Tip-off
Gay film festival will begin May 31

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

'Hedwig and Angry Itch' to open series "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," a wickedly humorous rock film based on an off-Broadway musical, will be the opening night feature of the 12th Annual Adam Baran Honolulu Gay and Lesbian Film Festival May 31 at the Honolulu Academy of Arts theater.

The screening, at 7:30 p.m., will be preceded by a reception at 5:30 p.m.

John Cameron Mitchell's musical is about an East Berlin boy, Hansel, who dreams of finding his other half and becoming a big American rock star. An American GI promises love and liberation, but to proceed with the marriage and emigration, Hansel must "leave a little something behind." Hedwig survives a botched sex change operation that leaves her with the angry inch of the title — and the dubious honor of forming a rock band.

Other films in the festival (all at the Academy Theater):

• June 1, 6 p.m.: "101 Rent Boys." A documentary about the lives of 101 hustlers shot on location in motel rooms along Santa Monica Boulevard. Preceded by "Traditional Family Vampires."
• June 1, 8 p.m.: "Lost and Delirious." A tale of sexual awakening among three adolescent girls, the first English film by acclaimed QuebeÙois director LÚa Pool. Also featuring "The Deal."
• June 2, 4 p.m.: "Mixed Plate." Shorts, including "The Man in the Irony Mask," "Constructions," "Confidences," "Coming to Terms," "Blue Horizons," "Override" and "Dykes and Their Dogs."
• June 2, 6 p.m.: "Portland Street Blues." Set in the ultra-violent world of Hong Kong triads, this tale of betrayals, battles and unlucky twists of fate focuses on Sister Thirteen, the lone female in a group of 13 gang lords.
• June 2, 8 p.m.: "Big Eden." Henry (Arye Gross) is a New York-based artist, preparing to launch an exhibit, when he gets a call from Grace (Louise Fletcher), who informs him that his grandfather Sam (George Coe) has had a stroke.
• June 3, 2 p.m.: "That's a Family!," a child's view of the range of family structures, and "Our House," a documentary about kids of gay and lesbian parents. (Free).
• June 3, 4 p.m.: "Keep the River on Your Right." A documentary on a gay New York intellectual, who in 1955 joined a cannibalistic tribute in New Guinea.
• June 3, 7 p.m.: "Lost at the Pershing Point Hotel." A love story set in a seedy Atlanta hotel, and embracing characters ranging from drag queens to hustlers.

Tickets: Opening night, $15; other films, $6. Information: 941-0424, ext. 18.