The Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival returns for its 28th year

Saturday, October 19

I Am A Woman Now

This Dutch documentary takes us right into the midst of five European women reflecting on their lives – all united by their decision, in the ’50s or ’60s, to visit “miracle doctor” George Burou for gender transition surgery. Decades later, these members of the first generation of transwomen unite to talk about the decisions they’ve made and their thoughts about what they’ve lived through.

I Am A Woman Now, in multiple languages with English subtitles, screens at 11 a.m. Admission is free.

—

The New Black

In the most timely of the festival’s documentaries, filmmaker Yoruba Richen casts her lens on the African-American community’s response to the gay rights movement, centered around the fight for marriage equality in Maryland last November. Richen’s documentary manages to get remarkably extensive access to a community in conflict, paying special attention to the extensive role of the church and the right-wing effort to utilize them against the marriage equality movement.

The New Black screens at 1 p.m. The film will be followed by a reception and panel discussion.

—

Valencia

Valencia is an adaptation of Michelle Tea’s novel/memoir of the same name, but it’s no ordinary page-to-screen translation. This chaotic tale of a woman between relationships, constantly reinventing herself, is as chaotic in form as in content; different actors and directors have laid claim to each chapter in this anthology-esque narrative, resulting in a fragmented but fascinating storyline.

Valencia screens at 3 p.m.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi_e3TQowvU

—

In the Name Of

This feature, directed by Malgoska Szumowska, focuses on Polish priest Adam, who turned to the clergy as a way of repressing his homosexuality. That internal tension isn’t easy to contain though, especially in his work with young delinquents thrown out of reform school – including one in particular who poses a significant test to the priest.

In the Name of, in Polish with English subtitles, screens at 5 p.m. 

—

En Garde!: An Evening of Women’s Shorts

There’s a plethora of shorts in En Garde!, but one of the higher-profile selections is a preview of Ladies Out, a documentary by Lois Bielefeld about Milwaukee’s lesbian scene. Other selections include: Allez, a Danish film about a girl who has just one night left to pursue her fascination with an older fencing club partner; Shopping (above), about two women who cross paths in shopping aisles throughout their lives; Lucy, 4:57 PM, a New Wave-influenced short about a girl hoping to run away with her secret lover; Neighbors, a Spanish film about two pairs of adjacent couples whose lives intertwine; and Declaration, an Argentinian film in Spanish (with subtitles) in which a girl demonstrates to her friend how to declare love for someone.

En Garde! will screen at 7 p.m.

—

Stranger by the Lake

Set at a remote, lakeside cruising location, Stranger by the Lake depicts a building relationship between Franck and Michel, two strangers who meet and form an instant connection. The twist? Franck is near-certain he’s seen Michel commit a horrifying act of violence, and the knowledge gives the film a suspenseful unease that’s almost Hitchcockian.

Stranger by the Lake, in French with English subtitles, screens at 9 p.m. Note that this film is sexually explicit.

—

She Said Boom: The Story of Fifth Column

In 1981, three Toronto women – Caroline Azar, Beverly Breckenridge and G.B. Jones – formed a little post-punk band called Fifth Column, named for a military tactic in which enemy forces destroy a city from within. Ironically, it’s for creation that the band is now known, not destruction; their experimental, boundary-pushing music helped launch both the queercore and riot grrrl scenes, all while staying totally independent. She Said Boom offers a unique look inside the revolutionary band, providing some insight into how these three women and the artists around them sparked a musical movement.

She Said Boom screens at 11 p.m., and will also feature a screening of She Had Her Gun Already, the 1978 No Wave film by Vivienne Dick about two women’s shifting power dynamic.

Article Continues - Pages: 1 2 3 4 5