by chris carpenter
The 22nd annual Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF), will be held Thursday, October 21 through Thursday, October 28 at various Orange County locations. Tickets are now on sale at newportbeachfilmfest.com. Several LGBTQ feature films, as well as short films, will be screened.
Among these are My Father Mary Anne (Min pappa Marianne). After breaking up with her boyfriend, 28-year-old Hanna returns to her hometown for a temporary position at the local news station. Her world is soon turned even more upside down when her beloved father, the local priest with the big beard, reveals that his greatest desire is to be Mary Anne. From this point on, there is no going back for Father Mary Anne, who insists on being her true self. It’s a tumultuous journey for Hanna, who didn’t know herself or her father as well as she thought she did.
Pieces of Us is an intimate look at the personal journeys of LGBTQ hate-crime survivors who, by choosing to take their recovery public, inspire the survivor in all of us. The film juxtaposes the inspirational stories of recovery each of its subjects (including transgender activist and Stonewall Riots survivor Victoria Cruz, and Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of India) have experienced with the powerful connections their public actions have produced. Their stories take us to New York City, Denver and India to witness how intersectionality and speaking one’s truth can build a supportive community and even spark global change. piecesofusthefilm.com
Yes I Am: The Ric Weiland Story (narrated by Zachary Quinto) tells the story of the openly gay software pioneer who found early wealth as the second employee at Microsoft in 1975. He was an integral and valued part of their early successes and helped shape the company into what it is today. Ric retired at 35 to quiet nagging doubts and to create impactful and meaningful change in the world around him. His generosity and influence helped shape modern HIV/AIDS research, marriage equality, and legal protections for LGBTQ employees at some of the biggest names in the business. Through this documentary and the personal diaries Ric left behind, we gain a clearer picture of the beloved, talented yet troubled man he was. ricweiland.com
Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams’ feature documentary, Someone Like Me, takes a verité approach to the generous and rough-edged nuances of what it means to sponsor an asylum seeker. Leaving everything he knows behind, Drake, a vibrant 22-year-old gay man from Uganda, aspires to the universal freedoms everyone deserves: to be whom he is and love whomever he chooses without fear of discrimination, persecution or violence. Tasked with a year-long commitment as Drake’s primary support network, a group of strangers from Vancouver’s queer community unite under the banner of Rainbow Refugee, a nonprofit that connects LGBTQ asylum claimants with sponsors. Chronicling the complexities of the journey taken by Drake and his sponsors, the filmmakers illuminate how survival itself becomes a victory in a world where one must constantly fight for the right to exist.
Several LGBTQ short films will also be screened under the program title “Short, Sweet and Queer.” These will include Adrift in Sunset, Falling In, ITCH, Liminal, Satan’s Tears, That Girl, Peugeot and The Lonely Prince.