Coming out at the Egyptian
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 14, 2002 9:00 p.m.
By Beverly Braga
Daily Bruin Contributor
Addressing issues of sexuality and relationships is nothing new,
but the organizers of the “Best of gay/lesbian/transgendered
shorts” hope to bring such relationships into a different
light.
The American Cinematheque, in conjunction with Outfest, will
present “Queer Shorts” at the Egyptian Theatre in
Hollywood tomorrow night. The program will feature 10 short films
that cover anything and everything sexuality has to offer.
The Cinematheque is a non-profit cultural organization that
schedules year-round film series, usually held at the Egyptian
Theatre. Outfest is the largest Southern California gay and lesbian
film festival, and “Queer Shorts” is only one of
several events the organizations co-present throughout the
year.
Started five years ago by Andrew Crane, membership manager and
short film programmer at the Cinematheque, the reasoning behind
“Queer Shorts” basically comes down to one thing:
exposure.
“I came up with the idea because at the time, Outfest was
only in the summer,” said Crane in a telephone interview.
“They have a big festival but there’s still an audience
that missed that. This is for that audience to recapture those
films before they completely go away and nobody ever gets to see
them again.”
During this year’s event, the films to be showcased are
Corky Quakenbush’s “Bitanic,” Michael Trull and
Rick Ziegler’s “Preemie,” Ernesto Foronda’s
“The Favor,” Deb Strutt and Liz Baulch’s
“Bare,” Abigail Severance’s “Bone
Wish,” Lauren Johnson’s “A Thousand Miles,”
Patrick McGuinn’s “Soda Pop,” Alexandra
Steele’s “Like A Brother,” Julian
Cautherley’s “Blue Haven,” and Marie Pierre
Huster’s “Entrevue.”
All of the films have previously been screened at other
festivals. Both “Entrevue” and “Blue
Haven,” for example, were shown at the Sundance Film Festival
this year. But this does not mean they are exactly old news.
The Egyptian Theatre Michael Trull’s "Preemie," a five-minute
animated short, will be featured at
"Queer Shorts," taking place tonight at the Egyptian
Theatre.
“They’re new in as far as that most people have
never seen them, and most people will never see them,” Crane
said.
Crane and Outfest film programmer Shannon Kelley handpicked the
10 films from filmmakers’ submissions or through other
festivals. Their hope with this particular program is to showcase
every kind of permutation dealing with sexuality. Interestingly,
most of the films are lighthearted ventures into the friendship and
love between people who may or may not be similar sexuality
wise.
McGuinn’s “Soda Pop,” for one, particularly
touches on the feeling of being an outsider.
In the seven- minute film, Jamie reminisces about the summer he
met Norberto, a Spanish exchange student. Through his narration and
the grainy nostalgic look of the film, the audience is shown the
innocence of the attraction as well as the frustration Jamie
encounters in having to keep his feelings inside.
The Egyptian Theatre Michael Trull’s "Preemie," a five-minute
animated short, will be featured at
"Queer Shorts," taking place tonight at the Egyptian
Theatre.
“The story is inspired by a real-life person,” said
the 35-year-old McGuinn. “I felt it’s a tale
we’ve all felt on some level of being on the outside and not
really knowing how to get to the other side, whether it’s
interest in someone else or just being part of a group.”
The intimacy stems only from how Jamie “shares” his
soda with Norberto. There is an irony in this notion, concerning
how sometimes closeness can only be obtained through distance.
“I think, in general, it strikes a chord with people as
far as just remembering that first crush,” added McGuinn.
“You sort of silently suffer and that’s how it remains.
It’s never a requited love.”
In “A Thousand Miles,” bitterness and religion are
instead at the core of the family drama. Written and produced by
Lauren Johnson, a UCLA Film School alum, the film deals with the
issue of overtly religious parents and how they come to terms with
their gay children. Or actually, how they sometimes
don’t.
“I personally know many people who are estranged from
their family because of their sexual orientation,” said
Johnson in a telephone interview. “It is sad and it’s a
tragic loss, but on the other hand I think Jesse is freed by her
return in a way she wasn’t before.”
“I hope that people will get both the tragedy in the
inability of the mother to forgive Jesse, but also the joy of the
daughter finding her own freedom and forgiveness,” added
Johnson.
Tricked into thinking her mother has forgiven her for being who
she is, the film follows Jesse as she drives from Los Angeles to
her hometown of Amarillo with the hopes of finally making
amends.
“The irony of figuring out that you’re never going
to get what you want is the only way to go on. It’s the only
way to get to the next thing, which is just as good,” said
Sharon Ferranti, the film’s director.
On a lighter note, “Preemie” also deals with what
family means, but does so using animation. This film and
“Bitanic,” are the only animated shorts of the group.
With “Preemie,” creators Trull and Ziegler pay homage
to the Cartoon Network’s wildly popular “Powerpuff
Girls,” in their cartoon about an eight-month premature neon
pink baby.
“”˜South Park’ was an inspiration,” said
Ziegler, an advertising copywriter, in a telephone interview.
“Certainly in just the humor of it. But stylistically, the
“˜Powerpuff Girls’ were a huge influence.”
With such far-fetched characters like pooping aliens and an evil
fly-sea anemone hybrid, it is difficult to imagine the film taking
anything seriously.
“It’s certainly for fun,” said Ziegler.
“Still, the whole cartoon is about family and how you value
your relationships, even if they’re with really strange
people. That’s probably the message. I mean, that’s as
deep as it gets.”
From lighthearted animation to an examination of more serious
topics, the presenters are hoping for another sold-out show, with
enough variety in this collection of shorts to make it worthwhile
for the audience.
“Queer Shorts” will be showing on Tuesday, April 16
at 7:30 p.m. The Egyptian Theatre is located at 6712 Hollywood
Blvd. Filmmakers for “Preemie,” “Soda Pop,”
“Like A Brother,” “Bitanic,” and
“Bonewish” will be in attendance for a Q&A session
at the end of the screening, as well as the writers of “Blue
Haven” and the cast of “A Thousand Miles.”
For more information, visit www.egyptiantheatre.com.
