Alec Mapa was the kid in the “Losing My Religion” video tied to the tree with an arrow in his chest. Did you know that? This is why I love the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. You don’t get info like that any ordinary time of the year. Knock, Stir, Bump and Sisters, all your favorite one word bars are having film fest themed happy hours. A screening of Midnight Cowboy! Pansy Division, Alec Mapa and Jane Lynch will all have films and a party in their honor. There’s a military involved film, a horror film, steamy Asian flicks as well as Philly’s own collection of shorts. And the film to make straight comfortable but might not really be a gay movie at all, Mama Mia will be featured.

The following films will be reviewed here by me…
U People, Grimm Love, Tru Loved, Ready OK?, Vampire Diary, Girls, Girls, Girls, Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild, Johan, Delightful Dykes Shorts, Mulligans, Just When you Thought it was Safe to Come out of the Closet, XXY, black./womyn, Don’t Go, Nothing Else Matters, Otto, Dolls, Fashion Victim, Lesploitation and Four Windows.

U People
SHOWINGS: Fri, Jul 11 @ 5:00pm – 6:16pm | Sat, Jul 12 @ 7:15pm – 8:31pm |
Thought-provoking, vivacious and fiercely intelligent, this engaging documentary captures 30 lesbian, trans and straight people of color as they dissect their identity, gender labels and the relationship between civil and queer rights.

A film that tackles the very hard issues of gender and identity U People tries very hard but falls short or perhaps I’m just a hard sell on this subject matter.
A documentary, a podcast… pissed off women and for a good reason; images float across the screen and nothing was solved. I’m left with more questions.
The makers of U People, Hanifah Walidah and Olive Demetrius, are a couple which I think hinders the film more than anything else and they also have a podcast with the same name to answer these questions I’m left with.
Over all I felt like I was watching a bunch of friends chat about a topic which would’ve been great if I were involved in the conversation and not just watching it.

Ready? OK!
SHOWINGS: Fri, Jul 11 @ 7:15pm – 8:46pm | Sun, Jul 13 @ 4:30pm – 6:01pm |
10-year-old Joshua just wants to be on the all-girl cheerleading squad and play with dolls and dresses. In 2008, what’s wrong with that?

Ready? Ok!
I think it’s great that the Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival have family friendly movies. Ready? Ok! was my first gay and lesbian family friendly flick and thankfully there were no kids there!
Ready? Ok! is the tale of a charming little boy that is obsessed with being a cheerleader and I never thought I’d say this, but the little bastard can cheer! The film was appropriate with its little girl cheerleaders and was just rather wholesome in that arena in general.
The tribulations of the boy cheerer truly upset me as the viewer. I was sold on the movie as soon as I saw the cherub faced ginger haired little boy, actor Lurie Poston. By the end of the film the audience was cheering for him!

Vampire Diary
SHOWINGS: Fri, Jul 11 @ 9:30pm – 11:00pm | Wed, Jul 16 @ 5:00pm – 6:30pm |
In this titillating, blood-loving narrative, a budding documentary filmmaker trolls the London underground goth scene and meets an alluring and enigmatic lesbian – who just so happens to be a vampire.

The movie Vampire Diary was a bit of a shock for me.
I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did, I didn’t expect it to spook me and I was completely shocked to have found some late-bloomer dykes in the audience to be incredibly obnoxious behaving as if they’d never seen a gay film before.
Diving into the British weekend vampire scene this film tells the story of just how far a straight girl will go after she’s been charmed by lesbian love.
There’s a ton of laughs as well as creepy suspenseful moments and of course loads of gore. Actress Anna Walton is as sexy as a lesbian vampire can get and I’m sure most straight women and lesbians alike would line up around the block to get a bite from her.

Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild!
SHOWINGS: Thu, Jul 10 @ 7:30pm – 9:05pm | Sat, Jul 12 @ 2:45pm – 4:20pm |
Buckle up to experience the totally outrageous, 100% gay comedy extravaganza that’s unlike anything you’ll see this year!

Oh that homo Todd Stephen’s is at it again. Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild could’ve been titled Housewives of Orange County Spring Break as the film’s characters seem to share the same scruples as those partying late in life loser ladies. However the gays do it better.
The film contains the usual suspects whoring around spring break with a contest of how many asses they can tap before the vacation is over.
Tawdry, goofy, slapstick and crass, whatever you want to say about this movie it’s refreshing to see a Porky-esque type of American Pie themed movie without the breeder homophobia.
It’s also pretty gross at times. Consider yourself warned.

Grimm Love
SHOWINGS: Sat, Jul 12 @ 12:30pm – 1:57pm | Mon, Jul 21 @ 9:15pm – 10:42pm |
An American criminal psychology student discovers the surprisingly tender relationship between a cannibalistic killer and his voluntary victim in this macabre film based on the infamous real life story.

Grosser than Another Gay Movie, but far more romantic, I cannot stop talking and thinking about Grimm Love. After I saw the film all I wanted was a reassuring hug.
Keri Russell (yes the Felicity lady) is a grad student in Germany researching the case of a gay cannibal. Interesting enough on it’s own, however she also delves into the history of the man who had the desire to be cannibalized.
How did this film end up quixotic? I’m still not sure. The eater and the one desired to be eaten come across as very romantic in this film with two people searching and finding exactly what the desire in life.
Don’t get me wrong, the film is startling. So much so that upon leaving when I went to rate the film on the slip of paper provided by the wonderful volunteer staff, my hands were shaking to the point that I accidentally gave it a 4 instead of a 5.

Tru Loved
SHOWINGS: Sat, Jul 12 @ 7:15pm – 8:55pm | Sun, Jul 13 @ 2:30pm – 4:10pm |
From the director of Coffee Date comes this endearing tale of a witty teenager tackling homophobia in her new high school and her friendship with the closeted star football player.

I enjoyed Stewart Wade’s Tru Loved with a sold out crowd. A smile from the teen sweetness of the film switched back and forth from that to roaring laughter.
A poignant story hardly told, same sex parents raising really great kids and did I mention Jasmine Guy is in this film? Luckily the movie has been picked up for distribution and you can enjoy it outside of the festival hopefully soon. But you missed your chance on Saturday July 12 with Jane Lynch in attendance (and sitting right behind me). She received the Artistic Achievement Award before the movie started and addressed the crowd, as well as attending the fabulous after party.
I would recommend everyone see Tru Loved its family friendly and you might even learn something.

Girls Will Be Girls Shorts
SHOWINGS: Sun, Jul 13 @ 7:15pm – 8:56pm | Mon, Jul 14 @ 5:00pm – 6:41pm |
Some great shorts from the Girls Will be Girls girls

I felt somewhat duped sitting through a painful longish short called King Size about French gay men entering into a threesome relationship. Plus it was a musical.
Clenching my teeth and baring it was worth it however to see five episodes of the very brilliant Girls Will Be Girls Shorts.
Drag Queens who act like they are not men in dresses with a razor sharp wit that goes so fast suspending your laughter to hear more funny only to laugh even harder at the next line is certainly any thinking person’s cup of tea.
Go see this to find out what smart people were doing during the writer’s strike.

Mulligans
SHOWINGS: Fri, Jul 11 @ 9:45pm – 11:17pm | Sun, Jul 13 @ 12:00pm – 1:32pm |
A father’s lust for his son’s best friend is the subject of this witty indie written by and starring Charlie David (A Four Letter Word).

Just like the official movie summary says this film is an updated gay version of The Graduate. A dad’s lust for his son’s best friend will appeal to the late in life gays. Can someone who figures out they are homo while living a perfect hetero life hold on to their precious little fake lie of a life and family while still being true to one’s self?
The answer is what you expect. Catch this film if you’ve been on either end of the spectrum and let it motivate you to liberation.

Delightful Dykes (Lesbian Shorts)
SHOWINGS: Sun, Jul 13 @ 4:45pm – 6:17pm |
Sexy, sassy and seriously funny. From phone sex, to showers with hot ladies, to a first time lesbian love affair, to finding a foursome for golf at Dinah Shore, this vivacious group of shorts will certainly tickle your fancy.

Some clichéd and some more clichéd the Delightful Dykes shorts was barely worthy enough of attendance. Tender, upbeat and clad with happy endings the shorts that stood out were Spinning and My Flat’s Courtyard. Sadly the good shorts of this collection were not made in the USA.

Johan
SHOWINGS: Sun, Jul 13 @ 9:15pm – 10:45pm | Tue, Jul 15 @ 7:15pm – 8:45pm |
A novice filmmaker searches for an actor to portray his seductive and enigmatic jailed lover in this surreal and sexually explicit film from the ’70s.

Gritty and sensual, Johan is the sort of film that had me viewing in wonderment at the life of Philippe Vallois. Barely clothed men and the graininess of that time period on the big screen is very seductive. To watch it is like living a John Rechy tale without the mess.
It’s a film that only the French could make and any gay person would love. Dare I call it a classic?

Four Windows
SHOWINGS: Sat, Jul 12 @ 12:00pm – 1:20pm | Mon, Jul 14 @ 9:30pm – 10:50pm |
This journey inside the heads of one twisted German family is sparked when their cute gay son cruises a peep show.

Four Windows is a German film that features four family members going along their varied tasks on any random day. In these words it could seem rather drab but the obvious and the subtle depravities in normal every day lives dripping across the screen is compelling.Each scene is tied together profiling what mom, dad, daughter and son do in four installments making a window into each ones day.
Spoiler alert! In true German detriment the father got the sister pregnant, the son is having random homosexual encounters in peep shows and the mom is trying to shag the handyman. It could be considered amongst the ranks of the Danish film The Celebration or a quieter version of the movie Happiness. It ended abruptly though so the movie seemed unfinished and restrained suddenly. But really, where else could the film maker go?

Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Leave the Closet: A Collection of Suspenseful Gay Shorts
SHOWINGS: Wed, Jul 16 @ 9:30pm – 11:04pm |
From dementedly funny to just plain demented, these five twisted shorts are sure to please horror fans. Think “The Twilight Zone” or “Tales from the Crypt” with a gay twist.

It’s with huge regret I write this. You see one thing I was looking forward to at this year’s festival, Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Leave the Closet: A Collection of Suspenseful Gay Shorts, has turned out to be my very un-favorite of the festival.
I love the demented, I love horror and I had in mind something twisted? Something scary maybe?
I had something in mind along the lines of Australian short Femme Fatale that I saw last year at the festival.
I had myself psyched for suspense. I wanted to be frightened.
Sadly each short left me wanting more save for Love Bite, a 3 minute piece that had some thrill to it, but also a few laughs. Mommy’s House was an interesting short with a touch of fear, but it went nowhere fast. The other three shorts aren’t worth mentioning.
I left the theatre disappointed, not scared and waiting anxious to see the Philadelphia International G&L Film Festival horror offering Otto on Sunday. I will keep my fingers crossed.

XXY
SHOWINGS: Wed, Jul 16 @ 5:00pm – 6:26pm | Thu, Jul 17 @ 9:30pm – 10:56pm |
In this astonishingly original coming-of-age drama, an adolescent with a painful secret on the brink of exposure is faced with a choice that most of us would struggle to fathom.

XXY is a tender story of an intersexed teen. Though sometimes slow going this movie should be going at it’s own pace because the subject matter is tough for some.
I’m sure many leaving the movie still wondered if Alvaro was gay and if Alex was a boy or a girl. A good movie leaves you questioning what you know and what you saw and XXY did just that.

Don’t Go
SHOWINGS: Mon, Jul 14 @ 7:15pm – 8:06pm | Fri, Jul 18 @ 5:00pm – 5:51pm |
Take “Melrose Place,” mix it with “The L Word” and add a little “227” and you’ve got this intimate and humorous queer dramedy with condo complex neighbors who can’t help but get into each other’s business.

I’m not sure what Guinevere Turner was smoking when she agreed to become involved with Don’t Go, a series that involves a melting pot of humanity living in the same apartment complex.
An intersexed person gets their girlfriend knocked up, a long lost father shows up after years, a gay man tries to get over a break up that is 5 years old… and that’s just the tip of the iceberg for only 60 minutes of program!
I can see where it could be compared to Melrose or the L Word, though it is gutsier than both. I can also see myself maybe checking it out if it was on TV, but Don’t Go has no business on a screen larger than a television even if it is just a preview.
One of the shorts before Don’t Go was Long Ago. The tale of a lesbian trying to rid herself of her tail, I was cracking up the entire 13 minutes of the short.

Bi the Way
SHOWINGS: Sun, Jul 13 @ 2:30pm – 4:03pm | Sat, Jul 19 @ 12:30pm – 2:03pm |
Take a wild cross-country trip across the map of sexual liberation and meet today’s bi generation, from an 11-year-old boy to a 28-year-old female dancer.

I guess I decided to see Bi the Way last minute as a sort of joke to myself. Trying to see films in a wide arena of queer themes I wanted to make sure I hit every nook and cranny.
I had bisexual discussions all morning to psych myself up for the film.
The audience was mildly filled with misfits and I actually found myself thinking, “I hope no one thinks I’m bisexual.” I thought this movie would do me some good and level me out with my own thoughts on the topic.
If filmmakers Brittany Blockman and Josephine Decker were trying to shed a new and better light on bisexuals they did not. If they were trying to use the documentary to confirm every stereotype ever made about bisexuality they succeeded.
I truly thought I’d be watching people try to justify their going either way preferences, but instead Blockman and Decker traveled the country to find the same old bisexuals doing exactly and saying exactly the things that make others disagree with their lifestyle in the first place.
I could tell by the body language of the audience members that the movie was going to lead to some uncomfortable conversations later plus it would seem this film was longer than the usual bisexual’s attention span. See it if you want proven what you already know.

Fashion Victims
SHOWINGS: Thu, Jul 17 @ 7:15pm – 8:49pm | Sat, Jul 19 @ 2:30pm – 4:04pm |
A father’s dysfunctional family life becomes entangled with his problems at work when his son falls in love with the young upstart who’s stealing his clients in this sexy and funny jaunt.

Ingo Rasper’s film debut Fashion Victim was more than worthy of checking out. The audience comprised mostly of men, were in hysterics. Fashion Victim was a different type of coming out film with more laughs than one would imagine for a German film. A selfish, career and money obsessed dad puts it all on the line for the good of himself despite the risk of losing a compassionate wife he neglects and a fabulous son he pushes around. Of course the son turns out to be gay and starts having a torrid relationship with his father’s work competition.
This film has it all cute boys, a cute story and lovely German scenic shots. It wraps up with an ending as happy as anyone could hope.

Dolls
SHOWINGS: Sat, Jul 19 @ 4:45pm – 6:24pm |
In this searing coming-of-age tale from the Czech Republic, three high school gal pals desperately cling to the vestiges of adolescence by hitchhiking to Holland on a dizzying post-grad whim of fancy and naivte.

I never grow tired of coming out stories but Dolls pushed me to the limits. Three teen childhood friends backpacking to Holland in search of adventure (re: drugs, sex and booze). I enjoyed this flick as much as I could while having zero apathy for the characters though they were all great actresses.
This film leads to a larger question. Why do the films dubbed lesbian in genre always have heterosexual sex and violence and why do the films dubbed homosexual never have heterosexual sex or violence? I’ve been to countless male centered gay films and never saw a single vagina but every lesbian film I have seen (save for Triple X Selects) has had a dick.
At any rate, Dolls didn’t shock me or move me. It would make a good rental for movie night.

Out in Philly – Season 2: Shorts by Local GLBT Filmmakers
SHOWINGS: Sun, Jul 20 @ 2:30pm – 3:58pm |
Join us for a program dedicated entirely to the best in local GLBT filmmaking. No other program exemplifies the moniker “City of Brotherly Love” quite like this one!

Of any shorts collection shown Out in Philly is not only my favorite but probably the most important in general. Nine films like JD Salinger’s Nine Stories telling tales of the local GLBT community proved entertaining with loads of Philly love.
Highlights were Marcello & Sophia, Dire Straights and of course Isn’t it Nice: The Sex Dwarf Documentary.
If you didn’t see this and you live in Philly shame on you!

black./womyn.: conversations with lesbians of African descent
SHOWINGS: Sun, Jul 20 @ 4:45pm – 6:22pm | Mon, Jul 21 @ 5:00pm – 6:37pm |
This revolutionary documentary about lesbians of African descent is a rare and intimate portal into the lives of women both shunned by society and all but forgotten by the media.

There was no shortage of support for Tiona M.’s film black./womyn.: conversations with lesbians of African descent. She made an important film and was there to speak with the audience before and after it was shown.
Around 50 African America women were interviewed about hot topics ranging from the media to sexuality in this movie. What Tiona M. did fabulously well was getting an amazing cross section of women to participate. Short, tall, fat or thin the representation was amazing and this film was very inspiring. Tiona M. represented her film well and vice versa.

Otto; or, Up With Dead People
SHOWINGS: Sat, Jul 19 @ 9:30pm – 11:05pm | Sun, Jul 20 @ 9:15pm – 10:50pm |
In this cheeky delight, the zombie film receives the Bruce LaBruce treatment with sex, violence, political anarchy and really cute guys – even if they are undead.

I was excited about this movie but sadly it was a let down. Once you get passed the “gut fuck” and animal vileness I’m sure the film is quite fabulous, but I was lost at the second instance of animal yuckiness.
I love zombie films, I love horror and though an interesting tale I didn’t want to stay in the theatre.
I liked the idea, gay zombies scouring the streets for flesh meals and gay sex, but I didn’t particularly care for the way the filmmaker got there. If you’re a lover of blissful zombie walking (I can’t stop myself from doing imitations) and you have a strong stomach (pun intended) check it out.