Gay, lesbian film fest comes of age
The 21st Out in Africa Gay and Lesbian Film Festival will open at Cinema Nouveau this month.
Festival-goers will have a choice of four feature films and two documentaries, bound to spark debate.
“Festival guest Jan Soldat will present his unusual and extraordinary documentaries, Weekend in Germany and The Incomplete at all screenings… Soldat travels courtesy of the Goethe-Institut,” said festival spokesperson Sharon Jackson.
“Kill Your Darlings, starring Daniel Radcliffe as gay Beat poet Allen Ginsberg, will open the festival. The film and refreshments on the night are courtesy of Cinema Nouveau.”
The festival is supported by the National Film and Video Foundation, the Goethe-Institut, Graton Guest House, 6 Spin Street Restaurant, members of funding project 8333, 700 MySchool contributors, and festival advertisers.
“We would like to thank Carolina Meyer of City Varsity School of Media and Creative Arts for our programme cover design,” said Jackson.
The festival line-up includes:
Boy Meets Girl: A poignant, romantic coming of age comedy about three 20-year-olds from director Eric Schaeffer.
“A smart script, this is a sex/human positive modern fable, and identification with its story crosses all gender and sexual orientation lines,” said Jackson.
Concussion: This film from director Stacie Passon tells the story of a suburban lesbian housewife approaching her 40th birthday.
The woman suffers a blow to the head that unleashes her latent sexuality and sends her on an erotic journey that leads to a secret second life.
Kill Your Darlings: In this biopic by director John Krokidas, Daniel Radcliffe plays Beat Generation icon, Allen Ginsberg.
Set during the poet’s early years at Columbia University, the film centres around a murder investigation involving Ginsberg, his handsome classmate, Lucien Carr, and fellow beatnik William S Burroughs.
Stranger by the Lake: Winner of the 2013 Cannes Un Certain Regard best directing award, this Alain Guiraudie film is a candid and absorbing portrait of passion and murder at a secluded lakeside cruising spot.
“This stunning, minimalist erotic thriller explores how human identity is defined and sometimes imprisoned by our desires, drives and passions,” said Jackson.
Weekend in Germany and The Incomplete: With unprecedented access, intimacy and humanity, and without flinching or judging, director Jan Soldat invites viewers behind closed doors and into the meeting place of their deepest fears and desires.
Jackson described the documentaries as “provocative, outrageous and touching”.
The festival will run from 28 May until 1 June at Cinema Nouveau, Rosebank Mall, Cradock Avenue, Rosebank.
Bookings open 19 May.
Details: Out in Africa 021 461 4027; www.oia.co.za; Cinema Nouveau ticket line: 082 16789.
Watch the Kill Your Darlings trailer:
