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The LGBTQ Films of AFI Fest 2019
This year's AFI Fest, which runs November 14 to 21 in Los Angeles, begins with the hotly anticipated film written by out Lena Waithe, Melina Matsoukas's Queen & Slim. However, the L.A. festival has much more to offer LGBTQ filmgoers.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Celine Sciamma's film about love and portraiture at a French villa, has been burning up the festival circuit, as has the documentary on the late neurologist and author Oliver Sachs. Take a look at more queer offerings below, and learn more at Fest.afi.com.
Film stills and descriptions courtesy of AFI Fest.
Romantic Comedy
Take a trip through your favorite romantic comedies with artist and writer Elizabeth Sankey as she examines the common tropes of the genre and how they have shaped not only cultural conversations but the actual psychological makeup of the filmmaker herself. An outstanding intellectual and revealing debut, this film will be your next crush.
Cinema's Legacy; Directed by Elizabeth Sankey. Screenplay by Elizabeth Sankey. Featuring Jessica Barden, Cameron Cook, Anne T. Donahue, Simran Hans, Brodie Lancaster, Charlie Lyne, Eleanor McDowall, Laura Snapes. U.K.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
At a French villa, Marianne is charged with secretly painting Heloise, a woman fresh from a convent and betrothed to a strange man. Spending days as Heloise's walking companion, Marianne paints her by memory at night. Filmmaker Celine Sciamma delivers a bold cinematic masterpiece about self-discovery, memory and freedom.
Special Screenings; Directed by Celine Sciamma. Screenplay by Celine Sciamma. Cast: Noemie Merlant, Adele Haenel, Luana Bajrami, Valeria Golino. France.
And Then We Danced
While training at the National Georgian Ensemble, the arrival of preternaturally talented Irakli awakens a sense of friendly competition in Merab, along with more complicated feelings. This twirling, rhythmic romance sees the profundity of first love intensified by the risk that exposure could threaten career, familial, and community support.
World Cinema; Directed by Levan Akin. Screenplay by Levan Akin. Cast: Levan Gelbakhiani, Bachi Valishvili, Ana Javakishvili, Giorgi Tsereteli, Tamar Bukhnikashvili. Georgia, Sweden, France.
Take Me to Prom
A colorful, celebratory intergenerational retelling of seven queer people's prom experience.
Shorts; Directed by Andrew Moir. Featuring Alf Roberts, Fontaine, Marcy Rogers, Alphonso King Jr., Marc Hall, Caroline Kan-Hai. Canada
Saint Maud
Maud, a reclusive nurse with a traumatic past, takes the task of hospice care for her new patient, Amanda, very seriously - she is determined to save Amanda's soul from the devil. A sharp, striking debut, this psychological horror story of religious devotion will make you shiver long after leaving the theater.
Midnight; Directed by Rose Glass; Screenplay by Rose Glass. Cast: Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle, Lily Frazer, Lily Knight, Marcus Hutton, Turlough Convery, Rosie Sansom, Carl Prekopp, Jonathan Milshaw, Noa Bodner, Rosie Sansom. U.K.
Welcome to the USA
After winning the U.S. green-card lottery, 36-year-old Aliya has to tell her family and friends. Director Assel Aushakimova's Welcome to the USA is a quiet, powerful film that shares a slice of Kazakhstani city life and the semi-hidden existence of the LGBTQ community in Almaty.
New Auteurs; Directed by Assel Aushakimova. Screenplay by Assel Aushakimova. Cast: Saltanat Nauruz, Aida Zhetpissova, Dinara Aliyeva, Daniyar Beisov, Kul-Sara, Sultana Bektasova. Kazakhstan. World premiere.
Docking
Trevor reflects on his fear of dating.
Shorts; Directed by Trevor Anderson. Screenplay by Trevor Anderson.
The Burning Bush (הסנה הבוע)
Danny mourns lost love to her ex-girlfriend, symbolized by a small plant. Danny's mother wants her daughter to bury the memories, but when the dust settles something more powerful remains, which will not die.
Shorts. Directed by Noam Greif. Screenplay by Noam Greif. Cast: Inbal Lehavi, Irit Sheleg, Na'ama Amit. Israel.
Searching Eva
For 25-year-old Eva, complex emotions surrounding adolescence, family, body, art, and sex work are processed publicly through unflinchingly personal photos and writing posted on social media. In an attempt to capture the essence of this elusive personality, Pia Hellenthal's extraordinary feature debut is a cinematic portrait that unfolds as a blitz of sound and image.
Documentary; Directed by Pia Hellenthal. Screenplay by Pia Hellenthal, Giorgia Malatrasi. Featuring Eva Colle. Germany.
Mack Wrestles
Transgender wrestler Mack Beggs broke records and changed history by winning the Texas high school state title two years in a row. With college on the horizon, Beggs must grapple with what comes next.
Directed by Erin Sanger, Taylor Hess. Featuring Mack Beggs, Nancy Beggs. USA.
Miller & Son
A transwoman mechanic lives between running her family's auto shop during the day and expressing her femininity at night, until an unforeseen event threatens the balance of her compartmentalized life.
Conservatory Showcase; Directed by Asher Jelinsky. Screenplay by Asher Jelinsky. Cast: Jesse James Keitel, Ryan Cutrona, Travis Hammer, Alexandra Grey, Carter Ray. USA.
Lingua Franca
Olivia is an undocumented Filipina trans woman and the home health aide for Olga. Alex, Olga's grandson, is just back from rehab and trying to get his life together. The two have enough going on to need a budding relationship. But that's not how fate works.
New Auteurs; Directed by Isabel Sandoval. Screenplay by Isabel Sandoval. Cast: Isabel Sandoval, Eamon Farren, Ivory Aquino, Lev Gorn, Lynn Cohen. USA, Philippines.
Oliver Sacks: His Own Life
Famed neurologist and best-selling author Oliver Sacks (The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat), who died in 2015, led an extraordinary life. Master filmmaker Ric Burns, granted intimate access in Sacks's final months, paints a deeply moving portrait that captures his remarkable life and reveals the enormity of his spirit.
Documentary; Directed by Ric Burns. USA.
Family Members
After the death of their mother, siblings Gilda and Lucas reluctantly return to their quiet coastal hometown to scatter her remains in the ocean but are unable to make the quick retreat they had hoped for. With this sudden and unexpected reunion, they find boredom is more readily surmountable than grief, and difficult conversations remain just out of reach.
Directed by Mateo Bendesky. Screenplay by Mateo Bendesky. Cast: Tomas Wicz, Laila Maltz, Alejandro Russek. Argentina.
Carne
Five women highlight the perverse way in which society looks at them.
Shorts; Directed by Camila Kater. Screenplay by Camila Kater, Ana Julia Carvalheiro. Cast: Rachel Patricio, Larissa Rahal, Raquel Virginia, Valquiria Rosa, Helena Ignez. Brazil, Spain.
