The 13th Annual Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival returns October 17-26, 2008. Produced by Three Dollar Bill Cinema the festival will present 86 programs with 170 narrative features, documentaries, local films and shorts. This year the festival expands its local venues with debut programs at West Seattle’s Admiral Theater and the newly reopened King Cat Theater downtown.
With 20 more films than last year, the festival opens with Tom Gustafson’s Were the World Mine, an enchanting new musical with a love story spun around Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Nights’s Dream.” A festive opening night gala will immediately follow the film at Sodo Park.
The festival’s two Centerpieces, Steam and Save Me boast casts with mainstream award-winning talent. Steam’s Ruby Dee and Ally Sheedy portray women emerging from struggles to newfound strength and confidence. Save Me’s Chad Allen, Robert Gant and Judith Light engage audiences in this challenging drama that tackles the debate between religion and homosexuality.
The ever-popular cinematic Sing Along is back with a screening of Little Shop of Horrors, starring 80’s favorite Rick Moranis. The vibrant connection between film and music is showcased throughout the festival with a midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and documentary films about Pansy Division and songwriting genius Arthur Russell.
Other festival highlights include a slate of gay themed horror movies, from new queer cinema to cult classics. The festival closes with the hilarious horror parody Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Before the screening, the ultimate spooky gay icon herself will be interviewed in-person by underground drag phenomenon, Peaches Christ.
For those who are unable to attend theatrical events, the festival is offering an unprecedented online option. Three Dollar Bill Cinema and IndieFlix.com are co-presenting the first every major online lesbian & gay film festival at www.indie-fest.com starting October 6. Streams of three features and five shorts are available for users to watch and then vote for their favorites. The winning filmmaker receives a cash award, theatrical screening and a preferred IndieFlix distribution deal.
“We’re very happy to be a part of one of the largest queer film festivals in the world,” says IndieFlix CEO Scilla Andreen. “The whole idea of getting hard to find content out to the audience is extremely important to us and we’re grateful for the opportunity to work with Three Dollar Bill Cinema to promote and support talented filmmakers who have consequential stories to tell.”
“We’re committed to showcasing work made by LGBT filmmakers from our community,” says Executive Director, Rachael Brister. This year’s festival includes For My Wife…, about the tragic death of artist Kate Fleming and her partner Charlene Strong’s struggles in dealing with the aftermath. “We are very proud to have supported this film through our fiscal sponsorship program. It is thrilling to be able to mentor local filmmaking in this way.”
Entire festival passes and single event tickets are on sale now. Visit www.seattlequeerfilm.org for more info
