War Stories
Friday, August 13, 2010 7:00pm

United States, 2009, 103min
Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Directed by Lee Whitman
Starring Michael Brenton Gordon, Danielle Wolverton, Sara Hammond, Mark Ayesh, Isaac Cervantes

For Tim Curtright (Michael Gordon), life in his quiet suburban hometown of Derby, Kansas seems painfully ordinary. For him, his gay best-friend, Austin (Mark Ayesh), and girlfriend, Laura (Sara Hammond), life consists of a series of school, dances, and the occasional party. Unbeknownst to them, a dark secret lies just beneath the surface of the quiet Kansas community that will change their lives forever.

When Tim, having grown up believing that his father, Ben Curthright (Jay Sanderson), died while fighting in the Gulf War, is assigned a research project at school, he is stunned to discover his father didn’t die in the conflict and in turn goes in search of the truth.

With his mother, Emily Curtright (Danielle Wolverton), standing in the way, can Tim and his friends break through a generation of lies and secrets and discover what really happened to his dad?

A thrilling, mysterious, and provocative adventure, War Stories challenges viewers to ask themselves, just how well they know their family’s past.

LGBT Shorts Showcase
Saturday, July 10 2010, 7:00pm

Genre: Various

This month's outreach screening consists of the following LGBT short films:

No Asians... It's Just Not My Thing
Dyke Dollar
Last Call
Public Relations
Ajumma! Are You Krazy???
Go Go Reject!
306
He She We

Gay Shorts Showcase
Friday, June 11 2010, 7:00pm

Genre: Various

This month's outreach screening consists of the following gay short films:

Communication
Disarm
Broken
The (718)
Last Call
Last Address
Everybody's Having Sex But Ryan

Patrik, Age 1.5
Saturday, April 24 2010, 7:00pm

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Sweden, 2008, 103min
Patrik, Age 1.5 Official Website

Synopsis:
Göran always wanted to become a father. He is married to his partner, Sven, and they have been cleared for adoption by the Swedish authorities. The problem is that no country seems to be willing to give a child to a homosexual couple. Göran refuses to give up his dream of having what so many others take for granted; a real family. Göran and Sven receive a letter with an offer from the social services to take care of "Patrik, Age 1.5," a Swedish child who needs a new family. They happily accept the offer and prepare the nursery for the baby's arrival. On the day that little Patrik is expected to arrive, a lanky teenager rings their doorbell. He says his name is Patrik and that he has come to live with them. They realize, horror-struck, that their little baby Patrik is actually a juvenile delinquent. To add insult to injury, he is also homophobic.

They try to get in contact with the social services to put things right, but it's the weekend and none of the staff is there. They just have to make due with the situation until the misunderstanding is sorted out. Patrik dislikes the situation as much as they do, and he is very open about his disgust with their relationship. One conflict after another arises between Sven and Patrik, but at the same time, the relationship between Göran and Patrik gets better. It turns out that Patrik knows quite a bit about gardening after some time at a juvenile home, and he offers to help out in the garden. As a result, Göran and Patrik grow closer, and Sven feels left out.

When the weekend is over, they go back to the social services office. It turns out that there has been a clerical error and a decimal point was misplaced. "Patrik, age 1.5" is actually "Patrik, age 15". The baby that Göran was expecting does not exist. Göran is devastated, but decides to let Patrik stay with them until the social services find a new family. Sven decides that he cannot live with Patrik again and leaves Göran. When Sven returns a few days later, Göran does not want him back. After all that has happened, Göran lost faith in their relationship. Göran and Patrik keep getting closer to one another, and when Patrik is finally offered a new family, Göran is not sure that he wants to let him go.

Cast: Gustaf Skarsgård, Torkel Petersson, Thomas Ljungman
Director: Ella Lemhagen

Holding Trevor
Friday, April 10 2009, 7:00pm

Genre: Drama, Romance
United States, 2007, 88min
Holding Trevor Official Website

Synopsis:
Everybody’s looking for something. This much is true. And Trevor Holden (Brent Gorski) is desperately looking for himself in all the wrong places�EOr maybe just in all the wrong people. It’s pretty safe to say that he won’t find enlightenment in his strung-out boyfriend Darrell. And despite the well-meaning advice offered by his sexually pervasive best friend and his self-righteous roommate Andie, Trevor still seems to come up short. Almost ready to throw in the towel, Trevor meets the ever so charming Ephram. Simply being everything that Darrell is not wins Ephram a number of points up-front.

Trevor’s relationship with Ephram progresses rather quickly, and it starts to put a strain on his friendships with Jake and Andie, both of whom feel Trevor could stand to be a little more in tune with their feelings.

HOLDING TREVOR is a sometimes funny, sometimes scathing inspection of a group of friends and lovers that offers a prescient and biting analysis of men and women struggling to make sense of their lives and relationships, all the while reaching every which way but into their own hearts to do so.

Cast: Brent Gorski, Jay Brannan, Melissa Searing, Eli Kranski
Director: Rosser Goodman

The Amazing Truth about Queen Raquela
Friday, March 13 2009, 7:00pm

Genre: Biography, Drama
Iceland, Philippines, France, Thailand, 2008, 80min
Queen Raquela Official Website

Synopsis:
Raquela is a transsexual-or "ladyboy"-from the Philippines who dreams of escaping the streets of Cebu City for a fairy tale life in Paris. In order to make her dreams come true, she turns from prostitution toward the more lucrative business of Internet porn. Her success as a porn star brings new friends, including Valerie, a ladyboy in Iceland, and Michael, the owner of the website Raquela works for. Valerie helps Raquela get as far as Iceland. From there, Michael offers her a rendezvous in Paris. Will Paris be everything she dreamed of? And will Michael turn out to be her Prince Charming?

Cast: Raquela Rios, Stefan C. Schaefer, Olivia Galudo, Brax Villa, Valerie Grand Einarsson
Director: Olaf de Fleur Johannesson

Cut Sleeve Boys
Friday, February 13 2009, 7:00pm

Genre: Comedy, Romance
UK / Hong Kong, 2006, 86min
Cut Sleeve Boys Official Website

Synopsis:
MEL and ASH are two british chinese gay men who studied and drink lychee martinis together. After attending the funeral of GAVIN, a closet case from their university days, they start examining the crow's feet on their faces and questioning the meaning of the labels in their wardrobes.

Mel, an aging scene queen with the ego of Norma Desmond, believes life is a beauty pageant with him always the winner. He rejects the love of Todd, a provincial boy from the Welsh valleys who moves to London to be with him, in favour of quick-fix Botox sex to fight his insecurities. But how long can he sashay down the catwalk when his eye bags are bigger than his Gucci bags? And who is going to be waiting at the end of the rainbow when there is no place like home?

Ash is tired of the jaded gay scene where steroid bodies and the Atkin's diet are the only offerings on the menu and all the macho posing only reveals a Farah Fawcett in the bedroom. He meets Diane (a.k.a Dan) a transexual from their college days with a butch, sexy and straight looking ex army boyfriend, Ross. Ash decides the only way for him to find a real man is to click on those Jimmy Choo's. Will his foray into the wonderland of tranny burrows and tranny chasers bring him his dream man?

Cast: Chowee Leow, Steven Lim, Gareth Rhys Davies, Neil Collie, John Ebb-On-Knee Campbell, Mark Hampton
Director: Ray Yeung

Breakfast with Scot
January 9 2009, 7:00pm

Genre: Comedy
Canada, 2007, 90min
Breakfast with Scot Official Website

Synopsis:
Eric (Tom Cavanagh) lives for all things hockey. Now in his thirties, he’s managed to turn his stint as an ex-Toronto Maple Leaf into a full-time gig as commentator for sports TV. He's living the dream! He and his partner Sam (Ben Shenkman), a lawyer, live discreetly on a tree-lined street in Toronto.

All their tranquility is disrupted when they receive news that Sam's brother Billy's ex-girlfriend has died, leaving custody of her son Scot (Noah Bernett) to Billy. But adventure-seeking Billy is somewhere in South America, and that leaves Scot without a guardian. Much to Eric's disapproval, Sam agrees to take Scot in. Enter Scot, budding queen of an 11 year old, who is Eric's mirror opposite. Dressed in vibrant colors, his mother's charm bracelet and with a penchant for musicals and Christmas carols, he's not quite the 'boy' they expected.

Cast: Tom Cavanagh, Ben Shenkman, Noah Bernett
Director: Laurie Lynd

Milk
December 12 2008, 7:30pm

Genre: Drama
USA, 2008, 128min
Milk Official Website

Synopsis:
After moving to San Francisco, the middle-aged New Yorker, Harvey Milk, became a Gay Rights activist and city politician. On his third attempt, he was elected to San Francisco's Board of Supervisors in 1977, making him the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the USA. The following year, both he and the city's mayor, George Moscone, were shot to death by former city supervisor, Dan White, who blamed his former colleagues for denying White's attempt to rescind his resignation from the board.

Cast: Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, James Franco, Josh Brolin
Director: Gus Van Sant

Looking for Cheyenne
November 14 2008, 7:00pm

Genre: Drama
France, 2006, 86min
Looking for Cheyenne Website

Synopsis:
Cheyenne, a young, unemployed journalist with no money or prospects, decides to quit Paris and the rat race to live a marginal lifestyle in the country. She leaves behind her the woman she loves �ESonia �Ea science teacher at a Paris high school, who does everything she can to forget about her... But it's not that easy. How do you reconcile what you want with what you can have? What you think with what you do? Who you love with what you spurn? "Looking for Cheyenne" is a contemporary tale about the fragility of modern life, the need to make changes, and the power of love.

Cast: Mila Dekker, Aurélia Petit, Malik Zidi
Director: Valérie Minetto

Rise Up & Shout!
October 10 2008, 7:00pm

Genre: Documentary
USA, 2007, 80min
Rise Up & Shout! Website

Synopsis:
Can different segments of the gay community interact? This feature documentary follows musicians, DJs, dancers, performance artists and filmmakers spanning four generations and from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds--including an 83 year-old priest and an 18 year-old former prostitute and poet--coming together to create a one-night theatrical event that features a diverse selection of today’s young queer voices: from an opera singer in drag to a lesbian hip hop artist.

Cast: Reverend Malcom Boyd, Don Kilhefner, John Quale, Mark Thompson
Director: Brian Gleason

The World Unseen
September 12 2008, 7:00pm

Genre: Drama
U.K./South Africa, 2007, 104min
The World Unseen Website

Synopsis:
This romantic period-drama shows two very different immigrant Indians living in 1950s South Africa in the midst of apartheid. Miriam is a traditional, devoted housewife with a chauvinistic husband and two kids; Amina is an independent-thinking lesbian who owns a cafe with a half-black, middle-aged man. When the two women intersect, Miriam becomes attracted to Amina's charismatic and free-spirited attitude, resulting in a sizzling relationship under societal repression. Writer/director Sarif--who also wrote the novel of the same name--draws from her grandmother's memories of apartheid, and treats the lead characters with sensitivity, grace and love in their brave new world.

Cast: Lisa Ray, Sheetal Sheth, Parvin Dabas, Nandana Sen
Director: Shamim Sarif

Nina's Heavenly Delights
August 15 2008, 7:00pm

Genre: Romantic Comedy
Nina's Heavenly Delights Website

Synopsis:
NINA'S HEAVENLY DELIGHTS is a surprising love story where Scottish humor meets Bollywood spectacle! It follows the mixed fortunes of a Glaswegian family, THE SHAHS and their award winning Indian restaurant, THE NEW TAJ.

The story is told through the eyes of NINA SHAH, a young Scottish Asian woman. Nina had left home under a cloud after an argument with her father but when he dies suddenly, Nina is forced to return.  Her return reunites her with her childhood friend Bobbi, a wannabe Bollywood drag queen, and brings her face to face with Lisa, a charismatic young woman who now owns half the restaurant.

Then Nina discovers her father's secret �EThe New Taj has been selected for The Best of the West Curry Competition. In the turbulent, but exhilarating days that follow, Nina, with Lisa's help, embarks on a personal mission to win the trophy for the third time. But Nina's feelings are thrown into turmoil when she realizes that she is falling in love.

Cast: Laura Fraser, Art Malik, Ronny Jhutti, Veena Sood, Shelley Conn
Director: Pratibha Parmar