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Film

A multitude of themes and screens

Shortbus headlines the list of 133, count 'em 133, films featured at the 17th annual Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

By STEVE PERSALL
Published October 5, 2006

	[ThinkFilm]
	"The Gymnast" is one of 133 films being featurred at the 17th annual Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

A record-breaking number of features, shorts and documentaries will be shown at the 17th annual Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, including John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus, which features the only remaining taboo in mainstream filmmaking - real sex among the actors.

Shortbus, from the director of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, polarized audiences at festivals in Cannes and Toronto, the only public viewings of the film so far. It opens in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco this weekend.

The semi-improvisational film was a last-minute addition to the list of 133 films for the festival. ThinkFilm didn't offer it to program director Joseph Cook until last month.

"The program had already gone to the printer by the time (Shortbus) became available," Cook said. "(ThinkFilm) wasn't sure if they wanted to do any more festivals and wasn't sure what the feedback would be. When it premiered in Toronto, they picked up the phone the next day and asked if it was too late. We ... added a special screening that isn't listed in the program."

Mitchell's film will be shown once in Tampa, on Oct. 13 at Channelside 9, one of three theaters hosting screenings. Because of the graphic nature of the unrated film, all those who enter the theater will have to show identification.

Shortbus - the title refers to an underground salon - certainly brings the loudest advance buzz to the lineup. (For a complete list, see www.pridefilmfest.com.) But Cook is proud of the long list reflecting a new wave of bolder themes of gay, lesbian and transgender life.

"I never felt we needed more films just for quantity purposes," he said. "The quality demanded that we increase the list."

One of his favorites is Queens, a same-sex wedding comedy from Spain that opens the festival tonight at 7:45 at Tampa Theatre. Food, vendors and music will be presented on Franklin Street beginning at 6 p.m.

Friday's Tampa Theatre schedule begins at 5:15 p.m. with Spokane, a drama about a married couple living in separate sexual closets. Charles Busch's A Very Serious Person follows at 7:30, with the coming-of-age tale Vacationland. Meanwhile, the festival's GALA Party will be nearby at the Tampa Museum of Art beginning at 9:15 p.m. Tickets are $50 for the black tie-optional event.

Channelside 9 unspools its first four films Saturday beginning at 12:30 p.m. with Lost Generation, a chronicle of aging gays. At 5 p.m., the Margarita Mama's club at Channelside will host a short films program for diners, followed at 8 p.m. by another of Cook's picks: The Gymnast, a story of lesbian acrobats in a Cirque du Soleil-style show.

Saturday screenings at Tampa Theatre begin at 1:20 p.m. with Cruel and Unusual, a documentary exposing harsh treatment of transsexuals in prisons. A half-dozen films will be shown at the movie palace through the day Saturday, capped at 11:15 p.m. by Sun Kissed, written, directed and edited by Patrick McGuinn, son of former Pinellas resident and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn.

On Sunday, a highlight at Channelside 9 will be "101 Must-See Movies for Gay Men," in which Advocate film critic Alonso Duralde uses film clips to discuss what constitutes gay and lesbian cinema, even in ostensibly straight movies such as Fight Club, Mahogany and Showgirls. Tampa Theatre presents five films Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. with a short film collection.

The festival continues throughout next week with evening events. Monday highlights include a 5:30 p.m. panel discussion at Tampa Theatre titled "What is the Future of Queer Cinema?"

"Things were pretty bold and brave for a while in the 1990s," said Cook, a sociology professor at three local colleges. "Then it got to be kind of lazy.

"We went through a period when just getting gay visibility was important. Now (some filmmakers) think gay visibility isn't necessarily enough and, in fact, maybe it's not accurate or helpful. They're looking for new ways to tell stories, and new stories to be told, outside of this marginalized Will & Grace or Queer as Folk scene."

Next week's schedule also reaches BayWalk 20 in downtown St. Petersburg where films will be presented the evenings of Tuesday, Wednesday and Oct. 12. Preshow social gatherings are planned for Grazzi restaurant at BayWalk on Tuesday and Wednesday, and at Studio@620 620 First Ave. S, at 9 p.m. Oct. 12.

The festival concludes Oct. 15 with day-long activities at Tampa Theatre. See Weekend on Oct. 12 for highlights of the festival's final days.

Steve Persall can be reached at (727) 893-8365 or persall@sptimes.com

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Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, today through Oct. 15 at Tampa Theatre, Channelside 9 in Tampa and BayWalk 20 in St. Petersburg, with non-film events at several restaurants, nightclubs and the Tampa Museum of Art. Visit the festival Web site at www.pridefilmfest.com for complete information. Movie tickets are $9 each. Ticket packages range from $48 to $500. Call 813 879-4220.

[Last modified October 4, 2006, 12:47:02]