OutFest Picks 25 Life-Changing Films

In honor of their 25th anniversary, OutFest has selected 25 GLBT movies that "changed our lives" in the past 25 years.

Ranging from mainstream hits to independent favorites, foreign films to documentaries, they are (in chronological order):

• Making Love (1982)
• The Hunger (1983)
• The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
• My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
• Desert Hearts (1985)
• Parting Glances (1986)
• I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987)
• Law of Desire (1987)
• Maurice (1987)
• Longtime Companion (1990)
• Paris is Burning (1990)
• Tongues Untied (1990)
• My Own Private Idaho (1991)
• Poison (1991)
• The Crying Game (1992)
• The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
• Go Fish (1994)
• The Celluloid Closet (1995)
• The Incredibly True Adventure of 2 Girls in Love (1995)
• Beautiful Thing (1996)
• Ma Vie en Rose (1997)
• High Art (1998)
• Boys Don't Cry (1999)
• Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
• Brokeback Mountain (2005)

What is always fun about lists like these is to do a breakdown of the numbers, which provides an interesting way to look comprehensively at the films represented. Thus, OutFest's list includes:

• 9 films from the 1980's.
• 14 films from the 1990's.
• 2 films from the 2000's.
• 4 documentaries.
• 2 foreign language films.
• 1987 and 1990 are the most represented years, with 3 films each.
• Rob Epstein is the only director with two films on the list: The Times of Harvey Milk and The Celluloid Closet.
• A total of 7 Oscars were won by 5 of the films, but no Best Pictures (damn you again, Crash!).

As for the breakdown of what's G, L, B or T:

• 15 films with gay subject matter.
• 8 films with lesbian subject matter.
• 7 films with bisexual subject matter.
• 6 films with transgender subject matter.

The only film to feature all four is, naturally, The Celluloid Closet.

Links via OutFest.org.

Best of the Fests: OutFest Wrap Up

This year's OutFest, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, came to a close last night, and Out in Hollywood's Greg Hernandez was there to get all the scoop.

This was a festival after all, so awards were handed out in a gala show hosted by none other then Bruce Vilanch. The big winners of the Audience Awards were The Bubble (Dramatic Feature) and For the Bible Tells Me So (Documentary Feature; click here for Greg's review), while 25 Cent Preview won two Juried Awards (U.S. Dramatic Feature and Outstanding Actors for co-stars Merlin Gaspers and Dorian Brockington). Click here for a full list of winners.

Greg also got a chance to speak to several celebs on hand, including T.R. Knight, Brothers & Sisters stars Sally Field and Matthew Rhys (who also starred in the festival favorite Love and Other Disasters) and Trevor Wright, star of Shelter, another fest fave.

And add another film to your must-see list: a documentary on out gay Christian singing duo Jason and deMarco called We're All Angels.

OutFest's closing night film was the west coast premiere of C. Jay Cox's Kiss the Bride, starring Phillip Karner, Tori Spelling and James O'Shea. The next night, it held its east coast premiere at the Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. For an interview with Cox (plus an uncensored rear view of O'Shea), head over to Hot in Hollywood.

Links via OutFest.org, InsideSoCal.com, Imdb.com, PhillyFests.com and HotInHollywood.tv.

Best of the Fests: OutFest 2007

Greg Hernandez over at Out in Hollywood is turning out a fine series of articles covering this year's OutFest (the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival that continues through July 23), including on-the-scene pics of such notable attendees as Alexis Arquette, Judith Light and Reichen Lemkuhl.

So what are the movies to watch out for in the future at your local theater or (more likely) DVD store? Highlights of the fest per Greg:

• The Curiosity of Chance: This comedy, set in the 1980's, tells the story of how an out teenager fits into his new high school.
• East Side Story: Romantic complications arise for Diego and his closeted boyfriend when a hot couple moves into the neighborhood.
• For the Bible Tells Me So: A documentary on how the religious right uses the good book against us; directed by Dan Karslake.
• Kiss the Bride: From Latter Days director C. Jay Cox, a soon-to-be-married straight guy finds his pending nuptials in question when his high school boyfriend shows up. Trick's Tori Spelling co-stars as the bride.
• Love and Other Disasters: A romantic comedy about a professional gal (Brittany Murphy) who plays matchmaker for her friends, including her gay pal played by Brothers & Sisters' Matthew Rhys.
• Save Me: (starring Chad Allen and Robert Gant), a romantic drama set in an ex-gay ministry. This looks to be another Brokeback Mountain, but with out gay actors in the leads.
• Shelter: Is, as Greg puts it: "the first gay surfing flick, which is great because, duh, dudes in wetsuits." Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss star Brad Rowe is one of the surfers.

Also of note is the screening of the recently restored gay classic Parting Glances, the first film in OutFest's Legacy Project, which is doing the all-important job of preserving GLBT films for the generations ahead to experience.

We'll check back in with Greg as the festival continues.

Links via InsideSoCal.com, OutFest.org and Imdb.com.