"The Last Day: No Limits"
by Jed Ryan

The Long Island Gay and Lesbian Film Festival could not have come at a better time. Over the past month, our nation has been bombarded with bad news. As a community, we face the challenge of how we fit into America in these heady times, when our patriotism can sometimes be buffered by the not always respectful treatment that our community has received in the past-- and sadly, continues to receive. At the very least, events like the Festival serve as a distraction from the bad news that we're surrounded with as of late. When we take a closer look, the Festival serves as an important chance to enjoy a wide range of gay and lesbian freedom of expression-- in this case, through film and video. Hopefully, aspiring gay and lesbian filmmakers can gain inspiration for potential visions.

Sunday was the last day of the Festival, offering a diverse lineup of short films and features, concluding with the astonishing "Metrosexuality." Indeed, getting up early on Sunday is never easy, but since the combination of two movies and Brunch is also the most popular day of the Festival, it' s definitely worth it. There were 166 paid guests at the Cinema Arts Centre that day, plus many enthusiastic volunteers who didn't even get a chance to see the movies that day-- they were too busy running around! At 10:00 that morning (Yawn!), there was much-appreciated (and much-needed!) hot coffee, plus bagels, muffins, and ambrosia. Rick Cullen, featured writer for LicktheWeb.com, was a volunteer that day. "I'm impressed with the way it's going this year," he commented. "The first year of the Festival, all hell was breaking loose. We just didn't expect the big crowds-- there were greater numbers than expected. We're more organized now." After breakfast, filmgoers had a choice between the fantasy "Wolves of Kromer," gay male love story "Big Eden," or lesbian love story "Revoir Julie."

"Big Eden" (USA, 2000), which is the name of the Montana town in which the movie takes place, is possibly the most honored film in the history of gay and lesbian film festivals. The movie won The Audience Award for "Best Feature" at Gay and Lesbian Film Festivals in six cities, including San Francisco, Phoenix, New York, and L.A.; as well as Best Film of the Cleveland Festival, Jury Prize for Best Feature at the Miami Festival, and a Jury Prize honoring Eric Schweig as Best Actor. "Big Eden," which was heavily promoted at the New York Pride Parade (Heritage of Pride) this past June, was a big crowd-pleaser, as evidenced by the many teary-eyed and delighted guys seen leaving the theater. Jim Pizzo, Executive Director of the Long Island Pride Parade, Inc., and featured writer on LicktheWeb.com, commented about "Big Eden:" "The movie required some suspension of disbelief... the way the townspeople were pushing for the white guy and the Native-American guy to get together! I guess I didn't expect the people in a small Midwest town to be so... 'enlightened!' It reminded me a little of ''To Wong Foo...' I guess I just wish that there really WAS a town like Big Eden!" Jim then added, "The best written character was the one who couldn't come out-- he was divorced with two kids. He couldn't give his gay friend (who had a crush on him) what he wanted. It was very realistic." Another crowd-pleaser was "Revoir Julie" (Canada, 1998) (translated from French, "Julie and Me"), which Festival Organizer Julia Maresca described as "heartwarming." "The women who left the movie seemed to be glowing!" she adds. The film, a favorite at past gay and lesbian film festivals, is a simple, talky, two-character love story between two women, Julie and Juliet, who haven't seen each other in 15 years! This film features two attractive leads as well as beautiful photography of Quebec's countryside.

It was then time for lunch, a fabulous buffet catered by the Historical Thatched Cottage, who donated the food for the event. (Love that penne a la vodka!) Ralph Colamussi, owner of the Thatched Cottage, and his staff worked extra hard that day to make sure everything went right. Who knew that watching movies all day could make you so hungry? The second feature was a choice between "All Over the Guy" and "Desi's Looking for a New Girl" (USA, 2000). "All Over the Guy" was a big crowd-pleaser. It was also just a little too realistic for many of us in its depiction of gay men and our relationships-- and how our subconscious insecurities put us through much torture on the road to intimacy. In stark contrast, the charismatic straight couple in the movie seem to glide through the whole "getting to know you" process with amazing ease! Many of the viewers deemed this aspect of the film as just a tad too unrealistic! "Desi's Looking for a New Girl," a sexy tale of urban Latina love set in San Francisco's famed Mission district, was another of Julia Maresca's favorites. "The director [Mary Guzman] is Cuban-American, and she stuck with her own background when making this film." Adding to the film's authenticity is that "Desi's Looking for a New Girl" was filmed entirely in Spanglish-- the first feature length movie with this distinction. Julia also pointed out that there's a severe shortage of representation of lesbians of color in the cinema today."It's important to have minorities represented. People want to see themselves positively represented in film." Suzanne Elie, another Festival Organizer, pointed out that the short film "Wavelength" (UK, 1997), the short film shown later that night, had positive representation of British people of color. What was Suzanne's favorite film? "I liked 'Lost and Delirious.'" she responded. Both Julia and Suzanne agreed that there isn't enough cinematic representation of lesbian lives out there. "I'm still looking for the perfect lesbian movie, "stated Julia. "I guess we'll have to just get a camera and make our own!' she laughs. This feeling was echoed by Dee Peterson, who volunteered that day. When asked about her favorite lesbian-themed movie, Dee responds, "It's not written yet! They just don't make good lesbian movies" However, Dee added that the classic "Desert Hearts" comes close. "'Desert Hearts' is a REAL movie. I could identify with it; I had a really similar experience."

After the double feature, we were treated to a segment called "And Now For Something Completely Different." No, this was not a tribute to Monty Python's Flying Circus, although there was a lot of twisted humor which those British clowns would appreciate! This segment was actually a collection of diverse shorts with some truly creative animation. Among the standouts was the New York premiere of "War Story" (USA, 2001), a 30 minute, silent, black-and-white film which was shot with an old-fashioned hand-cranked camera. Lovingly directed by John Baumgartner, this thoroughly charming film tells the tale of a Charlie Chaplin-like, socially awkward yet lovable waiter who sparks a romance with a handsome soldier who's on his way to fight in Europe during World War I. A project like this could easily turn pretentious and/or anachronistic, yet the director of "War Story" gets everything right. The costumes, settings, and mores of the era are flawlessly depicted, as was the slapstick comedy touches. If the audience was cynical at first, by the middle of the movie, we all believed that we were REALLY watching an authentic silent film. The sweet romance between the two leads-- shown by a peck on the cheek, hand holding, a simple love letter, etc.-- really comes through. (Unlike today's "modern" love scenes that try to accomplish that same feeling with two naked, sweaty bodies rolling around on the floor-- not that there's anything wrong with that!), To promote the film, the creators of "War Story" tried to create a "Blair Witch Project"-type buzz on the Internet, touting "War Story" as a rediscovered lost film, and Metly Mooreville, the film's "creator," as an under appreciated genius. Want to learn more? Go to www.metlymoorville.com."

Another standout which had the audience in stitches was "The Rape of Ganymede" (USA, 2000). Although Steven Flynn told me about this short film's origins, it didn't take a rocket scientist to note the similarities between this guilty pleasure and that other naughty cartoon, "South Park"-- this animated short was created by one of South Park's animators, complete with oh-so-sophisticated (smirk!) one-dimensional animation! "The Rape of Ganymede" was Steven's favorite! Based on a passage from "The Iliad" which described Ganymede as, "..the comeliest of mortal men, wherefore the gods carried him off to be Zeus' cup bearer, for his beauty's sake, that he might dwell among the immortals." In modern translation: "Ganymede was a hottie and Zeus was horny. Being the good Greek daddy that he was, Zeus took the little tart up to Mount Olympus and gave him a 'job.'" There's so much outrageous gay humor and sarcastic one-liners packed into the 10 minutes of this short, which mirthfully parallels the idealization of male homosexuality and body consciousness of ancient Greece with the idiosyncrasies of the gay subculture today, incorporating every one of our communities self-imposed stereotypes. We learn that Zeus was a leather daddy; Hera was his jealous wife who frowned upon Zeus' bisexual proclivities and was the original "Mommie Dearest;" Hercules was a shy gym bunny; Apollo was a "circuit queen;" Artemis a "fag hag;" Athena a "diesel dyke;" and Aphrodite a "lipstick lesbian." If you want to learn the REAL history of ancient Greece (what you DIDN'T learn in history class!), check out www.StudioPrometheus.com, the creators of this cartoon.

For no-holes-barred, absolutely politically incorrect humor, the Film Festival welcomed back "Rick and Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in the World."(USA, 2000/2001) Rick and Steve may be Lego characters, but these two find themselves in more hilarious adventures than the "Sex and the City" girls. In one episode, the two invite their lesbian friends over for the bitchiest, cattiest dinner party in the Lego gay community. The lesbian couple, eager to become parents, request that their hosts donate sperm! It's a hilarious parody of how gay men and lesbians perceive each other. In another episode, Rick's parents come to visit-- but Rick is not out to them yet, much to the disapproval of Steve. Moving right along to another episode, Rick and Steve watch a lesbian couple's baby (named "Echinacea"), inadvertently teaching the infant a few new "grown-up" words! Finally, to spice up their sex life, Rick and Steve decide to have a threesome-- now they just have to find the right third guy. This turns out to be a Herculean task, as the two go through MANY potential Lego "candidates" at the bar-- and MANY MORE of the gay stereotypes that we impose upon our own community. OK, the stop-motion animation in "Rick and Steve" may be considered "cheesy" by some, but the cheap look of the animation actually serves to make the series funnier. Absolutely no taboos are left untouched: there are jokes about sperm, male and female anatomy, drugs, militant feminism, and even AIDS jokes and jokes about the handicapped. These characters may be made of Lego, but the language is truly "adults only"-- even the forbidden "C-word" is sprinkled around as liberally as Parmesan cheese on spaghetti. Listen carefully and you'll hear the special guest voices of RuPaul and Guinevere Turner. "Rick and Steve" was brought back to the Film Festival by popular demand-- catch the series when you can! (Just leave your political correctness at the door!)

The finale of the Film Festival was "Metrosexuality" (UK, 2000), shown at 6:45 PM. This ultra-stylized, ultra-colorful, ultra-slick British series, from Britain's Channel 4, takes the sexual freedom of "Queer As Folk" and takes it MANY steps beyond! To call the series "fast-paced" is an understatement. "Metrosexuality" breaks all the barriers of gender, race, sexual orientation, and age. It was a much-needed shot of adrenaline to the audience, and the reward for all those who chose to stay late on the last day of the Festival. When the first episode was shown, it left the audience bewildered and confused-- but absolutely hungry for more. After all, no less than 10 characters were quickly introduced, all of whose lives were somehow intertwined with the others.' Amidst blindingly bright color schemes to match the colorful characters, we meet the cast-- a family of gay men, lesbians, straights, and the sexually ambiguous living in London's Notting Hill. (And you thought that the British were all stuffed shirts!). We meet Max, an ultra-flamboyant, bitchy, statuesque black man (played by the gifted Rikki Beadle-Blair, who also wrote and directed the series) who answers his perpetually ringing cell phone with a sarcastic "Whatever!" and who defies his age (39) by surrounding himself with much younger guys and girls. With his passion for outrageous, androgynous attire and saucy attitude, Max may be off-putting at first, but we soon learn that he's got a heart of gold: he becomes matriarch to the youngsters around him. And boy, does he have his hands full! His son, Kwame, is half Caucasian, straight, 17, and horny-- but so accepting of his gay dad's lifestyle that he tries to get Max back with his ex, Jordan, whom Kwame still refers to as his "stepfather!" Kwame lusts after exotic Caucasian rich girl Asha, and has two absolutely adorable gay best friends-- blond Bambi and dark-haired Dean, each of whom have romantic dramas of their own to deal with. Meanwhile, a young Asian lesbian becomes involved with another young lesbian who just came out, and another interracial lesbian couple deal with what happens when one of the two admits to "having been bisexual" in the past! Oh yeah, there are also some straight couples and characters as well. Think you have it down? You haven't even scratched the surface yet! By the time "Metrosexuality" finished, the audience really got to know the many characters-- and was hungry for more! I have a strong hunch that we'll be hearing a LOT about "Metrosexuality" really soon! However, I'm a little hesitant about the idea of a possible American remake... this is one series that thrives on having no limits-- and makes us love it!

What's the future of the Long Island Gay and Lesbian Film Festival? The number of attendees this year was slightly decreased from 2000, but anyone interpreting this as a decline in interest may be predicting negativity a bit too early. Michael Mulvaney, for one, has an optimistic vision: "I'd like to see October become a sort of 'Gay Pride Month' for the Fall-- between the Film Festival and Coming Out Day." From the crowd- pleasing features "Lost and Delirious" and "Big Eden" to the "no limits" attitude of "Metrosexuality" and some of the animation, I predict that 2002 will be a pivotal year for gay and lesbian cinema-- with many visions ripe for discovery. In addition, hopefully the desire for more lesbian visibility in the Festival will motivate more women to get involved with the Festival. Log onto the Film Festival web site, www.liglff.org, to find out how to get involved.

The Long Island Gay and Lesbian Film Festival: Better Living Through Cinema!

Go to Part 1 of our coverage of the LI Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

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