London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2009: WRANGLER: ANATOMY OF AN ICON, CHEF’S SPECIAL
London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2009
Sunday, April 5, highlights
Schedule and synopses from the LLGFF website
Out Late
| Directed by: | Beatrice Alda, Jennifer Brooke |
| Country: | USA |
| Year: | 2008 |
| Running time: | 62min |
A truly inspiring and important film about the experiences of LGBT elders, specifically those who have come out in their sixties and seventies. There are stories about coming out in church, discovering The L Word for the first time at eighty and transitioning from male to female after a lifetime in the navy and raising a family. The film movingly explores the difficulties and liberation of discovering sexuality later in life and in particular highlights the often unsuccessful search for life partners in a world that places so much value on youth. Nazmia Jamal
Chef’s Special
| Directed by: | Nacho G. Velilla |
| Cast: | Javier Cámara, Lola Dueñas, Benjamín Vicuña |
| Distributor: | TLA Releasing |
| Country: | Spain |
| Year: | 2008 |
| Running time: | 111min |
Maxi is a chef with stress management issues. Intent on earning his restaurant a much-revered Michelin star, he runs his kitchen with panic-stricken fervor. That is until one day Maxi’s regimented world is turned upside down when he has to take in his estranged kids. Less than pleased with these new additions to his life (as is his teenage son who is unable to deal with his father’s homosexuality), Maxi’s situation only gets worse when a handsome footballer named Horacio moves in across the hall. Velilla’s delicious Spanish farce is overflowing with wit and vivacity. As the highly-strung Maxi, Javier Cámara gives a masterfiul comic performance, supported confidently by the rest of the cast, particularly Lola Dueñas (seen in Almodóvar’s Volver) as Maxi’s emotionally unstable friend Alex. Already a huge box office smash in Spain, Chef’s Special looks set to delight audiences here. Michael Blyth
Devotee
| Directed by: | Rémi Lange |
| Cast: | Hervé Chenais, Guillaume Quashie-Vauclin |
| Country: | France |
| Year: | 2008 |
| Running time: | 50min |
How do you negotiate the dating minefield when you have a non-conventional body? Hervé is a 43-year-old man born without arms or legs, whose body marks him as an outsider to the men he desires. He meets an attractive man online who is a devotee (devoteeism or acrotomophilia) – sexually attracted to people with amputations. It could be the perfect match but is the true connection Hervé seeks possible with a person whom he knows only sees him as a fetish? Quiet, and reflective, Devotee is both an intimate exploration of desire and of disabled sexuality which challenges us to consider our own voyeuristic treatment of Hervé’s body. Jason Barker
Ander
| Directed by: | Roberto Castón |
| Cast: | Josean Bengoetxea, Cristian Esquivel, Mamen Rivera |
| Country: | Spain |
| Year: | 2008 |
| Running time: | 128min |
Aging Basque countryman Ander leads a monotonous life divided between his work at the local bicycle factory and his daily routine around the farmhouse he shares with his elderly mother and his newly engaged sister. When Ander accidentally breaks his leg, the siblings defy their mother’s wishes and hire a Peruvian immigrant named José to help them maintain the farm. The presence of this soft-spoken outsider has an unsettling effect on Ander’s traditional family and circle of lifelong friends. No one, however, is as disturbed as Ander who virulently resists his growing attraction for José, his trusted employee and friend. Set against the expansive Basque countryside and featuring a stellar cast of regional actors, Roberto Castón’s character-driven debut film is a heartbreakingly human portrayal of contemporary rural gay life. Its unadorned yet forceful storytelling style makes it a standout European drama at this year’s LLGFF. Kyle Stephan
Wrangler: Anatomy Of An Icon
| Directed by: | Jeffrey Schwarz |
| Country: | USA |
| Year: | 2008 |
| Running time: | 85min |
In the late 1970s, Jack Stillman changed his name to Jack Wrangler, effortlessly transforming himself from a shy young man with aspirations of stardom, into the most infamous gay porn star of his generation. However, after successfully establishing himself in the world of gay adult film, he shocked the industry by making an unexpected leap into straight porn. Consistently challenging expectations, Wrangler then met and married 55-year-old singer Margaret Whiting, a woman more than 20 years his senior. Combining raunchy archive clips of Wrangler’s films, with candid interview footage from both the big man himself and those around him, Wrangler: Anatomy Of An Icon is a revealing and hugely enjoyable insight into one of the definitive icons in gay porn history. Michael Blyth
London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2009: APRES LUI, FUCKING DIFFERENT TEL AVIV
London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2009: BANDAGED, 57000 KM BETWEEN US
London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2009: BURN THE BRIDGES, CAMPILLO, YES I DO
London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2009: GHOSTED, THE AMERICAN SOLDIER
London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival 2009: PEDRO, MADAME X: AN ABSOLUTE RULER
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Tags: Ander, Benjamin Vicuna, Chef's Special, Cristian Esquivel, Devotee, Film Festivals, Gay Erotica, Gay Film Festivals, Gay Interest, Jack Wrangler, Javier Cámara, Jeffrey Schwarz, Lola Dueñas, London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, London Screenings, Nacho G. Velilla, Out Late, Remi Lange, Roberto Caston, Wrangler: Anatomy Of An Icon
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I can’t wait to watch the Wrangler movie………………………
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