It is almost that time for Outfest, the LA-based film festival dedicated to showcasing new LGBTQ cinema. This year's line-up, which begins on July 18th and runs through July 28th, includes an impressive two hundred and forty-three works from thirty-three countries. Due to the renovation of the Director's Guild of America, where Outfest has held the fest for many years, the new festival hub will be at TCL Chinese 6 in the heart of Hollywood. There will be additional screenings held at other venues throughout the city including Laemmle's Music Hall, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Samuel Goldwyn theater, Plaza del la Raza and Harmony Gold.
The Opening Night Gala, which will be screened at the Orpheum theatre in downtown Los Angeles, will be "Circus of Books". This documentary looks at the the now-closed legendary book stores (with locations in Silver Lake and West Hollywood) which specialized in gay erotica that was owned and operated by an unlikely couple. Karen and Barry Mason ran this business and even began producing gay porn while raising their children in the suburbs. Circus of Books would become an unofficial community center and important sanctuary during the AIDS crisis. And the director, Rachel Mason was easily able get intimate details and the history of the store from the couple since she just happens to be their daughter.
The Centerpiece Screenings will include the US Centerpiece, "Adam", a coming-of-age romance based on a YA novel by Ariel Schrag from Rhys Ernst, a producer on the Amazon program, "Transparent" and making his feature film debut. "This is Not Berlin (Esto No Es Berlin)" is the International Centerpiece by director, Hari Sama which is set in 1980's Mexico City about a young man immersed in the world of the new-wave music scene trying to navigate his sexuality in a changing world due to the emerging HIV epidemic. "Changing The Game", from filmmaker Michael Barnett examines three courageous U.S. high-school transgender athletes who fight against harassment and discrimination as they seek to be able to compete as their authentic gender, has been selected as the Documentary Centerpiece.
Outfest Under The Stars are screenings held at the outdoor venue, the Ford Theatre. This year will feature the documentaries, "Trixie Mattel: Moving Parts" about the RuPaul's Drag Race Hall of Fame performer; "Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story" which looks at the career of the legendary comedian along with the political and personal turmoil she faced after the release of that controversial photo of the President; "Gay Chorus Deep South", this winner of the Audience Award at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival examines the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus as they tour the red Southern states; and "Sid & Judy" which looks at when Judy Garland (who was at a low-point of her career) met Sid Luft, (who helped guide her back to the top of her game) and their tempestuous romance.
The Closing Night Gala at The Theatre at the Ace Hotel will be "Before You Know It" by filmmaker, Hannah Pearl Utt. This quirky comedy tells the story of two sisters (Utt and Jen Tullock who co-wrote the script) living a dysfunctional life in New York and their situation becomes even more complicated when they discover the mother (Judith Light) they thought was dead actually isn't. Mandy Patinkin, Tim Daly and Alec Baldwin also star.
And there will be 30th anniversary screenings of Marlon Riggs' experimental essay-documentary, "Tongues Untied" that will be a free screening and "Common Threads: Stories From The Quilt", Rob Epstein's Academy Award winning documentary on the NAMES AIDS Memorial Quilt Project which is making it's restoration world premiere.
For the complete list of films, events and to purchase tickets, please click below:
2019 Outfest Film Festival
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