OUT IN AFRICA 2012 – PART 1

The first of three Out In Africa Gay and Lesbian film mini-festivals this year kicks off with the African première of the triple Oscar-nominated Albert Nobbs on March 23.

The festival, runs from Friday, 23 March to Sunday 1 April 2012 in Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Glenn Close received her sixth Oscar nomination for her titular role as a woman passing as a man in order to work and survive in 19th Century Ireland.

Janet McTeer, nominated as Best Supporting Actress, also has a cross-dressing role, and the film was also nominated for Best Makeup.

Rising star Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, Jane Eyre) is the love interest in the film.

Other highlights of the festival include:

• The award-winning, wickedly funny British film 9 Dead Gay Guys – the queer flick Guy Ritchie should have made…

• Christopher and His Kind, a lush drama and the real story of Christopher Isherwood’s Berlin, fabric of the cult classic Cabaret

• The award-winning Chilean My Last Round, an exquisite South American sleeper in the fashion of the runaway hit Undertow

• German must see Romeos, a trendy, unconventional and very contemporary take on the issues facing queer teens.

The festival will play host to three international guests who will present their films.

Lead actress and producer Dreya Weber will present A Marine Story, which has won 16 major awards. The drama is a timely reminder of the US military’s invidious ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy, which caused extraordinary damage to thousands of soldiers before being overturned in September 2011.

Weber, a festival favourite in The Gymnast, is a famous aerialist and choreographer who has performed at the Grammys, the Winter Olympics and with the likes of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Rihanna, Christina Aguilera and Pink.

Swedish actor and producer Josefine Tengblad will present Kyss Mig (Kiss Me), a lekker lesbofliek which was named Best Breakthrough Film by the American Film Institute last year. Tengblad worked with Lars von Trier on Dogville and Manderlay, and on the popular TV series Wallander.

Belgian director Bavo Defurne will present screenings of his film North Sea Texas, a subtle, nuanced and satisfying coming-of-age, boy-next-door love story, which was named Best Feature Début at the Montreal World Film Festival and won the Fipresci International Press Award.

Soweto-born Fanney Tsimong, a former VUKA! Raw Talent Award winner, is also a guest of the festival as the writer and director of The Secret (Imfhilo), a contemporary humour-filled story about a married man in denial.

The Secret will play with two South African short films: Anders by Werner Coetzee, and Mthokozisi Lembethe’s Paving Forward, a short documentary about a fabulous 50-year-old dyke and her journey to acceptance, featuring a surprise appearance by COPE leader Mosiuoa Lekota.

Out In Africa screens at Nu Metro cinemas – V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and Hyde Park, Johannesburg.

Out In Africa said its new format of three mini-festivals a year proved to be very successful in 2011, allowing the festival to keep up with the latest releases and present more opportunities for the LGBTIQ community to see films in a way that is easier on the pocket and the social calendar.

Out In Africa’s 2012’s second edition is planned from 27 July to 5 August, with the third edition scheduled for 17 to 28 October 2012.

For screening schedules and more information, visit www.oia.co.za. View trailers for some of the films in the festival below:

ALBERT NOBBS

CHRISTOPHER AND HIS KIND

ROMEOS