2012 Queer Park City Preview

Going to the Sundance Film Festival next week? Or just want a sneak peek at a few top films coming up in 2012? Please take a look at my Queer Park City preview on The Bilerico Project — you could also read it on QMovieBlog.com or AfterEllen.com if you are so inclined. That picture above is from Mosquita y Mari (premiering in the NEXT section at Sundance).

On Art: Jeff Brouws/Ed Ruscha

"The beauty of Ruscha's work is that it appears authorless, effortless, totally objective, artfully artless, which I think gives it a universal appeal, as if his voice and vision are ours, as if he's saying: you could do this too. Twentysix Gasoline Stations led me down the typographical path; it made me want to photographically collect "types" of things as a way of systematically surveying the unique qualities of similar objects, a way to remind myself that everything in the world is interesting, mystifying, individual, and worthy of our attention, no matter how banal or ordinary."

Jeff Brouws on Ed Ruscha's Twentysix Gasoline Stations (in Readymades, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2003)

Pictured above: Edward Ruscha, Phillips 66, Flagstaff, Arizona, 1962, from Twentysix Gasoline Stations, 1963. Gelatin silver print, 4 11/16 × 4 11/16 in. (11.9 × 11.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from The Leonard and Evelyn Lauder Foundation, and Diane and Thomas Tuft 2004.467 © Ed Ruscha

Parting Glances: VIP Q Movie Pick for World AIDS Day

Please read my posting on Bilerico.com today which includes reflections on Parting Glances from Matthew Rettenmund, Will Clark, Bruce Vilanch, Alec Mapa, Dan Butler and Tom Bezucha. Here's the intro:

As World AIDS Day approaches on December 1st it's a fitting moment to share the half-dozen VIP Q Movie Pickers who have named Bill Sherwood's legendary 1986 HIV/AIDS drama, Parting Glances as their number one favorite LGBT film (alongside Desert Hearts and But I'm a Cheerleader this film has been the most popular selection amongst our dozens of celebrity movie lovers).

And here's the rest: Parting Glances: VIP Q Movie Pick for World AIDS Day

Hear Harvey: Post-November 27 Action Item

This past Sunday, November 27th marked the anniversary of the death of gay civil rights movement leader Harvey Milk (he was assassinated on November 27, 1978). His legacy carries on in innumerable ways today. Visit the Milk Foundation website to find out more. And if you have time, please take seven minutes to watch my little short film, 575 Castro St. which includes some of Harvey's tremendously inspiring reflections on the gay movement.

Tomboy: Must-See Queer Film of the Year

This terrific movie opened last week in New York City (at Film Forum). It opens this Wednesday (November 23rd) in San Francisco at the Landmark Embarcadero and on Friday (November 25th) in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Encino and Berkeley. I'm telling you: this is the must-see queer film of the year (though I confess that I have a conflict of interest since I work for Wolfe and we will be doing the North American DVD release of the film — but regardless of that, I seriously LOVE this movie). Here's what I wrote about it this past summer (before we acquired it):

Lesbian film fans will want to be sure to get festival tickets for this latest feature drama from WATER LILIES director Celine Sciamma! Currently playing on the film festival circuit and expected to be released theatrically in the U.S. this fall, TOMBOY tells the story of a 10-year-old girl (played by the amazing Zoe Heran) who moves to a new neighborhood and decides to pass as a boy. Winner of the prestigious Teddy Award at this year’s Berlin Film Festival (where it played as the opening night film for the festival’s Panorama section), TOMBOY has been wildly successful in its French theatrical release and has been getting rave reviews everywhere. Mike Goodridge of Screen Daily calls it a “small French gem,” Paul Heath of The Hollywood News calls it “a charm… my favorite film of the year so far” while Jordan Mintzer in The Hollywood Reporter glowingly commends director Sciamma for her, “tender and realistic eye” and describes the film as “reminiscent of such landmark adolescent movies as Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows.”

For more info plus upcoming dates in other cities please visit TomboyMovie.com. Get out to see it in a theater if you can. And then look for it on DVD from Wolfe next summer. In fact you can even go ahead and click HERE to add it to your Netflix queue right now!