12
GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE November 1, 2002
no
Declaration of independents
Two Ohio films make their Cleveland debut
by Anthony Glassman
Cleveland-There are thousands of films made every year. Some, mostly the ones produced through major studios or that made a big splash overseas, play at the local multiplex.
Others may play at art theaters or go straight to home video
Some, however, have difficulty finding distribution, making it very difficult for the filmmakers to get their labors of love out to the viewing public
Thankfully, there is the Ohio Independent Film Festival, held annually by Independent Pictures in Cleveland. The festival is the state's largest showcase of film and video projects that have not yet gained distribution, allowing filmmakers and distributors to come together with audiences to display art that might otherwise never be seen.
This year, the festival is bringing three films to the public, one short, one documentary, and a drama whose world première last year served as a fundraiser for the Toledoarea AIDS service organization David's House.
In the Company of Strangers, directed by Thomas Hofbauer, makes its Cleveland premiere on Thursday, November 7 at 5 pm.
Shot in Toledo in June 2001, the film explores Brian, a troubled young man who goes gaybashing with his blue-collar friends. When the police arrive, Brian is caught while his friends elude capture.
The judge in his case decides that a lesson is in order, and sentences him to 600 hours of community service at the local AIDS hospice. David's House was the location for much of the filming.
As the months go by, Brian slowly starts to become more involved in the house and its residents, even going out to a Toledo Mudhens baseball game with one of them.
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Perhaps the difference comes when the director of the hospice, Mitch, tells Brian about his own experience as a youth given another chance. Perhaps it comes when Brian realizes just how stupid his friends are, and how much better than them he could truly be. The most important part of the film, how-
munity. The evening starts with the short film Thorn Grass, an examination of the death of a transgendered teen, then moves on to the documentary Myth of Father.
Paul Hill, who works at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, made the film as a way to understand his father, who is
Brian is sentenced to communit service in an AIDS hörple in Thomas Hofbauer's Company of S
ever, is that, unlike the easy path that many narratives take in describing a fundamental change in someone's outlook on life, it doesn't happen overnight. Hofbauer illustrates the passage of time and the slow metamorphosis of his protagonist with the skill of a practiced director, one who has been working for years. · He's not Kubrick, but he could be some day.
On Friday, November 8, also starting at 5 pm, the Ohio Independent Film Festival will have a major event for the LGBT com-
transitioning to female. Jodie, as she is now called, lives her everyday life as a woman, something completely foreign to her son. What her son does know, however, is that she seems far happier than she ever did when he was a teenager.
Hill and his camera talk to Jodie's brother, half-brother and stepmother. The latter has perhaps the best line of the film when she notes that Jodie is a far more attractive woman than she is, which is quite true.
Following the Myth of Father screening, there will be a panel discussion of issues surrounding transgendered people and their families. Following the panel discussion, there will be a reception so that attendees can continue to talk about the issues raised in the films and how they affect their lives.
The event is a collaboration between Independent Pictures, the Cleveland Lesbian-Gay Center and TransFamily Cleveland.
Both events will take place at Cleveland Public Theatre's Gordon Square Theatre, located at 6409 Detroit Ave. in the Detroit Shoreway district. More information is available by calling 216-651-7315, e-mailing OhioIndieFilmFest@juno.com, or online at www.ohiofilms.com. Advanced tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketweb.com.
Jodie Hill, the filmmaker's father, is surrounded by her family in Paul Hill's The Myth of Father.
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