The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival presented 35 films, including feature films and short films, in its 231th edition. Some of these films are unlikely to reach Brazilian screens, but the good news is that the best features presented on Frameline35 have a good chance of being shown in Brazil.
All of them premiered at international festivals, most achieved a good response from specialized critics and are therefore in the sights of the biggest film festivals held in the country. At least four titles already have guaranteed distribution in cinemas.
I selected ten features that I consider unmissable. The initial idea was to only comment on films from 2011. Following this criterion, I would leave two films from 2010 that made an impact on me and stayed with me days after their respective screenings. As they remain unpublished in Brazil, but have prospects for exhibition here, I decided to include them in this selection, which represents the best of global production with LGBT themes.
August (Eldar Rapapport, USA, 2010)
What is: An extension of the award-winning short "Postportem", the film tells the story of a love triangle formed between a couple and the ex-boyfriend of one of them who returns to Los Angeles willing to win back the guy he abandoned when he went to live in Barcelona.
Why watch: The film does not fall into the typical melodrama of triangular relationships. The characters, as well as the audience, are well aware of what is happening, which allows the film to explore the nuances and contradictions of this type of relationship.
Worth mentioning: Everything in "August" exudes sex, from the actors' muscular bodies framed by director Eldar Rapaport's gaze to James Adolphus' hot photography, both marked by an absurdly sexy score.
Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks the same (Madeleine Olnek, USA, 2011)
What is: A parody of 50s science fiction B-movies about three lesbian aliens who land in New York with the mission of suffering heartbreak, thus saving their planet.
Why watch: It is certainly one of the funniest lesbian-themed films ever produced in the history of cinema.
Worth mentioning: The dialogues between the two agents assigned by the government to mask alien activities on Earth and the dance of one of the aliens make you laugh on the floor.
Gun Hill Road (Rashaad Ernesto Green, USA, 2011)
What is: Family drama about the relationship between an ex-convict who returns home after three years and finds his teenage son, who is changing his sex.
Why watch: The film comes close to the reality of many teenagers who live in predominantly sexist environments, whether they are transgender or homosexual.
Worth mentioning: The interpretation of Harmony Santana, who plays Michael/Vanessa. Although the focus is on the relationship between father and son, the best moments of the film follow Vanessa in her first experiences as a woman.
Harvest (Benjamin Cantu, Germany, 2011)
What is it: A novel about two young apprentices on a farm, with few expectations regarding the future and, above all, love.
Why watch: Like Brokeback Mountain, Harvest portrays a homosexual romance in a rural environment without falling into the usual clichés and with an upbeat ending.
Worth mentioning: The film was made on a farm that offers a program for young people who want to be farmers. With the exception of the two main actors, all the characters actually work on the farm, which gives the film great authenticity.
Leave it on the Floor (Sheldon Larry, USA, 2011)
What is it: A musical about a young man who finds love, a loving family and a perspective on life in a group of outsiders who compete in vogue balls in Los Angeles.
Why watch: Leave it on the Floor tries and succeeds in creating a cross between Paris is Burning and Dreamgirls, despite the very modest budget and betting on a musical genre banned in Hollywood (in which actors go out singing in markets and wakes).
Featured: The original score is great and some songs stick in your ear. The dance numbers are designed by highly sought-after choreographer Frank Gaston Jr., who has worked with Beyoncé since her Destiny's Child days.
Romeos (Sabine Bernardi, Germany, 2011)
What is it: Romeos is a novel about a young man who is in the final stages of transitioning from female to male, and a gay boy.
Why watch: The somewhat superficial treatment given to the topic is precisely what allows the film to break down prejudice and resistance towards it. Romeos is a sweet, optimistic and irresistible film.
Worth mentioning: The chemistry between the main characters transcends the movie screen. Rick Okon and Maximilian Befort are beautiful and the director knew how to explore the sexual energy that emanates when they are together.
Three (Tom Tykwer, Germany, 2010)
What is it: Drama with a comic vein set in Berlin about a couple who fall in love, separately, with the same man.
Why watch: "Three" addresses human motivations in an adult, sexy and poetic way. It is the best film by Tom Tykwer, director of Run Lola Run, and the most striking about a ménage à trois since "Jules & Jim".
Worth mentioning: The performances by Sophie Rois, Devid Streisow and Sebastian Schipper transcend the images seen on screen and give the film solidity and maturity. Berlin also appears almost like a character in the film, moving the viewer with its poetic visuality, especially in the scenes at Badeschiff.
Tomboy (Céline Sciamma, France, 2011)
What is it: Film about a 10-year-old girl who acts and dresses like a boy, leading her new friends made in the neighborhood where her family has just moved to believe that she is in fact a boy.
Why watch: Director Céline Sciamma, who had already attracted attention with her first feature, "Water Lilies", confirms her enormous talent with a film that is on the same level as "My Life in Pink" and will certainly become a reference for women who identified as male as children.
Worth mentioning: The casting of child actors in which Zoe Heran, in the main role, and Malonn Levana, who plays the protagonist's younger sister, shine especially.
Weekend (Andrew Haigh, United Kingdom, 2011)
What is it: A love story that unfolds over the course of a weekend between two men with very different worldviews and expectations.
Why watch: There are few films that manage to convey an intimate relationship between two men on the screen. Weekend is one of them and that's why it's already on my list as one of the best gay films ever made in the history of cinema.
Worth mentioning: The dialogues written by director Andrew Haigh are very well constructed. Even when the characters debate issues such as gay marriage, which could give the film a discursive character, everything sounds very natural.
Wish me Away (Bobbi Birleffi & Beverly Kopf, USA, 2011)
What is it: Documentary about the "coming out" of Chely Wright, a successful country music singer, born and raised in the region of the USA known as the Bible Belt, and part of the repressed and homophobic country music scene in Nashville.
Why Watch: Even if you, like me, have never heard of Chely Wright, you will certainly be surprised by this interesting, fun and moving documentary.
Worth mentioning: Chely Wright's courage, the way she planned her coming out and the directors' ability to gain Chely's trust and involve even the most skeptical viewers.
*Suzy Capó is president of Festival Filmes, the first distributor of LGBT-themed films in Brazil.
