Thursday, March 23, 2006

Painting the Spectrum 2006 - SASOD's Lesbian and Gay Film Festival

SASOD's second film festival Painting the Spectrum 2006 - SASOD's Lesbian and Gay Film Festival was held during June 2006 from 7pm, at Sidewalk Cafe on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

This Festival would not have been possible without the support of :.
3H CD & Video Club; Oasis Café; Out In Africa Gay and Lesbian Film Festival; Women's Educational Media/Respect for all Project , Fundación Triángulo;
Michael Horvat, Roberto Maxwell, Jürgen Brünin, Deondray Gossett, Luther Mace, Peter Gaulton,Nisha Ganatra and Susan Carnivel; and George from New York who collected from films for us

Click here to download a report of the festival


The programme follows :-

Friday June 2 - Opening

Brokeback Mountain (US)
Jack Twist and Ennis Del Mar are hired to corral sheep on the title location and they soon bond very closely. Their platonic relationship explodes into a physical one, but eventually the two are separated. Although the two follow different life paths they have a reunion years later. Each is affected profoundly by the rekindling of their old feelings for each other and this leads to their continuing their hidden relationship but at what cost. (134 mins) More details

Monday June 5

Flowers from the Heartland (US)
In February 2004 the City of San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples. One person's idea to send flowers of support to gay and lesbian couples waiting in line to get married at San Francisco City Hall blossomed into an online movement that resulted in thousands of flowers being sent from all over the country (25 mins) More details

Tarik El Hob (Algeria/France)
Karim, a college student who is making a documentary about male homosexuality in Arab culture interviews Farid who makes a concerted effort to seduce Karim. Karim struggles with both his sexual identity and how his actions would affect his girlfriend Sihem (69 mins) More details


Wednesday June 7
Better than Chocolate (Canada)
Two attractive young lesbians, Maggie and Kim, meet in Vancouver, develop a passionate romance, and move in together. Maggie's well-meaning but naive mother Lila gets divorced and decides to move to Vancouver and join the household. Complications ensue as the conservative Lila learns the truth about Maggie, Judy, and their diverse group of friends.(101 minutes) More details

Friday June 9 South Africa Celebration!
Proteus (Canada/South Africa)
Based on a true story this tells of Rijkhaart Jacobsz and Claas Blank two men who were imprisoned and met on Robben Island. They fall in love on the island that would, many years later become the site of Nelson Mandela's life sentence. (100 mins) More details


Out In Africa Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

Present
9 Short Films from the Just a Minute Films workshop (20 mins)
My life in 12 frames per minute
I have two
Perception
Confusion
Possessed by Demons
Muted Screams
Liberation
A page from my Journal
Betwixt and Between


and from the 4 More workshop


Breaking The Silence

Fanney Tsimong examines how homosexuality in rural Africa is explored through the story of a young Soweto-dweller. (15 mins)


Enraged By A Picture-

Photographer Zanele Muholi does an exposé on how race and gender operate in post-apartheid homophobia. (15 mins)

Outlaw Culture
Phybia Diamini reviews the portrayl of homosexuality in South African media (15 mins)

Barman
Stanimir Stoykov & Sasa Stojovic present a documentary about the power straight men have as bartenders in gay night clubs. (15 mins)

Monday June 12

Beautiful Thing (UK)
Jamie, a relatively unpopular lad who bunks off school to avoid football, lives next door to Ste, a more popular athletic lad but who is frequently beaten up by his father and older brother. Sandra (Jamie's mum) offers refugee to Ste leading to an outcome where the boys face a growing attraction for one another, from initial lingering glances to their irrefutable love(90 mins) More details


Wednesday June 14


Lost and Delirious (Canada)

A newcomer to a girl's boarding school is befriended by her two new roommates, and later discovers they are lovers. When one of the lovers decides she doesn't dare continue the relationship, the other becomes desperate in her attempts to win her back.More details(103 mins)

Friday June 16 Fatherhood and Motherhood

We are Dad (US) – donated by Director Michel Horvat
"I am happy to have my film participate"


Heartfelt documentary about two gay men in Florida who are foster parents to children with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses (68 mins) More details

Choosing Children (US) — On loan from Women's Educational Media
"The festival sounds great and I hope we can work together!
Thanks
Sue Chen"

An emotionally powerful film that challenges society’s definitions of family by exploring the ways lesbians are raising children in couples, alone, with gay men, and in extended families of friends. (46 mins) More details

Monday June 19

Lan Yu (China)
Lan Yu is based on the controversial, anonymously published Internet novel “Beijing Story,” which chronicles the turbulent gay relationship between a closeted middle-aged businessman and a young college student amid the violent uprising of Tiananmen Square. Filmed entirely underground on location in China, the much-honored Lan Yu was an Official Selection at the Cannes, Toronto and Sundance Film Festivals.e (89 mins) More details


Wednesday June 21 Brazil!


Capitulo Primeiro (Brazil)
"I am interested in send my movie to the festival."

Lucia , an Evangelical Christian, discovers a love letter amongst her son Pedro’s belongings. The love letter is from another guy. Lucia wants Pedro to change. (20 mins)

Saudade (Germany/Brazil)
Cyrus, Tim and Erik were high school buddies and meet again ten years later. They spend the summer together in Brazil. All of them are occupied in dealing with experiences from their past but new developments make them face their inner conflicts and their friendship with each other. (80min) More details

Friday June 23 - Facing off!

Fucking Different (Germany)
This is the brainchild of Kristin Petersen, who asked 15 queer filmmakers in Berlin to contribute a short film about their idea of gay or lesbian love and sexuality. The twist: gay men were given the task of making a short film about lesbian sexuality and eroticism, and lesbians were asked to explore the sexuality of gay men. (90 mins) More details

Saving Face (US)

Wilhelmina Pang, a lesbian Chinese-American surgeon, is shocked when her single mother shows up on her doorstep pregnant. To help her mom save face and avoid the taboo in the Chinese community of an unmarried woman pregnant, the doctor helps her mom find Mr. Right while at the same time dealing with her own relationship. (91 mins) More details

Monday June 26
Chutney popcorn(US/India)
"Thank you for your message and congratulations on your incredible accomplishment. We look foward to hearing about the festival and will pass on your email to other filmmakers.
Best Wishes,
Nisha Ganatra and Susan Carnival "

When Sarita discovers she can't have children, lesbian Reena finds that for the first time in their lives, she, Reena, can do something her perfect sister Sarita can't: get pregnant! (92 mins) More details

DL Chronicles (USA) Donated by Director Deondray Gossett
"We would love to participate in your festival. .. thanks for your interest in our work"

This film tells the stories of men of color who by consequence and by choice, live sexually duplicitous and secret lifestyles. (30 mins) More details


Wednesday June 28 Overcoming Prejudice


It’s Elementary (USA)
The first film of its kind to address anti-gay prejudice by providing adults with practical lessons on how to talk with kids about gay people (78 mins)

Ignorance Diversity and Love (Sweden)
A film team follows three persons a priest, an officer and a policewoman to take a look at prejudice based on sexual orientation in the workplace and in their everyday life. (58 mins)


Friday June 30 Grand Finale


Dinner Party (UK) : 12 lesbian short films brought together about lesbian living, dining, flirting, teasing and the rest! (23 minutes)
2 lesbian short films brought together about lesbian living, dining, flirting, teasing and the rest!

Breakfast with Gus: Lesbian life from a pussy's perspective
Traveling Companion: Who would you take to Italy with you
Peppermills: A film noir with plenty of black pepper
The Dinner Party: this is director Lisa Cholodenko's flirt with shorts
My Pretty Little Girlfriend: Edgy relationship tiff over a burger bite
Between 7 and 1: A monologue, until the bell rings
Girl Talk: Phone sex with a twist
Regarde Moi: Voyeurism in Paris' red-light district
Top of The World: Girl finds her butch biker top
Why I'll Never Trust You: Afternoons of pleasure
Hey Sister Hey Sailor: A sailor girl comes home
Double Entente: Fast cars and fast women

My Summer of Love (UK)
My Summer of Love charts the summer friendship and romance between two troubled young girls from the opposite side of the tracks in the isolated West Yorkshire countryside. Red-headed Mona is an uneducated 16-year-old feisty tomboy from a working-class family; chic Tamsin is a cynical, cultured, spoiled, teenager from a wealthy family. The only things they have in common are that both families are dysfunctional, they are bored, frustrated, neglected and searching for love.(86 mins) More details..

Brother to Brother (US)
Perry Williams is shunned by his father for his sexual identity. When Williams meets an aging poet who was involved in the Harlem Renaissance of the 1930s, he suddenly finds himself transported back in time and slowly he is able to gain perspective about his own life.(90 mins) More details



This festival follows the successes of the first Painting The Spectrum, which was held in October 2005.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

SASOD Meeting - 18 March, 2006

1. UNAIDS Capacity Building support

SASOD and GUYBOW will have discussions with UNAIDS on a joint initiative around the issues of stigma, discrimination especially afforded to 'men who have sex with men' .

2. Rights
Please go to the OAS civil society forum on the new convention on racism and intolerance, and the forum is open for views from CIVIL society.

The Ethnic Relations Commission was asked again about the request on dealing with homophobic music. They have not responded.

SASOD will be a part of the IGLHRC delegation to advocate for changes in recognition of gay and lesbian rights. This will be done in Geneva, at the same time of the ILGA conference.

3. Registration
SASOD will be proceeding with registration through a trust deed. It was recognised that some formal arrangement would help in conducting activities and being accountable to the public.

4. Painting the Spectrum 2....
VOLUNTEERS are needed to work with SASOD on Painting the Spectrum 2 which will be held during June of this year to coincide with International Pride Activities. Venues, sponsors and suggestions for Films are being explored. Please let us know if you have any films to lend,donate to us.

Forum for Effectiveness and Solidarity
SASOD members are encouraged to participate in the Voter Education, monitoring activities which the Forum for Effectiveness and Solidarity are conducting. More details later.