Film stories that matter are reaching more people

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

•	Adam Baran Honolulu Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Through Sunday Screening times vary; See story. Doris Duke Theater at the Academy $7 public, $5 for Honolulu Gay & Lesbian Cultural Foundation members; $50 mahalo pass (all films), $100 for aloha pass (all films and foundation membership); no admission for 2 p.m. program tomorrow 941-0424, ext. 18

"Film is important because story is important," said Denise Amrich, director of the festival, which opened last night and continues this weekend at the The Doris Duke Theater at the Academy. With writers, directors, producers and actors poised to acknowledge real-life stories from real-life gay and lesbian communities, the festival is "vital because they (the films) provide an opportunity for stories that matter to reach a great number of people."

Or as director of programming Connie M. Florez said: "The films cover all genre areas: lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual. There are women's films and men's films. We strive for balance."

The festival started 14 years ago, because alternate-lifestyle films such as "Gods and Monsters," while critically praised, had limited distribution and exhibition here, said Florez. "You really had very few alternative films making it in the mainstream."

With art-house and indie films now a staple of the cinematic buffet, often tapping gay and lesbian storylines, audiences have increased access and opportunity to explore a lot more on the diversity plate, she said. "Even HIFF (the Hawai'i International Film Festival) has done a lot to promote education and diversity."

The festival is named after Adam Baran, acknowledged as the first video disc jockey — a veejay — who was rewarded by Billboard magazine for his video accomplishments.

Though from the New York area, he immigrated to Hawai'i, developing a following at Hula's Bar & Lei Stand. At a time when his reputation was peaking, Baran died from the effects of AIDS, said Jack Law, Hula's owner and founder-president of the Honolulu Gay & Lesbian Cultural Foundation, which annually sponsors the film fest.

"Coming out" 14 years ago was "anything but brave," said Law. Now, "out is in the mainstream."

With digital technology, Florez said, gay and lesbian films have raised the ante and the bar.

"Because of digital, filmmakers are starting to pay SAG (Screen Actors Guild) actors, and instead of spending 60 percent of their funding on postproduction, you're seeing some of the monies up front on screen," she said.

Indeed, though lifestyle storylines may still be somewhat geared to the gay and lesbian communities, production values elevate the product, even among short subjects that run under 20 minutes.

For instance, "Boychick," which screened as the opener for the feature-length "A.K.A.," unreels like a music video with extravagant staging and soundtracks. The lead actor, Ben Lang, pursues a hottie guy with dream sequences that pay homage to Britney Spears and 'N Sync, with cultural links to "Fiddler on the Roof."

"Fruitcake," about two fellas (Robert Borzych and Fabio Sandolo) visiting their girlfriends' (Georgia Jean and Hilary Schwartz) parents' home during Christmas, provides predictable plot devices that nonetheless make the yuletide jolly, sans mistletoe.

"Seventy," a world premiere endeavor, is a senior moment between a gay Arthur (Critt Davis) and a straight Max (Robert Munns), who share the same birth dates. There's no cake — but an unexpected celebration.

"Starcrossed," another world premiere, examines a lesbian liaison between two writers, one who fakes being an astrology columnist, the other deep into the business of believing horoscopes. The movielooms as a cult favorite-to-be.

Two enlightening documentaries profile significant founding members of the gay and lesbian civil rights movement. "Hope Along the Wind: The Life of Harry Hay" reflects on the former labor leader, Marxist teacher and founder of the Matthachine Society, the first successful gay-rights organization in this country, with interviews of Hay and other early members who faced oppression.

"No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon," the parallel look at ground-floor lesbian civil rights, retracks the pair's plight in launching the Daughters of Bilitis in 1955.

Three Hawai'i young people bare their souls in "Sticks and Stones," a documentary about the hardships of declaring and living gayness in the schools.

Another Hawaiian link surfaces in "I'm a Straight Filmmaker Working in a Gay Bathhouse," part voyeurism with a reality-TV flavor, with Sterling Kekoa as the bath attendant. The narrative and black-and-white format suggest a film-noir effort, perhaps with tongue in cheek.