MACK WRESTLES DIR: Erin Sanger, Taylor Hess Mack Beggs, a gifted wrestler from Euless, Texas, struggles against the outside forces that stigmatize transgender athletes. Courtesy of ESPN Films. (USA, 25 MIN) In person: Taylor Hess and Erin Sanger SONG OF PARKLAND DIR: Amy Schatz In the wake of the tragic February 14 shooting at their school, […]
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE From a young age, filmmaker Stéphane Riethauser was groomed to become the golden heir to his family’s business—an alpha male who would fulfill their patriarchal expectations. His best friend and confidante was his grandmother Caroline, a self-made independent woman ahead of her time. After playing the part for several years, Stéphane matures into […]
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE Chilean-born performer and writer Iván Monalisa fully embraces his dual selves: scrappy, masculine Iván as well as diva, transvestite sex-worker Monalisa. A reunion with filmmaker Nicole Costa, Iván’s former college classmate, provides the opportunity for a journey through this undocumented transgender immigrant’s daily life of sex, drugs and poetry—as well as a quest for […]
US PREMIERE In the aftermath of Stonewall and the rise of the gay liberation movement, gay men celebrated a newfound sexual freedom—but, in 1981, the dawning awareness of AIDS changed everything. Seeking the origins of the mysterious epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control interviewed men with the disease, finding patterns that suggested sexual transmission. Director Laurie […]
2019 METROPOLIS COMPETITION WINNER WORLD PREMIERE Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back is a portrait of the charismatic song-and-dance man from his tap-dancing childhood to today. Maurice and friends—Chita Rivera, Mercedes Ellington and Debbie Allen tell tales from his seven-decade career, including Broadway shows, Hollywood films like Francis Ford Coppola’s The Cotton Club and about his loving yet difficult relationship with superstar brother Gregory […]
A biracial gay couple raises twin sons.
WORLD PREMIERE In the 1980s, an Army wife-turned-glamorous party girl named Tish ruled New York City’s downtown nightlife, often out on the scene with the likes of Michael Musto. Just a few years later, after more than a decade as a woman, Tish transitioned back to being Brian. Now, in his sixties, Brian reflects on the […]
The story of sixteen men put on trial for sadomasochism in the dying days of Thatcher’s Britain.
Mack Beggs, a gifted wrestler from Euless, Texas, struggles against the outside forces that stigmatize transgender athletes. Courtesy of ESPN Films.
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE In 2007, following the legalization of gay marriage in Canada, director Julia Ivanova followed three families venturing into the world of gay parenthood. She captured the unique struggles they faced, detailing the intricacies of adoption, surrogacy and co-parenting, as well as the more universal, mundane aspects of raising children. Returning 12 years later, Ivanova […]