A Scene from Two Minutes Later.

...at Frameline 31, the San Francisco LGBT Film Festival

As someone who has “kvelled”* over the wonders of the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival for some 20-odd years, often in print, I approach this article with a great deal of trepidation. I am an itty bitty titty bit annoyed. Why? you may ask. There will be eye candy galore at Frameline 31, which runs from June 14-24, and who knows, maybe I will have an adventure in a porta-potty like one of my friends did a few years ago. Or better yet, some filmmaker will cruise me, and the rest just might go down in the annals of Frameline history.

But, no. I really feel quite ambivalent about Frameline and the festival this year. For the first time in the all of the festival’s history, the programmers have chosen to screen a film, invited the film, described it in the catalog and then, because of outside pressure, and the festival has decide to yank what five minutes before they were calling art. What is going on? Word is that this film, GENDERCATOR, by Catherine Crouch, is transphobic. With 230 feature and short films in this festival, one 20 minute science fiction satire cannot be shown to our community because we are deemed to be unable to read a film’s point of view and unable to discern a film director’s bias, for better or for worse.

Reading the festival catalog, I wonder whether Board President Linda Harrison and Managing Director Matt Westendorf want to retract their message to festival goers, “Frameline has always represented voices that have been silenced, ignored or discounted. We will continue to expand this commitment with innovative programs and a dedication to showcasing the wonderful diversity of our community.”

Curiosity just might kill the cat. Whoever books Catherine Crouch’s short film will make a killing. I see the marketing copy now. CENSORED IN SAN FRANCISCO!!!!!

I betcha the Israeli producers of The Bubble (June 18, Castro) wishes their film was pulled. The film by Eyton Fox is being called a modern day queer Romeo and Juliet. It features a Palestinian gay man (the only Palestinian gay man in the film) who by the end of the film decides to become a suicide bomber. To date, I have not heard that the Arab American LGBT community has asked Frameline to pull this year’s “Centerpiece” film because it is anti-Arab-American. Hmmm, maybe they should.

Of course, it ain’t all that bad. The festival programmers have taken an extremely courageous stance with their decision to program one of my favorites, director Lizzie Borden’s 1983 classic Born in Flames (June 22, Roxie). I still remember the sizzle and excitement I felt when I saw it 24 years ago. Starring Honey, Adele Bertei, civil rights activist Flo Kennedy and film director Katheryn Bigelow, Frameline 31 is taking their chances on this one big time and snubbing their noses at the United States government who, by the way, is one of the funders of the festival.

Born in Flames is a must see! The gritty futuristic feminist drama tells the story of radical women activists who conspire to destroy the antenna on the roof of the World Trade Center. The decision to show this film has probably put Frameline on a no-fly Homeland Security list. Who knows - showing this film just might get the Frameline mafia hauled to Guantanamo on charges of promoting terrorism! So let’s give them a pat on the back before they are disappeared.

So I will wear my ambivalence about the festival on my shirt sleeve but will still probably be found in front of the Castro, the Roxie, the Victoria and the Parkway (Oakland) this year checking out the movies.

The Opening night film, The Witnesses (June 14, Castro) by Andre Techine, the French filmmaker who brought us Wild Reeds, is sure to be a crowd pleaser. And Producer, Andrea Sperling will mount the Castro stage on June 24 to receive the 2007 Frameline Award. Andrea has produced more than 17 feature films, including D.E.B.S., But I’m a Cheerleader, some of the early films of Gregg Araki and this year’s closing night film, Itty Bitty Titty Committee.

I have heard that Itty Bitty Titty Committee by director Jaime Babbitt is terrific and funny as well, and no wonder, the director has been quoted as saying she was inspired by Born in Flames, oh so many years ago.

There are sure to some unforgettable documentaries, and among them I will recommend Abigail Child’s film On the Down Low (Saturday, June 23, Victoria), Black White + Gray (June 21, Victoria) about the relationship between curator Sam Wagstaff and photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, Red Without Blue (June 17 ,Victoria; June 20, Castro) and Bears (June 17, Castro) which follows contestants as they prepare for the Mr. International Bear Contest.

Make sure to watch out for the Taiwanese film Spider Lilies (June 15, Castro, June 19, Parkway), 25 Cent Preview by Cyrus Amini, with great memorable performances from Merlin Gaspers and Dorian Brockington and Eternal Summer (June 16, Victoria, June 20, The Parkway).
Next week, we’ll give you some more details about many of the aforementioned films, and in case you are wondering the definition of *kvelling—here it is in Yiddish—it means  “to be bursting with pride; to boast; to gloat.”