1996

Morel, Gael

1996

A complex, fast-paced but deliberately fragmented story of young lust, unrequited love and racial prejudice set in rural France, Full Speed zeroes in on four central characters, all in their early twenties, who seem doomed from the start. Samir, a beautiful Beur (Parisian slang for a young Arab) from Algeria, has a growing post-teenage crush on Quentin, a successful novelist who observes the people around him as the basis for his fiction but wants desperately to escape small town life. Quentin has a relationship with Julie, a free-spirited girl (she likes fast cars and drinking shots) who can’t resist Jimmy, a gorgeous young tough who’s always in trouble. As their lives intersect, the characters’ exploration of their bisexuality is interrupted by racism, as French anti-Arab hatreds lead to tragedy. Discovered in André Téchiné’s Wild Reeds (an obvious inspiration for his work here) the young actor-turned-director Gaël Morel makes his feature directing debut with Full Speed, which co-stars Reed’s Stéphane Rideau.

Alcantara, Sabrina

1996

Mead, Wrik

1996

A lonely lighthouse operator rescues his fantasy man.

Yael, b.h.

1996

Fresh Blood is a hybrid personal essay/documentary in which the filmmaker tries to examine the complexities and pleasures of her Iraqi-Jewish heritage. Returning to Israel, the land of her birth, she is overcome by the implications of her mixed identity, her lesbian desires, and the loss of her mother tongue. She emerges with a new understanding of the power of memory and myth and the significance of blood relations.

Adkins, Jeffrey

1996

Frankie wants to share his inner joy with the whole world so...he decides to take his dog Fudgie for a walk.

Who said the musical is dead? Whoever did better not be within earshot of Rita Page, former Vegas showgirl and diva stage mother to Franchesca Page, who has just landed the understudy role in the new disco revue, "The Lady Does It All". Unfortunately Franchesca does do it all...badly. So how did she get the part? Could she be an unwitting victim in a plot to produce a flop and make some fast money for the sadistic producer Veronica, or has fate finally brought Mama the break she thinks she always deserved? If you combine The Producers with The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and bring Gypsy along for the ride, you will get Franchesca Page. With nine original songs and a cast of divas, including Rossy de Palma and New York underground sensation Varla Jean Merman (illegitimate daughter of Ethel Merman and Ernest Borgnine), this hugely entertaining film is set to camp, vamp, and tramp its way to fame. But first – Frankie and Fudgie go for an unusual walk.

Swenson, Laurel

1996

Fistfull is a sexy rumination on the one dyke’s fascinations with safer sex and – you guessed it – fisting.

Jones, William E.

1996

Finished is an unforgettable look at the short but intense life of Alan Lambert, a 25-year-old gay porn actor who flamboyantly committed suicide in a public park. Lambert left behind two cats, several friends and lovers, an intricate suicide rant and twenty or so films, including Boot Camp, Hardball and Pool Boy. Director William E. Jones, seduced by the image of a man he never knew, set out to make a film about the vanity of contemporary gay culture, trying to understand why this young actor killed himself. He discovered something much deeper. Attempting to make sense of a life cut tragically short and of his own obsessions, Jones has created a deeply emotional life story and a profound examination of the temporary nature of beauty. Equal parts personal confession, biography and political analysis, Finished is a sober and highly experimental journey through the shadowy landscape of the gay adult film industry and into the heart of one of its casualties.

Wright, Annie

1996

The Final Story' sounds real but is in fact fictional. 'Written' by the great writer Colette and lost forever, it describes women in love, greed, corruption and murder. 'The Final Story' is about what we do not know and the power of fate; it is a hidden history.

The Final Story, which concerns two trapeze artists, a fictional lost transcript by Colette, and a murder, all told with Barbie dolls.

Streitfeld, Susan

1996