APRIL 2011 OUT IN AFRICA FILM FEST

This year, the 18th Out In Africa (OIA) Lesbian and Gay Film Festival will be divided into three events, with the first outing taking place from 1 to 10 April.

“The rationale is obvious: more presence throughout the year, more opportunities for you to see queer flicks so we don’t break your bank or take up all your spare time in one go, and you don’t have to miss anything,” said OIA.

According to Festival Director Nodi Murphy, the spread of the festival across the year also “means that we can keep up with new releases and you don’t have to wait a year to see them…”

The venues are Nu Metro, Hyde Park, in Johannesburg and Nu Metro, V&A Waterfront, in Cape Town.

The April festival will include eight feature films and two short films.

Joe Graham, the director of Strapped, will attend the Film Festival in both Joburg and Cape Town.

A highlight is the controversial film From Beginning to End, which tells the story of an incestuous relationship between two brothers.

OIA is facing a major loss of funding as Atlantic Philanthropies moves away from LGBT projects in the next 18 months and Murphy has urged LGBT film fans to attend the screenings to boost the box office and keep the festival running.

“Of course, we’d like to be self-sustaining, and improved box office will help. We also plan to distribute films with DVDs for sale through our website, and make a profit,” she said.

Murphy called on the community to join the festival’s 8333 subscription campaign: by contributing just R240 a year, 8333 people would make sure the festival remains alive and well.

THE OIA APRIL 2011 FESTIVAL FILMS

Bloomington

• 2010 • USA • 83mins • Dir: Fernanda Cardoso


A thoroughly enjoyable lesbian drama – Jackie is a former TV child star and Catherine is the sexy Prof who is swift in her seduction of the undergrad. Good performances and the non-schmaltzy plot is credible.

Buffering
• 2010 • UK • 70mins • Dirs: Darren Flaxstone and Christian Martin


The boys have financial problems. Aaron’s plan is to put their private life up on the web, but he doesn’t tell his boyfriend Seb.

The Cost of Love
• 2011 • UK • 90mins • Dir: Carl Medland


Cool and a little twisted in the best of Brit fashion, this stylish film is about Dale, a male escort based in Greenwich, London, who appears to have it all including clients with weird tastes, but of course he doesn’t.

Dare
• 2010 • USA • 92mins • Dir: Adam Salky

There’s an age when it all seems so complex and relationships shift so suddenly and nothing is as it used to be. Alexa is prompted to pursue bad boy Johnny, but so is her best friend, Ben. Good script and performances with cameos by Sarah Bernhardt and Alan Cummins.

From Beginning to End (Do Comeco ao Fim)
• 2010 • Brazil • 96mins • Portuguese with English subtitles • Dir: Aluizio Abranches

The half-brothers’ fraternal bond is so strong that few can resist commenting on it. A controversial Brazilian hit but Abranches manages to avoid sensationalism.

Recipe For A Killing (Tirez sur le caviste)
• 2010 • France • 60mins • French with English subtitles • Dir: Emmanuelle Bercot


What a gem! We really don’t want to give the plot away because the sudden twists are so surprising, but it’s all about good food and murder.

Strapped
• 2010 • USA • 93mins • Dir: Joseph Graham


An odyssey of a rent boy that skilfully portrays the multiplicity of gay identity and lifestyles, this is a stylish, well performed and scripted tale. Lost in the apartment block he trips from trick to treat and finds himself along the way. Sexy, funny, emotional, it has to be one of the best queer films ever made!

We Have to Stop Now
• 2009 • USA • 79mins • Dir: Robyn Dettman

The lesbian therapist couple is in therapy and on the verge of divorce when their co-authored guide to negotiating relationships, How to Succeed in Marriage Without Even Trying, hits the best-seller list and they are forced to relate. Jill Bennett and Cathy DeBuono star.

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