Call it spreading the love! After 25 years with the Tampa Theater, the dynamic Tampa Bay Gay International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (TIGLFF) now will offer events at different venues throughout Florida’s west coast. The launch party is this Saturday, Sept. 12, hosted at the Dali Museum. Most the big events from Oct. 2 through Oct. 10 will be at The Palladium – including a show with lesbian comic and chanteuse Lea DeLaria on Saturday, Oct. 3. Movies will play in theaters in Tampa, St. Pete, and Gulfport throughout the nine-day festival. Tickets and information are available at TIGLFF.com
TIGLFF is still working the details of their impressive festival; they currently have 33 LBGT films from the last 3 years. They gave us an early peek, so fans could start flagging must-see films. Here are four flicks they feature that we thought you might like. More movies will be highlighted here at Watermark Online as the festival approaches.
Kiss Me, Kill Me – Opening Night Film
Gale Harold’s first gay role since Queer as Folk is a noir-ish, twisted murder mystery. When Dusty (Van Hansis of As the World Turns) confronts boyfriend Stephen (Harold) about his infidelity, the couple fight. Dusty blacks out and wakes up later to find Stephen murdered. Of course, Dusty is a prime suspect, along with the rest of gay West Hollywood.
Director Casper Andreas usually makes light gay comedies (Slutty Summer). Writer David Michael Barrett scribes light, B-movie scripts (Bad Actress). Murder mysteries are a new game for them.
KMKM shoots for a Hitchcock vibe, but it’s got the rich neon sheen of an 80s flick and the twistedness of Pedro Almodóvar. Using actors known for soap opera (let’s face it, QAF was a soap) gives this film a broad dramatic feel, even with the comic bits. Other LGBT icons have cameos – Jai Rodriguez of Queer Eye and Shangela from RuPaul’s Drag Race seasons two and three.
From This Day Forward – Documentary Centerpiece
When documentary director Sharon Shattuck was in junior high in the mid-1990s, her dad decided to start transitioning from man to woman. The poor man had been hiding gender struggles from the kids and everyone else for years; Trisha and wife Marcia had kept it in the bedroom. Slowly, Michael became Trisha Shattuck, who now is a well-known painter living in rural Michigan.
FTMO is less and less shocking today (which is wonderful, really). This documentary is imminently watchable because of its honesty, its purity, and its coziness. Surprising aspects emerge of Trisha, her wife Marcia, and their marriage. Their daughters – the filmmaker and her sister – talk about Trisha’s transformation and its effect on the family unit, as well as their social lives.
The Summer of Sangaile – Narrative Centerpiece
Sangaile is a beautiful and charming Lithuanian film, which delivers more alluring mood than plot. Sangaile (Julija Steponaityte) is a dreamy, distant teenager fascinated with planes and awakening into her own sexuality. Auste (Aiste Dirziute) is a slightly older teen obsessed with Sangaile, rigging contests and making clothes to capture the girl’s attention away from the boys who Sangaile attracts. Sangaile is waiting to soar – literally and figuratively – away from her family. Auste already lives a pretty Bohemian lifestyle, and her freedom also attracts Sangaile.
Even with the Lithuanian lesbian angle, it’s still a film about the summer teenagers falling in love. In that sense, Sangaile is flying into familiar, comfortable territory. The sunlit movie has the lush look of memory-stirring photos, and the actresses are very believable in their sweetness and awkwardness.
https://youtu.be/h5tErAkhD2E
Margarita, with a Straw
This Indian film about a bisexual woman with disabilities is refreshingly matter-of-fact. Laila (Kalki Koechlin) is a gregarious Delhi college student who happens to have cerebral palsy. Though it affects her speech and motor skills, and she has to live with her parents, her indomitable spirit attracts admirers. Laila, though, only wants rock singer Nima (Tenzin Dalha). When she meets romantic frustration, Laila decides to study abroad in Manhattan, where she attracts both an English student (William Moseley of The Chronicles of Narnia) and another Indian woman, a blind activist played by Sayani Gupta.
Laila’s relationship with her parents – especially her mother, whom she depends upon – is intriguing. Mom (Revathi) is so committed to her daughter – and yet naïve enough – that she moves with her daughter to New York City. Laila’s closeted bisexuality adds realistic complexity to both her family relationships and her romantic endeavors. Small moments of melodrama cannot rob international Margarita of its flavor.
