Remember a film called The Owls, by none other than Ms Cheryl Dunye – a film we’ve covered a bit on S&A… also known as Older Wiser Lesbians… centered on 2 middle-aged, lesbian couples who accidentally kill a younger lesbian and hide the body, without reporting it to the authorities, and who are than haunted by guilt, as an unexpected stranger shows up in their lives, bringing tension and discord into their lives.

The film, labeled an experimental thriller, was reportedly made for just $22,000… created by “lesbians, queers and people of color, film professionals all raising themes about aging as well as inter-generational dialogue; loneliness and community; dreams raised and deferred; butch/trans anxiety; cross-racial and inter-racial desire and strain; and the history of lesbian cinema and self-representation.” – The Owls Parliament

The Owls premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February this year, where it won the Teddy Award for Best Gay and Lesbian Feature. It’s currently out on DVD.

If you’ve seen it, or plan to do so, then this documentary might be of interest to you as well. Titled Hooters, it’s a feature doc that was shot while Dunye’s dramatic thriller was being made. Hooters is essentially a behind-the-scenes documentary feature about the making of the The Owls, shot by Anna Margarita Albelo.

The 2-hour documentary will screen at the 2011 installment of the Newfest Film Festival, here in NYC, next month, with the festival’s write-up stating that the “on-set investigation includes juicy asides with the actors and crew, requisite set antics and the even more requisite discussion of gender identity/politics – broken up by Albelo’s own outrageous narrative interludes. HOOTERS! captures the creativity and difficulty of collaborative filmmaking through Albelo’s brutally honest, deliciously insightful and immensely funny vision.“

No trailer for Hooters, but here’s the trailer for The Owls if you haven’t already seen it: