by chris carpenter
Returning for its 24th annual edition, FilmOut San Diego LGBTQ Film Festival will take place from Thursday, September 12 to Sunday, September 15, in Balboa Park at the Natural History Museum (The NAT) and the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) at the San Diego Museum of Art.
This year’s fest will open with the acclaimed queer dramedy F.L.Y. These initials stand for “First Love Yourself,” and this proves to be an apt lesson/reminder.
Two exes, Max and Rafael, get stuck living together when the COVID-19 lockdown hits California. Things get off to a rocky start after not seeing each other in years and with Max’s new boyfriend in tow. Max must navigate their unique situation with Raf, who just moved to LA with the dream of becoming the next drag superstar.
Trent Kendrick plays Max, and Rafael Albarran portrays Raf. Both give affecting performances, and they double impressively as the film’s co-writers, co-producers, and co-directors.
“Our story began on February 2, 2020,” the filmmakers recount in a joint statement. “We met on the dance floor, as many of us queers do. As we exchanged our life stories and tried to map the steps that led us there, we immediately became invested in one another. Our dreams were aligned, and a promise was made.”
Kendrick, a writer and director living in Los Angeles for the previous 10 years, had yet to pull off his first feature film. Albarran, an actor and writer, had just moved to the city a couple of weeks before their first encounter. The night they met, Albarran promised Kendrick he would write his first feature film with him, and it would get made.
“What we didn’t know is that the world would shut down soon after and, in order to make this movie happen, our limits would be pushed to places we never imagined we could reach,” they wrote. “The pandemic gave us the time to get together and write our script, and as soon as we wrote the first draft, we started to dream about how we could bring it to life. Something we had very clear was that it was on us to make it happen. No studio, especially back in 2020, would green-light a queer romantic slice-of-life dramedy about two ex-lovers stuck together at the onset of the pandemic from two unknown filmmakers. We knew we had to prove ourselves, so that’s what we set out to do.”
F.L.Y. is the successful result. It will screen at 7 p.m. at The NAT and will be followed by an Opening Night Party. Throughout the festival, numerous filmmakers and other talent will be present and participate in audience Q&A sessions after their films are screened.
The Closing Night screening of gay coming-of-age drama Riley, by San Diego filmmaker Benjamin Howard, will occur at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday at MOPA and will be followed by a Closing Night Dessert Reception.
Mikko Makela’s Sebastian, spotlighted in last month’s edition of The RAGE Monthly, will be shown on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. (read our interview here)
OTHER FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS WILL INCLUDE:
Witchy Ways (Friday at 7 p.m.)
In Jane Clark’s female-leaning romance, Eve quits the rat race and heads to a remote country cottage to grieve her mother’s recent death and rediscover herself. Once there, she begins falling for the dynamic property owner, Danni. As they grow close, Danni confesses she is a witch. This is hard enough for Eve to accept until she learns Danni has a second, ghostly secret hidden in the house that threatens to destroy their magical relationship.
In her director’s statement, Clark wrote: “I knew I wanted to write something with a witch and a ghost. I had just mainlined A Discovery of Witches on TV and was hooked on the idea. But what story? I wasn’t sure. I started watching ghostly and witchy movies for inspiration and landed on Practical Magic. I had forgotten how much I loved it when I first saw it. As I researched, I discovered a thriving, very real and still (unfortunately) underground community of self-identifying witches in the United States and abroad. In fact, someone you know may be a witch, and maybe you aren’t even aware. Many witches don’t feel safe being themselves — being ‘out’ — in public or even in their family. There are many themes that matter to me, but this is a big one: Everyone has the right to live their life as their full and authentic self. So, I decided to tell a story that shed a bit of reality — a little moonlight, if you will — on their world.”
There’s a Zombie Outside (Friday at 9:15 p.m.)
We’ve seen gay zombie hunters, thanks to TV’s The Walking Dead and the underrated 2010 horror-comedy ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction, but not too many gay zombies. Filmmaker and actor Michael Varrati decided to do something about this with a meta-horror story about struggling artist Adam (Ben Baur, Something Like Summer), whose identity is intertwined with the world of cult cinema. Adam begins to have problems distinguishing fact from fiction when he starts to believe he’s seeing a lusty monster from his own movie.
Varrati wrote to The RAGE Monthly that his film “in many ways is an exploration of our relationship with the media we consume. I’m fascinated with how quickly and comfortably fan culture will attach a creator or performer to a particular role or film from their past, forever compartmentalizing them into a specific moment in time. This isn’t always a bad thing, of course, but for some people it can be very daunting. For queer and marginalized artists, it can take on even more dimension as those attachments from the mainstream can further pigeonhole an individual. Ultimately, our movie is an exploration about what happens when the cinematic escapism of one person becomes the defining attribute of another . . . and how that could potentially lead to monstrous consequences.
“One thing that I always loved about how George Romero utilized zombies in his work was that his movies were rarely ABOUT zombies. Rather, the creatures served as representation for larger issues: racism, capitalism, etc. I had that in mind when writing There’s a Zombie Outside. I wanted to see what happened when the zombie represented queer listlessness or anger.”
High Tide (Saturday at 7:15 p.m.)
Lourenço (Marco Pigossi) is a Brazilian immigrant in Provincetown, Massachusetts whose visa is nearing the end. He finds himself heartbroken and adrift when his American boyfriend unexpectedly leaves him with fleeting promises of his return. Enveloped by the beauty and magic of the seaside community, Lourenco grows distressed by the day as his once hopeful future has dimmed into an emotional and physical state of limbo. When he meets Maurice (James Bland), a kind nurse on holiday who also feels out of place, they form an unexpected connection.
Acclaimed writer-director Marco Calvani presents an intimate, sometimes troubling exploration of belonging, acceptance, and the many iterations of love in today’s America. Pigossi, one of Brazil’s leading actors, gives a powerful performance that marks his first starring role in an English language feature film. Rounding out the superb cast in supporting roles are Marisa Tomei, Bill Irwin, Bryan Batt and Mya Taylor (Tangerine).
Sunflower (Saturday at 1:15 p.m.) and Young Hearts (Sunday at 5:30 p.m.)
Two memorable, sun-drenched, gay coming-of-age stories. Sunflower, from Australia, focuses on 17-year-old Leo (Liam Mollica), who leads a seemingly typical life. Amid hanging out with friends, bickering with his family at the dinner table, going to school and making out with his girlfriend, Leo guards a secret he’s afraid to confront. As Leo grapples with his inner turmoil, he finds himself unexpectedly drawn to both his male best friend and a quiet, introverted boy at school named Tom.
In Belgium’s Young Hearts, 14-year-old Elias lives in a small town. He’s carefree, has a group of friends, fun parents and a platonic girlfriend he hangs out with. But then Alex — a cool and openly gay boy from the city — moves in next door. Elias soon finds his feelings for Alex going much deeper than he knows what to do with.
A House Is Not a Disco (Sunday at 3:30 p.m.)
The documentary standout of this year’s festival chronicles present-day life on Fire Island off the southern shore of Long Island, New York. This storied queer destination is experiencing a renaissance as a new generation of Millennial homeowners reimagine it for a more inclusive era. Brian J. Smith’s film features a large cast of unforgettable eccentrics, activists, drifters and first-timers reflecting on The Pines’ legacy. As they prepare their beloved village for the challenges of rising seas due to climate change, they also confront the echoes of the AIDS crisis, and strive to preserve their community’s unique spirit amidst evolving social and environmental landscapes.
Complete screening information and ticket sales: filmoutsandiego.com
Chris Carpenter has been writing about entertainment since 1996 and a member of Team Rage since 2012. He is a founding member and vice president emeritus of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics.