Arts & Entertainment

“We are here. We are queer. We are Muslim. We are both, relentlessly without contradiction and without apology.” Eman is a brilliant academic, a strong and empowered woman, and active in her queer Muslim community. She speaks on panels, writes and directs a queer play, and is an all-around badass. That is, except when she goes home to Missouri to visit her traditional Muslim mother, whom she has yet to come out to. When she starts dating a cisgender man, it seems as though her worlds can finally coexist, but can she live up to the traditional expectations?

This fresh take on coming out eloquently avoids the trope of vilifying the religious mother to a depiction that is nuanced, thoughtful, and always comes back to shared respect and love. Fresh off its world premiere at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival and executive produced by Frameline alum, Fawzia Mirza (Noor & Layla, Frameline45) and Marc Smolowitz (Who I Am Not, Frameline47), Coming Around reminds us that coming out is anything but straightforward.

Sandra Itäinen (Director, Producer, Editor) is a Finnish film director, producer, and editor based in New York City. Sandra’s directorial feature debut COMING AROUND premiered at Thessaloniki 2023, nominated for the Golden Alexander in the Newcomers Competition. Documentary editing credits include TOMBOY (SXSW, 2020) and award-winning KELET (DocPoint, 2020). In 2021, she directed the short documentary series NOITAPIIRIT (eng. COVENS) to critical acclaim for Finnish YLE. 

Sandra’s first documentary short THE WEAVEOLOGIST (2016) screened at multiple film festivals, among others DOC NYC. She is the associate producer of DARK MONEY (dir. Kimberly Reed) which premiered at Sundance 2018, nominated for Best Documentary Feature. Before moving into film, Sandra worked as a journalist for Finnish YLE. She works to amplify women’s voices through filmmaking and focuses mainly on themes revolving around identity, family and mental health, through a millennial lens. She holds an MFA in Documentary Film from the School of Visual Arts and an MSS from the University of Helsinki. 

Coming Around will be shown Thursday, June 22, 1 PM at the Castro Theatre and available to stream June 24 — July 2.   For more information and to purchase tickets go to:  www.frameline.org. 

In this nuanced, gentle, and ultimately heartfelt dramedy, director Andy Vallentine explores the notion of connection through the experiences of a loving gay couple who discover they have differing ideas about what makes a family. Nico Totorella (The Walking Dead: World Beyond), Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek), Juan Pablo Di Pace (Mamma Mia!), Carl Clemons-Hopkins (Hacks), Cloie Wyatt Taylor (Partners in Rhyme), Jake Choi (Front Cover, Frameline40), and Heather Matarazzo (Welcome to the Dollhouse) make up The Mattachine Family’s queer power ensemble.

Jumping through moments in time between a collection of characters, The Mattachine Family finds a fiercely in love gay couple — photographer Thomas (Tortorella) and actor Oscar (Di Pace) — maintaining their relationship through steadily remaining fiercely in love through geographical setbacks, after their foster son returns to live with his birth mother. Just as Oscar’s acting career begins to rise, Thomas enters something of a pre-midlife existential crisis. As the couple begins to have differing views and desires around what a potential family looks like together moving forward, Thomas leans heavily on a close-knit core of friends for comfort and meaning through it all.

Director Andy Vallentine is a queer, dyslexic, daddy, diet-coke obsessed, director from Mid-Michigan. His debut short film, The Letter Men, had its world premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival which has gone on to win numerous awards at film festivals around the world. His first feature film, The Mattachine Family, produced by Zach Braff + Scot Boland, written by his husband Danny Vallentine. 

The Mattachine Family will be shown June 15 at 6 PM at the Castro Theatre and stream June 24 – July 2.  To purchase tickets, go to:  www.frameline.org.  

Teenagers Egghead (Louis Tomeo) and Twinkie (Sabrina Jie-A-Fa) have been best friends since childhood, but recently they’ve been keeping secrets from each other. Egghead has a secret crush on Twinkie. Twinkie is a lesbian infatuated with social media star, BD (Ayden Lee). These awkward truths come to light when Egghead tries to kiss Twinkie, spurring her to come out to her conservative parents and take off on a road trip with Egghead along for the ride. The problem? Egghead doesn’t know that the real purpose of the trip is for Twinkie to meet BD in person, and BD might not be everything she appears to be online. Told in a series of colorful flashbacks, Egghead & Twinkie is a stylized, whip smart, coming-of-age story written by and for Gen Z. 

Sara Kambe Holland (writer / director / producer / editor) is a filmmaker based in Orlando, FL. Her directorial work has screened at festivals all over the country, including the Florida Film Festival, NewFest, and Reeling Film Festival. Her 2019 short film, “Egghead & Twinkie”, won Best Film and Best Director from the Women Making a Scene International Film Project along with a production grant to produce the concept as a full-length feature. She is passionate about positive minority representation and exploring important issues through a comedic lens. 

Egghead & Twinkie  will be shown June 19 at 6 PM at the New Parkway Theatre in Oakland and stream online June 24 – July 2.  To purchase tickets, go to:  www.frameline.org.

In this poignant coming-of-age drama, everyone wants something from high school senior Jake: his father is pushing him to try out for the basketball team – an abandoned dream of his own – and his girlfriend wants to take their relationship to the next level. But it’s not until Aleks, an openly gay teen with a love for basketball, moves in across the street that Jake begins to struggle with his own desires. To get closer to Aleks, Jake devotes himself to making the basketball team – only to realize it’s not basketball he really wants. Meanwhile, Jake finds out that his father is having an affair, which leaves him questioning his entire family foundation. Distraught and confused, Jake pulls away – until he’s finally outed as gay. With the truth in the open, Jake and his father come to terms with the reality of their relationship and expectations for each other. At last able to find the courage to be himself, Jake is ready to face the future with his family and friends by his side. 

Golden Delicious’ director and executive producer Jason Karman (He/Him) is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a Master of Fine Arts in Film Production and Creative Writing; his films have travelled internationally and won awards. His short film, Lions in Waiting, was selected by Telefilm Canada’s Not Short on Talent at Clermont- Ferrand in 2018. Jason’s debut feature, Golden Delicious, is supported by Telefilm Canada Talent to Watch program, which has launched Canada’s brightest talents. Jason is working on a second feature film with Norman Y. Li, a 2021 Pacific Screenwriting Program graduate. 

Golden Delicious will be shown Monday, June 19 at the Castro Theatre and it will stream online June 24 – July 2.  For more info and to purchase tickets got to:  www.frameline.org. 

Tell us about getting the “Golden Delicious” ball rolling. Did you work with Gorman Lee, or did his script come to you?

Getting the ball rolling took many years, not only because it takes a long time to get feature film funding but I was also gaining my self-confidence as a BIPOC director. I was introduced to Gorrman Lee in 2012 because I wanted a feature script to develop. After an unsuccessful attempt at funding this project in 2013, I continued to create shorts and returned to school to do a Master of Fine Arts in Film Production and Creative Writing in 2016. Up to that point, I was self-taught, so it was valuable to go back to school to fill in my knowledge gap and get tested on what I knew. In 2019, armed with more knowledge, I applied again for funding for Golden Delicious and started getting grants. It took a few more years before we got most of our funding, and we started principal photography in March 2021.  

What about the screenplay really spoke to you, and how faithful is the feature to what was on the page?

Golden Delicious resonated strongly with me because of its strong familial relationships. I could identify with many characters and what they wanted and needed. The feature is faithful to what was on the page because Gorrman wrote a great script, and I understood it. Test audiences dwelled on only a few production design elements, so we scaled them back in the final edit, making them less of a distraction. Time, for example, was chaptered in the script, but on-screen, marking the passage of time with months became a distraction to the story. Instead, emotional transitions were used to show the passage of time.   

The characters are so multi-layered and fully developed. Was it important to you to get the full spectrum of Jake’s life – family, friends, school, the future etc?

It was essential to acknowledge Jake’s surroundings because coming of age doesn’t happen in a vacuum. There is a strong sense of heritage within Asian families that can be debilitating and suffocating to finding happiness. By comparing Jake’s relationships with his family and friends, we start to see what he has and is missing. 

You’ve cast very talented actors. Tell us about casting the leads and about working with a perfect example of an ensemble.

We cast using Zoom starting in December 2020. The process began with finding Jake, the boy next door, Aleks, and his girlfriend, Valerie. Due to COVID restrictions, we didn’t have a chance to do in-person chemistry reads, so everything I interpreted was through my laptop monitor. Often, I identify contrasting elements within actors as it makes them more compelling to watch. I see how well they take direction and look at their acting range. Once Jake, Aleks and Valerie were cast, I looked for actors to complement them. Special attention was given to Jake’s Dad, George, because the actor who played him had to convey a patriarch of the family and one of the antagonists to Jake on his journey. I discovered Ryan Mah, who could play George as a character who is both intimidating and inspiring at the same time.  

As a timely coming-out story, “Golden Delicious” tackles some important themes, including the dangerous nature of young people living their lives online. Why did you decide to explore this aspect of teenage life?

Growing up, I did not have to deal with being online, so I wanted to explore how this affects them. As an educator, I have heard from students that being online can be an overwhelming and confusing experience. My emotions can be amplified online, and I have seen people become alienated online through casual remarks they have made. I can imagine how anxiety-inducing and unforgiving it must be for young people trying to find their identity and place in the world. I wanted to make a film that a teenager could relate to and offer hope during one’s formative years. 

I like that you also explore legacy – Jake feeling pressured to play basketball like his father; Jake’s parents struggling with the restaurant that was handed down to them. Did this have special meaning for you, both personally and as a filmmaker?

My parents owned a restaurant when we first came to Canada and struggled to keep it open. My siblings and I spent time after school helping them. I am unsure if my parents wanted to hand the restaurant down to us, but I certainly felt trapped, and I could see them feeling it too. As the eldest child, I felt the pressure to be a role model, to perform at a time when I wasn’t ready. 

When depicting father/son relations, high school life and sports, it’s impossible not to touch on toxic masculinity. “Golden Delicious” dives deep. What are you hoping audiences take away on this subject?

Toxic masculinity is a subject matter that’s often difficult to talk about. I hope audiences, through the film, will be able to address it in the open with more empathy and understanding instead of assumptions and judgment. In other words, we need to have more conversations about it.

There’s nothing like the double whammy of a girlfriend pressuring you into sex and meeting a hot, out gay boy. How did you depict Jake’s split affections while keeping the gay romance lively and sexy?

I treated Jake’s sexual experiences as firsts regardless of gender. This sets the stakes. However, we automatically compare and measure which experience is better. I used humour in Jake’s gay romance to make that feel livelier and sexier. In doing so, we experience Jake as he processes his growing attraction to the same sex. 

“Golden Delicious” is a delicious mix of a few genres – the coming-of-age/coming-out story, a tender rom-com, an intense family drama. Did you strive to tell a story that wasn’t easily defined? 

I aim to tell a story that feels authentic, and in real life, we often have moments of tenderness and laughter right after intense drama. This is a character-driven story; my characters are like real people who need to vent when confronted with challenging situations. 

“Golden Delicious” has been on the festival circuit since October 2022. Tell us about some of your favourite screenings and the awards that you’ll most cherish.

My favourite screening is the one at the Reelworld Film Festival in Toronto. We were opening night film, and the crowd was engaged. The lead cast and some crew were there, and we could hear how invested they were in the movie and how vocal their reactions were. Afterwards, many audience members stuck around at the afterparty and talked to us for hours. We ate Vietnamese food at 3 am, commiserating what we collectively experienced. It was a magical night that none of us wanted to end.  

What was your reaction when you learned that “Golden Delicious” would be shown at the world’s biggest and oldest LGBTQI+ film festival, Frameline47?

I was thrilled and delighted. We received the Frameline Completion Fund earlier in 2022 but could not complete the film in time for Frameline46.  

Will you and your cast be in SF for the screening, and if so, will it be your first time at Frameline?

My cast and I will be in San Francisco for the Bay Area Premiere. I have visited Frameline before, but for my cast, it will be their first time at the festival, so that will be very special. 

What advice can you offer fellow queer filmmakers struggling to get their work out there?

I would recommend seeing as many queer films on the festival circuit as possible and getting a sense of what kind of stories are being curated and how they are being received. Travel with your film as much as possible because it is a rare and invaluable opportunity for professional development. 

What’s up next for you?

I am working on a queer heist movie and a coming-of-age film about a young woman obsessed with muscle cars. Hoping I can shoot one of these in 2024. Keep an eye out for it. 

Jamie’s dream camping trip is ruined before it even begins when he finds out that his beloved cousin is bringing her new boyfriend. However, Jamie’s initial jealousy of the competent and confident Dan quickly turns into a friendship, as they bond over cooking, games and both being “big boys.”

But as the weekend progresses, despite Jamie’s brother’s attempts to set him up with a girl staying at the campsite, all Jamie wants to do is hang out with Dan. As his burgeoning crush gets him into awkward scrapes and arguments, Jamie begins to come to terms with who he is, and who he desires. Hilarious and heartwarming, BIG BOYS is the type of coming-of-age film we need more of in the world.

“Big Boys” will be shown Sunday, June 11 at Rialto Cinemas in Sebastopol.

Emily Kaye Allen’s Cisco Kid follows Eileen (they/them)–a young queer dreamer who moves to a desert ghost town in Southern Utah, determined to live an independent and untethered life.  Originally a pit-stop for the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, and then for drivers traversing a former thoroughfare, Cisco was all but abandoned after the construction of an interstate highway. Almost half a century later, Eileen feels called by the town.

We get to know Eileen through objects and anecdotes: the memorabilia they collect; the music they play; a voicemail they leave for their mother. They spend days building a wall made of tires and barbed wire. Seasons pass and progress feels hard won. Set against the startling tableau of the vast Utah desert, Cisco Kid is a portrait of a singular spirit who defiantly walks away from mainstream society and resurrects a place that has been left behind by a changing world.

Emily Kaye Allen is the documentary’s director, cinematographer, and editor. Allen is a photographer and filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY. Her work explores the connection of characters and story to environment and place. She works as a freelance camera person and teaches video production. Cisco Kid is her debut feature film.

Cisco Kid will be shown at Roxie Theater House 2 Sunday, June 4 at 9 p.m. and available for online streaming June 1 – June 11.  For tickets and more information go to:  https://sfdocfest2023.eventive.org/films/63ef9e2fe2fa12008cfbbd71