Outfest 2013, Los Angeles’ LGBT film festival lineup features quite a few titles we’ve followed previously (Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth, God Loves Uganda, The Happy Sad) and still more that we haven’t (Bayou Maharajah, Born This Way, Hot Guys With Guns, Deepsouth).
Find a list of films of note along with summaries below:
ALICE WALKER: BEAUTY IN TRUTH
Alice Walker’s extraordinary journey from sharecropper’s daughter to
activist, journalist, poet and Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist of The Color Purple
comes to vivid life in this compelling and inspirational documentary.
Courting controversy through her life choices (relationships with white
men, and later with women), her work and her outspoken political
advocacy, Walker emerges as a vibrant, fiercely intelligent and
dedicated woman who has defied the odds to become one of this
generation’s most fascinating figures. Her personal and professional
accomplishments, reflected against a period of progress, violence and
upheaval, celebrate fulfillment and self-expression against forces that
conspire to silence and marginalize outsiders. Featuring testimonials
from collaborators and peers (including Steven Spielberg, Yoko Ono,
Sapphire, Gloria Steinem, Jewelle Gomez, Quincy Jones and Peter Guber)
as well as intimate interviews with Walker herself, director Pratibha
Parmar offers rare insight into a complicated and provocative artist.
GOD LOVES UGANDA
As virulently antigay American evangelicals find less of an audience for
their hateful message at home, they have sought a new demographic in
Africa. This surprisingly funny and infuriating new documentary from
Academy Award winner Roger Ross Williams examines how the nation of
Uganda has thrown open its arms to discredited and oblivious ministers
who, in deadpan interviews, appear completely unaware of how their
teachings have induced politicians to put forward the country’s infamous
“kill the gays” legislation. But the film also introduces us to Ugandan
clergy who, both at home and abroad, are risking excommunication and
even death to defend the unpopular cause of LGBT equality. From its
chilling examination of state-sanctioned bigotry to its darkly comical
one-on-ones with bright-eyed, tone-deaf missionaries, GOD LOVES UGANDA
provides powerful insight into the ignorance (cloaked in religion)
exported by the United States to the rest of the world.
THE HAPPY SAD
The course of true love runs anything but smoothly in this new
romantic drama from acclaimed writer-director Rodney Evans (BROTHER TO
BROTHER). Annie dumps Stan, who flirts with Marcus, who’s in a
relationship with Aaron that may or not be open. Meanwhile, Annie is
drawn toward her interesting (and interested) lesbian friend Mandy and
discovers she might want Stan back after all. Evans provocatively
examines the politics and protocols of open relationships with wit,
wisdom and candid sexuality.
HOT GUYS WITH GUNS
Handsome, reckless Pip gets drugged and robbed at an orgy. Danny, his
sexy but sensible ex-boyfriend, is an actor taking a private
investigator class—he’s up for a part on a cop show. There’s still a
strong sexual and emotional tension between them that builds as they
investigate a series of robberies and murders at the sex parties of rich
and powerful gay men. With the help of Jimmy, a seenit- all PI, they
play a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a ruthless killer, finding
plenty of laughs along the way. Writer-director Doug Spearman, a 2009
Outfest Screenwriting Lab fellow for the HOT GUYS WITH GUNS screenplay,
premieres an eagerly-awaited action-comedy near and dear to Outfest.
BAYOU MAHARAJAH
Brilliant gay jazz pianist James Booker was known at various points in
his career as the Black Liberace, the Ivory Emperor and Little Chopin.
Yet his incredible, tumultuous life has never received proper attention –
until now. Director Lily Keber’s portrait traces Booker’s life from his
early years as a chart-topping child prodigy to the end, where he
performed onstage in his underwear, dishing out drug-fueled conspiracy
theories. Featuring interviews with the likes of Harry Connick Jr., Irma
Thomas and Allen Toussaint, as well as a generous helping of archival
footage, the film brings to life the unforgettable story of this amazing
musician.
BORN THIS WAY
Suspenseful and riveting, BORN THIS WAY had its premiere at the 2013
Berlin International Film Festival. Shot in Cameroon, where
homosexuality is punishable with a five-year prison sentence, the film
observes Gertrude, a young lesbian, as she hesitantly comes out to the
nun who raised her in a convent. Meanwhile, Cedric, a young gay man, is
determined to stay in his home even as his neighbors escalate their
violent threats. From their base in an HIV treatment center, these two
brave souls risk life and liberty to create positive momentum for LGBT
rights, even as they face overwhelming personal struggles.
DEEPSOUTH
An eye-opening look at a healthcare crisis happening in the rural
American South, where HIV is spreading fast with few resources to fight
it. Kathie is the passionate director of AIDS Alabama, working
tirelessly to redress the disproportionate allocation of federal AIDS
moneys. Monica and Tammy run a Louisiana HIV retreat on virtually no
budget. Josh is a young, gifted, emotionally candid black gay man with
HIV doing his best against terrible odds to pursue a college education.
DEEPSOUTH tackles these tough realities with a stunning degree of
humanity, highlighting the grace and perseverance of a handful of unsung
southern heroes undaunted by the difficulties at hand.
Outfest 2013 runs July 11-21 in Los Angeles. For Details and tickets,visit the festival website.
