2008 PRIDE Film
Selections
The
PRIDE Film Festival
has gained a reputation for the quality of its offerings
and 2008 is no exception.
This year over 100 films
were submitted to the 2008 PRIDE Committee. The
Committee was comprised of a 25 member group
representing a diverse range of Bloomington's
population and each submitted film was viewed and rated by
the committee members. Four separate programs of films will
make up this year's festival, with each screening to
include one feature length film and a variety of shorts-
for a total of 30 films over three days!
THURS
DAY 1/24:
8PM to 11PM
Love
is Love
(USA, 2007, 7 min., dir. Anne Renton)
Imagine a world where gay is normal, and straight people
must hide the love that dare not speak its name!
The
Essay Assignment
(USA, 2006, 5 min., dir. Jennifer Lin)
A 14-year-old Asian girl, who lives in a small
conservative town in Ohio, shares her views on gays and
gay marriage. Her essay on same-sex marriage causes
controversy in her middle school class.
Four
Feet
(Canada, 2007, 3 min., dir. Andrea Blundell)
As Veronica ponders her current relationship, a psychic
appears out of nowhere and gives her an answer she never
expected.
Hitchcocked
(USA, 2006, 8 min., dir. David M. Young)
Al and Fred hook up for a little casual fun that soon
turns ugly, revealing some fateful truths about Internet
dating, love, and death.
Airplanes
(USA, 2006, 10 min., dir. Jen Heck)
Airplanes tells the love story of two teenage girls from
the moment they first see each other to their eventual
break-up. An educational-style voice-over discusses the
science and art of flight, while the characters, — like
airplanes themselves — take off, struggle to fly, and
eventually come in for an emergency landing.
Enraged
By A Picture
(South Africa, 2005, 13 min., dir. Zanele Muholi)
Out of the political tumult of South Africa comes
Enraged by a Picture. The film explores the fallout from
photographer Zanele Muholi’s first solo exhibition,
which sought to illuminate the hidden bodies of black,
South African lesbians.
-
Intermission
The Bubble
(Israel, 2005, 117 min., dir. Eytan Fox)
AWARDED THE 2008 JURY PRIZE: Three young Israelis, two
guys and a girl, share an apartment in Tel Aviv’s
hippest neighborhood. Trying to put aside political
conflicts and focus on their lives and loves, these
progressive twenty-somethings are accused of living in a
sort of escapist bubble.
FRIDAY 1/25:
7PM to 10PM
Billy's
Dad Is A Fudge Packer
(USA, 2004, 10 min., dir. Jamie Donahue)
In her first non-acting effort, writer/director Jamie
Donahue parodies the 1950s high-school educational film.
Rock
Pockets
(Canada, 2007, 5 min., dir. Trevor Anderson)
A short, personal documentary disguised as meta-music
video. A sugar rush of sex, politics, and rock ’n’ roll
as seen through the eyes of a 10-year-old boy at the
fair.
VGL-Hung
(UK, 2007, 20 min., dir. Max Barber)
Terry is an average gay guy searching for love.
Suddenly, given the powers to change his body to
anything he describes himself as online, Terry conjures
up an array of gorgeous looks for himself. But, as he
embarks on a string of sexual encounters, Terry must
discover the hard way that beauty really is only skin
deep.
Happenstance
(USA, 2007, 8 min., dir. Joyce Draganosky)
Beth discovers she has a lot in common with her son’s
new girlfriend.
A
Girl Named Kai
(USA, 2005, 8 min., dir. Kai Ling Xue)
Shot in a fast-paced style, A Girl Named Kai follows Kai
and her search for love, fame, and her identity across
four countries.
Today
I Become A Man
(USA, 2007, 9 min., dir. Mocha Jean Herrup)
A nine-minute documentary about a man who tries to pass
as a “real” drag king by pretending to be a woman
pretending to be a man.
My
Last Ten Hours With You
(Australia, 2007, 15 min., dir. Sophie Hyde)
It is the final night of Mark and Jeremy’s relationship
— they wait it out by drinking, fucking, and fighting
their way around each other, trying to find a way to say
goodbye.
Attack
(UK, 2005, 7 min., dir. by Timothy Smith)
A neo-Nazi skinhead is apprehended for attacking two
black teenage boys. As we are taken backwards through
the story we realize that things may not be as black and
white as they appear.
Black
Men & Me
(Canada, 2006, 6 min., dir. Michèle Clarke)
A woman explores her position as a Trinidadian dyke and
her complex relationship with black men. Shot in a
barbershop, a traditional gathering place for black men,
she has her head shaved while she reflects on her black
masculinity.
-
Intermission
Cruel and Unusual
(USA, 2006, 64 min., dir. Janet Baus, Dan Hunt, Reid
Williams)
AWARDED THE 2008 ALFRED C. KINSEY PRIZE: This film
follows five male-to-female transgender women
incarcerated in men’s prisons across the U.S. from
Wyoming to New Jersey and Florida. The women are denied
medical and psychological treatment and are victims of
rape and violence. The documentary Cruel and Unusual
asks if the punishment for their crime is indeed cruel
and unusual.
FRIDAY 1/25:
10:30PM to 12:30AM
- ADULTS
ONLY
Trannymals
Go To Court
(USA, 2007, 13 min., dir. Abe Bernard, Dylan Vade)
The witty, talking genitals are back with a tale about a
young trannymal who wants to join the men’s baking club.
Unfortunately, due to transphobic laws, he cannot; so
the trannymals must go to court.
His Name Is Cosmo
(USA, 2006, 18 min., dir. Nicole Opper)
A screwball comedy about a lesbian couple and the
unlikely character that threatens to come between them.
Seven
Secrets To Perfect Porn
(UK, 2006, 32 min., dir. Max Barber)
A tongue-in-cheek look at the changing face of the
United Kingdom’s gay porn industry since changes in the
law in 2001.
Enough
Man
(USA, 2006, 61 min., dir. Luke Woodward)
Documentary meets explicit sexuality in Luke Woodward’s
groundbreaking debut video about body image,
relationships, sex, and sexuality from the perspective
of nine female-to-male transgender men and their
partners. Featuring health educators, college students,
sex workers, activists, and artists, Enough Man
navigates the terrain between objectivity and personal
identity, allowing viewers into some of the most
personal and rarely discussed areas of transgender life.
SATURDAY 1/26:
2:30PM to 5:00PM
The
Gendercator
(USA, 2007, 15 min., dir. Catherine Crouch)
The
Gendercator is a short, satirical take on gender and
social norms. The story uses the “Rip van Winkle” model
to extrapolate from the past into a possible future.
Also included is the award-winning short documentary Mind If I Call You
Sir?, and the short documentary Thorn In
Your Side. The screenings will be followed by a
panel discussion and Q&A with internationally recognized
and distinguished scholars Judith Halberstam, Professor of English and
Director of Women’s Studies at University of Southern
California; Susan Stryker, 2007–2008 Ruth Wynn Woodward
Chair in Women’s Studies at Simon Fraser University; and
Suzanna Walters, Professor and Chair of Indiana
University’s Gender Studies Department.
SATURDAY 1/26:
7:00PM to 10:00PM
41
Seconds
(Germany, 2006, 4 min., dir. Rodney Sewell)
A friendly phone calls becomes a debate about which boy
is the better kisser. There’s only one way to decide.
What
Hot Guy?
(USA, 2006, 3 min. by Mary Thompson)
Susan wakes up from a night of partying to find her
world is a very different place from what she
remembered.
Breakdance
Hunx
(Canada, 2006, 5 min., dir. John Caffery, Sarah Haywood)
An homage to the cyclists of the world and routes less
traveled. Referencing The Smiths, Run DMC, and Kenneth
Anger, this video follows six bike gangs through back
alleys and side streets and culminates in the ultimate
dance battle.
Love Struck
(USA, 2006, 2 min., dir. Susan Ali)
Cupid’s arrow has a near miss.
Casting
Pearls
(USA, 2007, 7 min., dir. by Andrea James)
A sharp, funny comedic short from the perspective of a
male-to-female transgender woman actress doing her best
to stay human while trying to make a living in
Hollywood.
My
First Time Driving
(USA, 2007, 18 min., dir. Rebecca Feldman)
Rachel wants to take the wheel but her mother can’t let
go.
A Trip To Prague
(USA, 2006, 4 min., dir. by Neil Ira Needleman)
A nice, Jewish gay guy meets a nice, Jewish couple while
traveling who want to introduce him to their nice,
Jewish daughter. A funny, poignant story with a nice,
Jewish — and gay — ending.
Prada
Handbag
(Australia, 2007, 22 min., dir. Stuart Vauvert)
What’s a girl to do when a rare hair-loss condition
leaves her with an obsession for zany wigs and make-up?
Become a drag queen of course!
- Intermission
Quarryland LIVE performance,
15 min.
Itty
Bitty Titty Committee
(USA, 2007, 87 min., dir. Jamie Babbit)
Director Jamie Babbit once again has her finger on the
pulse of queer culture with this wry romantic comedy in
which anarchic punk twenty-somethings vivaciously
vandalize patriarchal symbols under the name of the
C(I)A — Clits in Action. Enlisted in the Clits’ cause is
an all-star lesbian supporting cast including Daniela
Sea, Guinevere Turner, and Jenny Shimizu, with cameos by
Clea Duvall and Melanie Lynskey. Set to the inspiring
riot grrl music of Sleater-Kinney, Bikini Kill, and Le
Tigre, Itty Bitty Titty Committee isn’t your traditional
feminist film. Instead, it’s an ode to grrl power for
the gender-bending queer punk generation.
