Painting the Spectrum 2011 : SASOD's Seventh Lesbian and Gay Film Festival

Painting the Spectrum 7 : Schedule of Films

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays from Monday 6 June, 2011 to Wednesday 29 June, 2011

Venue : Sidewalk Cafe, Middle Street, Georgetown Guyana
Programme starts at 7pm each Night

Monday 6 June, 2011
First public screening of My Wardrobe , My Right

SASOD/Neil Marks, Guyana, 2011, 20 minutes, colour, documentary, English

“My Wardrobe, My Right” explores the issues related to the criminalization of cross-dressing in Guyana. It captures the stories of Peaches and Gulliver, two of the cross-dressers who were victims of the February 2009 crackdowns and the views of SASOD and one of the human rights attorneys, Gino Persaud, representing the litigants in the constitutional suit against Guyana’s laws which penalise cross-dressing. The film's producer is Neil Marks. Support for the film was received from the Caribbean Treatment Action Group (CTAG)

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Stephen Elliot, Australia, 1994, 104 minutes, colour, drama/comedy, English
A bus named Priscilla, and three drag queens who are travelling across the Australia Outback in search of work. This the story of their adventures as they meet different people and individuals. The Adventures of Priscilla stars Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Terence Stamp and is a cult classic in Australia and
Winner of Oscar for Best Costume Design
This film was recommended by an Australian supporter of SASOD, Dr David Plummer and other members.

Tuesday 7 June, 2011

L-word Season 1 - Episodes 1 to 4

Ilene Chaiken and others, USA, 2004, colour, TV series, English

L-Word was a television series that ran on Showtime from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual and transgender people
These opening episodes were nominated by Natasha Yhapp and other members of SASOD who have enjoyed different seasons.

More information..






Wednesday 8 June, 2011
Rag Tag
Adaora Nwandu, (Nigeria/UK ), 2006 , colour, drama, 110 minutes, English

The film was donated by Director Adaora Nwandu for the 2007 film festival but the DVD was damaged. This DVD donated by Dion Pelham

Raymond (aka Ray) and Tagbo (aka Tag) have a friendship forged in childhood. Ray is from a single-parent West Indian home and Tag is the pride of middle-class Nigerian parents. The two are inseparable until Social Services discovers Rag's mother isn't around and he's taken far from his London home to Birmingham. A decade passes. Tag is finishing law school and, despite incredible grades, can't find a firm willing to hire him. Meanwhile, Rag returns to London and finds his old friend. Their lives and circumstances have changed, but their rekindled friendship is more intense than ever. Once based on bonds of an innocent camaraderie, now their feelings have grown into something far more complex and confusing. As tensions build, the two realize they both must decide how far they're willing to go to satisfy the newfound urges they can't explain. The film stars Daniel Parsons, Adedamola Adelaja and Tamsin Clarke


Monday 13 June, 2011

Saving Face
Alice Wu, USA, 2004, colour, romance/drama, 91 minutes, English/Mandarin with subtitles
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. The film stars Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen and Lynn Chen






Tuesday 14 June, 2011

Shelter
Jonah Markowitz, USA, 2007, colour, romance/drama, 88 minutes, English

Forced to give up his dreams of art school, Zach spends his days working a dead-end job and helping his needy sister care for her son. In his free time he surfs, draws and hangs out with his best friend, Gabe, who lives on the wealthy side of town. When Gabe's older brother, Shaun, returns home, he is drawn to Zach's selflessness and talent. Zach falls in love with Shaun while struggling to reconcile his own desires with the needs of his family
The filme was the winner of "Outstanding Film – Limited Release" at the 2009 GLAAD Media Awards, Best New Director and Favorite Narrative Feature at the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, and the People's Choice Award for Best Feature at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival. Shelter represents the feature directorial debut of Markowitz. The main actors are Trevor Wright, Brad Rowe and Tina Holmes

This film was recommended by a donor to the festival who wanted to remain anonymous. In his words, he said that "it is good to see a nice film with gay characters which does not end with someone dying.."




Wednesday 15 June, 2011
Antartica
Yair Hochner, Israel, 2008, colour, drama/comedy, 110 minutes, Hebrew with English subtitles
Antarctica follows the lives of a group of young people living in Tel Aviv . Omer is almost thirty and still hasn’t found himself — or the man of his dreams. A series of disastrous blind dates hasn’t helped. Shirley is a little younger and has already nabbed her dream woman, Michal. As the siblings sort through their feelings and prepare for adulthood, friends and relatives chime in with their advice and problems of their own.

Watch the trailer..






Monday 20 June, 2011
Boy Culture
Q Allan Brocka, USA, 2006, colour, drama, 88 minutes, English
'X' is a successful male escort who describes in a series of confessions his tangled romantic relationships with his two roommates and an older, enigmatic client. This film is based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Matthew Rettenmund. The film stars Derek Magyar as 'X', Patrick Bachau and Darryl Stephens. Boy Culture received several awards at various film festivals and has been screened at major LGBT festivals around the world





Tuesday 21 June, 2011
Viola di mare (Sea Purple)

Donatella Maiorca, 2009, Italy, colour, drama/history/romance, 105 minutes, Italian with english subtitles

Viola di mare is a sensous film based on a little known European tradition of women who dressed and lived as men.. for various reasons. The film is set in 19th century Sicily and revolves around Angela (Valeria Solarino) and her attraction to her best friend Sara (Isabella Ragonese). Angela becomes Angelo as a way to deal with the scorn of her family , church and society. The film is based on a true story, adapted from the novel Minchia di Re by Giacomo Pilati.




Wednesday 22 June, 2011
Desert Hearts Donna Deitch, 1985, USA, colour. romance, 96 minutes,
It is 1950's Nevada and Vivian Bell (played by Helena Shaver), an English professor at Columbia University, travels to Nevada to establish six-week residency to obtain a divorce. She stays at a guest house for women waiting for their divorces to be finalized, and then establishes a friendship with the free-spirited ranch owner Cay Rivvers (Patricia Charbonneau). The film was praised for its photography of the Nevada scenery. The film received a few nominations, and was commended for the way in which portrayed a happy relationship between two women.


Watch the trailer







Monday 27 June, 2011
Difficult Love,
Zanele Muholi and Peter Goldsmid, 2010, South Africa, documentary, 57 minutes
Difficult Love’ is a highly personal take on the challenges facing Black lesbians in South Africa today emerges through the life, work, friends and associates of ‘visual activist’ and internationally celebrated photographer, Zanele Muholi.
Video available at IMDB




Voices of Witness Africa
Cynthia Black & Katie Sherrod, U.S.A./Uganda/Kenya/Rwanda, 2009, 30 min., colour, documentary, in English with no subtitles.
Anglican women and men from across Africa tell their stories of intolerance and community, of secrecy and hope, of facing challenges and seeking dignity as LGBT people of faith. This film was donated by the Voice of Witness producers to the 2010 Film Festival. Read more..












Tuesday 28 June, 2011
Spectrum Celebration
Our annual evening of poetry, praise, song, dance and whatever form people want to celebrate the struggles and survival of LGBT people from around the world.




Wednesday 29 June, 2011
Flawless
Joel Schumacher, 1999 , USA, colour, comedy/drama, 112 minutes

Walt Koontz (Robert De Niro) is a homophobic "local hero" officer of the New York police department who lives in a downtown apartment complex. He suffers a stroke and is advised to take singing lessons. His neighbour, Rusty(Phillip Seymour-Hoffman) is a pre-op transgenderist who needs money for the operation. The two dislike each other but need each other...

Thank You to ....
For Film nominations, donation and selection :-

• Sherlina Nageer
• Natasha Yhapp
• Mark Ross
• Stacey Gomes
  
• Paula Fraser
• Dion Pelham
• Korey Chisholm
• Keimo Benjamin