More kind words for 575 Castro St.

Another amazing review of my short film, 575 Castro St. — I am so grateful to the thoughtful movie lovers and film critics who put such energy into writing about my films. Best line from a very lengthy reflection on the film:

"575 Castro St. challenges every formal tendency of the Hollywood biopic -- it's short, slow, contemplative -- but, in a way, it is a Hollywood biopic."

Read the rest at LongPauses.com!

Me and Micah Schraft at Outfest Opening Night

IMG_1459.JPG, originally uploaded by gppict.

It's so fabulous that JD goes around the entire festival capturing the glamorous (and mundane) moments of any given evening. And then she writes about it! Visit TheSmokingCocktail.com for all the scoop.

Beyond Chron review of 575 Castro St.

The San Francisco International Film Festival press office just sent me clippings of coverage they got for my short when it played the festival in May. Consider me extremely impressed! And thrilled about this quite substantial review from BeyondChron:

"The titular "575 Castro Street" of Jenni Olson’s short is the address of slain supervisor Harvey Milk’s camera shop. Viewers of the film “Milk” know this shop as the base for the gay leader’s political runs for office. But the shop also processed the Super 8 studies in light and motion that became the basis for the San Franicsco Gay Film Festival.

Olson’s short pays homage to both these legacies. Visually, the viewer is treated to static shots of the shop’s interior, which was meticulously reconstructed for “Milk.” Reflections from the outside traffic resemble rivers of quietly flowing light. The effect renders the shop as a contemplative shrine.

The audio track will rattle certain viewers’ cages. Despite being recorded over three decades ago, Harvey Milk’s posthumous post-assassination message still has the power to discomfit. His reminders about the evils of organized religion, complacency in the LGBT community, and those who put their egos above the movement is still timely advice that has been sometimes ignored in the decades after his death.

Olson’s union of these two individually powerful elements creates a mournful whole. Milk’s monologue feels like wind whispering through a mausoleum. But it also stimulates the viewer’s imagination to visualize the many political meetings in that shop and to muse over the sociopolitical changes brought to the LGBT community by ensuing decades. Unmediated by Sean Penn, Milk’s voice still compels."

The Hefty Gift Bag from Frameline Women's Brunch

June 26 09, REEL Women's Brunch, originally uploaded by frameline32photos.

Photographer Ana Grillo took this awesome shot of one of the Wolfe gift bags at last week's Women's Brunch during Frameline33. We crammed them with all kinds of great stuff including ITTY BITTY TITTY COMMITTEE t-shirts, Wolfe lollipops and Wolfe's "Big Picture" LGBT DVD catalog.

The Hefty Gift Bag from Frameline Women's Brunch

June 26 09, REEL Women's Brunch, originally uploaded by frameline32photos.

Photographer Ana Grillo took this awesome shot of one of the Wolfe gift bags at last week's Women's Brunch during Frameline33. We crammed them with all kinds of great stuff including ITTY BITTY TITTY COMMITTEE t-shirts, Wolfe lollipops and Wolfe's "Big Picture" LGBT DVD catalog.