So, I took a half day off from work yesterday to go to the GLBT screening at the Great Lakes Film Fest. One of the films was the documentary, We Belong: The Movie, which was about 2 area teens and which was put together by Joe Wilson, who is from this area, and his partner. They had been up here for the March/Rally. Joe and his partner Dean also planned a reception at Radicchio's Deli afterward.
The short films were fairly good. I think people responded best to We Belong, but that might have been because of people having personal contact with the subjects and filmmakers. The other short features were relatively varied, but they went over.
I have to admit that the feature length movie was not my cup of tea. I don't think that it went over well with the rest of the audience either. The plot had a woman with multiple personality disorder. Three actresses played the different personalities, so there were 3 actresses constantly switching back between playing the same person. That didn't particularly throw me, but a lot of the rest of the movie just felt confusing or not believeable. At the end, I whispered to James, "Oh my. Where were the guy and 2 wisecracking robots in the bottom of the screen?" I thought it was a histrionic melodrama.
Some of the directors and subjects were there for some Q & A afterward. I think that the audience was still reeling from the final full length movie. The director said that it had been a comedy, and that it had gotten laughs in LA, New York and San Francisco. I was sort of stunned by getting to the end and finding out that it was a different genre than I thought it was. I also wasn't sure whether that remark worked out to "You bumpkins just didn't get the joke." The Q & A session just felt awkward. I felt bad that the other 2 filmmakers (I think from Queerspiracy and Demeter:SURRENDER) didn't get any questions or commentary. I think that may also have been because they were first in the program,
When we left the theatre, we felt that the experience overall was pretty good, but I think we all were not too entralled with the feature length movie. (Okay, the phrase, "Well, that's an hour and a half out of my life that I can never get back" came up more than once.
The reception was very nice. Harry of Radicchio's did a fantastic job with the food, and people hung out and chatted. Maureen Koseff made a very nice toast to the filmmakers and the subjects. Joe Wilson talked about the experience of making the movie and how proud he was of CJ and Tim for standing up. I think he was definitely getting teary eyed a bit. It was quite moving. It just felt good to connect with folks.
When I went out later, I talked with the guy who had gone over the candidates for the GLBT screening, and told him what had happened. He was surprised by the not-so-enthusiastic reaction to the feature length film. When I told him that the director had said it was a comedy, he was shocked again. I am now wondering if that was an attempt at face-saving for the director. I feel bad that the movie didn't appeal to me.
I am very grateful that the Great Lakes Film Fest did have the screening. (I was also jazzed to see the Erie Gay News logo in the list of sponsors, since we had given them a small amount.) I hope that the Film Fest has the GLBT section next year.
Leave a comment