by chris carpenter
The 23rd annual San Diego International Film Festival (SDIFF) will be “Celebrating the Power of Film” from Wednesday, October 16 through Sunday, October 20. Film lovers and filmmakers from around the world will once again gather to laud the art of cinematic storytelling.
The five-day festival will feature red-carpet events, including the Opening Night local premiere of Conclave, a Vatican-set thriller starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow as conniving cardinals. This gala screening and reception on October 16 will be held at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park.
Emilia Perez — an award-winning, queer-themed musical set in Mexico — will be the Closing Night film at AMC 14 UTC in La Jolla on Sunday, October 20. In between, festivalgoers can enjoy studio and independent features, documentaries and short films, along with filmmaker Q&A sessions and panels. Attendees can also look forward to the fest’s unique Culinary Cinema as well as the Fest Lounge, VIP exclusives, parties, food, drinks and networking events. Passes and individual screening tickets can be purchased at sdfilmfest.com.
This year’s offerings of LGBTQ interest include Buscando Alma, a lovely short film about a transgender woman reuniting with her mother after they were forcibly separated when she was known as her son. It will screen as part of the “Heart Strings” Short Tracks program on October 18.
In the feature We Were Dangerous from New Zealand, three students are attending an institution for delinquent girls on an isolated island in 1954. The trio rail against the system and find strength in their friendship, but this is challenged when the school’s matron divides them.
The standout men’s feature is Drive Back Home, which will be screened twice (and potentially a third time should it win the festival’s Feature Award). In the winter of 1970, a cantankerous plumber from rural Canada must drive his beat-up work truck 1,000 miles to Toronto — about 40 hours — to get his estranged, gay brother out of jail. He had been arrested for having sex with another man in a public park. The two brothers are then forced to drive back home together at the behest of their hard-nosed mother before they kill each other.
This relatable, darkly funny yet deeply moving film boasts excellent performances by out actor Alan Cumming (who just won his first Emmy Award for hosting The Traitors reality series) and Charlie Creed-Miles as the two bickering brothers, Perley and Weldon. Of note, they are joined in their travels by Perley’s dead and stuffed but still kind of adorable dog. Based on his own family history, Drive Back Home marks the impressive feature debut of writer-director Michael Clowater.
Clowater recently spoke with The RAGE Monthly about his movie, which will be making its US premiere in San Diego. His comments have been edited for length and clarity.
Your film is based on a true story, and I noticed the dedication at the end. Who were the real people who inspired it?
I did change their names, but the real men were my grandfather Ernie and his brother Hedley. My grandfather had a fourth-grade education. He left school after fourth grade and went to work, which was typical at the time. The situation in the film is true, but it happened in the 1950s. Hedley lived in Montreal and was arrested for having sex with a man in a park. Now, Hedley was considered “a sissy” so he couldn’t get a job that young. He stayed in school and had a 12th-grade education. As an adult, he got a good job at a bank in Montreal.
These two men hated each other but remained in each other’s lives. I got to know Hedley a little bit. My grandfather had died, but my uncle was still alive when I was in high school.
How did Alan Cumming get involved in the project?
When I first talked to him about this, he had done a couple of independent gay-themed films. He kind of rolled his eyes when he mentioned them and didn’t want to do another. But when I mentioned I wanted to approach it more about family and like a Western, he got excited. I saw it as a Western in terms of being about two men on a trail and dealing with the elements. I’d always been a fan of Alan’s stuff and I also listened to his audiobook, Not My Father’s Son. I thought “Wow, this is Perley.” Alan really connected with the character.
What was it like working with him on set?
He was a big champion of the film. He’s a really interesting guy and an amazing actor. We talked a lot about his character and my relationship with my family as well as with a gay friend of mine. (Clowater identifies as straight.) Once we were on set, he was so professional even with 50 different things going on in his career. (laughs) A lot of the work was just letting him be the character. We would talk about Perley to a point, and then he didn’t want to hear any more.
What do you hope LGBTQ viewers will take from the film or come away with?
I didn’t want to approach it as an LGBTQ film. I wanted it to be about family. The scene where Alan’s character is drinking at the bar and Weldon is trying to save him is a standout for me. There are moments in that scene where I started to see my Uncle Hedley in Alan’s face, and it brought me to tears. Because of Alan’s experiences and the experiences of gay men I spoke with, it felt real
I want men of a certain age to see themselves in these characters, who are ordinary people in an ordinary family. Also, there is a difference between ignorance and hate. To move forward, we have to forgive the ignorant. Then we can deal with those who truly hate. I think that is an important message right now.
We had a screening of the film in Toronto for mostly middle-aged gay men. Afterward, one of them came up to me and said, “No one’s ever made a film about me.” That’s what I hope people say after watching it.
That’s great. Are you going to be at the San Diego screenings?
I am and I’m really excited about it! I can’t wait.
Experience the heartwarming film Drive Back Home, screening on Friday, October 18 and Saturday, October 19 at AMC 14 UTC. sdfilmfest.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.