Reichardt, Kelly

1999

Ode is the story of Bobbie Lee, an all-American girl living in an all-American town. Like a lot of girls her age, 16-year-old Bobbie Lee has a boy on her mind. His name is Billie Joe McAllister, and Bobbie Lee just learned that he has jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge. She flashes back to the first time she saw him, and to their slow courtship, kept secret from her strict parents. But Billy Joe had a secret, too, one which he told only to Bobbie Lee. The languid pace of this film perfectly captures an awkward Southern adolescence as it presents one possible back-story of the famous Bobbie Gentry song.

Yang, Yue-Qing

1999

NU SHU: A HIDDEN LANGUAGE OF WOMEN IN CHINA is a revelatory and insightful look at Nu Shu, a now nearly extinct language used exclusively by women in the Hunan province to communicate amongst themselves. Focusing on 86-year-old Huan-yoi Yang, the only living resident in the Nu Shu area able to read and write the language, the film reveals a women's subculture created in resistance to male dominance.

Hick, Jochen

1999

Was the AIDS virus created during an experiment that got out of hand at Fort Detrick, the Pentagon's top security genetic laboratory? Stefan is an east German medical student. His late father was a high-ranking AIDS scientist in the former GDR. Determined to pick up where his father left off, Stefan makes use of a medical conference in San Francisco to search for surviving witnesses to alleged biogenetic tests on humans. As he searches for the survivors, the city is filled with excitement over the eagerly awaited opening of Puccini's TURNABOUT. At the same time, gay men are being murdered, and police detective Louise Tolliver is trying to solve the case. Time and again, Stefan comes across clues left by the unknown murderer who is rumored to have hummed the aria "Nessun dorma" as he killed his victims. Then, as if drawn by some strange power, Stefan falls in love with the reserved and seemingly hard-hearted Jeffrey who has long been diagnosed HIV positive. As the murderer strikes again, Stefan finds himself not only a suspect in the case but possibly the next victim.

Sempel, Peter

1999

Many have danced to her music, others have prayed with her. Whatever we may think of her, rock & roll diva and living legend Nina Hagen has helped shape a generation. Made in true punk rock style, PUNK + GLORY captures Nina's life and music in a zigzag pattern, using almost no archival material but instead encouraging the singer to reflect on her past from her current standpoint. Director Peter Sempel describes PUNK + GLORY as a "documentarypsychomusicfilm." This is a portrait of an icon like no other. It will take you on a ride: depicting moments of her life that are full of energy and chaos, silence and meditation. For Nina Hagen fans, this is an opportunity to enjoy her full range of singing from classic to punk to pop to Indian folklore—she does it all. This is also a rare opportunity to see Nina interacting with her daughter Cosma Shiva, her son Otis, and her friends Wim Wenders, Udo Kier, Lene Lovich, George Clinton, and Guru Muniradschi. The sound track will take you back with over 20 songs by Nina, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Einstruzende Neubauten, Mahalia Jackson, YELLO, Lou Reed, and more.

Brown, Owsley

1999

At the age of 17, Paul Bowles was introduced to composer Aaron Copland, who took him on as a student. As part of the vibrant New York art and music world of the 1930s and 1940s, Bowles matured into a recognized voice in American musical composition. Long before he became a celebrated author, best known for his novel THE SHELTERING SKY, Bowles composed music for Lincoln Kirstein's ballet YANKEE CLIPPER, Orson Welles's Mercury Theater, and for three of Tennessee Williams's plays. NIGHT WALTZ combines interviews with Bowles, shot in Tangier shortly before his death, with gorgeous archival footage, cut to several of his musical compositions. Celebrated New York filmmaker Rudy Burkhardt's film studies of Manhattan are put to poetic use, invoking the world and times of the composer. The result is a lush, evocative celebration of the man and his music, which captures a vital component of the artistic spirit.

Bociurkin, Marusya

1999

A comedy about incest, Freud and recovered memory.

Film noir, camp, and a '50s pastel wonderland come together in NANCY DREW & THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED BODY, a colorful comedy about a young female detective searching for the clues within recovered memories.

Everett, Karen

1999

In this personal memoir, the filmmaker tells the story of a love affair and explores butch/femme chemistry.

My Femme Divine takes us into the romantic world of butch and femme lesbians. In this stunning personal memoir, filmmaker Karen Everett recounts falling in love with her first femme top. Her enchanting femme lover takes on an almost mythic stature, re-igniting spiritual feelings lost fifteen years earlier when Everett left the Mormon Church. Checkered throughout My Femme Divine, two dynamic groups speak butch-to-butch and femme-to-femme about a love that borders on worship. These sexually sophisticated women, along with dyke poets like Pat Calfia and Jewelle Gomez, paint the cultural backdrop to an intimately crafted tale of falling in love, losing control and finding religion. Black and white photography, documentary sequences, home movies, cinema veritè, reenactments and first-person poetry are all masterfully interwoven to create a captivating personal memoir that speaks to us all.

Rezazade, Amir

1999

Patierno, Mary

1999

On the surface it is a portrait of a man living and dying of AIDS. But in reality it is a complicated film that is much more about life, death, love and family.

Polhemus, Tyler

1999

Lonely guy gets just what he wants for Christmas - with a little help from Mom.