10 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE March 8, 2002

Miranda Rights isn't just a good

drag name

Is Ohio protecting you? Find out:

your rights if you are arrested

your rights if you are a victim of a hate crime

your rights if you are a victim of police harassment

Criminal Law

and You

A FREE FORUM FOR LGBT PEOPLE

Monday, March 18,

7 pm, at the Center

(6600 Detroit Ave)

For more information call (216) 651-5428

or e-mail myrights@lgcsc.org

The Center

This program was made possible in part by a grant from the

Ohio State Bar Foundation.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

www.lgcsc.org

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An airtight seal of approval

Cleveland International Film Festival opens with Phranc's tale of Tupperware

by Anthony Glassman

Cleveland-After hitting the quarter-century mark last year, the Cleveland International Film Festival was faced with a daunting task: How do you top your 25th anniversary?

Transgendered buddy flicks, family documentaries, a Jewish lesbian Tupperware-selling punk rock folk singer, Russell Crowe playing gay and a passel of gay and lesbian short films should take Ten Percent Cinema, the festival's LGBT films, to the next level.

The festival kicks off with the opening night film and after-party on Thursday, March 14. For one night only, the festival will show Lifetime Guarantee: Phranc's Adventures in Plastic, the tale of the lesbian icon's metamorphosis from ever-touring folk singer to middle-American archetype.

Following that are two very personal documentaries looking at family.

The first, Daddy & Papa, is directed by and stars Johnny Symons. In the film, he tells the story of his partner's quest to adopt a child, as well as Symons' own reservations about parenthood. It looks at their friends who have adopted or had children and examines the ongoing "gayby boom" overall.

Lifetime Guarantee: Phrane's Adventures in Plastic

The film, directed and co-produced by Cleveland native Lisa Udelson, is a fun, humorous, loving look at the strength, drive and occasional vulnerability that make Phranc the woman she is. She wanted to spend more time with her partner and daughter and less time on the road playing shows, and the quality and durability of Tupperware seemed the perfect way to allow her to make a living while still being with her family and recording music.

Udelson shot, directed, edited and produced the film by herself until Eric d'Arbeloff joined the project as co-producer, lifting a little of her load. Both Udelson and d'Arbeloff will be at opening night, along with the legend herself.

After the screening, a dessert reception and Tupperware party will be held, which the trio will also attend. What self-respecting lesbian can pass up the opportunity to buy Tupperware directly from Phranc herself?

Next on the agenda is a transgendered buddy film, a drag king Thelma and Louise for the new millenium: By Hook or By Crook. Directed by Harry Dodge, who is also listed in the credits as Harriet Dodge, the film tells of Shy, a young tomboy from Kansas who hitchhikes to San Francisco.

There Shy meets Valentine (Harriet Dodge), whose grip on reality is far from firm. Valentine was adopted, and spends most of his lucid time searching for the birth mother who gave her baby daughter up. Add a couple of very femme girlfriends and a not particularly successful crime spree, and a fascinating film is born.

By Hook or By Crook shows Saturday and Sunday, March 16 and 17.

Marie G. Bielefeld, Ph.D.

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It screens Thursday and Saturday, March 21 and 23.

The next, Family Fundamentals, delves into fundamentalist Christian families with gay and lesbian members, from California politician Pete Knight and Vice President Dick Cheney to more personal tales. These include Kathleen Bremner, a woman whose work for religious causes has garnered her awards but who has a lesbian daughter and a gay grandson. The film was directed by documentarian Arthur Dong, who also made Licensed to Kill and Coming Out Under Fire. Family Fundamentals will be shown Sunday, March 17 and Tuesday, March 19.

On Friday and Saturday, March 15 and 16, "Gay and Lesbian Shorts" take center stage. including the latest by Shaker Heights native Jamie Babbit (But I'm a Cheerleader). Babbit's Stuck, which was a runner-up at the Sundance Film Festival, is about two elderly lesbians who, in the aftermath of hitting a pedestrian with their car, realize they no longer have anything in common.

Ernest and Bertram gives life to the ongoing rumors surrounding two lovable puppets on a popular children's television show. War Story presents a silent film-era slapstick comedy with a modern twist, while a lesbian realizes she just did her new boss' wife in Meeting. A Jewish boy comes out as Britney Spears in Boychick, while Interviews with My Next Girlfriend takes the guesswork out of dating. Finally, The Last Blowjob illustrates the dangers of venting while defusing explosives.

On March 23 and 24, the festival will premiere the theatrical film Kissing Jessica Stein, the tale of a woman who, after dating every loser in New York, decides that perhaps it is time she found someone much more like herself-like another woman.

Finally, for two showings on Friday, March 15, the Cleveland International Film Festival brings back the Roxanne T. Mueller Award winner from 1995, Australian notable The Sum of Us.

Russell Crowe stars in the film, portraying Jeff, a young gay man in Sydney. Jeff has a relatively boring life, with the exception of his one relative, his father. While most fathers would ignore their son's sexual orientation or perhaps barely tolerate it, Jeff's father is more than supportive: He keeps trying to fix Jeff up with men, much to the younger man's chagrin.

All films will be shown in the Tower City Cinemas, on Public Square downtown. For the complete lowdown on the festival, call the Cleveland Film Society at 216-623-3456, or log onto their web site at http:// www.clevelandfilm.org.