant father and two sisters.

Followed by 20th Anniversay Gala.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 • 5:00 P.M • FREE ADMISSION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 • 7:00 P.M • FREE ADMISSION

REAL BOY

Directed by Shaleece Haas • USA • 72 minutes

Lovesong

Slash

"A delicate heartbreaker about friendship, desire and the occasionally blurred line between the two." –Hollywood Reporter

"An engaging comedy-drama about adolescent outsiders who dabble in fan-fiction while inventing themselves." –Variety

Neglected by her husband, Sarah embarks on an impromptu road trip with her young daughter and her best friend Mindy. Along the way, the dynamic between the two friends intensifies before circumstances force them apart. Years later, Sarah attempts to rebuild their intimate connection in the days before Mindy’s wedding.

Neil (Michael Johnston) is an introverted, questioning high school freshman.

His main social outlet is the steamy erotic fan fiction he writes about Vanguard, the brawny, galaxy-hopping hero of a popular sci-fi franchise. When his stories are exposed in class, Neil is mortified, but the fearless, effortlessly cool Julia (Hannah Marks) comes to his defense. Julia pushes Neil to publish his stories to an online "adult" forum, where they quickly grab the attention of the site moderator, Denis. When Neil is invited to present his work at a comic con live-read event, he has to face the fact that Denis' interest in him may be more than simply professional.

September 17 • 5:00 p.m Directed by SO YONG KIM USA • 85 minutes

Real Boy is the coming-of-age story of Bennett Wallace, a transgender teenager on a journey to find his voice—as a musician, a friend, a son, and a man. As he navigates the ups and downs of young adulthood, he works to gain the love and support of his mother, who has deep misgivings about her child’s transition. Along the way, Bennett forges a powerful friendship with his idol, Joe Stevens, a celebrated transgender musician with his own demons to fight.

September 17 • 7:00 p.m Directed by CLAY LIFORD USA • 100 minutes

Michael Johnston in attendance He is best known for his role as Cory in MTV's supernatural drama series, "Teen Wolf." Johnston is also a voice actor for animation and video games.

King Cobra

Contemporary Color

The Falls: Covenant of Grace

Closet Monster

"It's [James] Franco who steals the picture, much as he did in Spring Breakers.

As in Harmony Korine's neon-lit thriller, the actor goes no holds barred."

–Guardian

"This movie is just bursting with joy, and it's impossible not to get swept up in it."

–Flavorwire

The third and final film in the popular series about two young Mormon men, RJ Smith and Chris Merrill, who fall in love with each other and try to reconcile their love with their faith.

Jon Garcia and Benjamin Farmer in attendance. Followed by afterparty at Bar Mingo.

"[Director Stephen] Dunn's off-kilter risks show the same kind of daring that's made Xavier Dolan a star."

–Georgia Straight

September 17 • 9:15 p.m Directed by JUSTIN KELLY USA • 91 minutes

When a lonely suburban man turned gay porn producer discovers a hot, lucrative new star, he finds himself the target of rival pornographers who will stop at nothing to steal his money maker. Based on the novel "Cobra Killer". Starring James Franco, Christian Slater, Alicia Silverstone, Keegan Allen, Garrett Clayton, Molly Ringwald.

September 18 • 2:45 p.m Directed by BILL ROSS, TURNER ROSS USA • 107 minutes

Ten of the country’s elite color guard teams—the flag-flipping, sequin-studded crème de la crème of the “sport of the arts”—sync steps with musical luminaries for a bacchanalia of beats, sabre-spinning, and glitter cannons.

Filmed live with performances by David Byrne, Nelly Furtado, How to Dress Well, Devonté Hynes, Money Mark + Ad-Rock, Zola Jesus, Lucius, Nico Muhly + Ira Glass, St. Vincent, and tUnE-yArDs!

September 18 • 7:00 p.m Directed by JON GARCIA USA

Jon Garcia

The Falls: Testament of Love is Jon's fourth feature film, after Tandem Hearts, The Falls and The Hours till Daylight. Jon has produced all of his projects under the banner of Lake Productions, his Northwestbased media company.

Benjamin Farmer

Ben is an accomplished actor of. Having studied at The American Musical & Dramatic Academy in New York City, Ben's credits include the TNT series Leverage, the feature film Some Days Are Better Than Others, commercials for Nintendo and Old Spice, and in plays like Spamalot, and Les Miserables.

September 19 • 8:45 p.m Directed by STEPHEN DUNN USA • 90 minutes

A fresh take on the coming-of-age story, this surreal tale follows the artistically driven Oscar (Connor Jessup) hovering on the brink of adulthood.

Struggling to find his place in the world after a rough childhood and haunted by images of a tragic incident, Oscar dreams of escaping his small town.

After he meets a mysterious and attractive new co-worker, Oscar follows the guidance of his pet hamster Buffy (voiced by Isabella Rossellini) and faces his demons to find the life he wants.

AWOL

Being 17

Political Animals

Miles

Lola Kirke shines as Joey, an aimless young woman searching for a direction in her small town in rural Pennsylvania. A visit to an Army recruiting office appears to provide her a path but when she meets and falls in love with Rayna (Breeda Wool), a rough and tumble housewife neglected by her long-haul trucker husband, that path diverges in ways that neither woman anticipated. As Joey falls deeper in love, she begins to lose sight of what’s most important to her while also becoming blind to the mistakes she is making.

Being 17 is a moving exploration of adolescent sexual awakening from renowned French director André Téchiné (Wild Reeds) with a script he co-wrote with director Céline Sciamma (Girlhood). Damien and Thomas are French teenagers from very different upbringings who go to the same high school but can’t stand each other.

When circumstances bring Damien’s mother Marianne (played by Sandrine Kiberlain) to invite Thomas to live with them, the young men are forced to coexist and work through their emerging attraction and complicated desires.

Political Animals tells the story of the civil rights struggle of this century– the gay rights movement–through the eyes of four elected women–a group often left out of gay histories.

Emotionally charged like its subjects, the film follows four ground-breaking lesbians who took the fight for the causes most personal to them and their communities off the streets and into the halls of government. Fierce, determined, focused and passionate, these women had the courage and foresight to start the work of legal rights of the LGBT community, ultimately paving the way for other states across the nation. Bills they authored included the first domestic partnership registry enacted by a legislature, the first anti-bullying bill protecting gay students and many more.

This film shows how their legislation brought about change in laws and societal acceptance, the strategies behind this incremental change, and what tough bargains had to be made to get us to where we are today.

High-school senior Miles Walton, whose mother (Molly Shannon) is left broke after his father passes away, causes an uproar in his small Illinois town when he discovers a college scholarship opportunity through a loophole that allows him to join the girls' volleyball team.

September 20 • 6:45 p.m Directed by DEB SHOVAL USA • 85 minutes

Building from her award-winning short, writer-director Deb Shoval’s debut feature is a clear-eyed love story told with an assured voice and impressive attention to details of a small town life. Bolstered by two impressive lead performances from Kirke and Wool and a strong supporting cast, AWOL is a beautiful romantic drama that is both tender and tough in equal measure.

September 20 • 8:45 p.m Directed by ANDRÉ TECHINÉ France • French w/English sub • 114 min

September 21 • 6:45 p.m Directed by JONAH MARKOWITZ, TRACY WARES • USA • 87 minutes

September 21 • 8:45 p.m Directed by NATHAN ADLOF USA • 90 minutes

SPECIAL POST-FESTIVAL EVENT!

Summertime

Paris 05:59 Théo & Hugo

"Thanks to the writing, direction, performances, and great chemistry between the lovers, [Summertime] packs a real emotional punch." –Sunday Independent

"...The film, conceived in real time, is above all a story about what happens when that bolt of lightning called love suddenly strikes." –Variety

Sensual and elegant, Catherine Corsini’s SUMMERTIME follows Carole and Delphine as they fall in love against the backdrop of early feminist activism in 1971 France. After living in the city, Delphine is called home to help with her family farm in the countryside and is forced to choose between her responsibility to them and the life of love she had in Paris with Carole. An enlightening tale about the infatuation of first love and its universal themes.

Théo and Hugo encounter each other in a sex club. They talk, things blur into the haziness of unbridled desire, then take shape for a moment as their gaze meets before they resume their exploration and lose themselves anew.

Afterward, they go outside. Together they drift down the deserted streets of nocturnal Paris. Suddenly they find themselves confronted by a reality that threatens their freedom and aimlessness. Do they want to know more about each other? Will their trust be rewarded? What are their expectations? Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau display consummate sensitivity in bringing us closer to two men as they strive for intimacy in spite of their insecurities.

September 22 • 6:45 p.m Directed by CATHERINE CORSINI France • French w/English sub • 105 min.

September 22 • 9:00 p.m Directed by Olivier Ducastel, Jacques Martineau • France (subtitled) • 97 min

John Cameron Mitchell in attendance

Hedwig and the Angry Inch October 15 • 7:00 p.m

Directed by JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL As part of our 20th anniverary celebrations, we're hosting a screening of Hedwig and the Angry Inch with director and star, John Cameron Mitchell in attendance! Mitchell will offer live director commentary during the screening and a Q&A afterword.

Hedwig began as an off-Broadway stage musical before becoming the cult-hit film in 2001. The film follows a fictional rock band fronted by an East German genderqueer singer who survives a botched sex change operation performed to allow her to marry an American man and escape East Germany, only to get dumped a few months later.

In 2014, the film became a Broadway musical winning a Tony that year for Best Revival of a Musical. The musical will tour the country beginning this fall.

Full Festival Pass holders are guaranteed admission to this event.

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF

WENDY AND LUCY AND MEEK’S CUTOFF “

★★★★

TRIUMPHANT... AN INDELIBLE PORTRAIT OF INDEPENDENT WOMEN .”

-THE GUARDIAN

“ CONFIRMS REICHARDT ’S STATUS AS

CINEMA’S FOREMOST POET OF THE AMERICAN NORTHWEST.” -SCREEN DAILY

MARVELOUS... EXPERTLY PERFORMED...

“

AMONG REICHARDT ’S RICHEST, MOST REFINED WORKS.” -VARIETY

“ WONDERFUL ...

SEEPS INTO THE SKIN AND EXPANDS IN THE MIND.” -PASTE MAGAZINE

INT’L FILM FESTIVAL

COMING TO CINEMA 21 THIS NOVEMBER

COMING TO CINEMA 21 THIS OCTOBER

“Life is a combination of magic and pasta.”

"We have come so far;

and there is still so much work to do to make the dream of equality for all ...a true reality."

– Federico Fellini

–TERRY BEAN

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807 NW 21st Avenue

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CELEBRATING

FAMILY

Queer PRESENTS THE 20TH ANNUAL

For 39 YEARS we’ve been right here in the Pacific Northwest making a difference for families, businesses and in our community.

portland

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film festival

SEPTEMBER 16 - 22, 2016 • CINEMA 21