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Celebrating Life in a Graveyard...
The location of the opening gala for one the world’s most notable and prestigious film festivals was the source of a lot of “spirited” conversation. Set on the lush lawns of the Hollywood Forever Memorial Cemetery, Outfest 2021 opened with a flare designed for the living.
After over a year of isolation, attendees were excited to get back together and enjoy the best in LGBTQ+ TV, cinema, and entertainment.
Opening the festival was a pre-screening of the West End musical hit Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Under the helm of Amazon Studios, the musical was adapted for the big screen and will air on Prime streaming beginning September 17th. Outfest participants were able to watch the movie along with several of its stars, on blankets under the stars.
On hand were Maxwell Harwood, Lauren Patel (both making their feature debuts) and director Jonathan Butterell (Finding Neverland). The film opened with a special introduction by the legendary and iconic Bianca Del Rio. Del Rio starred in the West End Musical and will continue her tour this winter in London and next year when the show comes to America. Her role as Hugo/Loco Chanel, the helpful drag mother is played in the film by the incomparable Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?).
The red carpet saw the likes of Ronen Rubenstein (911: Lonestar) who declared “It’s great to be out at Outfest!” referencing his recent coming out as bisexual. Another fun red carpenter was Sherry Cola (Good Trouble), even if she wouldn’t give me spoilers about Isabella’s baby, “She’s naming it Sherry! No, I’m kidding!” She went on to explain about how happy she was to be on such a progressive and inclusive show. The carpet also saw singer Marieme and actor Kevin McHale.
The screening was met with cheers as the star-studded (Ashley Benson and Evan Ross were both in tow) audience sang and bopped along to the upbeat musical. The screening was just one of the highlights of the evening as the event kicked off what will be 10 days of the best LGBTQIA+ cinema worldwide.
Featuring 49 features, 123 shorts, 13 US premieres, 28 countries represented, 15 foreign language films with 3 international premieres, 43 films about the trans experience and 23 world premieres, there’s literally something for everyone. And if you can’t make it in person, Outfest will have streaming options available to enjoy the titles online.
Scroll down to learn more about Outfest 20201 premieres.
'Gemmel and Tim'
A timely and heartbreaking documentary detailing the passing of Gemmel More and Timothy Michael Dean at the hands of politician Ed Buck. Screening alongside Crystal Diaries by Enyce Smith and Gina Lamb, the two documentaries compliment each other by investigating the cause and effect of such personal losses.
“I’m part of the LA gay men’s basketball League and Timothy was as well," said Michiel Thomas. "So when he died it hit my community really hard and I was very close to that story when it happened. When the protests happened last year with George Floyd and Black Lives Matter I began to ask myself as a filmmaker, what can I do to fight injustice? I approached Michael (Franklin) and we worked together to tell their perspective on what happened to humanize their stories.”
Thank You for Being Here
Two alumni of last year’s Outfest selection Dramarama (directed by Jonathan Wysocki), Pugliese and Kay wrote a short that will be shown during the “What a Girl Wants” program. In the short we follow the two of them as roommates as they wait for a pregnancy test to tell their futures.
“During quarantine Danielle and I weren’t working so much so we decided to write a fun little thing," said writer and star Nick Pugliese. "We shot it with no budget in my bathroom with my roommate as director and now we’re at Outfest!”
Bridesman
Starring Jimmie Fowlie and Sydnee Washington and Created/Written by John Onieal and Frank Spiro with Direction by Julian Buchan.
Grindr’s first original feature (yup, you read that right! Talk about “Grindr and chill”!) tells the story of a narcissistic monster of a man (Fowlie) who is trying desperately to ruin his best friend (Washington)’s wedding by sleeping with her husband. It’s for her own good, of course.
“The script has about 40 jokes a minute so I knew as soon as I got it in front of the Grindr folks they would love it!” says creator John Olineal.
Jump, Darling
Cloris Leachman’s final performance and a touching story of a young man coming to terms with himself. Co-starring RuPaul’s Drag Race Canada star Tynomi, the film is filled with laughs, love and heart.
“It’s about choosing a life as an artist and end of life care," says Tom Dupliesse. "And it’s a very sweet and tender film about that intergenerational relationship.”
Pool Boy
This sleek, dreamy short tells the story of a young college kid who comes home and reconciles his feeling for Star, his parents' nonbinary pool boy. Starring actor River Gallo, who is intersex, this short shows nonbinary and nongender conforming romance at its finest.
“We wanted to establish authentic romance and authentic love and that was what was really important about the film to me," reflects Luke Willis, "that we avoided fetishization.”
There’s so much in store for Outfest! The final closing gala will be held in LA’s iconic Orphean Theater and will feature a screening of Fanny: The Right to Rock, a documentary about the first female rock band to release an album with a major label. This will be followed by a performance from the band as well as presenting honors to Elliot Page and Octavia Spencer.
Outfest 2021 provides a platform for the LGBTIA+ community to be seen and heard. The stories told are a diverse, and beautiful curated lot that’s sure to educate as well as entertain. Be sure to check out some entries today! Individual virtual options are available as well as multiview passes.
Photo Credits: Stacey Yvonne, Vivien Best for Getty Images, Julian Buchan and John Onieal
