Frameline34
Frameline34, San Francisco’s International LGBT Film Festival, wrapped up a few weeks ago. Luckily, I had the great privilege of seeing a handful of fabulous films paired with a few great parties. Here are some brief reviews of my faves:
The Festival opened with ‘The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister,’ a Regency-period picture about its namesake. Miss Lister was a well-off woman of the period – also a lesbian. She wasn’t out, but wasn’t necessarily closeted either. And she kept diaries of her trysts and relationships – but the entries were written in a code that took 150 years to break! They have also since discovered that Anne Lister drew a cross in the margin of the pages every time she had intercourse. Fascinating! Check out the BBC trailer here:
Next, I saw ‘A Marine Story,’ which follows a highly-ranked (would-be lifer) Marine after she’s discharged from the military as a result of the dinosaur don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy. Dreya Weber‘s performance as the lead was excellent (she also, with her husband Ned Farr, produced the film). I had a chance to chat with Troy Ruptash who plays Dreya’s character’s husband in the film, as well as his partner Craig Richey who produced the score – they were two of the nicest, most genuine folks I encountered during the Fest! Bias aside, I’m convinced this flick would do well as a mainstream release and wish the cast the best of luck getting it picked up.
My personal favorite going into the Festival was ‘Four-Faced Liar,’ and its debut at Frameline didn’t let me down! I love the synopsis on the comedy’s Facebook Fan Page: “A girl and a guy walk into a bar. They meet a girl and a guy. The guys talk about the girls. The girl falls for the girl. The guys don’t know…until they do.” That sums it up better than I ever could, particularly because I have an obnoxious school-girl crush on the movie…not to mention the fact that I’m totally impressed with the twentysomethings who wrote and rewrote the screenplay – they’re geniuses! Or just dedicated to their craft. Either is fine by me. But really, Marja-Lewis Ryan (who also plays a lead role in the film) originally wrote this for the stage. The production had a short run, during which someone pointed out that it would make for an excellent screenplay. So, Marja adapted it as such, and the group workshopped it for months prior to finally filming. The cinemetography is so fantastic – it actually reminds me of a film that my very favorite distributer, Focus Features, would release. I’ll toast to the kids who brought this story to life for quite some time, I’m sure.