Now in its third year, this highly popular program proudly recognizes five filmmakers who have notably invested their first features with queer content and energy.

Recognizing the wealth of new gay features, the FIVE@FIVE SERIES meets the demand for more viewing choices, and celebrates the next wave of filmmakers with their first feature films. Representing a wide variety of genres and interests, these five films are the perfect way to start your festival viewing each evening!

In collaboration with: Independent Feature Project/West

CAN'T STOP DANCING
DATE	TIME	LOCATION	PROGRAM #
MONDAY, JULY 12	5:00PM	DGA 1	47

DIRS: Steven Falick and Ben Zook, 1999, USA, 35mm, 97 min.

Whoever said lack of talent hinders success didn't meet The Stupendous Six. A hilariously untalented troupe of singers and dancers still rehearsing their disco-inspired moves at a Kansas amusement park, The Six are summarily fired by the park's manager, who tells them they are out of style. Undeterred, they pick themselves up, dust themselves off and hit the road in search of their solid gold-paved dreams of fame and fortune. Led by their 260-pound, hopelessly optimistic lead-dancer/choreographer, this motley sextet arrives in Hollywood courtesy of the hottest wheels since the PPartridgeFamily's tour bus, where they are quickly seduced by an assortment of lovable oddballs and goofs. With one shot at stardom, they compete in the grand finale of the Little Miss Orange County Beauty Pageant. Do they have what it takes? The madcap comic vision of co-writers/co-directors Steven Falick and Ben Zook, CAN’T STOP DANCING stars Saturday Night Live alumnae Melanie Hutsell and Janeane Garofalo, ER's Noah Wyle and Laura Innes, indie fave Ileana Douglas, the talented Taylor Negron, and Margaret Cho, and the drop dead gorgeous Vincent Ventresca and Tuc Watkins.

HIT AND RUNWAY
DATE	TIME	LOCATION	PROGRAM #
WEDNESDAY, JULY 14	5:00PM	DGA 1	72

DIR: Christopher Livingston, 1999, USA, 35mm, 109 min.

As Alex, a wannabe screenwriter, knows: If you have the 10% inspiration, but aren’t willing to give the 90% perspiration, then get a writing partner. Of course, when Alex, a hopelessly heterosexual Italian Catholic, teams with Eliot, a quintessential New York City Jewish homosexual, the result is an often funny, always heartfelt struggle to finish their screenplay and overcome their personal differences.When Alex scores Elliot a date with a gay waiter who fetishizes Jewish men (Kerr Smith, Dawson's Creek), their relationship—and their script—takes some drastic turns. Christopher Livingston, director and co-writer, brings a refreshing directness and wry sensibility to this charming, heartwarming tale of a friendship that battles impossible odds. In the tradition of Kiss Me Guido, HIT AND RUNWAY features deft performances from leads Michael Parducci and Peter Jacobson, and a compelling sense of warmth that wins you over to both characters.

THE STORY OF A BAD BOY
DATE	TIME	LOCATION	PROGRAM #
FRIDAY, JULY 16	5:00PM	DGA 1	96

DIR: Tom Donaghy, 1999, USA, 35mm, 93 min.

Pauly's life is a mess. Though his girlfriend and his parents make a valiant, if futile, effort to understand him, Pauly — struggling to fit in, struggling to define himself — confounds them at every turn. Hilariously out of place at a new public high school, he tries — and fails — to find a place amidst the playground of the school's extra-curricular activities. But when a sexy and sensitive college student arrives to direct a musical version of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Pauly embarks on a thrilling adventure that takes him from the quiet desperation of the suburbs to the bright lights of the big city.

Beautifully capturing the joys and pains of coming of age and coming out, THE STORY OF A BAD BOY is a film of unusual wit and sly sexy charm. Acclaimed playwright Tom Donaghy's first foray into feature films offers outstanding performances by newcomers Jeremy Hollingworth, Christian Camargo and Lauren Ward and deft comic turns by the always extraordinary Julie Kavner and Stephen Lang as Pauly's patient, yet hopeless confused parents.

WHEN I'M 35
DATE	TIME	LOCATION	PROGRAM #
FRIDAY, JULY 16	5:00PM	DGA 1	96

DIR: Frank Pinto, 1998, USA, 16mm, 92 mins.

Finding the perfect guy and falling in love is wonderful — but when he’s straight, it’s heartbreaking. Frank Pinto’s first feature, WHEN I’M THIRTY-FIVE puts an intriguing spin on this version of unrequited love. Meet Joe, an intellectual loner and non-practicing gay guy (read: celibate.) His first attempt to act on his gay feelings was not reciprocated. So he retreated back to the safety of his intellectual armor. Joe and his good friend Sandra rent a house by the lake while attending college. Soon after, Sandra announces that her younger brother Peter is going to stay with them for awhile. Peter is a good-looking, but emotionally disturbed young man with a haphazard lust for adventure. Despite Joe’s initial reluctance, Peter and he become inseparable friends, leading to worry and interference from Sandra. Featuring remarkable writing and performances, this tender and intimate story takes its themes of dignity and courage around a few new corners. PLUS SHORT: SHAME NO MORE, DIR: John Krokidas 1999, USA, 16mm, 12 min.

RAZON BLADE SMILE
DATE	TIME	LOCATION	PROGRAM #
THURSDAY, JULY 15	5:00PM	DGA 2	84

DIR: Jake West, 1998, UK, 35mm. 101 min.

This lady bloodsucker wears a black latex bodysuit, kills with bullets, and serves up some sizzling AC/DC sex. At last, THE HUNGER has a fun-loving partner in the world of vampire flicks! Special effects is queen and cheesiness is its own reward in RAZOR BLADE SMILE, a devilishly campy and over-the-top British horror flick that has fun yoking on the vampire genre while telling the tale of Lilith Silver, a beautiful buxom ghoul assassin known as the "Angel of Death." The story begins in 1850 when the headstrong Lilith gets gunned down while trying to prevent a pistol duel involving her lover and the sinister Sir Sethane Blake. Enamored with Lilith, Sir Sethane bestows the dark gift of the vampire upon her. Now all eternity becomes her playground. Fast forward 150 years to the swinging Gothic scene of 1990's London where Lilith is the center attraction. She is also a contract killer hired to eliminate all members of the mysterious and evil Masonic "Illuminati" sect. Out fighting Emma Peel, out dressing Catwoman and busting Barbarella's curves, Lilith kicks ass while telling you a thing or two about what vampires are really like. So what if she gets the guy in the end, this super stylish vampire romp will leaving you shrieking for more.

VIOLENT AND SEXUAL SITUATIONS