San Diego is known to us for its Sailors and its sunshine, both of which we are very partial to. It also hosts FILMOUT one of the longest-running film festivals in Southern California and the only LGBTQ film festival in the San Diego area.
This well-respected Festival attracts both filmmakers and audiences from around the globe with its eclectic programming that covers most of the LGBTQ+ spectrum and is a sheer joy to attend
This year the annual Film Festival will be a four-day event from 7th – 10th September that includes international, documentary, short, and feature films shown in two different locations.
Here is Queerguru's Top Picks of Must See Films
It’s not surprising to learn that BIG BOYS, a charming coming-of-age dramedy and the debut feature film of Corey Sherman, is based on an incident in his own life, as it has such a convincing authenticity to it. In fact, the premise of his heartwarming tale of a confused teen coming to terms with his burgeoning sexuality is something that most of us gay men can relate to on a personal level. Kudos to Sherman for the sensitive way he handled the young man’s sexual awakening with such a fine balance that gave such a sense of normality to both Jamie and his predicament. He was helped to no end by the absolutely pitch-perfect performance by Krasner who made Jamie so extremely relatable. And also with the beautifully measured response from Johnson …. who looked and acted like a charming gay bear… that we would have all wanted to have received back when we were ‘Jamie’.
P.S. you may also like to check out Queerguru’s interview with Corey Sherman HERE
CHASING CHASING AMY is an interesting documentary that takes a deep dive into the complex legacy of Kevin Smith’s 1997 indie film Chasing Amy, its effect on queer people, and its life-saving impact on director Sav Rodgers.
The original film is a romantic comedy starring Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams and Jason Lee. The film is about a male comic artist (Affleck) who falls in love with a lesbian/sexually fluid woman (Adams), to the displeasure of his best friend (Lee). The film was originally inspired by a brief scene in the cult 90s lesbian film Go Fish. In Guinevere Turner’s Go Fish, one of the lesbian characters imagines her friends passing judgment on her for selling out by sleeping with a man. Rodgers’ film is a love letter to film-making, his wife, and to Chasing Amy. His charismatic energy is infectious. Keep an eye on him.
From one of Queerguru’s favorite documentarians, the Emmy Award winner Jeffrey Schwarz (Boulevard! A Hollywood Story, Tab Hunter Confidential, I Am Divine etc) comes his latest must-see film. Set against a rich Hollywood backdrop, “Commitment to Life” documents the true story of the fight against HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles – and how an intrepid group of people living with HIV/AIDS, doctors, movie stars, studio moguls and activists changed the course of the epidemic. Essential viewing for those who want to know all about our community’s history.
EISMAYER is a compelling military queer love story based on real life. Indoors at a military center, young white men lined up are asked for their names, each one says his surname loudly, among all, the most outstanding is Bosnian Mario Falak. They are all recruiting for a six tough month period at the cream of the crop, The Fourth Guards Company of the Austrian Army where Charles Eismayer is in charge as Sergeant Major, a hard man with an iron fist who loves discipline and to command. In some sequences of the movie, there is a fair reminder of him in relation to the authoritarian Sergeant Hartman (Stanely Kubrick´s Full Metal Jacket)
Charles has a secret. He has been conscious of being gay since his childhood, back then his mother told him: just don’t talk about it, it will pass. But that is all about to change now that Mario has arrived.
Glitter and Doom: Carefree Glitter (Alex Díaz) young and handsome, wants to become a professional circus performer and applies to the Ecole de Cirque in Paris. Doom (Alan Cammish) is a struggling musician, composer and singer. One night they meet at Disco Berlin and there is an instant attraction for each other… a romance begins. In the meantime. when Doom receives private messages in his cell phone, and drives a classic turquoise Ford truck. Glitter also drives a classic white Jaguar, while on the road and on their expeditions, they share their dreams and expectations.
The film is beautifully photographed by Cristian Solano. The production has an all-queer supporting cast and is filmed in Mexico, directed by Tom Gustafson based on a screenplay by Cory Krueckeberg.
Golden Delicious: The title of Jason Karman’s debut feature film is also the name of the family restaurant in the movie but it could almost pass as a critique too on this charming coming-of-age story. 17-year-old Jake (Cardi Wong) in his final High School Year who was being pressured by his father to take up basketball (which he loathed) and by his pushy girlfriend Valerie (Parmiss Sehat) to give up his virginity (which he had no intention of parting with). He had no idea what he wanted and he got even more confused when Aleks (Chris Carson) a hot jock who was openly gay, moved in next door. His drama is the real core of the story and we get the full anguish of a teenager so completely scared of his peers at school, and his family, as he tries so valiantly to come to terms with his true identity.
In Bed is an exciting psychological erotic thriller by director Nitzan Gilady. He takes a deep dive into the role party drugs, especially harder drugs such as GHB and Crystal Meth, can play in shaping a queer night of fun. The frenetic action is accompanied by an excellent soundtrack by renowned DJ Offer Nissim. Ogalbo, Rosenblatt and Miroshnikov all give very strong performances – Ogalbo won a Best Actor award at TLVFEST for his role as Guy. Their on-screen chemistry is hot and believable as they get high, become horny as fuck, relax their values, lose their grip on reality and eventually succumb to paranoia and lose control. A tense, fast-paced, unpredictable trip into gay party culture.
Lie WIth Me, based on the novel by Philippe Besson, has a wistful charm that sits with you long after the film is over. It’s a tale about nostalgia, love and heartbreaking loss that begs you to feel nothing but kindness to all its characters. Despite the tragedy at its heart, the film rejects mawkishness. In parts, it is even very funny. The character’s pain reveals their humanity in all its absurd messiness. Guillaume de Tonquedec portrays the writer Stephane as equally capable of saying the toe-curlingly wrong thing as he is of achieving sublime prose. This adds to the idea at the heart of the movie that life can be brought back into balance. In the case of director Olivier Peyon’s charming Lie With Me the balance is achieved by finally being able to see life through someone else’s eyes.
Studio One Forever is a documentary about the infamous Studio One nightclub in West Hollywood, known for its racist and sexist door policies as much as anything else. Launched in 1974, the club ran for 19 years until 1993. Why Studio One decided to have racist and sexist door policies is not made clear in the film. Equally successful gay LA clubs of the time including Jewel’s Catch One and Circus had a melting pot of nationalities and lots of women on their dance floors. Studio One, however, required black patrons to provide up to three forms of ID to gain entrance, compared to one or no ID required for white attendees.
THE MATTACHINE FAMILY is a heart-touching story about queer parenthood. It is the story of a handsome couple Thomas (Juan Pablo Di Pace) and Oscar (Nico Tortorella) who are living a good life in LA. They are in love, busy, and happy foster parents to a young kid Arthur (Matthew Jacob Ocampo). When it’s time for Arthur to return to his birth mother, however, his loss affects the couple deeply and in different ways, and they realize they have different ideas about what being a family entails.
PS You may also like to check out http://Married filmmakers Andy & Danny Valentine talk about THE MATTACHINE FAMILY a story about gay parenting
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FILMOUT Film Fest begins on 9/07 and will end on 9/10 To see the whole program and book tickets https://filmoutsandiego.com/
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for full reviews of over 1800 queer films check out www.queerguru.com and whilst you are there be sure to subscribe to get all the latest raves and rants on queer cinema …best of all its FREE
Labels: 2023, Big Boys, Chasing Chasing Amy, Commitment to Life, Eismeyer, FilmOut, Glitter and Doom, Golden Delicious, In Bed, Lie With Me, Queer Film Fest, San Diego, Studio One Forever, The Mattachine Family
