James Westby's The Auteur, the story of a down-and-out "adult film" director (Melik Malkasian) attempting to make a professional comeback and win the heart of his former paramour, could have been a hilarious, raunchy farce. Unfortunately, overall the film (an extended version of a short Westby directed in '02) is neither funny nor sexy; I found the humor much too broad and the sex much too circumspect (well, in a cartoonish-ly non-explicit sorta way). On the positive side, The Auteur does offer one first-rate performance (Katherine Flynn, as the pornmeister's ex-lover) and a — ahem — shooting climax that is as subversive as it is funny. As far as I'm concerned, that's how every war should be fought.
Jaymes Thompson's The Gay Bed and Breakfast of Terror will probably please those who are fans of the early John Waters. I'm not one of them. That said, The Gay B&B of T does elicit a few chuckles here and there, and its cast features several good-looking guys and gals dying blood-gushing deaths. But best of all is the film's clever and uproarious warning of the dangers of unsafe sex — with Republicans, that is. The consequence of such an unhealthy activity is about as terrifying as wars, economic disasters, energy crises, loss of civil rights, and environmental depredation combined.
Synopses from the 26th Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival website.
SAT 7/19 11:00am
DGA 1
Dream Boy
(USA, 2008, 90 mins)
Directed By: James Bolton
SCR: James Bolton
We've all got an ideal dream boy, but few would find fault with a hunky farmhand. Dream Boy follows painfully shy Nathan, who has moved to rural Louisiana with his religious parents. Enter "straight," macho Roy — aforementioned hunky farmhand — and suddenly Nathan feels alive. However, Nathan's dark secrets threaten to tear them apart. Dream Boy paints an aching portrait of lives on the cusp of self-discovery, and captures the stolen moments that make young love timeless.
SAT 7/19 11:30am
Fairfax 1
Ready? OK!
(USA, 2008, 93 mins)
Directed By: James Vasquez
SCR: James Vasquez
Much to the consternation of his Catholic school, young Joshua wants to be a cheerleader and enjoys dressing like Maria von Trapp. His mom (Carrie Preston) has her hands full as the assistant to a local TV personality, but with the help of an understanding uncle (John G. Preston) and a very tasteful neighbor (Michael Emerson, Lost), Joshua is determined to high-kick and cartwheel with the best of them in this charming comedy.
SAT 7/19 4:30pm
Fairfax 1
The Auteur
(USA, 2008, 80 mins)
Directed By: James Westby
SCR: James Westby
Who ever said pornography isn't art? Meet Arturo Domingo, the Kubrick of porn, in The Auteur, a pansexual, quick-witted, big-tittied comedy of scandalous proportions. Domingo, a maestro of meat pounding masterpieces ("Full Metal Jack-Off," anybody?), hopes to reinvigorate his work by reconnecting with his personal and professional muses, both whom have left his side. With countless (pornographic) homages to indie cinema classics, The Auteur promises to inspire a new appreciation for the craftsmanship behind the art of carnal rapture.
SAT 7/19 5:00pm
Fairfax 2
Platinum Shorts
Program Running Time is 77 min.
With Korean female astronauts gulping water in space, a messy but fun baking orgy and a celebratory shedding of one's self loathing and clothes, this cutting edge program of shorts prove that size doesn't matter. And what may be lacking in length is more than made up for in creativity, audacity, style, grace and fearlessness. With a handful of world premieres and local artists, this show is a sure crowd-pleaser.
Because Washington is Hollywood for Ugly People (above)
Directed By: Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung
USA, 2007, 8 min
Are You Me? (Mrs. Lee)
Directed By: Erica Cho
USA, 10 min
Untitled #1 (from the series Earth People 2507)
Directed By: Nao Bustamante
USA, 2008, 4 min
The Shape of A Heart
Directed By: Leslie Satterfield
USA, 2007, 9 min
Invitation
Directed By: Michael V. Smith
Canada, 2007, 6 min
Dick!
Directed By: Jessica Lawless, Von Edwards
USA, 2007, 7 min
Nikamowin (Song)
Directed By: Kevin Lee Burton
Canada, 2007, 11 min
Perfectly Flawed
Directed By: Lisa Alvarez
USA, 2008, 5 min
Are You Me? (In Space)
Directed By: Erica Cho
USA, 5 min
Bend It
Directed By: Jules Nurrish
UK, 2007, 4 min
Untitled (for Derek Jarman)
Directed By: Matt Johnstone
USA, 5 min
Cupcake
Directed By: Emily North
USA, 2008, 3 min
SAT 7/19 7:00pm
DGA 1
Sordid Lives: The Series
(USA, 2008, 44 mins)
West Coast Premiere
Q&A with cast and post-screening reception
Directed By: Del Shores
SCR: Del Shores
Return to the campy, hysterical world of Del Shores with the Los Angeles premiere of Sordid Lives: The Series, a prequel to the beloved cult film. This black comedy about white trash follows a Texas family presided over by Peggy (Rue McClanahan, The Golden Girls), an upstanding Christian woman who takes in the local ex-con, honky tonk singing bisexual, Bitsy Mae (Olivia Newton-John). Rejoin the fun with familiar faces and new at this special sneak preview! Director and cast will participate in an extended Q&A.
SAT 7/19 8:00pm
DGA 2
Sebastiane
(UK, 1976, 90 mins)
In Latin with English subtitles
Directed By: Derek Jarman, Paul Humfress
SCR: Derek Jarman & Paul Humfress
Derek Jarman's Sebastiane, arguably the first British film to feature positive images of gay sexuality, tells an imagined homo-erotic tale of St. Sebastiane. In 303 A.D., Roman soldier Sebastiane is exiled to a remote outpost, and becomes the object of his commanding officer, Maximus' aggressive desire. The tension among soldiers erupts as predatory lust and religious yearning clash and the fate of Sebastiane unravels. Jarman's punk spirit infuses raw brutality with poetic fantasy in this sexy retelling of a Christian tale.
SAT 7/19 8:30pm
Ford Amphitheatre
The World Unseen
(UK, 2008, 94 mins)
U.S. Premiere
Directed By: Shamim Sarif
SCR: Shamim Sarif
Set in 1950s South Africa, The World Unseen is a gorgeous depiction of love in the face of oppression. Free-spirited, sexy Amina has broken all the rules of her own conventional Indian community — and the new apartheid government — by running a café with Jacob, her mixed-race business partner. When she meets the breathtakingly beautiful Miriam, their unexpected attraction pushes Miriam to question the rules that bind her, setting in motion a chain of events that changes both women forever.
SAT 7/19 9:30pm
Fairfax 1
The Gay Bed and Breakfast of Terror
(USA, 2007, 106 mins)
West Coast Premiere
Directed By: Jaymes Thompson
SCR: Jaymes Thompson
In this outrageously campy parody of slasher movies, a bevy of sexy gays and lesbians make their way to the desert for a weekend of rest and relaxation, but no one is safe from the crazies who run the B&B. And in true slasher-flick fashion, once people start getting naked, out come the pointy implements of death. Blending over-the-top farce with blood-spurting horror, The Gay Bed and Breakfast of Terror is a vacation you'll never forget.
LA CORONA, CIAO, MULLIGANS: Outfest 2008
A JIHAD FOR LOVE, HOMOCCULT: Outfest 2008
AFFINITY, ANTARCTICA: Outfest 2008
Slamdance Film Festival 2009: Call for Entries
THE NEW TWENTY, WHIRLWIND: Outfest 2008
TWO LOOKS, International Girls Shorts: Outfest 2008
Derek Jarman, Peter Berlin: Outfest 2008
Donna Deitch, Dan Butler: Outfest 2008
Ferzan Ozpetek, Bruce LaBruce: Outfest 2008
MAMMA MIA!, "Rough and Ready" Shorts: Outfest 2008