10 FILMS TO CHECK OUT
1. UNDERTOW (Contracorriente)
(2009) 100 min / Feature / PERU, COLUMBIA
Dir: Javier Fuentes-León
Miguel is a handsome, young and beloved fisherman in Cabo Blanco, a small fishing village in the Northern coast of Peru, where the community has deep-rooted religious traditions. Miguel is married to the beautiful Mariela, who is 7-months pregnant with their firstborn, but Miguel harbors a scandalous secret: He is having a love affair with another man, Santiago, a painter who is ostracized by the townsfolk for being agnostic and open about his sexuality.
Screening:
Opening Night Film on May 25, 7pm Cinemax and also again on May 27, 11.15pm Cinemax.
2. FIT
(2010) 105 min / Feature / UK
Dir: Rikki Beadle-Blair
Sparkling with infectious energy, colorful characters, and positive messages about self-image, FIT focuses on the everyday lives of six diverse British youths who are brought together by an enthusiastic dance teacher. None of the teens are what they seem at first glance, with gay hearts lurking behind tough exteriors and straight kids expressing themselves in very queer ways.
Screening:
May 26, 6.30pm Cinemax
Rikki Beadle-Blair will join us here at KASHISH to present three of his films that form the package: Filmmaker in Focus: Rikki Beadle-Blair. Filmmaker’s visit is supported by the British Council.
3. ELENA UNDONE
(2010) 111 min / Feature /USA
Dir: Nicole Cann
Peyton and Elena are, on the surface, diametrically opposed– one, a well-known writer, the other a photographer caught in a loveless marriage to an anti-gay pastor– but when their paths cross they feel compelled to connect. What begins as friendship quickly blossoms into something deeper.
Screening:
May 26, 9pm Cinemax.
4. BOY CULTURE
(2006) 88 min / Feature / USA
Dir: Q. Allan Brocka
A refreshingly realistic, emotional quest based on the novel of the same name by Matthew Rettenmund; Boy Culture is the candid confession of X, a wildly successful male escort. After being in the profession for ten years, X gets romantically entangled with his two roommates and an enigmatic elderly client, Gregory. But before Gregory will agree to consummate their relationship, he tells an unsettling love story spanning fifty years and dares X to try something he has not felt in years- Emotion!
Screening:
May 27, 9pm Cinemax
Q.Allan Brocka will join us here at KASHISH to present three of his films that form the package: Spotlight on Filmmaker: Q.Allan Brocka. Filmmaker’s visit is supported by community crowd funding.
5. WE WERE HERE
(2011) 90 min / Documentary / USA
Dir: David Weissman, Bill Weber
WE WERE HERE is the first documentary to take a deep and reflective look back at the arrival and impact of AIDS in San Francisco. It explores how the City’s inhabitants were affected by, and how they responded to, that calamitous epidemic. Though a San Francisco-based story, WE WERE HERE extends beyond San Francisco and beyond AIDS itself.
Screening:
May 27, 1.30pm Cinemax
This film plays as part of Red Ribbon Package 1 that comprises films on HIV and AIDS presented by UNAIDS and UNDP.
6. I SHOT MY LOVE
(2010) 70 min / Documentary / ISRAEL / GERMANY
Dir: Tomer Heymann
Seventy years after his grandfather escapes from Nazi Germany to Palestine, Israeli documentary director Tomer Heymann returns to the country of his ancestors to present his film “Paper Dolls” at the Berlin Int’l Film Festival, where he falls in love with Andreas, a German. When Andreas decides to move with him to Tel-Aviv, Tomer not only has to cope with a new partner, but to manage the complex realities of life in Israel and his personal connection to it as a German citizen.
Screening:
May 27, 5pm Alliance Francaise.
7. HEART BREAKS OPEN
(2011) 81 min / Feature / USA
Dir: Billie Rain
A film about the freak-out after testing positive and the fallout from a broken heart. Queer life, public health and community accountability are the main themes of the narrative. A model queer activist and advocate”s world implodes after discovering that he is HIV positive, forcing him to confront his innermost fears and future living with HIV.
Screening:
May 28, 11.30am Alliance Francaise
This film plays as part of Red Ribbon Package 2 that comprises films on HIV and AIDS presented by UNAIDS and UNDP.
8. I AM
(2011) 71 min / Documentary / INDIA / USA
Dir: Sonali Gulati
A personal documentary about coming out to parents living in India, at a time when Section 377 was very much in place. I Am chronicles the journey of an Indian queer filmmaker who returns to Delhi, eleven years later, to re-open what was once home, and finally confronts the loss of her mother whom she never came out to.
Screening:
May 28, 3.15pm Cinemax followed by a Panel Discussion on ”Parents of Queers”
9. PLAN B
(2009) 103 min / Feature /ARGENTINA
Dir: Marco Berger
Bruno is dumped by his girlfriend; behind a calm, indifferent expression, his mind plans a cold, sweet vengeance. She keeps on seeing him once in a while, but has another boyfriend, Pablo. Bruno becomes Pablo”s friend, with the idea of eroding the couple, maybe introducing him to another woman. But, along the way, the possibility of a plan B arises, a more effective one, which will put his own sexuality into question.
Screening:
May 28, 9.00pm Cinemax.
10. THREE VEILS
(2010) 117 min / Feature /USA
Dir: Rolla Selbak
Three Veils is a poignant film about three young Middle-Eastern women living in the U.S, each with her own personal story. As the three stories unfold, the lives of these three women intertwine as they each struggle to defy tradition and create their own realities. From an arranged marriage and an unacceptable love affair to an abusive family situation, the film delicately tackles some of the issues Middle Eastern women are confronted with today.
Screening:
Closing Night Film on May 29, 9pm Cinemax preceded by the Awards Ceremony.
