Aguirre, Valentin

1997

Performance profile of monster diva singer, Teresita, a living Latina legend who is living with AIDS.

Clarke, Kristiene

1997

Manchester's gay village, unfrocked and loving it.

Among the old cotton mills of Manchester, there has sprung a new "gay village", an alternative place to call home for thousands of British lesbians and gay men. Village Voices chronicles the development of this vibrant urban community, which has spawned numerous clubs, restaurants and shops as well as a community center offering much-needed services to a growing gay population. But this is more than just a gay chamber of commerce travelogue: Village Voices also takes a critical look at the insular effect of creating a neighborhood that caters exclusively to one segment of a city's inhabitants.

Maguen, Shira
Reich, Liz

1997

Documentary about the members of BAGLY, the Boston Alliance of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender youth. Young filmmakers Liz Reich and Rachel Victor are as fresh and spunky as the youth they profile in Very Queer Kids, their one-hour documentary about the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth (BAGLY). Founded in 1978, BAGLY is one of the oldest queer/questioning youth organizations in the country. It plays a vital role in the lives of its participants as they tackle many of the same issues that older lesbians and gays face – love and loss, dating and career choices, ways of being closeted or out, the need for community – as well issues more typical to their age group, such as peer pressure, adolescent insecurities, and homophobia in their high schools or their parents' homes. Very Queer Kids features over 20 outspoken, articulate youths determined to represent themselves to the world in a queer-positive manner.

Crouch, Catherine

1997

Utilizing a mix of live action, scratch stop motion, animation, Vanilla Lament is a humorous look at the drama of a lesbian breakup.

Oliver, Jorge

1997

A man tries to consult with his reluctant psychic fairy dragmother to figure out why he can't keep a relationship with another man. After much struggle he finally gets an enlightening psychic reading.

Tsanana, Ewjenia

1997

An ascent against gravity.

Tsanana, Ewjenia

1997

An ascent against gravity.

Chan, Lynne

1997

A combination of shot & pirated footage exploring how "my mama" deals with this ... uh ... postmodern world.

Lesbians cope with families of origin in this ethnically diverse program of North American shorts. Art-dyke Lynne Chan’s Untitled (My Mama) uses pirate video and recorded phone-calls to depict her feisty Chinese mother's views of postmodern America. In Sugar And Spice, a young couple – one Anglo, one Indian – ready their apartment for a visit from Aunt Durga, unsure how she will feel about their relationship. Growing up a Canadian tomboy, Cassandra Nicoloau resisted learning the women's parts in Macedonian dances, until she found in them a way to connect emotionally with her aging mother – a story sweetly told in Dance With Me. To Catch A Glimpse profiles several sisters, now elderly, as they speak of the long-term consequences of their mother's sudden, unexpected death when they were young girls.

Greyson, John

1997

The irrepressible John Greyson (Zero Patience, Lilies) returns with a fabulously audacious new film, starring Matthew Ferguson from The English Patient. Combining Greyson’s take on the controversial practice of circumcision with a fierce analysis of copyright infringement and censorship, Uncut is a densely layered, delirious romp in which ideas are hurled at blistering speeds. Perhaps Greyson’s own words best describe the plot: “A grad student named Peter is obsessed with Pierre Trudeau. A grad student named Peter is perplexed by circumcision. A Jackson Five fan named Peter wants to break into broadcast.They meet.They make love.They make art.They get busted. (The cop sings opera).” After a series of strange and absurd misadventures, the three Peters end up in a desolate prison labor camp together. If this sounds bizarre, it is. Combining elements of soap operas, musicals, documentaries, and avant-garde cinema, the candy-colored pop art explosion of Uncut will knock you out.

Ramsey, Annette D.

1997

In Uhuru, a young African woman struggles with the traditions of her country and her desire to come out.