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Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
USA 2010 Video 90 min
Award-winning documentary filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (The Celluloid Closet, The Times of Harvey Milk, Paragraph 175) make a bold leap into narrative storytelling with Howl, an unconventional and thoroughly engrossing examination of a renegade poet, his artistic masterpiece and the obscenity trial that sparked the counter-culture.
The film centres on Allen Ginsberg (portrayed by James Franco in an ardent and sublime performance) and his timeless poem "Howl," first published in 1957 by City Light Books in San Francisco. The tiny print-run of 520 copies was subsequently seized by police, and publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti found himself in court, having to defend against the charge of "distributing obscene literature."
The story of the poem's trial is interspersed throughout Howl with vignettes of Franco, as Ginsberg, reading passionately from the poet's work, in a crowded bar. The poem's reading is illustrated with beautiful animation sequences that vividly highlight the meaning behind the poet's words. These sequences were designed by Ginsberg collaborator Eric Drooker. Moreover, the film captures in dramatized scenes the reactions of those at the core of the young poet's life.
Howl features a stellar supporting cast that includes Mad Men's Jon Hamm; David Strathairn, Bob Balaban, Treat Williams, Mary-Louise Parker and Jeff Daniels.
Directors Epstein and Friedman have crafted a film that defies categorization. During the trial scenes, a witness for the defense states, "You can't translate poetry into prose. That's why it's poetry." Yet Howl manages to expertly translate one of the most profound poems of the 20th century onto film, capturing a moment in time from the Beat Generation and the ways the movement influenced the world.
Canadian Premiere
Directors in attendance
THIS PROGRAM IS RATED 14A
Join us for the Opening Gala Party at the beautiful Bata Shoe Museum.
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Javier Fuentes-León
Peru/Colombia 2009 35mm 100 min
A delicate drama about a married Peruvian villager's struggle to keep his love affair hidden, Undertow will wash over you and pull you under with its sweeping cinematography and raw emotional power.
Miguel (Cristian Mercado) and Mariela (Tatiana Astengo) are basking in the blissful glow of impending parenthood, but Miguel is harbouring a dark secret-he is having an affair with Santiago (Manolo Cardona), a ruggedly handsome and talented painter who is ostracized by the town because he is gay.When an unexpected tragedy risks exposing Miguel's clandestine relationship to his homophobic village neighbours, he must face the truth and decide whether to move forward in his life with his wife and newborn child or admit to his long-suppressed desires.
Undertow is a film of subtle beauty that expertly captures the joy and pain that permeate each of the main characters' lives. Director Fuentes-León executes an understated peeling away of Miguel's deceptions while capturing the guilt and torment that Miguel endures while living his lie.
The three leads are uniformly excellent, but Astengo shines as Mariela, giving a nuanced and layered performance that evolves throughout the film as she moves from adoring to bewildered to enraged wife.
The film delicately illuminates the unlikely romantic triangle, resulting in gentle observations about love, courage and honour, and will resonate with audiences long after the credits roll.
Spanish with English subtitles
Canadian Premiere
Dramatic World Cinema Audience Award , 2010 Sundance Film Festival
Sebastián Award, San Sebastián International Film Festival
Audience Award, Miami International Film Festival
Director in Attendance
Join us for a drink and nibblies at the Centrepiece Gala reception before the screning.
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Susan Muska and Gréta Olafsdóttir
USA 2009 Video 61 min
It's the stuff of legend, woven into one of our deepest, most universally held desires-that of finding an all-encompassing, passionate love that will last a lifetime. The story of Edie and Thea is a documentary about two soulmates whose love begins with an instantly magnetic attraction and lasts 42 years.
Like the great love stories of literature and lore-Tristan and Isolde, Romeo and Juliet, Gertrude and Alice-Edie and Thea's story is one of forbidden love. Shortly after meeting in New York's West Village in the early 1960s, they become "e;engaged,"e; although the idea of a civil marriage for gay and lesbian couples was then unthinkable, and would not come to pass for another four decades. When Edie and Thea finally decide to tie the knot, they choose our beloved Toronto.
The documentary features a wealth of personal photographs from infancy to adulthood to create a rich and thorough visual history of the two women's lives. Edie and Thea sit in their New York home reminiscing about their (extra)ordinary lives together. Their candid stories paint a lush portrait of their pre-Stonewall gay life: the bars and the parties, trips to Africa and relaxing on the beach.
Through more than four decades of lesbian culture, the couple has weathered homophobia at work, from their families, and in wider society, without even batting an eye as to whether or not they should stay together. They have been madly in love with each other every minute of every day since the night they met.
Directed by Susan Muska and Gréta Olafsdóttir, the powerhouse duo behind the outstanding documentary, The Brandon Teena Story, Edie and Thea: A Very Long Engagement is a chronicle of pure love that will leave you in tears of joy.
Canadian Premiere
Best Documentary Film, Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival
Directors in attendance
James Kent
UK 2010 Video 90 min
Inside Out's 20th anniversary Closing Gala is sure to incite some fervent bodice ripping with the bold and passionate true story of Anne Lister (1791-1840), a Yorkshire landowner and industrialist who detailed her life and Sapphic loves in a four million-word diary.
The BBC-produced The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister brings the title character's detailed journals to life, deciphering the coded language in which Anne wrote, and provides an intimate glimpse into the life of a woman who has been called Britain's first modern lesbian.
Anne, played by Maxine Peake, pours her heart out onto the pages of her painfully honest journal, vividly capturing the passion she felt for the women in her life. Although careful to keep her feelings secret in her journal, the pressures of English upper-class society don't stop her from defying convention and pursuing the woman of her dreams, the beautiful Mariana (Anna Madeley from Affinity).
Unable to be with the woman she loves, Anne relies on the friendship of Tib (Susan Lynch from Elizabeth: The Golden Age), her one-time lover. Anne, hearing that Mariana is visiting, cannot resist seeing her paramour, thereby risking her home, social standing and even her life.
Beautifully shot and showcasing a superb supporting cast, The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister captures the sweeping romance and unbridled passion of classic British novels, while uncovering a hidden chapter of our lesbian history.
International Premiere
Special guests in attendance
Join us after the screening for the Closing Gala Party and Awards at the gorgeous Gardiner Museum.
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21ST ANNUAL INSIDE OUT TORONTO LGBT FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL | MAY 19 - 29, 2011
219 - 401 Richmond Street West, Toronto, ON CANADA M5V 3A8 Tel - 416. 977-6847 Fax - 416. 977-8025  |  |
