The Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival is gaining popularity.
Closet Cinema will present the sixth annual festival from Friday to Oct. 2 at four venues in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
Over the past five years, the Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival has become one of the biggest film festivals in New Mexico, said program director Roberto Appicciafoco, and last year it saw a 30 percent increase in ticket sales.
"Audiences seem to be growing larger every year," Appicciafoco said. "For the past three years, we have held the festival in two different cities at multiple venues in each city."
The festival features 82 films from 18 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Spain and Canada. Thirty-two of those films are feature-length while the rest are shorts.
The cost is $9 per movie, or $50 for eight.
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"We spend about six months going through 300-plus entries," said Appicciafoco. "We look to see if a movie has good acting, if it's a well-rounded story and if it's told well. There are a lot of themes that are repeated, so we are constantly searching for new material. We want a worldview of topics. This worldview gives people a perspective on how it is to be gay in the U.S. as compared to how it is to be gay in Japan, for instance. These differences are very important."
Recently, Appicciafoco noticed the recurring theme of "coming out." This year, in a program called "Awakening," six short films focus on how gay and lesbian youths are coming out about their sexuality. One of those films, "88 Years in the Closet," will be screened Monday at 7 p.m. at the Guild Cinema.
This year's international centerpiece, a feature-length film called "XXY," will play at the South Broadway Cultural Center on Saturday at 7 p.m.
"'XXY' is definitely one of the best films I have seen all year," Appicciafoco said. "It is an incredibly powerful film from Argentina. This is a very special year for us because we are bringing in the main actor, Martin Piroyansky, for the show."
"XXY" is about a 15-year-old hermaphrodite and her family and what they go through living in society.
"Throughout the week, we will be screening films at the Winrock Theatre, the Guild Cinema and the South Broadway Cultural Center in Albuquerque and the DeVargas theater in Santa Fe," Appicciafoco said. "Besides films, we will also be throwing a lot of parties."
The Kick-Off Party, on Saturday from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at Scalo, will give people the chance to sample some of the finest foods in Albuquerque while getting to know other film fanatics. Tickets will be sold at the door for $25. All members of Closet Cinema get a $5 discount with a valid membership card. Those who become members at the party get in for free.
