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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE August, 1989

New gay film fest a winner

by Dave Wittkowsky

The first New York International Festival of Lesbian and Gay Film was presented at the Biograph Theater in mid-town Manhattan June 7-20, to commemorate Gay and Lesbian Pride and History Month.

This marked the return of a gay and lesbian film festival to New York after a three year absence.

The New Festival, as it is being called, indicating everything from a new programming philosophy to a new location, offered an event well worth the wait. Festival producer Susan Horowitz and director John Lewis put together an impressive line-up of contemporary international productions, retrospectives of gay filmmakers, special screenings by visiting directors and artists, and an interesting collection of mainstream and underground films exploring lesbian and gay heritage on film from the silent era through Stonewall.

A few of the New Festival's offerings already have appeared on Cleveland movie screens. Films like Vera from Brazil, Frank Ripploh's Taxi to Cairo, Derrick Jarman's The Last of England and Monica Treut's The Virgin Machine have been presented by the Cleveland International Film Festival and the Cleveland Cinematheque.

Still, Clevelanders have much to look forward to. And, as always, you'll have to keep your eyes peeled to catch any of the following films on what will probably be

their single-night showings here.

What follows are brief descriptions of many of the contemporary international features presented at the New Festival, films which someday will find their way to middle America.

• Friends Forever (1987) Denmark. Directed by Sterna Henszelman.

Perhaps the most successful film at the New Festival. Refreshing coming-of-age tale about 16-year-old Kristian, searching for his own identity and exploring his budding sexuality. His friendship with the independent, charismatic, and gay Patrick opens his eyes to the world.

This bright and affirmative portrait of gay teen-agers won the Best Film prize at the 1988 San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.

• Fun Down There (1989) I' Directed by Roger Stigliano.

A NYC tale about an upstate boy who comes to the city to find a new job, new friends, sexual adventure and even romance. Told in an offhand style typical of independent New York features, the film may elude some, but will remind many of friends or selves.

Joan of Arc of Mongolia (1989) W. Germany. Directed by Ulrike Ottinger.

Four very different women who meet aboard the Trans-Siberian Railway are kidnapped by a nomadic princess and taken to her alien and archaic world, so far removed from modern civilization that it seems lost in time. Their relationships with one another are put to the test by colorful and bizarre circumstances. In

Reach for the heights

On a wall of rock soaring skyward hundreds of feet are two figures perched precariously on a thin ledge. The two are tied to opposite ends of the same rope to ensure each other's safety. A strong bond, built on trust and interdependence, emerges as they continue the ascent.

A blur of physical exertion, delicate movement, fear and exhilaration fill them as they face the unique challenge of the vertical world. Finally, the top is

reached with a feeling of satisfaction and pride. A handshake. An embrace.

For years, gay climbers have shared these powerful experiences, but seldom with other gay climbers. Until now.

Stonewall Climbers is a new organization that will offer climbing expeditions to gay, lesbian and bisexual climbers. Straight people who accept the goal of the club-to ecnourage climbing within the structure of local gay and lesbian

the end they are again aboard the TransSiberian-all, that is, except one.

This ambitious film was shot over a four-year period in Inner Mongolia, and includes some of the most striking landscape footage since Lawrence of Arabia. It will most likely be edited down from its three-hour running time to secure U.S. distribution.

• Desire (1989) Great Britain. Directed by Stuart Marshall.

A fascinating and important documentary about homosexuality in Germany between the turn of the century and World War II. The emergence of a strong gay and lesbian culture and the cry for gay rights in the years following World War I offered some hope that homosexuals might at last be headed for general acceptance in Germany. But the signs of a conservative backlash, ignored by many, grew into the horrors of the Nazi party, which advocated the ultimate elimination of all homosexuals. Testimonials from some who lived through it all add to the power of this important historical document.

• Salty Victor! (1989) Ċanada. Directed by Anne Claire Poirier.

Produced for French-Canadian television (!), this moving film combines the issues of homosexuality and aging in a most sensitive and honest manner. Philip and Victor, two nursing home residents of vastly different backgrounds, gradually develop a close friendship and become inseperable, terrorizing the staff and other residents with their schemes.

outdoor organizations are welcome to join as well.

Climbing trips planned for the next six months range from Acacia National Park in northern Maine to Joshua Tree National Monument in southern California.

Despite a predominance of U.S. climbers at present, the club is conceived as international. Planned trips for this year include Quebec and the Canadian Rockies, with France and possibly Spain projected for the next year.

To get on the mailing list, write to Stonewall Climbers, Box 445, Boston, Mass. 02124. ▼

1

When Victor is caught groping a window-washer, some unspoken issues be-

tween the two men are forced into the open, and Philip must confront his own unfulfilled past in order to find a final chance at happiness with Victor.

• Because the Dawn (1988) USA. Directed by Amy Goldstein.

Ariel, a free-lance photographer, is fascinated with the enigmatic Marie, a vampire who longs to be recognized in the modern world. Ariel's fascination becomes an obsession, and soon her photos of Marie appear all over NYC in perfume ads. The attraction draws Ariel further from daytime reality, and eventually her obsession gives way to fulfillment. This highly-stylized film, with its '40s blues and female desire, has been compared favorably to "The Hunger."

• Out of Our Time (1988) USA. Directed by Casi Pacilio and L.M. Keys.

Filmmakers Pacilio and Keys shot this, their first feature, in Ohio for less than $20,000. Valeri is an aspiring poet trying to escape Midwest academia to pursue her writing career. When she discovers a box of letters belonging to her grandmother Jacqueline, their worlds are linked. Jacqueline, like her granddaughter, was part of a unique circle of women. Her world, though, was the salon society of Europe in the 1930s. Despite their separation by 50 years, the two women are bound by common dreams, ambitions and challenges.

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