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Rainbow of entertainment

Plenty of movies isn't the only thing offered by the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, which begins today.

Since 1990, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community has been reflected onscreen at the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. This year's 15th edition includes 106 short films, documentaries and features, plus live musical performances, workshops and special guests.

The festival kicks off at 6 tonight with a VIP cocktail reception in the TECO Plaza Atrium on Franklin Street, across from the Tampa Theatre. At 7:30, the party moves into the historic film palace for a screening of Straight-Jacket, a spoof of 1950s Hollywood from the producers of last year's festival favorite, Girls Will Be Girls. The short subject Work It Out precedes the movie.

Friday's events begin at 5:30 p.m. with the cross-dressing culture documentary Drag Kings on Tour, followed at 7:45 by April's Shower, a comedy that could be subtitled My Big Fat Lesbian Wedding. The Canadian drama Sugar, an edgy tale of a teenage street hustler finding romance, begins at 9:45. Even bolder is "Mid-Nite Movies: Tales of Lust & Camp," a collection of short films beginning at 11:45.

Tampa Theatre's projector lights up again at 11 a.m. Saturday with I Look Up to the Sky Now, a compilation of videos created by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youths about self-acceptance. A pair of short subjects about school bullies, Let's Get Real and Fairies, opens the program. At 1:30 p.m., an assortment of 15 short subjects under the banner "Queer Couture" will be shown.

Then the festival turns its attention to the growing trend of incorporating horror film elements in gay and lesbian cinema. Sunrise Cinemas general manager (and former festival programmer) Margaret Murray leads a workshop titled "From Frankenstein to HellBent: Gay Horror Through the Ages" at 4 p.m., followed by two recent examples of these films, the psychological thriller Ballroom at 5 and the slasher flick HellBent at 7.

Saturday's final film is the documentary Naked Fame, profiling porn film stars Colton Ford and Blake Harper. Both men will attend the screening and a post-show party at Chrome, a nightclub at 238 S. Franklin St.

Sunday's events begin at 11 a.m. at TECO Plaza's atrium with Business Guild Expo 2004, where local vendors reach out to the gay and lesbian community. Tampa Theatre's film slate starts at 11:30 with the documentary A Swiss Rebel: Annemarie Schwarzenbach 1908-1942, a profile of the lesbian author and photographer. Two short subjects, Everything Must Come to Light and Summer Brunch, are included in the program.

At 1:30 p.m., the French import Grande Ecole combines sexuality and intellectualism in the tradition of Jean-Luc Godard and Eric Rohmer. The short film collection "Length Doesn't Matter: Boys' Shorts" presents 11 perspectives on male homosexuality beginning at 3:45. A pair of Irish films, Liz Gill's comedy-drama Goldfish Memory (6:15) and David Gleeson's streetwise Cowboys and Angels (8:15) complete the day's schedule.

Weekdays, one film per day will be screened at Sunrise Cinemas in Old Hyde Park Village. Monday's choice is Un Amour de Femme (7 p.m.), followed Tuesday by Adored: Diary of a Male Porn Star (7 p.m.), Wednesday's film, Arisan! (7 p.m.), and Thursday's offering, Wild Side at 7:30 p.m.

Meanwhile, Tampa Theatre stays busy with two film programs per weeknight. Monday brings John Scagliotti's Dangerous Living (7 p.m.), a documentary about Middle Eastern homosexuals, and the romantic comedy Slutty Summer (8:45).

On Tuesday, Tampa Theatre showcases Farm Family (7 p.m.), a film by Sarasota resident Tom Murray profiling homosexuals living in rural America. The documentary Paternal Instinct (9:15) deals with gay parenting through the stories of three same-sex couples planning parenthood through surrogates and artificial insemination.

Wednesday's slate begins with a musical performance titled The Phoenix: Women's Voices Rising at 6:30 p.m. Movies begin at 7 with the murder mystery False Offender, followed by the festival's centerpiece film, Brother to Brother at 9. Rodney Evans, a former documentary filmmaker, switches to features with a story about African-American homosexuality from the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s to the present.

Details about the festival's films and events are available at www.tiglff.com Next week's issue of Weekend will publish a summary of the final weekend's events, including a panel discussion on gay marriage on Oct. 16, an AIDS workshop on Oct. 17 and live musical performances by Una Voce 9:15 p.m. Oct. 15 and Crescendo (6:30 p.m. Oct. 16).

Fifteenth annual Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, today through Oct. 17 at Tampa Theatre and Sunrise Cinemas in Tampa. Tickets are $8.50 for each film program, available at the box offices. Multievent packages are available from $45 to $200. For more information, the festival Web site is at www.tiglff.com.