Now about to open its 32nd Edition The All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival (aGLIFF)  in Austin, Texas has over the years become the best LGBTQ FIlm Fest in the Southwest.  With it’s very diverse programming that covers all parts of the spectrum it offers the best in contemporary queer films, and with its its encore section re-visits some favorite classics from the past 

https://www.agliff.org/
The All Genders Lifestyles and Identities Film Festival
August 22 - 25 2019

Here’s QUEERGURU’s TOP PICKS of what you really  should not miss : 

A Dog Barking at The Moon : This multi-award winning documentary  from first time writer/director Lisa Xiang Zi who was actually heavily pregnant when she made it, has been completely mesmerising audiences since its premiere at Berlinale earlier this  year. Very closely based on Xiang’s real, thorny family life in China and she seamlessly moves the cation back and forth between decades to understand where she comes from. 

She has this remarkable grasp on portraying the detailed nuances of her family as they struggle with  the difficulties of keeping to  traditions even though the  trauma is pulling them all apart. A very conflicted Xiang has this empathy for her parents in particular and in fact Renhua Na playing her  mother an obtuse and ridiculous matriarch desperately clinging to the possibility that her husband is not cheating (we assume with man) steals every scene she is in;.

 

DYKES, CAMERA, ACTION! In CAROLINE BERLER’S excellent investigation into lesbian cinema, which is a must see for any queer cinephile, she attempts to give us a female version of THE CELLULOID CLOSET. It is a valiant attempt as there are not nearly as manY queer women’s movies and they have always been overlooked by those produced by gay men. Although lesbian movies enjoy far more exposure and success than they did before, you are left feeling this is still too little as well as being too late.

Dykes, Camera, Action makes an important to LGBTQ history in general especially as many of the films that are touched upon actually reflect the journeys our community undertook to reach today.

 

 

 

FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO : This powerful documentary from filmmaker Daniel Karslake (For The Bible Tells Me So) that surfaced at TRIBECA Film Festival is the story of 4 very different families who are struggling with accepting their gay and transgender children while remaining true to their Christian faith. Their struggles are very real and the journeys they  take are harrowing but at least in the end they are all love finds a way through.

 

 

GAY CHORUS : DEEP SOUTH It seems like perfect timing for this new film, the debut feature from director DAVID CHARLES RODRIGUES, a Brazilian American equal-rights advocate.  After a new wave of homophobia bordering on violence which the present Administration seem content to sanction, the SAN FRANCISCO GAY MEN’S CHORUS became determined to counter-balance this with a message of hope and love.

They planned a Tour in five of the deepest South Bible Belt  states which have the harshest laws against homosexuals and are home to the most bigotry as well.  Music has always been a great means for helping change minds and bringing a sense of calm to even conservative Christians whose historically-held views on our community have been agitated by the present unhealthy political climate.

Whether the Tour achieved all that it wanted is open to discussion.  What they were extremely successful in was demonstrating that when it comes to interacting with deeply conservative people, that you have far more possibilities in changing hearts and minds by sheer visibility.  The complete lack of even a hint of angry confrontation clearly showed that was a positive way open to our community in the ongoing struggle for acceptance.

 

 

SEAHORSE : THE DAD WHO GAVE BIRTH . JEANIE FINLAY’S empathetic documentary about Freddy McConnell a determined Brit trans man who wants  to give birth is a remarkable testament of faith by McConnell in allowing the cameras to film every part of his extraordinary journey. To avoid the story becoming the slightest bit sensationalized McConnell had assembled his own crew to be able to tell his story and then entrusted Finlay to take over.  It turned out to be the perfect call.

McConnell had just finally become comfortable in his own skin after he transitioned and although he had an overwhelming desire to be a parent, he was extremely apprehensive of now stopping his testosterone and how that would affect him both physically and emotionally.  At the end of the journey McConnell expresses concern about his own naivete about the full physical and emotional extent of reactions. but he professed that regardless he had not one single regret.  And neither did we.  This heart-string-pulling film is unmissable 

 

SID & JUDY   We couldn’t actually get our hands on a copy of Stephen Kijak’s highly anticipated documentary on Judy Garland that is based on the biography of her third (and longest lasting) husband Sid Luft.  When the two met her career was in decline but within two years, thanks to his management,  she had made A Star is Born and picked up a Academy Award.

They had two children and the oldest Lorna Luft admits” they loved each other and had a real bond, but their relationship could be volatile because my dad had a temper and wouldn’t say no… and she had a temper and wouldn’t say no. So that got interesting!”

Kojak’s documentary includes film and television clips, plus many rare, previously unheard, audio tapes; previously unreleased home movie footage, personal letters; and a lot of very rare photos never been seen before.  And just when you thought you already knew all there was to know about one of the biggest gay icons  ever.

 

SONG LANG  : the compelling story of an unlikely love. LEON LE’S heart-string-pulling story of a love that goes unconsummated is probably the the first LGBTQ movie from Vietnam that we have ever seen.  If this is to be the standard bearer of a new source of queer cinema then we cannot wait to see what could follow that would match this.

Set in Saigon in the late 1980’s it’s the tale of a thuggish debt collector Dung ‘Thunderbolt’  (LIEN BINH PHAT) who without the hint of any emotion does the bidding of his shark-loan boss (KIM PHUONG).  Dung is a real loner, the strong silent type, who’s whole life seems to revolve around beating up the hapless poor people who cannot afford the extortionate interest payments they were forced to agree to originally.

 

 

TRIXIE MATTEL : MOVING PARTS. We had no idea of what to expect from this intriguing documentary on BRIAN FIRKUS aka TRIXIE MATTEL who, second time around, became a winner on RU PAUL’S DRAG RACE, albeit a rather controversial choice.  Mattel is part of the current coterie of drag queens whose fame is based on their success rate on Ru Paul’s TV Show.  

However through the  course of the documentary it became clear that we couldn’t dismiss  Firkus/Trixie as just another  outrageously overdressed mannequin  By allowing the cameras unlimited access, we saw him anxiously practising his craft to ensure that he really entertained the packed houses he was playing too in the US and UK.  He shared how his love of country music was the one happy result of his troubled childhood.  The very impressive selection of songs he writes and plays are the last thing  you expect to her from the lips of a drag star.  With her blonde wigs piled higher than God, and her tightly fitted sparkly pinks outfits she could easily be mistaken for Dolly Parton’s’ long lost taller sister

By the end of the film our ignorance of Firkus/Trixie has turned into  very definite admiration.  There is no doubting his unique talent, but it is  honesty and his determination to be authentic as possible that sets him apart from others.

 

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