by Taylor Lieuwen
Daily Lobo
This weekend marks the fifth anniversary of the Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, but the festival's offerings are anything but wooden.
"This is our big milestone year - where we're kind of stepping it up a notch," festival director Roberto Appicciafoco said.
This year's festival features more than 75 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender film screenings, scattered across five theaters in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
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The festival includes feature-length and short films from 19 countries.
The centerpiece screening is "Save Me," a film about Mark (Chad Allen), a gay youth whose parents try to persuade him to give up his promiscuous, drug-infused homosexual lifestyle. Before they take away his inheritance, they send him to a Christian therapy program, Genesis. The program seems to work until Mark enters a relationship with his resident-mentor, Scott (Robert Gant). Mark's parents must finally choose between accepting him the way he is and abandoning him entirely.
"Save Me" is the first gay feature film shot in New Mexico, Appicciafoco said.
"I think this will create some sort of momentum where GLBT filmmakers are going to start looking at New Mexico as a place where they can actually work their craft," said Appicciafoco. "And hopefully, the festival will be here to showcase their films."
"Itty Bitty Titty Committee" represents the radical feminist side of the festival. Shaped by the writers' experiences, it follows Anna (Melonie Diaz) as she finds her voice through Sadie (Nicole Vicius) and the Clits in Action, aka the C(I)A.
Guinevere Turner, who plays a TV talk show host in the film, said young people should be more active.
"Us old people get tired, you know," she said. "I just drive a Prius and don't use bottled water. That's my activism in terms of the environment, you know. I would love if people were protesting and making noise about it."
Short films are a large part of the festival. These films range from "Let's Roll," about not being able to leave one's driveway to "Gay Zombie," which deals with the experiences and opportunities that go with being, well, a gay zombie.
And the festival isn't just about movies.
"We have all sorts of parties and fun stuff that happens during the festival that's not just the films," volunteer coordinator Stephanie Summers said. "People can get together and talk about the films after they see them or just go and have a good time."
Those good times include the Queer Brunch and Dare to Be Bear dinner after the screening of "Bears," a documentary chronicling the bear movement and annual Mr. International Bear Pageant. The dinner includes a raffle and a strip contest.
The festival's movies and parties depend heavily on volunteers, who trade their time and energy for an enriching experience, Summers said.
"They get to work with a bunch of different people, meet a lot of different people from the community that you wouldn't normally see out," she said.
When everything comes together, the festival is a cultural event. The biggest film festival in Albuquerque is also one of the GLBT community's greatest social functions, Turner said.
"It's a great way to bring people together, and, you know, it's a great dating service," she said.
For more information, visit the festival's Web site,
ClosetCinema.org.
Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival 2007
Sept. 28-Oct. 4
Guild Cinema
3405 Central Ave. N.E.
Southwest Film Center
Located in the SUB
High Ridge 8
12810 Indian School Road N.E.
KiMo Theatre
423 Central Ave. N.W.
ClosetCinema.org
