A capacity crowd packed SoMa's Oasis nightclub on Tuesday for a press conference announcing the complete lineup for Frameline, the San Francisco LGBTQ Film Festival.
According to Frameline Executive Director Frances Wallace, 153 films from 39 countries will be screened, and more than half of the films are directed by women.
The 42nd edition of the festival runs from June 14 - 24 and will screen films at various Bay Area cinemas, including The Roxie Cinema, Victoria Theater, Landmark Theaters Piedmont in Oakland, and the Castro Theatre, traditionally the festival's primary venue. This year's theme is "Lights, Camera, Take Action."
One of the films with a strong local connection is 50 Years Of Fabulous, a documentary history of the Imperial Council, the world's oldest LGBTQ charity organization. Partially shot in the Castro, the film combines archival footage, photos and new interviews and screens on Sunday June 17 at the Castro Theater.
Strut, the health and wellness center for gay, bisexual and transgender men in the Castro, is one of the settings for The PrEp Project, a sex education documentary designed to "take the fear out of the HIV epidemic with fun and outrageous frankness."
Parts of the film were also shot in the offices of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. The PrEP Project is part of the Homegrown shorts collection and screens on Thursday, June 21, 9:15 p.m. at the Victoria Theater.
Also part of Homegrown is A Great Ride, a documentary which looks at the lives of older lesbians in an LGBTQ-friendly retirement community.
The women include Sally Gearhart, the first out lesbian to obtain a tenured teaching position at San Francisco State University. A nationally known gay rights activist, Gearhart was a close associate of Harvey Milk and was prominently featured in the Oscar-winning documentary The Times Of Harvey Milk.
San Francisco drag star Heklina is the main attraction in The Drag Roast Of Heklina, which was shot live at the Castro Theater. Local drag performers Peaches Christ and Sister Roma, are joined by visiting drag dignitaries as they "read Heklina to filth," according to the Frameline program. The Drag Roast Of Heklina screens on June 19 at 9 p.m. at the Victoria Theater.
Castro resident Curtis Casella offers Paper Boys, an episodic comedy/drama about Cole, a young New Yorker who has just moved to San Francisco. Frameline describes Paper Boys as being filled with "ex drama, hunky new friends, and even a bit of mysterious magic." The series was shot in a variety of familiar San Francisco locations and screens on Saturday June 16 at 1:30 p.m. at the Victoria Theater.
Admission to Frameline screenings is $12 for members, $14 for non-members. To see the complete program schedule, or for ticket information, please visit www.Frameline.org
