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Shank Hitlist THE BEST EVENTS, BOOKS & LGBT*
Paul Dale digs deep and unearths some gems from Glasgay!’s film programme
Watch out V irtually the same collection of films has already passed through Aberdeen and Edinburgh and will soon to go on to Inverness, so chances are followers of queer cinema will already be familiar with much of Glasgay!’s Film Festival programme. Judging by the standard of films in this year’s London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (on tour), queer cinema seems to have lost much of its grit and edge. However, dig deep: there are a few hidden gems worthy of your attention.
occasionally visceral drama puts a healthy slice of ‘youth’ and ‘street’ back in the queer cinema frame. Via email, Pearce described his ultra low budget debut as ‘intentionally gritty, brutal, graphic, sexy and moving in equal measure.’ And there is no arguing with his assertion that it sets out to ‘depict recognisable aspects from gay life far removed from the more oft-seen languid and saccharine offerings of the genre.’ Canadian Heather Tobin’s assured, incisive lesbian romancer To Each Her Own (Sun 20 Sep) is also worth a punt, as is Karin Babinshka’s bucolic Czech coming of age drama Dolls (Sun 4 Oct). If it’s quality cinemania campery you seek then really your only option is Bandaged (Tue 29 Sep), a kitsch and fairly enjoyable homage to Georges Franju’s remarkably odd 1960 noir, Eyes without a Face. Greek Pete (Tue 6 Oct), a semi improvised drama based on the lives of a group of London rent boys which was hothoused and researched by filmmaker Andrew Haigh over six months is also a work of integrity and intelligence, and we do advise checking out the new digital print of Ron Peck’s 1978 gay teacher drama Nighthawks (Tue 8 Sep), a pioneer of sorts for British queer cinema.
Glasgay! Film Festival, GFT, Glasgow and various venues from Tue 3 Sep-Tue 6 Oct.
First, though, let’s clear the table of the dross. Nick Oceano’s Pedro (Tue 22 Sep), a promising-sounding biopic of Pedro Zamora, the first HIV positive reality TV star (in MTV’s The Real Show in 1994) is a tawdry, uninteresting and amateurish affair. Gay baby rearing comedy Baby Love (Sun 27 Sep) is the kind of pink pound-targeted middle class French tosh that leaves one reaching for the Bruce La Bruce box set. Jacques Martineau and Olivier Ducastel’s French gay rights epic Born In 68 (Sun 6 Sep) is decent enough but very uneven in tone and better suited to viewing on the small screen. American gay parenting drama Dream Boy (Tue 15 Sep) is innocuous to the point of anaemia and Swedish drama Patrick 1.5 (Sun 11 Oct) is a just plain silly homophobe stalker thriller. So what does that leave us with? Well there’s the festival opener Shank (Thu 3 Sep) which is unique to the Glasgow programme. Simon Pearce’s
✽✽ Jeffrey Lewis’ Watchmen Lecture Alt.folk legend Jeffrey Lewis waxes lyrical on the virtues of the Watchmen graphic novel. Jeff asks that all attendees have read Watchmen at least once. Glasgow Film Theatre, Tue 1 Sep, 6pm. ✽✽ Sheep Heid Inn Summer’s End Beer Festival The oldest surviving pub in Scotland hosts over 75 beers and cider, plus live music and a barbecue. The Sheep Heid Inn, Edinburgh, Fri 28–Mon 31 Aug (not Sun), Fri/Sat 11am–midnight; Mon noon–6pm. ✽✽ Launch of SEEDBOM Join Glasgow-based designer Darren Wilson to find out about his new guerrilla gardening/ seedbombing event. CCA, Glasgow, Fri 28 Aug, 7pm. ✽✽ Bletherheads Alan Bissett hosts the inaugural night with AL Kennedy. See picture, page 19. Electric Circus, Edinburgh, Sat 29 Aug, 7–10pm. ✽✽ Handmade Heaven Shop for groovy treats without worrying about children in sweatshops working their wee fingers to the bone, courtesy of the Glasgow Craft Mafia. Mono, Glasgow, Sun 30 Aug, 1–6pm. ✽✽ Dead Girls’ Dance Club Fusing ancient dance with dark modern music, this Gothic and Industrial bellydance fusion workshop will hone your dancefloor moves. Come along in clubbing gear. Booking required. The Yoga Room, Edinburgh, Sat 5 Sep, 7.30pm. 27 Aug–10 Sep 2009 THE LIST 17