Frameline 33, San Francisco's International LGBT Film Festival, is in full swing, giving Bay Area moviegoers a wealth of terrific options for their entertainment dollar from now until June 28's closing-night bash at the Terra Gallery. Here's a list of seven official selections to check out this week.
1. Not Fade Away
Where:Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th St., 415-863-7576
When: June 20
Why: First-time feature filmmakers Susan and Wayne Boyer direct two-time Oscar nominee Shirley Knight (Sweet Bird of Youth) and newcomer Liz Jahren in Not Fade Away, a sharply observant drama shot on location in Geyserville about a thirtysomething photographer dealing with her mother’s Alzheimer’s and her girlfriend’s untimely lack of understanding.
2. Get Happy
Where:Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., 415-863-1087
When: June 20
Why:Get Happy, a 27-minute documentary about acclaimed singer, stage performer and clothing designer Mark Payne, headlines an evening of deliciously campy short-length comedies including Steven Corfe and Glenn Gaylord’s Little BFFs, a twisted puppet show featuring the likeness of Miley Cyrus; Galactic Sex Wars, in which Christian fundamentalists battle homosexual separatists in space; and Lipstique, a music video and makeup tutorial starring San Francisco drag sensations Fauxnique and Peaches Christ.
3. Prodigal Sons
Where:The Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., 415-621-6120
When: June 24
Why: Winner of the Special Jury Prize for Fearless Filmmaking at the Florida Film Festival and hailed by Variety’s Todd McCarthy as “a film that will fascinate inquisitive viewers on multiple levels,” Kimberly Reed’s debut documentary redefines the term “stranger than fiction.” Returning to her native Montana for the first time in two decades – after having left there a star quarterback named Paul – the transsexual Reed overcomes her misgivings about going home again with surprising ease, but faces a greater challenge in her attempts to reconcile with an adopted, brain-damaged brother prone to disquieting mood swings.
4. My Buddy Claudia
Where:Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., 415-863-1087; The Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., 415-621-6120
When: June 21 and June 23
Why: Brazilian icon Claudia Wonder rose to prominence during the ’70s as the first transvestite to act in mainstream soft-core; since then, she has been an outspoken supporter of sex workers, a celebrated author and even an accomplished punk rocker. Dacio Pinheiro’s gripping documentary follows her every step of the way and pays tribute to her remarkable legacy, which remains still very much in the making.
5. City of Borders
Where:Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., 415-863-1087
When: June 23
Why: The struggle for LGBT acceptance in a land dominated by religious fundamentalism and the intolerance it sometimes breeds – specifically, the border of Jerusalem and Ramallah – is the subject of Yun Jong Suh’s riveting and defiantly hopeful documentary.
6. Pornography
Where:Victoria Theatre, 2961 16th St., 415-863-7576
When: June 21
Why: David Kittredge’s tense psychological thriller finds two young men – one a New York author, the other a well-established L.A. porn star – chasing the ghost of an adult-film legend whose mysterious vanishing act turns out to be rooted in the supernatural.
7. It Came from Kuchar
Where: The Castro Theatre, 429 Castro St., 415-621-6120
When: June 21
Why: Renowned underground filmmakers George (Hold Me While I’m Naked, Pussy on a Hot Tin Roof) and Mike Kuchar (I Was a Teenage Rumpot, Sins of the Fleshpoids) get their due in this hilarious new documentary, which features rich archival footage, interviews with big-screen luminaries including Buck Henry, John Waters and Atom Egoyan, and candid, insightful commentary courtesy of the brothers themselves.