Cutting Edge Gay Films Hit Town

GRAFFITI

Cutting Edge Gay Films Hit Town

by Judson Kempson

   Want to see something really queer? Michigan's first International Lesbian and Gay Male Film Festival, presented by the Ann Arbor Film Cooperative, began March 29, and continues through April 9. The festival features six nights of films that range from Fassbinder and Genet to the newest in German cinema.       

   "It's the first time it's ever been done in the area," said Jon Handelsman, the coordinator of the festival. The Cooperative has attempted to bring in films that people have not seen. Most of the presentations are underground films and almost all are new releases.

   To movie goers used to the likes of more mainstreani lesbian and gay male films like "Dcsert Hearts" and "My Beautiful Laundrette," the films in the festival may come as a shock. "I didn't want to bring in hokey types of films," Handelsman said. "I didn't want to bring in cheesey documentarles, like silly movies with morals like gays are people too. I wanted to go deeper than that."

   The festival began with two films about AIDS on March 29. On March 31, the festival presented "Storme: The Lady of The Jewel Box," a film about a male impersonator who emcees a female impersonator club, and "Virgin Machine," which depicts the odyssey of a woman from Germany to the porn district of San Francisco where she "finds herself."

   Notable films showing this month are "Mala Noche" on April 1 and "Novembermoon" on April 8. "Mala Noche," which received a brilliant review from Vincent Canby in the New York Times, was filmed on a budget of $25,000. In black and white, the film takes place in Portland, Oregon, and looks at a young man' s unrequited love for a sixteen-year old illegal alien from Mexico. "Novembermoon," which won awards in both the San Francisco and Berlin Lesbian and Gay Male Film Festivals, takes place during World War II and shows us a woman who collaborates with the German Army to save the life of the woman she loves.

   Given the lack of funds for gay films, many of the best films are shorts, according to Handelsman. On April 7, a compilation of gay male film shorts will be screened. These include "What Can I do With a Male Nude?," "Foolish Things," "Sleepin' Round," "Alfalfa" (The Gay Alphabet), and "A Moffie Called Simon," as well as three short films from Gus Van Sant, director of "Mala Noche." The festival ends on April 9 with classics by Fassbinder and Genet. The Fassbinder films include nis eaxlier "Fox and His Friends" and "Querelle," his adaptation of Genet's novel. The Genet film, "Un Chant d' Amour" is, claims Handelsman, "a masterpiece."

   If there is any unifying theme to the festivals films, it is their divergence from the mainstream. "I like things to be a little bit taboo, a little bit wild," said Handelsman. "A lot of this stuff has a sort of longing about it. It is pretty straightforward and explicit. It doesn't beat around the bush so much."

   The films selected for the festival, however, are weighted on the gay male side. The problem, explained Handelsman, is that it is a lot harder to find lesbian films. Nobody wants to put money into making them. "We just had a hard time finding quality lesbian material. It's kind of a problem and I hope not too many people get peeved about it."

   Handelsman is confident the festival will be a success. Gay men and lesbians, he claims, like to go to movies. If the festival is successful, the Cooperative might like to continue to sponsor it. "We're in a perfect position to do something like this," Handelsman said. "It can't be done at a commercial theater, of course. It can't be done at the Michigan because the Michigan is too big. We felt that an organization like our own, which is in touch with all the underground distributors all over the world, with access to auditoriums and projectors, has the perfect opportunity to do somethng like this."

   Handelsman is quick to add that these films are not limited in their audience appeal. "Anybody who's interested in altemative cinema should enjoy most of the material that will be presented in the festival," he said. "These are new films. These are cutting edge films. These are films that should be of interest to everybody."