desert rage


by chris carpenter


NOTEWORTHY SHORTFEST OFFERINGS:


SHORTS ARE IN


Benjamin, an intense yet sensitive modern morality play about a lesbian couple serving as surrogate parents for a gay couple. Let’s just say things don’t go as anticipated.


SEASON Summer is here and it’s time to get out those shorts... Short films,


that is. More than 300 of them from 50 different countries will be screened this month during thePalm Springs International ShortFest. Now in its 22nd year, the event runsTuesday, June 21 through Monday, June 27 at the Camelot Theatre, 2300 E. Baristo Road in Palm Springs.


This year’s entries include a large number of LGBT short films from the likes of Australia, Sweden,


Germany, Canada and the good ol’ U.S. of A. Running between three and thirty minutes in length, they deal


with a variety of topics including coming out at various ages, caring for a partner with Alzheimer’s Disease, the treatment of gay men in countries where homosexuality is still criminalized and same-sex couples trying to have a child. In addition to screenings, the festival presents


nightly receptions as well as seminars and master classes with industry experts and filmmaking professionals. The fest has been hailed byUSA Today as “The best U.S. film festival for


short films.” It has long included LGBT-interest stories given its host city’s large LGBT population and this year is no exception.


Pronouns, which recently premiered at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival. Set in Chicago, it focuses on a young trans performer in a spoken word club. The film is powerful and beautifully written, although it’s ending is too abrupt.


Spunkle, a winning comedy featuring a lesbian couple trying to get pregnant with the help of the brother of one of them. The tagline says it all: “Being your sister’s wife’s sperm donor is a heavy load.”


Mother Knows Best, in which a cute, Swedish boy deals with his mother/driver’s unsolicited advice about coming out to his father. Funny and percep- tive.


Zebra, a sexy black and white film starring an inter- racial male couple. Based on a poem by Ronald Aden Alexander, it is beautifully shot Bruce Weber-style and well-edited by Paul Detwiler, who also directs.


The Culpritis a hard-hitting, thankfully brief glimpse into the plight of a gay man imprisoned, beaten and hanged in one of eight unspecified countries where being gay is punishable by death.


These C*cksucking Tears, an insightful documen- tary about country-western singer Patrick Haggerty. He and his band released the first openly gay country album,Lavender Country, way back in 1973 and it sold out via mail order. I had no idea.


The Cricket and the Ant, an interesting lesbian update/application of Aesop’s classic fable, with some Shakespeare thrown in for good measure. As one character remarks, “There is no right or wrong way of living; there are only decisions. Those lie in our hands, and nothing else.” Hmmm.


Happy, a fairly graphic tale about an inexperienced bisexual woman who gives herself a birthday gift: a hookup with another woman. Lovely cinematogra- phy by Fanny Mazoyer.


The Guy from Work, in which an older, married man and father works up the guts to confess his attraction to a male coworker. The result is sadly predictable but our hero remains undaunted.


Filip, a sweet story about the young title character, who idolizes his older brother, Sebastian. Filip’s eyes are opened when he accidentally discovers Sebastian’s best friend is more than just a friend. Directed, interestingly but effectively, by a woman, Nathalie Alvarez Mesen.


Several other shorts are worth checking out by gay festival attendees includingWalk It Out, Crazy House, Thanks for Dancing andAlzheimer’s: A Love Story.


To purchase tickets for these and otherShortFest films,call 800.898.7256or go to psfilmfest.org.


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RAGE monthly | JUNE 2016


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