 For the 15th time the Team of Out in Africa brings the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival back to our calendar. Don't miss the Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in Johannesburg from 4 to 14 September 2008 at Nu Metro Killarney Mall and in Cape Town from 11to 21 September 2008 at Nu Metro V&A Waterfront.
Good Hope MCC partnered also this year with the festival and presents you the movie For the Bible Tells Me So on Monday, 15 September 2008, followed by a discussion panel organised by Good Hope MCC. We have tickets for this screening and the panel available, please contact
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if you would like to see the movie. 
Bookings Tickets cost R25 and can be purchased at Nu Metro Box offices, at http://www.numetro.co.za or call 0861 11 00 220. Exclusive Books Fanatics members earn 200 points for OIA ticket purchases. You need to swipe your Fanatics card at the terminal to gain points.
Johannesburg Schedule 4 - 14 September 2008 Nu Metro, Killarney Mall Cape Town Schedule 11 - 21 September 2008 Nu Metro, V & A Waterfront
SA and International Short Films 3 Good Things Dir: Nimrod Geva
South Africa 2008 4min 30secs A tortoise. A goody-two-shoes shrink. And a guy who's such a failure can't even succeed at suicide. A short, twisted road trip to the place where good intentions go bad. Very bad. 
Area X
Dir: Dennis Shinners
USA 2007 15min Fresh from the country and new in town, trusting Paul finds his way into a bar and into the arms of gorgeous, fast-talking Marco. A wild new world has opened up to him, but is he cut out for it? 
Bandages, Socks and Facial Hair Dir: Mária Takács
Hungary 2006 34min Learning the swagger, the chew and the talk, a group of Hungarian lesbians spend an amusing and surprisingly fascinating afternoon getting down pat the details of being a man with the help of German instructors, a bandage, socks and a bit of liberally applied macho-styled facial hair. With tongue firmly lodged in the fake stubbled cheek this endearing short dissects gender roll-play in the spirit of revolution. 
Beyond Hate Crimes Dir: Musa Ngubane
South Africa 2008 18min In South Africa hate crimes are escalating in the South African townships where violent homophobic acts against LGBTI people are causing individuals to remain in the closet out of fear. In a country with supposedly the world’s most advanced constitution that protects the rights of each individual, several organisations and a lot of brave and angry women get together to ensure that Sizakele, Salome, Lorna, Gugu, Zoliswa, Fannyann, Thokozane, Eudy and others do not become just another crime statistic. BFF Dir: Lodi Matsetela
South Africa 2008 16min Puleng is in a loving relationship with her first girlfriend, but not having seen her BFF (best-friend-forever), Chabi, for a while and feeling out of synch with their friendship, Puleng invites her over for dinner. Faced with her past and present lives over the dinner table, Puleng must reconcile her two worlds. 
Farm Dir: Matthew Griffiths
South Africa 2008 16min A beautifully shot local student film. When Jan’s mother dies in a tractor accident, he places his university aspirations and his relationship with Jacques on hold to look after the farm and his father. Six month’s later, Jacques tracks Jan down and Jan’s father must reluctantly face up to his son’s sexuality – or lose another loved one. 
Snakes Dir: Stanimir Stoykov
South Africa 2008 24min From South Africa’s irrepressible spinner of the gay farce is another sparkling gem. Robert Whitehead is charismatic Sheila, tele-evangelist with a difference – her brand of face cream sets you, as a Friend of Jesus, on the path to beauty in His image. Her wife, Shirley, pockets the takings and keeps Sheila titillated with her own brand of loving. When disowned son Sebastian turns up to demand some dosh (in order to become Tara), Shiela’s dysfunctional past and present collide. W-hole Dir: Kali van der Merwe
South Africa 2008 8min A work in progress, W-hole confronts us with images (surreal alien landscapes) of, and attitudes to an essential, little-seen part of our bodies.
Guest Biographies Katrina Deaton Writer / Co-Director / Actress
Underneath A Philadelphia native, she attributes her passion for flmmaking to divine intervention. Although writing screenplays is her true love, Katrina claims poetry and song writing are her mistresses. She recently fnished writing her second feature Kathy’s Daughter, an autobiography, along with a few shorts and TV pilots she’s working on distributing. Nimrod Geva Nimrod Geva Writer / Director
3 Good Things An SABC commissioning editor for comedy, his cartoon ‘Ja-Nee’ appears weekly in The Weekender, and his work has appeared in the M&G, Sunday Independent and The New Yorker. 3 Good Things was made as part of his MFA in Film Production at Columbia University. Lisa Gornick Writer / Director Tick
Tock Lullaby London born, her first job was a Russian Chanteuse cabaret act where she philosophised about life in the UK amidst a set of improvised songs. She wrote several plays including Only Men Need Apply about trying to get into politics, and My Daughter Carries the Gun about women’s role in resistance. Her first feature, Do I Love You? (2003), a philosophical comedy about love and its labels, won 3 awards at international festivals. Matthew Griffiths Director/Co-Producer
Farm Matthew was born in 1986 and grew up in Cape Town, South Africa. He started studying Music and Art in school, specializing in Guitar. He first started using film as a medium in art at school before attending AFDA where he currently specializes in Directing, Writing and Visual Effects. Always pushed to excel Matthew started up Echo Ledge Productions with Producers Ben Kaufman and Rafeeqah Galant as a means of gaining extra experience outside of AFDA’s curriculum. Farm is the fourth short film he has written and directed as a member of this production company. Lodi Matsetela Writer / Director
BFF A graduate of the AAA school of Advertising, Lodi worked for top advertising agency Net#work BBDO. Three years ago she quit advertising and dedicated her time to becoming a fulltime scriptwriter. Her credits include Felas TV, Home Affairs, The LAB, Rhythm City and City Ses’la for which she won a South African Film and Television Award (SAFTA). Lodi contributes editorial to the online magazine www.rage.co.za, her poetry has just been published by Tracce Diverse in the poetry anthology Peo Tsa Rona. With her Puo Pha Productions partner, Mak Mamabolo, she is in development with the next 26 episodes of Society.BFF, a short film which she also wrote and co- produced, is her directorial debut. Walter Naegle Brother Outsider Rustin’s partner for the last decade of his life, Naegle serves as Executive Director of the Bayard Rustin Fund, promoting his vision of a more peaceful and equitable world. An accomplished photographer, he accompanied Rustin on a visit to SA in 1983 to assess the prospects for nonviolent, democratic change. Musa Ngubane Producer
Beyond Hate Crimes A 27 year old writer and LGBTI activist, passionate bout mainstreaming and advancing LGBTI rights in Africa, working with Behind the Mask. Bennett Singer Producer / Director
Brother Outsider
Bennett Singer, a New York-based filmmaker and writer, produced and directed Brother Outsider with Bay Area filmmaker Nancy Kates. His previous documentary credits include the Emmy- and Peabody-winning Eyes on the Prize II; With God on our Side: The Rise of the Religious Right in America; and The Question of Equality, a public television series on LGBT rights. Among his writing/editing credits are Growing up Gay/Growing up Lesbian, an award-winning anthology for young people; 42 UP, the companion book to Michael Apted’s documentary series; and The Student Boy, a novel of suspense published by Random House. Bennett served for eight years as Executive Editor of TIME Magazine’s education program and is currently at work on a new documentary that takes an irreverent look at America’s dysfunctional system of voting.
Staninimir Stoykov Direcor
Snake Bulgarian born Stanimir Stoykov has been living in South Africa since 1993. He attended the National School of the Arts where he studied art and then completed his BA in Dramatic Art at the University of the Witswatersrand.
Since 2002 he has produced and directed a number of indipendent short movies (Leaps Ahead, Thrush, Pussy, Lesbian Braai, Fannie). His style of movie-making has been described as "trashy", but Stoykov prefers to describe it as "no budget glamour".Over the past few years he has collaborated with some of South Africa's greatest talents like the late Patrick Mynhardt, veteran actor Robert Whitehead, singing and dancing sensation Amra Faye-Wright, disco diva Tamara Dey and many more. Stoykov references influences such as John Waters, Pedro Almodovar, Bruce LaBruce and Alfred Hitchcock.
Stanimir Stoykov works as a casting director and has also appeared in a number of local TV and film productions(Straight Outta Benoni, Footskating 101, Izoso Connexion). Lisa Thrasher Producer
Itty Bitty Titty Committee A law school and fine arts (film and photography) graduate, she has orked in many spheres of the film industry. Currently an Independent Film Producer and President of Film Production & Distribution for POWER UP (Professional
Organization of Women in Entertainment Reaching UP) the non-profit film production company & educational organisation – where her responsibilities include all spects of film development, production & distribution. Kali van der Merwe Director
W-hole Artist, award winning filmmaker, photographer, sound designer, drummer, skills trainer and honours graduate (sculpture). Her artistic practice uses the body, her own as well as others, to explore the hidden, the taboo, the unmentionable, the unwatchable - yet also to celebrate sensuality and erotic expression. Her search is for the ambiguous and the contradictory - where things are not what they appear to be.
Panels Please check the website www.oia.co.za for updates on Panelists. Not all participants were confrmed at the time of going to print. Another Woman Jhb Sat 6 Sept 7pm Mzi Nduna:
Lecturer, Dept. of Psychology (WITS), researcher in the field of sexuality. Member of the Gender DynamiX Management Committee. Juan Nel:
Director, UNISA Centre of Applied Psychology. Robert Hamblin:
photographer / contemporary artist, he is Transgender, female to male, and a founding member of Gender Dynamix. Busi Kheswa:
GALA staff member involved in oral history, public education and exhibition projects and working on 2 documentary films. Another Woman CT Sat 13 Sept 6pm Lincoln Theo:
Forsook legal practice for a PhD in queer fetish sex. Teaches scriptwriting, social and gender studies, and writes for the Pink Tongue. Mary Hames:
Director, Gender Equity Unit (UWC). Writes and comments on the status and perceptions of, particularly, black lesbians in a post-apartheid South Africa. Board member of FEW. Underneath Jhb Wed 10 Sept 7.30pm Representatives of the Forum for Empowerment of Women (FEW) will engage in conversation with Director Katrina Deaton about issues raised by her fIlm. The Bubble Jhb Tue 9 Sept 7.30pm David Bilchitz:
Senior Researcher at the SA Institute for Advanced Constitutional Law, founding chairperson of Jewish OutLook. As legal advisor to OUT LGBTI Well-being he was instrumental in the same-sex marriage campaign. Lael Bethlehem:
CEO of the Johannesburg Development Agency. She is married to Emilia Potenza and they have two daughters For The Bible Tells Me So Jhb Sat 13 Sept 7.30pm Janine Preesman:
Senior Pastor of Glorious Light MCC, first officially designated Religious Marriage Officer. She considers herself a Queer Feminist Liberation Theologian. For The Bible Tells Me So CT Mon 15 Sept 6.30pm Rowan Smith:
Ordained in 1968, became Dean of St. George’s Cathedral, Cape Town, in 1996. Judith Kotzé:
Ordained in 1995 as a Dutch Reformed minister, currently a full-time senior program manager for Inclusive and AffIrming Ministries. Pressley Sutherland:
Pastor-elect of Good Hope Metropolitan Community Church, he has been involved in queer-empowering spiritual work and justice activism for 20 years. Rampant: How a City Stopped a Plague Jhb Sat 6 Sept 8pm Jay Matlou:
Co-ordinator, Preventive Initiative for Sexual Minorities (PRISM) Project for OUT LGBT Well-Being. Jason Wessenaar:
Project Director for a workplace Counseling and Testing project at JHPIEGO and a director for the Mercy AIDS Foundation. Jason was diagnosed HIV positive in 1999 and has been living openly with HIV since 2001. Pierre Brouard:
Deputy Director, Centre for the Study of AIDS (UP). SISONKE members (Gauteng sex workers support organisation) will participate from the floor. Rampant: How a City Stopped a Plague CT Wed 17 Sept 7pm
Vanessa Ludwig:
Director of the Triangle Project an LGBTI support, services and advocacy organisation, specialising in sexual health issues.
Nicoli Nattrass:
Professor of Economics and Director of the AIDS and Society Research Unit (UCT). She is the author Mortal Combat: AIDS Denialism and the Struggle for Antiretrovirals in South Africa {mospagebreak&title=Producers Seminar} Producers Seminar Jhb: Wednesday 10 September 10am - 4pm Goethe Institut, 119 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood
CT:
Monday 15 September 10am - 4pm Runway Resource Centre,1 Port Road, Waterfront Studios.
Lisa Thrasher, a law and fine arts graduate, is an award-winning Independent Producer. She spent many years practicing International Anti-Piracy Litigation and Trademark Prosecution for the Intellectual Property Department of Fox Group Legal. Currently she serves as the President of Film Production & Distribution for POWER UP (Professional Organization of Women in Entertainment Reaching UP) - the non-profit film production company & educational organisation - where her responsibilities include all aspects of film development, production & distribution. She produced Itty Bitty Titty Committee which screens on the Festival (opposite page).
Thrasher’s seminar will cover the following topics: - Independent Film Today – Changes in the last 10 years, how it differs from Studio Filmmaking.
- Writing or Acquiring Scripts – Legal Rights.
- Legal Issues in Film – Copyright, Contracts, Trademark, Assigning rights, Music Rights.
- Piracy – How to protect your investment, Screeners, Copyright, Press.
- The Film Festival Circuit – How to make it work for you, Important & Specialty Festivals.
- Distribution & Marketing – Publicist, Finding Distributors, Sales Agents, Contracts and Making the Deal.
These seminars have been made possible with the support of both the Goethe Institut and the Cape Film Commission. Entrance is free but booking is essential. Please contact
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to reserve your place. Light refreshments will be served between 1pm and 2pm.
25 Cent Preview Dir: Cyrus Amini
USA 2007 91min
A gritty, ‘in the moment’ gallop through the red-light district of San Francisco, this is a journey into the uncensored life, loves and tricks of its street hustlers. Sometimes working alone, sometimes as a pair, clean-cut, bi-sexual surfer boy Marcus
and fast-talking, edgy Dot.com spend their nights loitering the streets, dodging drug dealers and luring curb-crawlers looking for quick-release sex. Partners in crime and experience, both are damned to this life, escaping traumatic childhoods and
betrayals. But as dark as the smut in Marcus’ life is, it does have its moments, including a dependable father-fgure’s obsession that’s handy in a tight squeeze, and the good-natured attentions of a dazzled young girl. Honest, riveting performances and a fast
pace ensures compelling viewing that reveals far more humanity and understanding than you would expect.
Outfest Grand Jury Awards - Outstanding American Narrative Feature, Outstanding Feature Film Actor in Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Fest - Best U.S. Picture
Johannesburg - Fri 5 / 11pm
- Mon 8 / 9pm
- Sat 13 / 8pm
Cape Town - Fri 12 / 11pm
- Wed 17 / 9.15pm
- Fri 19 / 10.45pm
Affinity Dir: Andrew Davies
UK/ Canada/Romania 2008 90mins
In the sumptuous tradition of costume drama comes an inspired film based on Sarah Water’s third book. Already thwarted in love, when her father dies, Margaret Prior’s hopes and dreams of escaping her rigid, upper middle class existence die with him. Determined to channel her energy into something positive, she volunteers as a ‘lady visitor’ at Millbank, the notorious women’s prison. There she becomes infatuated with the luminous convict Selina Dawes. Before being incarcerated, Dawes had built a successful following as a spirit medium. Now, surrounded by her spirits, quietly spoken Dawes invests all her faith in the intelligent and frustrated Margaret. An affecting mystery and erotic romance with a gothic twist, Affinity perfectly conveys the Victorian’s obsession with the spiritual, and their experiments in the shadowy world of séances,
boisterous spirits and indecorous passion. Johannesburg - Sun 7 / 6.15pm
- Fri 12 / 8.30pm
- Sun 14 / 8.30pm
Cape Town - Tue 16 / 8.45pm
- Fri 19 / 8.45pm
- Sun 21 / 6pm
Another Woman (Une Autre Femme) Dir: Jérôme Foulon
France 2004 106min
Dignified, elegant and aloof, pharmaceutical saleswoman Léa, turns heads and hearts wherever she goes. However alluring her detached persona is, it points to a deep, dark secret that is kept successfully hidden from everyone but her transsexual friend Joy. When she is bullied into going to Paris on business, she must not only dodge the advances of her amorous co-worker, but also resist the magnetic curiosity that leads her to initially watch from afar and then introduce herself to the spouse and two children she abandoned over ten years ago.
This impressive flm sympathetically and realistically captures Léa’s anguish at her deception, as well as the confusion and betrayal felt by those left behind.
Gender DynamiX panel discussions at the times indicated above. Johannesburg - Sat 6 / 7pm (+Panel)
- Mon 8 / 7.30pm
Cape Town - Sat 13 / 6pm (+Panel)
- Wed 17 / 7.15pm
Breakfast with Scot Dir: Laurie Lynd
Canada 2007 95min
A fun, breezy film about tolerance, acceptance and the struggle for identity where an eleven year old unwittingly teaches adults more about themselves and their sexuality than they would care to know.
Eric is a legendary ice hockey player with a reputation for violence that comes back to hit him on the head and out of the game. Now, five years later, he is a TV sports caster who can barely bring himself to say he is gay, let alone publically acknowledge his partner, Sam. Then, out of the blue, the instantly lovable, boa-wearing, flamboyant orphan Scot pirouettes into their life and turns it upside down. Eric and Scot to begin to spend a lot of time together, and while Scot is more interested in Christmas carols and musicals than hockey, he is willing to try anything to please Eric.
Reel to Real IFF – Youth Jury Best Picture Award and the Edith Lando Prize. Johannesburg - Sat 6 / 6.15pm
- Thu 11 / 9.30pm
- Sat 13 / 6.15pm
Cape Town - Fri 12 / 6.30pm
- Fri 19 / 6.30pm
- Sun 21 / 6.15pm
Brother Outsider Dir: Nancy Kates & Bennett Singer
USA 2003 83mins
Brother Outsider brings to the South African gay and lesbian film festival a thrilling and important story – the life and work of Bayard Rustin, the gay man who mentored Martin Luther King. A visionary crusader, Rustin has been called the “unknown hero” and the “invisible man” of the American civil rights movement. Why invisible? Because he dared to live openly as gay man during a time of homophobia so fierce that it kept most LGBTI people deeply closeted. Why an outsider? Because as a black gay man he challenged stereotypes within both the black and the white establishments of his time – stereotypes that still affect black gays and lesbians in our world. Brother Outsider is a moving and engaging record of Rustin’s life. It reveals the price he paid for his openness. It chronicles his triumphs and his setbacks over 60 years —including his role as chief organizer of the huge 1963 March on Washington. Since its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, this inspiring film has been shown throughout the world. But, until now, it has not been shown in Africa. Critics have hailed it as “alive with ideas, fast-paced and surprising, and rich in humanity” (Africana.com) and as “a brilliant documentary that everyone should see” (Bay Area MetroActive). The film-makers Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer will be attending Out in Africa. Their story is one that will warm South Africans, black and white, gay or straight, while making them reflect on what remains to be done for justice in our own country. Johannesburg - Fri 5 / 8pm (+ Guest)
- Tue 9 / 7pm (+ Guest)
Cape Town
- Sat 13 / 5.30pm (+ Guest)
- Mon 15 / 8.45pm
The Bubble (Ha-Buah) Dir: Eytan Fox
Israel 2006 114min
From the director of Yossie and Jagger comes another tale of love in the time of war. Hottie Noam returns to the hip Sheikin St. district of Tel Aviv and his vivacious housemates, designer / perfume attendant Lulu and waiter Yali, after doing his obligatory stint in the army. Following hot on his heals is gorgeous Ashraf, a Palestinian that Noam swapped glances with during the chaos of border duty. Together the four form a band of merry left-thinking, Westernised urban-revellers that is almost entirely removed from the ethnic and spiritual confict, save for organising a Rave for Peace.
But the all-pervading confict must fnd them eventually and, with the extreme elements on both sides not so far away, their idealistic ‘bubble’ must burst. This captivating ode to transcendental love – sexual, familial, and platonic – encapsulates the surreal lives lived by young gays and straights, Jews and Arabs, men and women, in Israel today.
Audience Award – Inside Out, Toronto 2007 and Torino IG&LFF 2007
Berlinale 2007 CICAE Award, Siegessäule Panorama & Reader Jury
2008 GLAAD Media Award
Johannesburg
- Tue 9 / 7.30pm (+Panel & Guest)
- Fri 12 / 8.45pm
- Sun 14 / 6.15pm
Cape Town
- Fri 12 / 8.30pm (+Guest)
- Sun 14 / 6pm
- Sat 20 / 7.45pm
Enough Man
Dir: Luke Woodward
USA 2005 61mins
Explicit yet profound, this raunchy film navigates the rarely discussed reality of being a female to male / trans man. Putting aside the usual socio-political discussions on gender and surgical re-assignment, Woodward explores the personal perspectives of nine candid trans men and their partners. Accompanied by graphic demonstrations, the film exposes each person’s celebration of their body image, the limits of language and vocabulary, and how they perceive sex and sexual relationships.
The interviewees come from a range of backgrounds, from dominatrix to Cherokee to hippy slave, and honestly deconstruct both social and self-imposed expectations on love, sexual roles, polygamy, power dynamics and surgical options. Rocking to the trans / queer soundtrack, Woodward’s documentary expertly clears the murky waters surrounding trans people by giving us that rare and valuable gift – the thoughts and feelings of those directly involved and affected.
Johannesburg
- Thu 11 / 7.30pm
- Sun 14 / 6.30pm
Cape Town
- Fri 12 / 7.30pm
- Tue 16 / 7.15pm
For the Bible Tells Me So Dir: Daniel Karslake
USA 2007 100min
Homosexuality is a sin – or so a sector of fundamental Christians would have us believe. In this intimate yet provocative film, the families of five gay Christian Americans discuss what homosexuality has meant to their family, and how familial love and acceptance has triumphed over the alienation and rejection endorsed by their churches. Adding intellectual fuel to the fire, the filmmaker debunks myths surrounding homosexuality through a cartoon illustrating scientifc fact, two Harvard theologians deconstruct the scriptures (and the contextual meaning of ‘abomination’), and world experts, including our own Archbishop Tutu, express their opinions on discrimination and the intentional misinterpretation of the scriptures. In this thorough, positive and ultimately hopeful documentary, the filmmaker presents a complex subject with both personal and intellectual arguments that encourages people to examine their
beliefs rather than mindlessly accept the words of others.
2008 Oscar nominated Johannesburg - Mon 8 / 7.15pm
- Sat 13 / 7.30pm
Cape Town
- Mon 15 / 6.30pm (+Panel)
- Thu 18 / 7pm
Itty Bitty Titty Committee
Dir: Jamie Babbit
USA 2007 86mins
Shy, just-out-of-high-school Anna is depressed by her recent break up with her first girlfriend, and her plastic surgeon receptionist job only offers the option of a discount boob job to elevate her dampened spirits. Then one night Anna catches sexy siren Sadie defacing her clinic with a pro-body message. It transpires that Sadie is an activist for the underground women’s rights faction C(i)A or Clits in Action. Intrigued and hoping to become part of Sadie’s agenda (despite Sadie’s committed relationship with an old skool feminist), Anna joins the motley C(i)A crew, leaving behind the meek dormouse to become a bad-ass rebel-with-a-cause. Pulsating with a radical brand of gender politics accompanied by grungy, punk lesbian-rock, this loud, feisty activist comedy is an endearing introduction to dissident feminist groups and the ‘ballsy’ female anarchists who run them.
Director Jamie Babbit and Producer Lisa Thrasher are guests of the Festival.
Winner of over a dozen awards, including:
Philadelphia IG&LFF 2007 - Jury Prize Best Feature
SXSW Film Festival 2007 - Competition Award Best Feature Film & Best Film
Tampa IG&LFF 2007 - Audience Award Best Lesbian Feature
Melbourne Queer Film festival 2007 – Best Narrative Feature Audience Award
Mostra Lambda Barcelona Int’l G&L Film Festival 2007 – Best Lesbian Feature Audience Award
Johannesburg
- Sat 6 / 8.15pm
- Tue 9 / 7.15pm (+guest)
- Sat 13 / 8.30pm
Cape Town - Sat 13 / 7.45pm (+Guest)
- Thu 18 / 6.45pm
- Sun 21 / 8.30pm
Out at the Wedding Dir: Lee Friedlander
USA 2007 96min
Manhattanite Alex is in a pickle – blissfully in love with dashing airline pilot Dana, but embarrassed by a high-maintenance, prejudiced Southern family and unsure of how they will react to a Jewish African American addition to their family… and so Alex denies their existence. When flirtatious and competitive sister Jeannie announces
her wedding, Alex lies to Dana and takes best friend Jonathan instead. Then, a slip of Jonathan’s tongue has the whole wedding believing that Alex is queer. Intrigued by this unexpected side to her sibling, Jeannie makes plans to visit Alex in Manhattan. When Jeannie arrives, Alex hires the luscious Risa to act the part of lover, but nothing plays out as planned. A light comedy-of-errors, this romp through the complex laws of truth and attraction is a smart, well-acted and unexpected love story.
Newfest NY 2008 - Audience Award Best Feature Film 2008 New Now Next Awards - LOGO - Audience Choice for Best Feature Johannesburg - Thu 4 / 7pm OPENING NIGHT
- Sat 6 / 10.30pm
- Thu 11 / 7pm
Cape Town
- Thu 11 / 7.00pm OPENING NIGHT
- Mon 15 / 9.30pm
- Sat 20 / 8pm
Outing Riley
Dir: Pete Jones
USA 2004 87mins
Regular-guy Bobby is the epitome of an Irish Catholic lad living in Chicago. He is part of a close-knit family, and loves sport, beer and pranking around with his older brother Luke (Nathan Fillion of the cult series Firefy and Desperate Housewives fame).
Only problem is that while happy at being the loved and lovable youngest brother, he is very firmly in the closet despite repeated urging and even threats from his sister, lover Andy and Carly, his pseudo girlfriend of five years. When he misses two perfect opportunities to come out, his sister takes matters into her own hands and breaks the news to their three older, boisterous brothers– pot-smoking Luke, porn-addicted Connor and priest Father Jack. Laid-back and cleverly crafted, this amusing comedy disarms stereotypes and expectations of what a gay man is meant to be and how he is meant to act.
Newfest NY 2007 – Best US Narrative Film
Johannesburg
- Sat 6 / 6pm
- Mon 8 / 9.30pm
- Sat 13 / 6pm
Cape Town
- Fri 12 / 6.30pm
- Tue 16 / 9pm
- Fri 19 / 6.45pm
The Quest for the Missing Piece (Behikvot Ahatiha Ahasera)
Dir: Oded Lotan
Israel 2007 52min
A religious rite of passage; a hidden badge of cultural identity; how can cutting a piece of genital skin encapsulate so much, and evoke so many conflicting thoughts, feelings and emotions? Confused by the emotive and universal subject of male circumcision, Oded (gay and Jewish) explores his own sense of belonging, religious adherence and cultural identity. With gentle humour, charm, wit and tenacious gumption, he doggedly pursues the subject by interviewing a vast array of people affected by the ritual. He speaks to parents who fear exclusion if their son is not circumcised, and parents who are adamant that their son not be assaulted. He speaks to a Russian adult who undergoes the operation to become ‘wholly Jewish’, celebrates with an Arab family at their son’s circumcision party, and searches for the mohel who performed his Brit milah thirty years previously.
Turin G&LFF Awards 2008 - Special Mention
Johannesburg
Cape Town - Sun 14 / 8.15pm
- Thu 18 / 9pm
Rampant – How a City Stopped a Plague
Dir: Victoria Midwinter Pitt
Australia 2007 57mins
In 1982 a visiting New York gardener booked into Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital. Not knowing what caused his mystery ‘cancer’ or how to treat it, the doctors released the gardener back onto the headily promiscuous streets of gay Sydney. He was the first patient diagnosed with AIDS in Australia. Faced with an epidemic and in unchartered waters, the government did the unthinkable: they involved the most afflicted communities, recruiting Federal Ministers, tabloid editors, nuns, drug dealers and sex workers. This unconventional committee accepted human nature and embarked on a series of highly successful shock-value awareness campaigns. Although this controversial decision was much maligned at the time, the Australian approach saved thousands of lives. A fascinating and timely lesson, this thorough documentary
charts the positive effects of pragmatism and practicality that won over outrage and misplaced morality.
Johannesburg
- Sat 6 / 8pm (+ Panel)
- Tue 9 / 9.15pm
Cape Town - Wed 17 / 7pm (+Panel)
- Sat 20 / 6.30pm
Saturn in Opposition (Saturno Contro)
Dir: Ferzan Ozpetek
Italy/Turkey 2007 110min
From the director of Hamam and Ignorant Fairies comes this tale of love and friendship. Gorgeous Lorenzo and older author Davide are the central loving couple of a close-knit sophisticated group of friends who loyally weather each other’s imperfections, insecurities and secrets with sensitivity and joviality. As all friends do, they occasionally fight and have their differences. But no matter how complex the group dynamic is it retains and supports them all throughout vivacious Roberta’s drug addiction, Neval’s cantankerous comments and Antonio’s errant ways. A good thing, as when tragedy strikes Lorenzo and his estranged father calls their relationship (and his response to it) into question, they all gather around in support despite their own personal, self-inflicted dramas. Altogether the film is not only a tender, slick and supremely enjoyable refection on Italian life, but also a universal insight into friendship in the face of sudden illness.
David di Donatello Awards 2007: Best Supporting Actress
Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists 2007 – Best Actress, Best Screenplay
Johannesburg
- Fri 5 / 9pm
- Sun 7 / 8.15pm
- Wed 10 / 7.15pm
Cape Town
- Fri 12 / 11pm
- Sat 13 / 10.45pm
- Mon 15 / 6.45pm
Savage Grace Dir: Tom Kalin
Spain/USA/France 2007 97mins
Award winning Kalin’s 1992 feature, Swoon, was based on the lives of killers-lovers Leopold and Loeb. His second feature, starring Julianne Moore in the lead, is also based on a true story about the heirs to the Bakelite fortune. Living the empty life of the idle rich, effervescent, tempestuous social butterfly Barbara is a stark contrast to her quiet, constrained husband Brooks Baekeland, the uncomfortable heir. Their only son, Tony, is brought up in the firing line of their relationship, smothered by his mother’s neediness and rejected by his father’s increasing emotional distance. As Tony matures he enters into a three-way relationship with drug dealer Jake and Spanish gold-digger Bianca. When Bianca goes off with his father, Barbara’s suicidal reaction requires Tony’s undivided attention and his relationship with his mother takes a particularly bizarre turn. Careening from New York in 1946 to London in 1972, via Paris and Spain, this true story with a stellar cast charts one family’s descent from decadence into a dysfunction that would make Jerry Spring proud.
Johannesburg
- Fri 5 / 11pm
- Tue 9 / 9.30pm
- Fri 12 / 11pm
Cape Town
- Sun 14 / 8.30pm
- Thu 18 / 8.45pm
- Sat 20 / 10.30pm
Shelter Dir: Jonah Markowitz
USA 2007 97min
Young, talented artist Zach has sacrificed his dreams of going to art school in order to look after adorable nephew, Cody, which his self-centred sister seems incapable of doing. Stoic, despite his dim prospects as a line chef, he surfs, avoids on-again off-again girlfriend Tori, paints on any piece of real estate going and hangs out with his best-buddy, Gabe, who lives on the richer side of the tracks. One summer Zach is left to his own devices while Gabe chases pipes in far-fung locales. When Gabe’s studly older brother, Shaun camps out at the family home, Zach and he hook up to catch a few waves. Although the chemistry between them is undeniable, Zach becomes confused by this emotional curve-ball and its implications and has some important decisions to make. With great surf scenes and sensitive lensing, this summer coming-out and falling-in-love romance elegantly sidesteps clichés.
2008 Melbourne Queer Film Festival – Audience Choice Award Best Feature
Cape Town Pride fundraiser is on Saturday 13 September 8pm
Johannesburg
- Sat 6 / 10pm
- Wed 10 / 9pm
- Sat 13 / 10.30pm
Cape Town - Sat 13 / 8pm (Pride Gala)
- Wed 17 / 9.30pm
- Sat 20 / 10.15pm
Tick Tock Lullaby
Dir: Lisa Gornick
UK 2007 73min
In theory, life partners Maya and Sasha are on the hunt for a sperm donor having decided to take the next step into parenthood. Practice, however, proves more difficult to achieve.
Cruising the urban cafes and bars of London for the potential father of their child, the two lament that it so much easier for straight couples. But is it? Fiona and her partner, Todd, also on an impregnation mission, are not having the easiest of rides. Meanwhile, single photographer Gillian has decided to move on to the single parent stage and doesn’t seem to have as much trouble finding willing, if unsuitable, donors.
This fresh, humorous look at the travails of getting pregnant and the anxieties surrounding impending motherhood is loosely interwoven and illustrated by Sasha’s pen and ink drawings.
Berlin 2007 - Britspotting, Best Feature Award
Lisa Gornick is guest of the Festival courtesy of the British Council Johannesburg - Mon 8 / 7pm (+ Guest)
- Fri 12 / 7pm
Cape Town - Sun 14 / 6pm (+ Guest)
- Sat 20 / 6.15pm
Times Have Been Better (Le Ciel sur la tête) Dir: Régis Musset
France 2006 91min
In imitable quirky French style, the proud liberal parents of thirty-something, banker Jeremy descend into crisis when he celebrates moving into a new house with his older, long-term boyfriend by fnally announcing to the family that he is gay. Seen from the point of view of his erstwhile loving and open-minded family, his upbeat father plummets into farcical, almost pathological, despair as he becomes obsessed with his son’s ‘position’ in the relationship. His supportive mother ventures on a voyage of self-discovery, befriends her bitter gay co-worker and re-evaluates the meaning of motherhood. Now that their shining light, Jeremy, has temporarily dimmed in their eyes, the youngest brother is unwittingly hauled into the spotlight. Questioning the strength of familial and other relationships that are often taken for granted, this delightful movie explores difficult personal questions in a fresh and approachable way. Johannesburg - Sun 7 / 7pm
- Thu 11 / 7.15pm
- Sat 13 / 10.45pm
Cape Town - Sat 13 / 10.30pm
- Fri 19 / 10.30pm
- Sun 21 / 8pm
Underneath Dirs: Cherisse & Katrina Deaton
USA 2007 10min
Taylor Hayes is a bright, sassy young black woman in a hetro-relationship, and an essential member of a dynamic foursome of friends. Scratch a little at the surface and we find that Taylor has a penchant for women and aggressively pursues them with a devil-may-care attitude.
Taylor spends considerable energy in denial, trying to balance the extreme sides of her life, until she meets and seduces the beautiful, straight Mya. From a staunch Baptist family, Mya is bound to tell the truth about her new relationship, something that Taylor has trouble doing, and matters come to a head. Astute and engaging, this low budget flm depicts the obstacles that the intolerant expectations of a community place in the
path of true love.
Writer, actress Katrina Deaton is a guest of the Festival. Johannesburg - Wed 10 / 7.30pm (+ Guest)
- Sun 14 / 6pm
Cape Town
- Fri 12 / 8.30pm (+ Guest)
- Wed 17 / 6.45pm
Vivere Dir: Angelina Macarrone
Germany 2007 97min
From the director of two OIA hits (Unveiled and Everything Will Be Fine) comes this mature film, drifting with rich urban enchantment between the grungy streets of Germany and Rotterdam. The complex, looping narrative structure of this nocturnal road trip belies a simple and delightful tale of abandonment, responsibility and perception. Briefly, on Christmas Eve, responsible Francesca (a German taxi-driver) must go in search of her errant sister, Antoinetta, which leads her to a Rotterdam bar. Along the way she rescues the ageing Gerlinde, and falls in love with her, and Gerlinde nursing her own disappointments and for lack of anything better to do, tags along. As the 24-hour story rewinds and plays again from each woman’s perspective, the gaps are flled in and each event altered in the retelling. Johannesburg - Fri 5 / 9pm
- Thu 11 / 9.15pm
Cape Town - Mon 15 / 7pm
- Fri 19 / 7pm
Were the World Mine Dir: Thomas Gustafson
USA 2008 95min
This fun, dazzling and amusing musical-of-errors with a first rate ensemble cast and dishy lead is a magical modern interpretation of Shakespeare set amidst the familiar scenarios of high school angst and adolescent crushes. Timothy copes at his expensive, testosterone-fuelled boys’ school by daydreaming elaborate musical extravaganzas that feature the school’s rugby team.
When the eccentric drama coach casts him as Puck from Midsummer Night’s Dream, it looks like Timothy’s sequin-filled dreams could turn into reality. Especially when he finds a potent love spell hidden within the script. He now has the means, and his fascination for rugby star Jonathon provides the motive, to turn the whole narrow-minded small homophobic town gay.
Florida FF 2008, Torino IG&LFF 2008 Inside Out Toronto 2008 Audience Awards
Nashville FF 2008 – Best LGBT Film & Best Music in a Feature Film
Connecticut G&LFF 2008 – Director’s Award
Fort Worth G&LFF – Jury Award Best Film
Outfest G&LFF - Grand Jury Award For Outstanding U.S. Dramatic Feature
Philadelphia Int'l G&Lff - Scion Award For First-Time Director:
Honolulu Rainbow FF – Best Narative Feature Johannesburg - Fri 5 / 7pm
- Sun 7 / 7.30pm
- Fri 12 / 6.45pm
Cape Town - Sat 13 / 5.45pm
- Tue 16 / 6.45pm
- Fri 19 / 8.30pm
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XXY Dir: Lucia Puenzo
Argentina/France/Spain 2007 86min
Living in a coastal Uruguayan town, Alex has been isolated and protected, for the past 15 years, by her parents Kraken and Suli. As puberty gets its grip on the teenager they think that now is the time for Alex to make a decision regarding her gender identity. Her mother invites a top plastic surgeon and his family to stay with them, to assist with a decision, but sexually aggressive Alex is far more interested in the plastic surgeon’s closeted son, Alvaro. While the parent’s agonise over the conundrum of Alex’ gender, the teens get on with their complex exploration of sexuality and identity. Beautifully shot, sparsely scripted, with stellar performances, this calmly observed and quietly unassuming film is as much about the psychological fallout of family anxieties, than the confusion surrounding Alex’s gender.
Cannes 2007 - Critics Week Grand Prize and Grand Golden Rail
Edinburgh IFF 2007 - New Director's Award
San Francisco ILGFF 2008 Audience Award Best Feature Film
Athens IFF - Golden Athena Award
Bangkok IFF - Golden Kinnaree Award Best Picture
Goya Awards 2008 Best Spanish Language Foreign Film Johannesburg - Wed 10 / 9.15pm
- Fri 12 / 10.30pm
- Sun 14 / 8.30pm
Cape Town - Tue 16 / 7pm
- Thu 18 / 7pm
- Sat 20 / 6pm
You Belong to Me Dir: Sam Zalutsky
USA 2007 82 min
In the vein of all suspense movies, this uneasy thriller follows the misfortunes of scorned rookie-architect Jeffery and his obsession with the man who jilted him – so much so he doesn’t see other dangers circling him. Jeffery hooks up with bad-boy Rene, but when foreplay is interrupted, Rene backs off and very obviously moves on. Jeffery stalks Rene, and even moves into the flat below, ignoring the creepiness of landlady Gladys (queer icon actress Patti D’Urbanville). But Jeffery’s transition into Rene’s life is not as silky as he expects, for Rene is involved and Jeffery’s attentions are unwelcome. And then there’s the troubling hurried nature of the previous tenant’s departure that comes into sharp focus when his boyfriend turns up one night drunk and hysterical. Although he makes some pretty erroneous decisions, Jeffery’s turn as stalker-turned-victim works its magic as the sinister building and its characters provoke claustrophobia and creeping paranoia.
Script – Finalist, Sundance Screenwriters Lab / Richard Vague Award, NYU Johannesburg - Fri 5 / 6.45pm
- Fri 12 / 7.30pm
Cape Town
- Sun 14 / 5.45pm
- Sun 21 / 6pm
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