23rd San Francisco Silent Film Festival at the Castro Theatre, May 30–June 3, 2018
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Calling a movie Funny Story is rather a brave move which can lead to unfulfilled expectations especially when your plot has its fair share of tragic incidents too. This feature from Michael J Gallagher whose work is usually created for the small screen. is full of good intentions and does at least start off on full of laughs, but then at the end gets way too muddled to be really funny
It starts with Walter (Matthew Glave) an aging actor who has coasted a very comfortable living out of once playing an action hero who has now become something of a cult figure. He may have only had one role on the screen, but in his personal life he has had several and the movie starts with him trying to dump his latest very young girlfriend (Daiyse Tutor) who is far too interested in her cellphone to listen to him. However when he comes to the punch line ‘we’re finished’ she trumps it with “I’m pregnant”
Then what had been an odd couple road movie morphs into something much more difficult and rather awkward when they arrive at the vacation house packed with women and Nic comes out to her startled father and announces that Kim is, in fact, her fiance who she is about to marry the very next day.
Now Walter has two pieces of major news that he has to tell Nic about but he is faced with the dilemma of trying to decide if and how he should share with her as she prepares for what could be a doomed marriage after all.
Up to this point, the movie is deliciously funny thanks in part to the pitch-perfect performances of the three main actors. Walter’s awkwardness with his daughter’s sexuality is handled clumsily and seems some out of keeping with a man who has lived and worked in Hollywood all his life. The muddle that follows (which we cannot go into without spoilers) takes some of the gloss off the humor, but it has its heart in the right place which makes you want this engaging wee drama to succeed.
This very prestigious all-boys boarding school in India which is the setting for The Noblemen is obviously a remnant of British colonial days and the children are still expected to practice the age-old rituals and codes which should have been banished years ago. Here in this very formal setting, the pupils are reluctantly bound by an outdated hierarchal system which too often allows the senior boys to use the younger sons as their slaves.
This then is the story of 14-year-old-Shay (Ali Haji ) who, because he hates sports and prefers drama class, is labeled a sissy and gay by other boys. Devoted to his invalid mother who he is allowed to call via Skype once a week, and who has promised that she will be well enough to finally visit him on Founders Day at the end of the term.
Shay’s only two friends are Ganesh (Hardik Thakkar ) who is the butt of everyone’s jokes because he is so overweight, and Pia (Muskkaan Jaferi)the rather spunky daughter of the new history teacher and thus the only girl pupil in the school.
When Shay and Pia are given the leading roles in the Founders Day production of Merchant of Venice, it really upsets Baadeal one of the wealthier older boys. He wants to follow in the footsteps of his father who is a Bollywood movie star and this would have been the perfect part to show off his talent. Equally important is the fact that he wants to be with Pia and he sees this as a perfect opportunity for him to get close to her.
When Baadeal’s clumsy attempt to bribe Mr. Murli (Kunal Kapoor ) the drama teacher fails, he enlists Arjun (Mohammed Ali Mir )a school captain and its leading bully, to ‘persuade’ Shay to give up the part. Despite all the brutal force they apply to get him agree, Shay stubbornly refuses as he wants to be able to perform for his mother.
It’s a relentless battle of brawn against wit, and even Ganesh gets drawn into it in such a way that it almost costs him his life, but it isn’t until Mr. Murli becomes aware of the situation and gets involved, and tries to help, that it really gets out of control.
Once Mr. Murli goes public with the story and Shay is now outed and humiliated by being labeled a rat by almost the entire school, taking a leaf out of The Merchant of Venice he seeks his own bloody revenge.
The Noblemen brings home the point that in such an insidious regime where bullying still persists it is a breeding ground for even more homophobia. The biggest offense that any of these boys can have is being gay, and the brutal punishment administered to Shay just reinforced his long-held fears about the consequences even more. That this can contribute to making someone so ashamed of their own sexuality that they will take such extreme measures is indefensible, but as this film proves, makes for a very compelling bloody drama.
The Noblemen is the feature directing debut of filmmaker Vandana Kataria, and is unusual for an indie film that it boasts one major Bollywood actor in its cast: Kunal Kapoor as the liberal drama teacher.
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Ten years in the making this new excellent documentary from filmmaker Erin Palmquist is the engaging story of Ghazwan Alsharif an Iraqi refugee and former translator for the U.S. military. After years of service helping the American invading forces, he was wrongfully accused of espionage and tortured by the military police in Iraq for some 75 days before being rescued by a US Colonel who he had served and who personally vouched for him.
When the Iraqi militia learned of his work with the US Forces they first threatened his family and then bombed his home. His parents who ironically had been the ones who had initially encouraged him to help the Americans liberate the country now ostracized him for refusing to give up his war work.
Despite the US Government’s avowed aim to help re-settle Iraqis who had risked their lives working with the Armed Forces (in those days anyway) the reality of actually being allowed to immigrate to safe haven in America involves a long and arduous procedure which does not guarantee success. Alsharif was one of the very rare lucky ones who managed to be awarded a place in an International Refugee scheme which enabled him to get to San Francisco.
Over the years Palmquist and her crew regularly returned to visit Alsharif and see how he was managing to adjust to his new life. It would be wrong to underestimate both the upheaval and suffering of being forced to give up your own home and culture purely to survive. He was not only ostracised by his entire family back in Iraq, but his divorced wife now living in London rarely allowed him even phone contact with their son.
A major plus side of his new life was that it was now safe for Alsharif to finally come out as a gay man, but when his photograph with other gay men appeared on Facebook, his brothers called from Iraq to demand that they are taken down. Then in 2012 when he lent his support to the group campaigning to stop Iraqis being killed back home just for being gay, his family contacted him again to tell him to desist. An American Arab explained that the family could be totally excluded from Iraq society if it was known they had a gay son, which may seem severe but pales in comparison with the knowledge that this could easily cost Alsharif his very life.
He is by all counts a very affable man, with a passion for his work as a chef (he even got his 5 minutes of fame appearing on Food Network program). He has a new group of friends, American citizenship, and a gratitude for his freedom which almost makes up the loneliness he feels he can never escape from.
In a very similar story that was the subject of the movie Out of Iraq, the two gay Iraqis involved had each other, and after almost insurmountable obstacles managed to finally settle in the U.S. together. That’s what Alsharif seems to feel he is missing in his life. Perhaps that’s a good enough reason for a follow-up documentary.
Although a flood of queer films are being celebrated in the mainstream, there’s still something missing from the roster of movies that have been released.
Whether it’s Moonlight, Call Me By Your Name or Love, Simon being celebrated through gleaming accolades in Hollywood, there’s one poignant act about queer coming of age films: They are not favouring the depiction of lesbian women.
According to GLAAD – the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation – gay men comprise an overwhelming 83 percent of LGBT representation in the media, while lesbian characters featured on our screens at 35 percent of the rate.
In 2017, the organisation also found that of the 2016’s top films just 18 percent included LGBTQ characters.
“Gay men seem to be so much better represented [than lesbians], although I’d say they get slotted into the camp niche and the diversity of their representation is consequentially restricted,” a spokesperson for the Arts Trade Union Equity said to studybreaks.com.
“Gay male representation is improving, although camp gay men are still the norm, especially in comedy scenarios.”
Even on TV screens, explicitly lesbian dramas do not seem to make the silver screen’s grade.
Although flourishing bisexual characters can be seen in the likes of Riverdale, shows such like Everything Sucks! have been discontinued to a great deal of backlash.
Starring Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams, the film follows a young woman who returns to her Orthodox Jewish home after learning about the death of her estranged father.
Unable to deny her feelings for her best friend, she rekindles her love for the woman who is now married to her cousin.
However, UK fans will have a bit of a wait on their hands when it comes to the adaptation of the Naomi Alderman novel, which will be coming to British screens on 28 September 2018.
However, whether it’s Disobedience or Love, Simon, one thing is apparent: None of these title roles are being played by queer actors.
Perhaps it’s also worth asking the industry if it will only change when it puts queer actors on the screen – and introduces them into the lofty ranks of the industry.
For his debut feature movie, London based Finnish filmmaker Mikko Makela has returned home to tell his compelling tale of a romantic summer encounter between an unlikely pair that literally sizzles on the screen.
Leevi (Janne Puustinen ) has been studying in Paris and comes back home to somewhat reluctantly help his estranged father (Mika Melender) renovate their old remote county cottage so they can sell it to help re-finance their ailing family business. The two men couldn’t possibly be more different with their opposing views on practically every aspect of their lives. The father is a gruff conservative, and it is not just Leevi’s sexuality that disturbs him but his son’s insistence on taking up French citizenship to avoid being conscripted into the Finnish Army that he totally hates.
It soon becomes obvious that Leevi has no skills or inclination for the work at hand and so his father is forced to employ the services of a contractor to help with the rebuild. However In the isolated community they live in, the pickings are few and far in between, and the only candidate is a Tareq (Boodi Kabbani) a Syrian refugee who was once an architect. The father however is fit to explode and cannot refrain from a stream of racist comments.
Luckily Tariq doesn’t speak Finnish so although he may pick up on the father’s unfriendly welcome, he is unaware of the extent of his attitude. However, though the workmanlike Tariq and geeky studious Leevi appear to be totally opposite and no more than just merely polite to each other, the moment the father is called back to town, they quickly discover they have a great deal in common.
What then flourishes in the father’s subsequent absences is a deep and profound relationship between the two young men, which when its physical side manifests becomes a very sensuous and loving experience. However, with the thought of the end of summer looming and with Tariq wanting to reunite with his Syrian family, and Leevi intent on getting back to Paris and his studies, they both know that there are tough decisions that must be made very soon.
It is a remarkably mature debut from Makela who very competently tackles several issues at once, from Leevi’s sexuality, his father/son relationship and also the growing unrest in the world about refugees and immigrants. The romance aspect is handled beautifully thanks to not only the very real chemistry of the two lead actors pitch-perfect performances but also Makela’ s direction that avoids the usual pitfalls of indie gay moves that always make the physical encounters seem like a poor soft core porn films.
The film has been in the works for some time so the fact that one of the protagonists is a hunky foreign manual worker that falls for a local lad, just like in God’s Own Country, is pure coincidence, but one we feel sure that audiences will be happy if it does become a trend.
A Moment In The Reeds leaves you wondering what would happen if the story had ended differently, and maybe Makela will be tempted to make a sequel to his very entertaining tale. He is a fresh new voice in queer cinema a genre which Finland suddenly seems to be adopting after last years Tom of Finland and Screwed. Long may he, and his fellow filmmakers continue.
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A drama about a transgender woman has won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
Chilean film A Fantastic Woman has taken home the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, its only nomination.
A Fantastic Woman’s director Sebastián Lelio, thanked star Daniela Vega when accepting the award.
He said: “I want to thank the cast of the film, especially the brilliant actor Francisco Reyes Morandé and the inspiration for this movie, Daniela Vega.
28-year-old Vega has been receiving rave reviews for her central role in the film.
Vega’s character Marina has to deal with her partner’s death and his family’s subsequent transphobia, while simultaneously trying to find her identity without her beloved Orlando.
Screening in several film festivals internationally, A Fantastic Woman had been very well received, particularly for Vega’s performance.
The magazine said she deserved “so much more than political praise,” and was one of many publications heaping compliments on the actress.
The film has been praised both for Vega’s performance and the artistic merit of the film, but for also ensuring that a transgender character was played by a transgender actress.
After his win, director Lelio said that it was critically important that the main character in the film be played by a transgender actress.
He said: “I felt that, for me, it was [a] very instinctive and strong decision knowing that I was not going to make this film without a transgender actress in main role.
“That put [the] film in a different dimension because of everything that Daniela brought to the film.”
After it was screened at the Berlin Film Festival, Variety called Vega’s performance “a multi-layered, emotionally polymorphous feat of acting.”
However, Vega herself missed out on a nomination for Best Actress.
Vega became the first openly trans person to ever present at the Oscars, introducing Sufjan Stevens’s performance of “Mystery of Love” from the acclaimed film Call Me By Your Name.
As Vega took the stage at the 90th Academy Awards, she said: “Thank you for this moment. I want to invite you to open your hearts and your feelings to feel the reality, to feel love. Can you feel it?”
Director Yance Ford became the first trans director to be nominated for an Oscar in this year’s Academy Awards, but was sadly beaten by the documentary Icarus.
The Sonoma International Film Festival has earned a reputation for blending Wine Country lifestyle with world-class films from around the world.
The opening night headline film is Borg vs McEnroe, which explores the story of the legendary 1980 Wimbledon match between Björn Borg and John McEnroe. The film is directed by Janus Metz and stars Sverrir Gudnason as Borg and Shia LaBeouf as McEnroe.
Two other films will headline the festival: Back to Burgundy, a French film, directed by Cédric Klapisch, about three siblings trying to save their family winery, and Chef, an Indian remake of the 2014 American hit film.
Film star Karen Allen (Animal House, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Malcolm X, The Perfect Storm, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), will grace the historic Sonoma Plaza. Allen will serve on the film jury and will participate in a panel discussion titled “Reversing Gender Inequality by 2020.” The panel will also include Academy Award-nominated actress Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine, August: Osage County), actor and casting director Pamela Guest (Blue Velvet), JD Heyman, Deputy Entertainment Editor for People, Anna Serner, CEO of the Swedish Film Institute, and Ingrid Rudefors, former head of the Stockholm Film Commission.
Additional star power will be provided by actor and director Ed Begley, Jr. (Ghostbusters, Better Call Saul, Arrested Development), who also serves on the film jury.
Thursday, March 22, features a unique five-course dinner. Each course will be prepared by a celebrity chef and will be paired with a short film. Foodie stars include Dominique Crenn of San Francisco, Evan Funke (Felix Trattoria) from LA, and two local favorites: John McReynolds (Stone Edge Farms) and John Toulze (the girl & the fig).
The Sonoma International Film Festival runs March 21-25 in Sonoma. Tickets start at $35. sonomafilmfest.org