News Archive

SARASOTA GAY AND LESBIAN 2003 FILM FESTIVAL

8/25/2003

DATE Friday, August 22 through Thursday, August 28

LOCATION Burns Court Cinemas, 506 Burns Lane, Sarasota

Admission: Single Tickets (all shows except CAMP): Members: $4.50 Non members $6.50

Don’t miss a full week of exciting cinema starting with the regional premiere of THE EVENT, starring Olympia Dukakis and Parker Posey, on

Friday, Aug. 22, at 8:30 p.m. And culminating with the infectious comedy CAMP on Thursday, Aug. 28 at 8:30 p.m. Following Thursday’s

screening of CAMP there will be a closing night benefit party that includes great food donated by CITRUS CAFE and CARAGIULOS; complimentary champagne courtesy of NATIONAL DISTRIBUTING and PREMIER BEVERAGE, CO.; and live music by jazz/funk trio THREEDOM. There will also be a raffle with remarkable prizes provided by the following local businesses: LIVING WALLS; CHOCOLATE, NUTS & MORE; SARASOTA TRADING CO.; ELYSIAN FIELDS; BEAUTY & THE BEADS; AUGUST THIRD; BODY & SOUL; CAFE EPICURE; CHASEN REED; NANCY’S; CHAMELEON; ANA MOLINARI. Tickets for this closing night benefit party cost $15.00 each and the proceeds will be donated to ALSO Out Youth. The following businesses and individuals made valuable contributions: LA BOTTEGA; CROSS CHIROPRACTIC; THE MISSING LINK GALLERY; DICKINSON STUDIO; IOPTIC EYEWEAR; MR. FLORIST; JACK VINALES’ 20TH CENTURY CLASSICS; BEN ELLINOR; CHARLES LATIMER; BILL BURGUNDER & JIM FELLOWS; MICHAEL SHELTON & ALLEN MCREYNOLDS.

BETWEEN TWO WOMEN Dir: Steve Woodcock, UK, 92 min, PG. A powerful tale of suppressed sexuality set in the 1950s in which poignant and sharply observant social commentary is interlaced with a tender romance. Among the excellent cast, Barbara Marten shines brightest as the working class mother struggling with feelings for another woman. FRI 8/22, 2:30 • TUE 8/26, 2:30

CAMP Dir: Todd Graff, USA, 114 min, PG13. Spirited comedy about a songwriter Bert Hanley (Dixon) who goes to work at a musical theater summer camp for teenagers after a series of Broadway flops. Inspired by the children, he finds an opportunity to regain success by staging an altogether new production. "A fresh-air Fame … it plugs into the energy, skill and unapologetic joy of its young performers and doesn't look back," Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times. THUR 8/28, 8:30

THE EMBALMER Dir: Matteo Garrone, ITALY, 101 min., NR. Humorous and thrilling love triangle involving a creepy, middle-aged taxidermist who is a closet homosexual enamored with a handsome heterosexual male, who, in turn, is seduced by a sexy, perceptive young lady. "An aching meditation on the power of beauty, this hits home," Stephen Holden, The New York Times. FRI 8/22, 5:30 • SUN 8/24, 8:30 • THUR 8/28, 5:30

THE EVENT Dir: Thom Fitzgerald, USA, 110 min, R. Set in Manhattan's fashionable Chelsea district, amidst the Neighborhood's large and varied Gay population, the film is an intricately structured inquiry into one man's death that becomes a celebration of his life. This emotionally charged drama (presented in\ the framework of a mystery) boasts an outstanding cast headed by Parker Posey (A Mighty Wind) as the determined District Attorney and Oscar-winner Olympia Dukakis (Moonstruck), who is impeccable as the dying boy’s strong-willed, loving mother. Reader Jury award winner at the prestigious 2003 Berlin International Film Festival, "The Event is a very important film that is as sad as it is uplifting. After viewing it you may just have a whole new appreciation for life," Eric Campos, Film Threat. FRI 8/22, 8:30 • SUN 8/24, 2:30 • WED 8/27, 5:30

FRIENDS AND FAMILY Dir: Kristen Coury, USA, 87 min, NR. Stephen and Danny are a Manhattan couple who have it all ? a fabulous house, good friends, lots of money ? and most important, they have each other. Then, one day, a surprise visit from Stephen’s Mid Western parents threatens to blow the boys’ big secret. The secret? Not that Stephen and Danny are gay - Stephen’s parents know all about that. What they don’t know is that their son and his boyfriend are hit men for the Mafia! "Consummately pro cast and production values, combined with efficient, crowd pleasing dialogue," Robert Koehler, Variety. SAT 8/23, 5:30 • TUE 8/26, 5:30 • WED 8/27, 8:30

MADAME SATA Dir: Karim Ainouz, Brazil/France, 105 min, NR. A destitute homosexual street fighter transforms himself into coruscating cabaret singer named Madame Satã in this fact-based film inspired by Brazilian pop culture icon João Francisco (1900-1976), a transvestite singer, outlaw and widely popular gay performer who pushed social boundaries during a volatile time. "It is a voluptuous, hot-blooded portrait of a social outcast, a black, homosexual criminal who in acting out his gaudiest Hollywood dreams, transcendently reinvented himself … Mr. Ramos’s (title character) incendiary performance burns like a fuse, lighted from deep inside his skin, that explodes with devastating emotional fireworks … It takes you deeper into the soul of its title character and his desper

<< back to news listing

back to top