Gay 2023 Archives - Page 3 of 6

The Wedding Banquet

Free entry with Cinematheque membership

A screening for the film’s 30’s anniversary

Wai-Tung, a 30’s something Chinese immigrant from Taiwan had achieved the American dream – he has a Green Card, his real estate business is flourishing, his bank account is full, and most importantly, his love life is blooming. The problem is that his parents want grandchildren and are pushing for him to get married, while Wei-Tung lives with the love of his life – Simon, a charming young New Yorker who already mastered the secrets of Chinese cooking. Simon has a solution – in one of the apartments Wei-Tung is renting lives Wei-Wei, a poor artist with no Green Card, so a fictional marriage could solve both their problems. In theory it’s a foolproof plan, until Wei-Tung’s parents arrive from Taiwan in order to throw their son a huge wedding banquet.
“The Wedding Banquet”, Ang Lee’s second film, won the Golden Bear award at the Berlinale of 1993.
35mm screening.

An Afternoon with Patrick Sarfati

“An Afternoon with Patrick Sarfati” is exactly what it sounds like.
After a year of meetings and bonding, filmmaker Anthony Hickling and photographer Patrick Sarfati make the move. The moment of truth has arrived, getting a camera into the living room of the legendary stills photographer that began to document the LGBTQ community back in 1979 and focused mainly on LGBTQ artists and cultural icons. Sarfati’s living room is a stunning archive of photos from many decades, portraits of celebrities that hide fascinating stories and amusing anecdotes that he shares with glee. With some of his subject Patrick had a friendly relationships and sometimes even beyond – Keith Haring, Jeanne Moreau, Coccinelle, Bette Davis, Grace Jones, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Roland Barthes, James Baldwin, Tom of Finland, Jean-Claude Van Damme and many more.
This is an intimate meeting with a very colorful and fascinating character that you’d love to spend an afternoon with.

On the Go

The screening will be preceded by the short movie “In My Own Image”.

Imagine “Easy Rider” meets early Greg Araki films such as “Totally F***ed Up” and “The Living End” and pour over some hot and sassy Spanish passion and you’ll end up with the anarchistic creation by directors/screenwriters María Gisèle Royo and Julia de Castro, starring Omar Ayuso (“Elite”) in a very daring role.
37-year-old Milagros is a young carefree woman in her last years of fertility, while 24-year-old Jonathan, her best friend, is obsessively looking for comfort on Grindr in order to overcome his separation anxiety. Milagros is looking for sperm, Jonathan just wants to run away after burning down a club. The two embark on a roadtrip where they will meet a mermaid, one night stands and criminals, all while listening to great music.
This is a film about contemporary young men and women who think they live in the age of free choice with unlimited options, but the truth is – the beginning of the 21 century freedom is nothing but an illusion.
The film was shot entirely on a 16mm camera.
Viewing is 18+ due to nudity and explicit sexual content.

In association with the Embassy of Spain

In My Own Image
Director, Script & Producer: Giuseppe Bucci
With: Mariano Gallo, Eva Grimaldi, Salvatore Langella
Italy, 2023, 12 min, Italian with English subtitles

Francesco fails to feel sorry for the death of his father, a homophobic and bigoted man mainly due to his religious upbringing. The son has never confessed his homosexuality to his father and, desperate, he makes a very strong gesture to shout his homosexuality to God, the Vatican and his father.

Narrow Path to Happiness

Gergo and Lénárd are a young gay couple with a big dream – to write, direct and star in a musical film based on their lives. But dreams and reality don’t go together. They live in a remote Roma community in the poorest region of Hungary, in a very religious environment where being gay is considered a mortal sin. The two decide to move to Budapest in order to realize their cinematic dream.
The couple soon discovers that life in the big city isn’t easy either – they have to work backbreaking jobs while dealing with the rise of LGBTQphobia in Hungary. For the first time in their lives they visit a Pride Parade and demonstrations. While Gergo attempts to start a singing career, the two give an interview to the local press and become local celebrities. But only meetings with a screenwriting student give them hope for the future. Following the sudden death of Gergo’s mother they will have to go back to the community they’ve left behind and to the family who turned their backs on them for one final closure.

Director Kata Oláh created an intimate documentary about a hopeful couple with big dreams in a very difficult country.

All the Fires

“Fire will attract more attention than any other cry for help.” Jean-Michel Basquiat

Bruno is on a collision course with his greatest passion – fire. He’s a high school student that likes to upload videos of burning things onto social media. He is aided by his best friend Ian in order to document his petty arson acts that become more and more dangerous. Bruno is not happy with his mother’s new relationship, he also cannot deal with his growing attraction to his male best friend who is also interested in him. He spontaneously decides to run away to a small town where a girl he’s been messaging with on Instagram lives, only she has her own secrets. Reality will force him to confront his father’s death and the doubts he has about his sexuality, but not before leaving a trail of chaos behind him.
“All the Fires” has mysterious overtones, it’s full of deep passion that is threatening to erupt and consume everything around it. Young and different Mexican cinematic piece on exploration of sexuality, sexual diversity and self acceptance

The Radical

“The Radical” is an intimate portrait of the world’s first out gay Imam. Muhsin Hendricks was a Muslim fashion designer in South Africa, who fought to reconcile his faith and his sexuality. He went to Pakistan to study to become an Imam – so that he may better understand Islam. He came out in 1995, after he decided that he must be true to himself and the world, and founded the first gay mosque in Cape Town (one of South Africa’s three capitals) that later turned into the world’s Muslim queer network. After becoming an establishment in South Africa, Hendricks decided to try and help communities in east Africa who live in countries with anti-LGBTQ laws.
“The Radical” is a glimpse into the world of Muhsin Hendricks and the fight he heads for equality and individual safety. This is a film that is much more than just a portrait of Hendricks and a visit to different African countries – this is an inspiring cinematic manifesto on activism.

In association with the New Israeli Fund

Commitment to Life

A fascinating and moving documentary that dives deeply into the real and complicated story of the Los Angeles fight against HIV/AIDS. This film was created by the legendary documentary director Jeffrey Schwarz, who had many of his films showcased at the TLVfest in the past, such as “I Am Divine”, “Boulevard! A Hollywood Story” and “Vito”. This film presents a thorough research of individuals and organizations that dedicated themselves to finding a cure for AIDS and dealing with the disease in the early 80’s, when the deadly virus began to spread. Doctors, activists and media personalities made major efforts to work in a society that wasn’t ready to accept the reality of this mysterious disease.

This documentary is full of heartbreaking moments, in-depth interviews and personal stories of celebrities such as Rock Hudson, Elisabeth Taylor and David Geffen. The film provides an intensive and extensive view of the influence of a world health crisis on everyone – from the most marginalized communities in Downtown LA to the rich and famous. “Commitment to Life” gives us an eye opening reminder that the fight with HIV/AIDS isn’t over, but at the same time offers a hopeful view of how people can make a profound change when they work together.

“Glitter & Doom” – Closing Film

Need a shot of shiny, romantic, musical glitter? Here’s the new film from the creators of the classic hit “Were the World Mine” (2008) and “Hello Again” (TLVfest 2017), this time with hits by the Grammy winners, queer lesbian icons, “The Indigo Girls”.
Doom (Alan Cammish) is a young ambitious musician. Glitter (Alex Diaz) is an acrobat and a clown who’s dream is to study in Paris. The two fall in love during the summer, with late night talks and plenty of songs and dances. Their relationship is put to the test when their domineering mothers (the wonderful Ming-Na Wen and Missy Pyle) try to influence their plans to achieve their dreams.

The film was shot in Mexico City and uses the city’s architecture and wonderful views to create a fantastic visual to go along with the kitschy, head-spinning, romantic and queer music. This film is peppered with plenty of guest appearances by some of the best queer stars such as Lea DeLaria, Tig Notaro, Kate Pierson from the band The B-52s, drag queen Peppermint, Broadway star Beth Malone and of course – Amy Ray and Emily Saliers, “The Indigo Girls” themselves.

Passages

Thomas is a German filmmaker, who is under a lot of pressure towards his last day of filming in Paris. In the evening there’s a party to celebrate the end of shooting. Thomas starts the night dancing with his British husband Martin, but ends it in the arms of Agathe, a young preschool teacher. She falls under Thomas’ spell and what starts as a flirtatious dance ends up as a passionate and surprising night. The next morning Thomas openly tells his husband he’s slept with a woman which throws the couple into a whirlpool of emotions that will change their life.

New York based gay filmmaker Ira Sachs (“Married Life”, “Love Is Strange”, “Keep the Lights On”) brings to the big screen an achingly beautiful film full of passion, a film full of laughter and sorrow about an unlikely throuple in Paris. This film stars some of the finest young actors of our age – Franz Rogowski (“Great Freedom”), Ben Whishaw (“Atlas Cloud”, “Paddington”), Adèle Exarchopoulos (“Blue is the Warmest Color”) and Erwan Kepoa Falé (“Winter Boy”).
Viewing is 18+ due to explicit sexual content.

Opponent

Iman is a former wrestling champion, a refugee from Iran, who is now wandering between refugee hostels in Sweden with his wife Miriam and their two daughters. Iman has escaped his homeland Iran in fear of persecution after a violent crime he committed. He is looking for ways to provide his wife and daughters a place to live and works delivering pizzas on a snow motorbike.
When Miriam becomes unexpectedly pregnant for the third time, and the talks with the Swedish immigration become tougher, Iman decides to renew his wrestling career, despite the promise he made to his wife never to engage in the dangerous sport again.
Iman is hoping that being included in the Swedish team will earn him a special staying permit as a sportsman. As his skills are very much appreciated by the local team and also by one of his fellow teammates (Björn Elgerd, “Are We Lost Forever”), the deeper reasons that lead Iman to fleeing Iran are about to surface.

In his second film, director/screenwriter Milad Alami is aided by a superb cast lead by Payman Maadi. He creates a complex and layered social drama dealing with culture clashes, identities, and how the individual is getting lost inside the political.
Swedish submission for the Oscar Awards 2024.

In association with the Embassy of Sweden