With 31 features and 19 short film programs being screened—all of them Chicago premieres—the 36th edition of Reeling (the second-oldest LGBTQ film festival in the world) runs September 20-30 at a handful of theaters around the city, including an opening night presentation at the Davis Theater, with an afterparty at the adjoining Carbon Arc Bar. The festival’s final weekend (Sept. 28-30) will take place at the newly restored firehouse headquarters of Chicago Filmmakers, the presenting organization of Reeling while the bulk of screenings (Sept. 21-27) happen at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema.

Reeling Film Festival runs September 20-30 at locations around the city.

British actor/writer/director Rupert Everett (My Best Friend’s Wedding) will walk the red carpet on Thursday, Sept. 27 in support of Reeling’s Special Presentation of his directorial debut, The Happy Prince, in which he stars as Oscar Wilde in the sunset of his life, focusing specifically on writer in exile in Paris, after his conviction for “gross indecency,” and his release from prison in 1897. Estranged from his wife (Emily Watson) and sons, Wilde is haunted by ghosts of the past and supported by his remaining loyal friends, including Reggie (played by Oscar-winner Colin Firth).

In addition, Hong Kong-based director Scud (Voyage, Utopians, Amphetamine), renowned for his provocative, sexually infused films, will be on hand on Tuesday, Sept. 25 for the North American premiere of his seventh feature, Adonis, the story of a handsome young actor who descends into a world of hedonism after partaking in an infamous gay adult film. Filled with the mind-blowing visuals for which Scud is known, this may be the director’s most provocative work.

The festival’s Opening Night offering is Freelancers Anonymous, a lesbian screwball comedy filmed in Chicago, starring Lisa Cordileone and Chicago-area native Alexandra Billings (Transparent, Goliath). Cordileone is expected to attend the opening night festivities along with other cast members. On Friday, Sept. 21, Reeling will also present the Chicago premieres of the hotly anticipated biopic Mapplethorpe, starring Matt Smith (Dr. Who, The Crown) as the controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, with Marianne Rendon (Imposters) portraying onetime-girlfriend Patti Smith.

“Hood by Air” fashion designer Leilah Weinraub’s incendiary documentary debut Shakedownalso screens on Sept. 21, with the festival’s Narrative Centerpiece, Wild Nights with Emily, starring Molly Shannon as Emily Dickinson, showing on Sunday, Sept. 23. Studio 54, the history of the infamous 1970s-era nightclub from director Matt Tyrnauer (Valentino, Scotty Bowers and the Secret History of Hollywood) closes the fest on Sunday, Sept. 30, followed by an afterparty featuring disco music, dancing, and food catered by Goddess & Grocers.

The Miss Continental Pageant and the Baton Show Lounge—both Chicago institutions for decades—are profiled in Reeling’s Documentary Centerpiece selection, The Queens. Director Mark Saxenmeyer focuses on the 35-year-old pageant and explores the subculture of competitive female impersonation in all its glittery glory while delving into the rich history of The Baton Show Lounge, the Windy City’s historic female illusion showplace (now in its 49th year). Saxenmeyer and cast members will be present at the screening, which is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 24.

Other films reflecting on life in the 1970s and ’80s include Canary (Kanarie), set in apartheid-era South Africa, about a small-town boy who is drafted into the military and finds solace with other misfits in the military’s traveling choir; it will screen Friday, Sept. 21. In addition, there is Riot (Saturday, Sept. 22), a drama about Australia’s version of Stonewall, the Mardi Gras riot, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The impact of the AIDS crisis is revisited in the emotionally powerful new drama 1985 (Wednesday, Sept. 26 ), which stars Cory Michael Smith, Virginia Madsen and Michael Chiklis; as well as in a film that was created in 1985, Buddies (Monday, Sept. 24), the first American feature about AIDS, directed by Arthur Bressan, Jr. who later died of an AIDS-related illness. The film is showing at Reeling in a newly restored, digital print, 33 years after it was the Opening Night film of the 5th edition of the festival.

Adding to the international scope of the festival are two films about summer encounters that cross ethnic borders. In the Dutch film Just Friends (Saturday, Sept. 22 ), sparks fly between a Middle Eastern medical student and a young man he meets in a small Dutch city he visits over the summer. In A Moment in the Reeds (Tuesday, Sept. 25), the first independent LGBT film made in Finland, the relationship between a Syrian asylum seeker and the son of his Finnish employer erotically unfolds during an idyllic Finnish summer. The fraught relationship between two young men is under threat of crumbling when they go on holiday in the Greek film He Loves Me (Sunday, September 23); while the relationship between two women (Oona Chaplin, Game of Thrones, Black Mirror) and Kat (Natlia Tena) is tested when one of them wants to have a child and the other doesn’t in the Spanish film Anchor and Hope (Saturday, Sept. 22), which features Oona’s real-life mother Geraldine Chaplin as her mother in the film. The Brazilian film Christabel (Wednesday, Sept. 26), making its North American Premiere, takes us to the tropical savanna for a Gothic tale of supernatural romance inspired by the legendary Coleridge poem.

Comedies in the festival include the boisterous Italian film My Big, Gay Italian Wedding(Monday, Sept. 24), based on the long-running Off Broadway show, in which a gay couple’s road to the altar is paved with hijinks and hilarity; Still Waiting in the Wings (Saturday, Sept. 22), a frothy musical about young men pursuing their Broadway dreams, featuring cameos by a host of familiar faces (Chita Rivera, Ed Asner, Patricia Richardson, Cindy Williams, Lee Meriwether, Bruce Vilanch, Sally Struthers); and the German film Country Noise (Tuesday, Sept. 25), about a young pink-haired urbanite who returns home to her small German town and shakes things up when she reconnects with her trombone-playing childhood friend. Reeling also presents the World Premiere of Analysis Paralysis (Thursday, September 27), focusing on a man searching for love while struggling with his anxiety disorder.

American Indies are well-represented in Reeling, with Funny Story (Thursday, Sept. 27), about a father and daughter both involved with the daughter’s fiancée; Kill the Monsters(Wednesday, Sept. 26), a sexy road trip drama focused on a three-way relationship; the eye-popping, wildly offbeat tale of twisted love Daddy Issues (Saturday, Sept. 22), a lesbian dramedy that has been described as the lovechild of Wes Anderson and David Lynch; Alaska Is a Drag (Sunday, Sept. 23), which follows the dreams of a budding female impersonator working in a fish cannery by day (and featuring a hilarious cameo by Margaret Cho); Devil’s Path (Sunday, Sept. 23), a creepy thriller about a killer stalking men in a gay trysting spot in the forest; and the lesbian inter-generational drama Snapshots (Saturday, Sept. 22), starring Piper Laurie, Brooke Adams and Emily Baldoni.

Documentaries in the festival include: Call Her Ganda (Sunday, Sept. 23), the riveting and heartbreaking story of the murder of a trans woman in the Philippines; Conversations with Gay Elders: Kerby Lauder (Sunday, Sept. 23), a fascinating, in-depth examination of one man’s life conducted by queer history filmmaker David Weissman (We Were Here, The Cockettes); In My Room (Saturday, Sept. 22), an intimate look at six teenagers who post videos to YouTube; The Rest I Make Up (Monday, Sept. 24), a loving portrait of esteemed nine-time Obie Award winning playwright Maria Irene Fornes by her protégé, as the writer is struggling with dementia; and Leitis In Waiting (Saturday, Sept. 22), the story of an intrepid group of transgender women fighting intolerance in their South Pacific home of Tonga.

In addition to the feature lineup, Reeling will present 19 short film programs scattered throughout the programming, with the final weekend of the festival at Chicago Filmmakers focusing almost entirely on shorts, making this the most short films ever presented by the festival.

For the full schedule, in-depth descriptions of every film, and links to purchase advance tickets, go to the Reeling website.

The post Reeling 2018: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival – 31 Features But Only One With A Cameo By Bruce Vilanch first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Time: Event starts at 7:00pm on June 7th

Ticket Price: $10–$50 / show

The Observatory – North Park
2891 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92104

7:30pm  MEN’S CENTERPIECE

Saturday, June 9th, 2018 

Still Waiting in the Wings

Year: 2018 | Country: USA | Run Time: 109 min | Director: Q. Allan Brocka

Still Waiting In The Wings follows the trials and triumphs of of actors waiting tables in Times Square. While dreaming of the Broadway stage, the reality of slinging hash under florescent lights mixes sweet aspirations with bitter drama. There’s no people like show people and there’s no telling what can happen when they’re pitted against each other. Nick Adams, Ed Asner, Carole Cook, Lee Meriwether, Patricia Richardson, Chita Rivera, Seth Rudetsky, Sally Struthers, Bruce Vilanch, and Cindy Williams round out this heartwarming homage to Broadway with some delightful cameos.

TRAILER: Click Here

Ticket Price: $10.00

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Date: June 7th–10th, 2018

Time: Event starts at 7:00pm on June 7th

Ticket Price: $10–$50 / show

The Observatory – North Park
2891 University Ave, San Diego, CA 92104

5:30pm  

Saturday, June 9th, 2018

The Fabulous Allan Carr

Year: 2017 | Country: USA | Run Time: 90 min | Director: Jeffrey Schwarz

Armed with a limitless Rolodex and a Benedict Canyon enclave with its own disco, this documentary shows how Allan Carr threw the Hollywood parties that defined the 1970s. A producer, manager, and marketing genius, Carr built his bombastic reputation amid a series of successes including the mega hit musical film GREASE and the Broadway sensation LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, (and then Can’t Stop The Music, Grease 2 and Where The Boys Are ’84) until it all came crashing down after he produced the notorious debacle of the 1989 Academy Awards. Interviewees include: Patricia Birch, Maxwell Caulfield, Steve Guttenberg, Nikki Haskell, Randy Jones, Randal Kleiser, Sherry Lansing, Lorna Luft, Michael Musto, Robert Osborne, Brett Ratner, Connie Stevens, Alana Stewart, Marlo Thomas & Bruce Vilanch.

TRAILER: Click Here

Ticket Price: $10.00

BUY TICKETS

The post Saturday, June 9th, 2018 – 2018 LGBT Film Festival San Diego – The Fabulous Allan Carr – 5:30 PM first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

It’s a Golden Opportunity to support The Playhouse at the Judy Gold show! Donate your gold and silver rings, bracelets and necklaces to The Ridgefield Playhouse at the Gold and Silver Give Back Event before the Judy Gold and Bruce Vilanch show on January 27! Veteran jeweler Steve Delzio of The Mexican Shack will be in the lobby from 6:30-8pm to accept your jewelry as a fundraiser for The Ridgefield Playhouse, which is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit.

From 6:30 – 8pm, patrons will have the opportunity to donate real gold or silver jewelry that they no longer want and 100% of the donation will benefit The Ridgefield Playhouse. Mr. Delzio is unable to accept donations of diamonds, precious gems, or gold or silver-plated jewelry at this time. Patrons can bring their real gold or silver jewelry to his table for an appraisal. He’ll remove any precious gems and return them, and then weigh the precious metal and tell them the value of the piece. All donors will receive a tax donation letter for their records.

Mr. Delzio will also showcase some of his own jewelry, which will be available for purchase. Mr. Delzio has been in the jewelry and precious metals business for more than 43 years and sells both fine jewelry and Native-American inspired jewelry at The Mexican Shack in Somers, New York.

A full cash bar will be open in the lobby of The Playhouse during the Gold and Silver Give Back Event and donors are welcome to enjoy a cocktail hour in the lobby and stay for the comedy show, which begins at 8pm. For tickets ($39.50), call or visit the box office, 203-438-5795 or go online at ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a non-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.

JUDY GOLD is an Emmy Award-winning actress and comedian, best known as the star of her two critically acclaimed, long-running Off-Broadway hit shows, including 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother. Judy recently appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” can be seen on the new Showtime series “I’m Dying Up Here” and Netflix’s “Friends From College.” She has recurring roles on Pop TV’s “NightCap!” and TBS’s “Search Party.” Judy is the host of the hit podcast “Kill Me Now” on CBS’ play.it and iTunes.

BRUCE VILANCH is a six-time Emmy Award-winning comic who’s best known for his four-year stint as a celebrity participant on “Hollywood Squares.” His stand-up routine draws on his years of being a Hollywood insider and earned him the role of head writer for the Oscars — writing for hosts Billy Crystal, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin and others. He’s also worked as a comedy writer for other award shows, television series and variety specials.

The post A Golden Opportunity to Support The Ridgefield Playhouse at The Judy Gold and Bruce Vilanch show on January 27 first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

The Pittsburgh International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival opens Friday at the SouthSide Works Cinema and runs through Oct. 23. Here’s a sampling of movies playing during the first week (reviews are 1 to 4 stars).

‘ Going Down in La La Land‘

3 stars = Good
Ratings explained
The situations are cliched, the plot somewhat predictable, but Swedish director-actor Casper Andreas has adapted Andy Zeffer‘s 2006 wistfully comic novel with such a light touch that the action moves swiftly, and the characters seem to jump off the screen.

Handsome New Yorker Adam (Matthew Ludwinski) drives to Los Angeles with hopes of becoming a movie star. He finds he can’t get work as an actor, can’t even hold a dead-end day job until a drug-addicted gym bunny — vividly played by Mr. Andreas — gets Adam work in the porn industry.

Adam starts as a secretary, quickly becomes a reluctant star, but he finds his niche when he goes as an “escort” to a handsome TV actor John (Michael Medico) who hires Adam as his assistant when the two begin to have real feelings for each other.

The catch is that rich-and-famous John plays an all-American father figure on his show, and his career might not survive hints of his being gay. Will he dump Adam when the going gets rough or tough it out and acknowledge his sexuality? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the conclusion. Don’t miss the marvelous cameo appearance by Bruce Vilanch as an over-the-top porn film maker.

‘ August’

1 1/2 stars = Bad
Ratings explained
Director Eldar Rapaport has created a dismally pretentious, tedious and trite tale about a drifter named Troy (Murray Bartlett), who returns from Barcelona to rekindle a relationship with his former partner, Jonathan (Daniel Dugan). The problem is that Jonathan is now happily partnered with a handsome Latino, Raul (Adrian Gonzalez), and the results are, to say the least, complicated. They are also predictable.

Not much happens, other than the predictable triangle issues, a threesome and the fickle and feckless Troy going back to Barcelona at the end. Mr. Rapaport unfolds the story very slowly, using techniques that recall among other directors of the past, Alain Resnais (“Last Year in Marienbad“).

The film’s 105 minutes seem at least twice that long, but there is some interesting Middle Eastern-influenced music on the soundtrack to make the lacunae in dialogue go by a bit more easily.

‘ The Sleeping Beauty of East Finchley’

3 stars = Good
Ratings explained
Writer-director Seamus Rea has created a moving tale of a lonely London spinster (Josie Walker) who works at a dead-end job and cares for her aged mother, finding her only refuge in singing along with Jessye Norman tapes in the solitude of her bedroom. One day her mother’s nurse, Trish, a member of the local lesbian choir, hears her singing and realizes that Joan has a beautiful voice and real musicality.

When Trish brings Joan to a rehearsal, Joan resists joining, shouting, “I am not a lesbian.” When she does join, she finds she has further qualms, including a budding yet unspoken attachment to Trish.

Whether the lady is protesting too much or whether she’s found her niche is the province of the remainder of this brief and charming film, acted with conviction by an excellent cast and filmed with an unpretentious simplicity that rings true.

Robert Croan is a Post-Gazette senior editor.

First published on October 13, 2011 at 12:00 am

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