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The oldest continuous film festival in Los Angeles, Outfest 2008 features 212 films and videos from 25 countries in 7 different venues over 13 days.
• The festival boasts 116 separate public programs – 8 galas, 65 features, 12 short film programs, 16 panels and special events, 8 platinum programs and a 2-day music festival, Boom!
• On Wednesday July 9, Outfest honors Donna Deitch with the 12th Annual Outfest Achievement Award preceding the Opening Night Gala film BREAKFAST WITH SCOT
• On Monday July 14 the Legacy Project Gala unspools the restoration premiere of WORD IS OUT the second film to be fully restored as part of The Outfest Legacy Project for LGBT Film Preservation.
• Now in it’s second year don’t miss Boom! The two-day Outfest Music Festival with a diverse line-up of musicians from rock to hip hop to electro with an emphasis on indie artists who appeal to a LGBTQ audience.
• Outfest 2008 also includes over 30 parties and receptions most of which are open to the general public or to festival badge and ticket holders. |
In the Online Film Guide, festival programs are arranged in to these categories categories: Features (American Narrative, International Narrative & Documentaries) Shorts, Panels and Special Events.
Here’s a quick overview of some of the special festival programs to help you navigate the Online Film Guide.
GALAS
[see FEATURES in the ONLINE FILM GUDE]
• Opening Night Gala: BREAKFAST WITH SCOT
We open Outfest 2008 with this wonderfully funny, enormously heartwarming tale about a macho ex-hockey player Eric (Tom Cavanagh) and his boyfriend (Ben Shenkman) find themselves as temporary guardians of Scot, an 11-year-old boy with a penchant for feather boas, rose hand cream and all that glitters.
[Wednesday July 9, Orpheum Theatre]
• Legacy Project Gala: WORD IS OUT (Restoration Premier)
We are thrilled to screen the newly restored archival print of WORD IS OUT, the landmark documentary created by a group of young filmmakers in 1978 and the second feature restored by the Outfest Legacy Project for LGBT Film Preservation.
[Monday July 14, Directors Guild of America]
• Dramatic Centerpiece: AFFINITY
With the riveting quality of past Sarah Waters’ work brought to screen (TIPPING THE VELVET and FINGERSMITH), AFFINITY take us on a heart-pounding, bodice-straining journey of romance and intrigue as its shocking twists and simmering passion drive it to a stunning finale.
[Wednesday July 16, Directors Guild of America]
• Documentary Centerpiece: A JIHAD FOR LOVE
Gay and lesbian Muslims explore the personal struggles to reconcile a faith that is part of the fabric of who they are, with a faith that also rejects them for who they love.
[Thursday July 17, Directors Guild of America]
• Platinum Centerpiece: WILD COMBINATION: A PORTRAIT OF ARTHUR RUSSELL
This lyrical and visually absorbing portrait takes a look at seminal avant-garde composer/singer-songwriter/cellist and disco producer Arthur Russell. The film follows Russell’s journey from his humble beginnings as a precocious teen from Oskalossa, Iowa, to his immersion in New York City’s underground art scene, to his untimely death from AIDS in 1992.
[Tuesday July 15, Directors Guild of America]
• Awards Night: WERE THE WORLD MINE
If you thought star-crossed lovers and love potions created confusion in the forest in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, wit until you see what they do to an all-boys high school putting on a production of that Shakespeareans classic.
[Sunday July 20, Ford Amphitheatre]
• Closing Night: TRU LOVED
We proudly conclude Outfest 2008 with a new film by Steward Wade (COFFEEDATE) - living in conservative suburbia with her lesbian mothers, Tru struggles like all teens to fit in and find love, but her quest is complicated by sexual politics, closed minds, and closeted friends as she seeks to establish her school's first gay-straight alliance.
[Monday July 21, Orpheum Theatre] |
FESTIVAL SERIES
FOUR IN FOCUS: NEW DIRECTORS SPOTLIGHT
[see FEATURES in the ONLINE FILM GUIDE]
Celebrate first-time feature film directors – the next wave of hot new talent. This exciting quartet of
filmmakers has boldly established their careers with accomplished independently-produced features that illuminate a broad spectrum of queer life.
• Luke Eberl, CHOOSE CONNOR
• Chris Mason Johnson, THE NEW TWENTY
• Brian Pera, THE WAY I SEE THINGS
• Jennifer Phang, HALF-LIFE |
OUTING POLITICS
This collection of eye-popping, emotional and sometimes funny films presents the variety ways that U.S. politics has an impact on our lives, as LGBT people and as citizens. Ranging from films that expose corrupt politicians to films with gay political heroes, from depictions of the fight for LGBT civil rights to the fight for environmental justice, this series take politics out of the closet.
• ASK NOT
• CHOOSE CONNOR
• KARL ROVE, I LOVE YOU
• SIZZLE
• THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK |
PLATINUM SECTION
Platinum is our signature showcase dedicated to film, video, performance, multi-media and other forms of 'art' that push the boundaries of cinema -- turning the silver screen to shimmering platinum! From old school avant-garde to new school experimental, to schools we have not yet dreamt. Platinum is fresh and provocative. Cutting edge. Fearless. It is the rage in us that threw the first bottle. It is the beauty that cannot be silenced. It is the voice so singularly unique, yet somehow universal.
• BRUCE LABRUCE TRIBUTE
• WILD COMBINATION: A PORTRAIT OF ARTHUR RUSSELL
• HOMOCCULT & OTHER ESOTERICA
• THE MONSTERS IN OUR CLOSETS: THE SECRET GAY ARCHIVE EXPOSED
• MEADOWLARK
• PLATINUM SHORTS
• SQUEEZEBOX
• SUPER 8 ½
• TEAROOM |
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