Glistening Slices of Pink Peach
Matt Wilkas stars in Gayby (and in Curious Thing)
ATLFF 2010’s Gay & Lesbian Short Films
Some short films stand as complete works and others show shimmers of what their feature length versions could promise. But mostly they are great vehicles to get new filmmakers started and new ideas on the screen. Since 2008, Atlanta Film Festival has labeled their GLBT offerings Pink Peach. This year, its short films program presents glistening slices of gay life.
Pink Peach Gay Shorts
Bedfellows (Pierre Stefanos, 16 minutes): Bobby and Jonathan meet in a New York City gay bar. From there on, they are engulfed in glowing art direction. The intuitive scoring and smart dialogue make the narrator from Little Children superfluous. This tender story speaks for itself.
Curious Thing (Allain Hain & Jason Mills, 9 minutes): This exploration of how a gay man (Matt Wilkas) handles a bi-curious friend is presented in a rational faux-docu style with a stream of consciousness flow. It’s a predicament every gay person encounters at some point. What is the responsible thing to do?
Gayby (Jonathan Lisecki, 12 minutes): A “gayby” is a baby a straight woman has with a gay man. In this case, she’s a “a hag since birth” and the gayby daddy is her best friend from college (Matt Wilkas, again). The logistics of making it happen produce a literally dry, awkward between-the-sheets comedy. Unfortunately, some obvious health concerns are not addressed in its short run time.
Feast of Stephen (James Franco, 5 minutes): Sometimes negative attention is still welcomed attention? It’s a relief that this film’s brutality is shot in black and white.
Rubbuds (Jan Chen, 4 minutes): A cleverly animated fraternity of condom elves frolics. It’s not a “gay” short, but it is amusing.
Danny (T. David Field, 24 minutes): Danny knows what a two-wheeled connection with “that faggy-ass boy down the street” can lead to in his abusive household. And at school. How will the introspective teenager in this thoughtful drama deal with his feelings?
Non-Love Song (Erik Gernand, 8 minutes): This super sweet short is comprised of crisp black and white shots of two creamy looking 1980s dudes on the beach preparing to separate for college. Is having a common song “faggity?” Dude? Worthy of feature length treatment and perhaps even a mixed tape.
This program shows Saturday, April 17 @ 4:50 pm and Wednesday, April 21 @ 4:35 pm at Midtown Art Cinema.
Pauley Perrette in "To Comfort You"
Pink Peach Lesbian Shorts
Yulia (Antoine Arditti, 6 minutes): This crunchy little pop tart of a short uses black and white pencil drawn animation to illustrate that happiness can be found by thinking outside the box.
Public Relations (Gianna Sobol, 18 minutes): Some of the groovy, over-the-top characters fleshed out here would fit nicely into a GLBT series version of The Devil Wears Prada, where the devil spews mantra like, “I own you ‘til I fire you!” But that’s not all because this coming-of-age story has more to do with finding out who you are as opposed to who you are professionally. It’s a refreshing love story that also features Jessica Tuck (True Blood, Judging Amy, One Life To Live) and the most annoying alarm clock, ever. Bouncy pop songs by Hello Stranger spur the fun discovery.
Simple Pleasures (Matthew Mendelson, 10 minutes): Don’t worry if you don’t know what’s going on for the first couple of minutes; isn’t that usually the blurry experience of infrequent business travelers? None of George Clooney’s Up In The Air assuredness is displayed here. The protagonist’s experience is messy, but each moment of it is intriguing, sexy, and voraciously photographed.
The Roe Effect (Kiel Scott, 19 minutes): If you’ve seen Precious, you may or may not be prepared for the gritty dilemma of this high school lesbian with a comparable level of trouble. But her coping mechanisms are different and illustrated competently by actress Nia Fairweather.
One Night (Laura Jean Cronin, 14 minutes): The next morning, a Seattle sporty spice lesbian (Lezlie Moore) recalls an encounter gone very wrong. A breezy vibe darted with sharp story twists make this flick worthy of feature length exploration.
To Comfort You (Mark Saltarelli, 15 minutes): HIV positive lesbians are not often depicted, but the nimble banter between one (Pauley Perrette—Almost Famous, NCIS) and her geographically distant yet concerned mother (veteran actress Susan Blakely) conveys a level of understanding that make the clinical aspects of the disease less intimidating. Although all the dialogue is in the form of a telephone call, their fine acting expresses a familiarity befitting their onscreen relationship. This short deserves to be expanded into a feature length film; its subject matter is important and the actresses are proficient and well suited.
This program shows Monday, April 19 @ 7:20 pm and Thursday, April 22 @ 12:10 pm at Midtown Art Cinema.
Please check the DLI blog section during ATLFF, April 15—23, for updates and reviews.