June 13, 2008

LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth

CAMP Film

(Not) Coming Soon To a Theatre Near You!

A few weeks back we looked at some of the bigger films dealing with GLBT issues or containing a strong representation of GLBT characters that will be hitting the local theaters in metropolitan locations. Now we will be looking at some of the “smaller” films that will only grace the screens during festivals, (possibly the 2008 Rehoboth Beach Independent Festival) and then will be fodder for the Netflix queues. These films are not always of lesser quality, but normally the small budgets relegate them to festival and DVD releases, which is not always a bad thing.

Breakfast with Scot Breakfast with Scot tells the tale of what happens to Sam and Ed when circumstance transports Sam’s 11-year-old nephew into their peaceful and prosperous mnage. Kids were never in the plan for this corporate lawyer and his hockey-player-turned-sportscaster partnermuch less an unabashedly gay child. Scot arrives with lace-fringed socks and a pink hairbrush, however, he’s receptive to the efforts of his worried, surrogate parents to boost his masculinity. Not only does he take up hockey, he enlists Ed as coach. But when Scot’s new-found machismo gets out of hand and a fight breaks out, Ed and Sam instantly regret shoving Scot back into a closet he was never born into. With a starring role by Tom Kavanugh (Ed) and the blessing of the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs, this was a big hit in Canada.

The Secrets This haunting and lyrical drama explores the place of women and sexuality in Orthodox Judaism. The Secrets focuses on two young women, Naomi and Michelle, and their efforts to help a third woman make penance for her past sins. In the midrasha (Jewish women’s seminary) at Safed, Naomi, the devout daughter of a rabbi, meets secular roommate Michelle, and the two become fast friends. When assigned to bring food to a dying French woman, Anouk (Fanny Ardant), they learn of her quest for salvation and agree to perform Kabalistic rituals to help her. In so doing, they awaken within one another forbidden feelings that force them to question their path in life.

The World Unseen In this beautiful 1950s South African set drama, an unexpected love develops between two Indian women against the backdrop of the beginnings of apartheid. Rebellious caf owner Amina, in her trousers and male shirts, makes her own rules. Her caf harbors those who are most affected by the new racial laws. When she meets the more traditional Miriam, a pretty young wife and mother, she is immediately smitten. Strait-laced Miriam, stuck in a loveless marriage, is fascinated by Miriam’s unconventional ways, but can they take the risk of acting on their feelings?

Tru Loved Sixteen-year-old Gertrude aka Tru is a typical high school teenager from an atypical home. She is raised by her two moms, interracial couple Leslie and Lisa, who have just moved to a new town in suburban southern California while her two dads remain in San Francisco. At school, Tru catches the eye of Lo, the closeted star quarterback who soon makes a deal with Tru to pretend they are an item. It’s seems like a perfect solutionit keeps Lo’s friends and family from asking too many questions, and it allows Tru to instantly find a place to belong in her new school. But when Tru befriends picked-upon, openly gay student Walter and decides to join him in forming a Gay-Straight Alliance, she falls for GSA member Trevor, a handsome metrosexual who has been raised by his gay uncle. Her new love affair threatens to expose Lo’s true desires and standing as big man on campus.

Boystown Dark and sexy real estate agent Victor is making a killingliterally! In an attempt to transform Madrid’s Chueca neighborhood into the next Chelsea, he’s come up with the perfect planmurdering elderly women, making it look like suicide, buying up their property, and selling to upwardly-mobile gay couples. But when his latest victim leaves her apartment to Rey and Leo, the friendly working-class bear couple next door, Victor must hatch a scheme to get his way…no matter what. Boystown is a wickedly funny black comedy.

Be Like Others In Iran, where homosexuality is punishable by death, gays and lesbians have limited choices: forego same-sex relationships entirely, or change their sex since transsexuality is actually permissible under Islamic law. While this is surely a boon to actual transgendered Iranians, it instead becomes de facto gender policing for those men and women who fall outside of the culture’s rigidly defined heterosexual roles. Be Like Others examines the lives of a number of men choosing to take this drastic step to be able to survive in Iran.

Were The World Mine Timothy is a cute, gay, outcast at an all-boys prep school with a serious crush on handsome jock, Jonathon, who fuels his Technicolor, musical theatre style daydreams. Recognizing Timothy’s potential to realize his dreams is the eccentric drama teacher, who convinces him to audition for the school’s staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Perfectly cast as the mischievous sprite, Puck, Timothy is delighted to discover that Jonathon will share the stage with him. Jonathon’s homophobic coach, on the other hand, is decidedly less than thrilled with the idea that his boys will be prancing around on stagesome even playing female roles! Against this backdrop, with no real support aside from Ms. Tebbit and his best friend, Timothy nevertheless pushes forward. Inspired by the play to whip up a batch of love potion, he’s surprised when it unexpectedly worksonly too well. Not only has he made Jonathon fall in love with him, but the rest of his small town seems to be under the spell as well!

The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela Blurring the lines between fiction and reality, director Olaf de Fleur’s unique feature focuses on Raquela, a transsexual Filipina prostitute who dreams of escaping her harsh reality for a fairy tale life in the West. Tired of working the streets, she turns to internet porn, where she seems to hit the goldminea chance to travel to Iceland, and an offer of a visa from Michael, the website’s New York based owner. But is this all too good to be true?

Eleven Minutes It all comes down to eleven minutesthe length of time for a runway show during Fashion Week in Bryant Park. Jay McCarroll’s been working toward those critical eleven minutes for a year, and Michael Selditch and Rob Tate have been granted an all-access pass to follow the designer as he prepares for the introduction of his first line of clothing. After winning the first season of the ber-popular Project Runway, and being declared “the next great American designer,” Jay has a lot riding on this show, and on selling his line afterwards. Eleven Minutes is an always gripping, often quite humorous exploration of the world of fashion, where art must co-exist with business, and where you’re only as good as your last design.

So there you have it, some idea as to what you would be missing if it weren’t for film festivals, as these films will not be coming soon to a theatre near you.

For more information, visit the Film Society web site at rehobothfilm.com or call 302-645-9095.

LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 18, No. 07 June 13, 2008