Lucas Alifano as Mark in The Lost Coast

Two queer films, both set and shot in San Francisco, are out on DVD this month. And both are worth owning.

Bisexual writer/director Gabriel Fleming’s The Lost Coast is an excellent independent drama. Jasper (Ian Scott McGregor) is a straight young man who, while engaged to be married, spends Halloween in the Castro with his gay best friend Mark (Lucas Alifano). Mark’s ex-girlfriend Lily (Lindsay Benner), and Mark’s gay pal Caleb (Chris Yule) are also along for the crazy night. When Lily reveals to Caleb that Jasper and Mark “fooled around” back in high school, the dynamics among the friends change. 

The San Francisco based Fleming and Alifano talked about their experiences making The Lost Coast, which was fraught with difficulties. 

“For me, the craziest night was shooting in the Castro because we were surrounded by thousands of drunken people,” recalls Alifano. “We were in the middle of shooting and this random guy, glittery, all covered in crushed hard candy—licorice and candy canes, stuck all over his body—started yelling at me. He had a bottle of this syrup and asked if I wanted some. He squirted my hand with a glob of this stuff and then took his face and buried it in my hands and started tonguing me.”

Fleming adds, “Yeah, we tried to get a release from [“candy man”] and it came back—all covered in candy.” Suffice it to say, that episode did not make it into the film. 

But other scenes of Mark and Jasper wrestling or swimming in a pond did, and these were equally grueling to film.

“That particular day was freezing! And I had to jump off the cliff into the pond eight times,” boasts Alifano. 

“It was four times,” corrects Fleming. 

“It felt like 8,” the actor continues. “Then I had to go walk back to [the top of the cliff] in tighty-whiteys and I was deep into hypothermia. Ian [his co-star] and I were freezing our nuts off. Ian asked if I was OK at one point, because my face was purple!”

Fleming relents. “Yeah, I had to tell him to stop shivering while the cameras were on. By the way, I was in a full wetsuit. I was warm and fine.” 

The banter between these guys is also in evidence when they talk about a prop that plays a notable part in the film—the dildo Mark uses to augment his “flasher” costume for Halloween.

Alifano laughs at the question of who got to keep the dildo. “I just asked that to Gabe in the theatre here in San Francisco!”

Fleming clarifies, “He asked if I still have it. I think he wants it.” 

“I am attached to it. That dildo was a lot of fun,” retorts the actor.     

“I have it,” Fleming admits. “We had to get two of them. I have every costume element in case we had to reshoot. I guess I can through it all out now.” 

The filmmaker may be displaying a sense of caution in regard to his preparation for the shoot, but the actual filming was fraught with drama. Fleming remembers—and not fondly—about making the film in the rainiest month in San Francisco. “Everything was wet and cold and muddy. The worst night was on top of the hill. We didn’t have permits, and the cops came, but one of the cops got this emergency call and sped off. Lucas had a 102 degree temperature, and he had to wrestle in the cold mud for an hour and a half at two in the morning.”

Nevertheless, the cast and crew’s efforts are worthwhile. The Lost Coast is a real find—an incredibly assured film, buoyed by an impressive and atmospheric “shoegaze” soundtrack, beautiful handheld cinematography and a quietly powerful ending. Don’t miss it.

Set in a beautiful San Francisco, populated almost entirely by same-sex couples, And Then Came Lola, out on DVD May 18, is a fun and funky homage to Run, Lola, Run. Yes, a raven-haired beauty named Lola races through the city streets and against the clock.

 The title character (Ashleigh Sumner) has to get photographs from her ex (Jessica Graham of 2 Minutes Later) to her girlfriend Casey (Jill Bennett).

Casey is giving them to her ex, Danielle (Cathy DeBuono) in hopes of a job. And if first Lola doesn’t succeed, it’s try, try again. Like the German film on which it’s based, And Then Came Lola is formatted as a triptych, with different scenarios and outcomes all mirroring Lola’s internal struggle to commit to her relationship with Casey—or not. Writers/directors Ellen Seidler and Megan Siler are smart—and sassy—enough to blend in lesbian relationship angst (as seen in a series of “therapy” sessions), as well as fantasy scenes and animation to concoct a delightful romp that also raises questions about how these various women care for and about each other. They are aided immensely by the adorable Sumner’s star-making performance. She encounters her every obstacle with a palpable sense of determination and gusto that makes viewers root for her. Sumner is aided by uniformly fine work by the sexy supporting cast. Run out to get this one.