"It's an LGBTQ film festival to include absolutely everyone," said Frameline Executive Director Frances Wallace as she and her colleagues announced the lineup for Frameline 39 yesterday. "We've been here for nearly four decades, it's important to keep queer film alive."
The press opening took place at Oasis, with drag superstar Heklina serving drinks. It also served as a debut for the Festival's trailer, a Wizard of Oz spoof starring drag icon Peaches Christ as Dorothy and Heklina as the Wicked Witch of the West. Back in March, we caught a glimpse of the trailer's filming, and now you can see the finished product for yourself:
The audience roared with laughter at the trailer and gasped with delight when it was announced that Frameline 39 would include a preview screening of Magic Mike XXL, a sequel to Steven Soderbergh's wildly popular film about naughty but nice male strippers. Sister Dana Van Iquity of the venerable Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence was particularly overcome with joy at the news about Magic Mike.
"I could not help but stand up and cheer," the Sister told Hoodline. "I was deliciously blindsided. Yes, I am a perv nun."
The Sister was in fact quite thrilled by the entire evening. "This was first class with gorgeous canapes and lovely wine served by my dearest friend Heklina at her marvelous venue, Oasis," she said.
As always, the Frameline schedule will offer a diverse cross-section of LGBTQ cinema. "We are showing 180 films from 33 countries," said Des Buford, who pointed out that 29 of the features were directed by women.
As we noted last month, the festival will commence with Justin Kelly's "I Am Michael," an eagerly awaited biopic starring James Franco and Zachary Quinto. The film tells the tale of Michael Glatze, a former San Francisco gay rights activist who became a Christian pastor.
Other features include "Summer of Sangaile", a Lithuanian film about a young woman who finds her first love. Documentary films include Out To Win, in which filmmaker Malcom Ingram profiles and interviews iconic LGBTQ athletes, including Martina Navratilova, David Kopay, Jason Collins, among others.
By the time "Bare", another tale of lesbian love, closes the festival, films from across the globe and from all spectrums of the LGBTQ umbrella will have been screen. Countries represented include Australia, Taiwan, Spain, Thailand, Germany, France, Iceland, UK, Chile, Brazil, India, and many others. There will be shorts, narrative features, documentaries, and classic screenings.
Frameline 39 will commemorate the 70th birthday of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the openly gay wunderkind of New German Cinema, a genre of independent film which flourished during the 1970s. Fassbinder, who died at age 36, will be honored with a screening of "Querelle", his final film. Fassbinder will be further honored with a showing of Christian Braad Thomsen's "Fassbinder: To Love Without Demands", a documentary feature about the life and work of the groundbreaking director.
Other filmmaker tributes include Jack Walsh's "Feelings Are Facts: The Life of Yvonne Rainer", a documentary about the early feminist auteur. Ethan Reid's "Peter De Rome: Grandfather of Gay Porn" recalls De Rome, a gay porn pioneer. Michael Stabile's "Seed Money" honors the life of Falcon Studios founder Chuck Holmes, who was also a generous philanthropist.
This year's Frameline Award honoree is Jeffrey Schwarz, whose past films "I Am Divine," "Vito" and Wrangler: Anatomy of An Icon" recalled legendary names from the gay community's past. This year's festival will also see the premiere of Schwarz' "Tab Hunter Confidential", a documentary about the former Hollywood heartthrob who was finally able to come out after he left Tinseltown.
Frameline 39 takes place from June 18-28, 2015. Venues include the beautiful Castro Theatre, the historic Roxie and Victoria Theaters in the Mission, and several East Bay venues. For the full lineup and to purchase tickets, visit Frameline.org.
