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2019 FMLGBT Film Festival Program Guide

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About THE FESTIVAL This annual festival grew out of a weekly Queer Film Series at MSUM that started in the Fall of 2008 Since 2009 we ve brought films from all over the country and all over the world with a focus on LGBT lived experiences to the Fargo Theatre for a unique look at our stories and our lives This year marks a transition in festival leadership Both myself and Sean Coffman have served as Co Directors this year I can t gush enough about Sean and know that the festival will be in great hands with him starting next year 11 We are also immensely grateful to the very talented festival staff who have made this work possible over the years Beth Hagemeister Section 5 Design Studio Graphic Design Ben Efron Technical Director Jayce Branden Web Guru Cindy Roholt The Chairman of the Board The festival also owes its very existence to our sponsors The MSUM Office of Diversity Inclusion The MSUM School of Media Arts Design The Arts Partnership The Fargo Theatre And thanks to YOU our audience for your support of independent queer cinema THANK YOU Enjoy the show September 18 20 7pm September 21 3pm 7pm FARGO THEATRE SPONSORS MSUM OFFICE OF DIVERSITY INCLUSION MSUM SCHOOL OF MEDIA ARTS DESIGN THE PRIDE COLLECTIVE COMMUNITY CENTER

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WEDNESDAY 7PM The Handyman FRIDAY 7PM Homo Sapiens 9 minutes A single gay man schemes creative ways to have a hunky repairman continue to have to come back to his house to x things but suddenly the fantasies become more than either of them expected ruok Engaged 17 minutes ENGAGED is an LGBT comedic drama that follows Darren who keeps trying and failing to propose to his boyfriend Elliot When their relationship is put into an uncomfortable spotlight during a friend s outrageous engagement party Darren realizes he actually might be self sabotaging himself due to unresolved insecurities about his sexuality The Archivettes 1 hour Reshaping Beauty THURSDAY 7PM A Vast and Curious Universe 9 minutes A queer short film about the creators and fans of a sci fi audio drama of the same name and the way in which the story brings them all together Luke Warm 7 minutes AWARD BEST MUSIC My Mattachine Last Ferry 11 minutes 1 hour 26 minutes When a young gay lawyer arrives on Fire Island to explore his sexuality he becomes witness to a murder after being drugged A stranger helps him to safety but he soon discovers his savior is friends with the killer VISITING FILMMAKER Martin Mulcahy Director of MY MATTACHINE Infinite While it Lasts 19 minutes After falling in love at a party Danny and Seiji just want to be together However their differences might prove stronger than their feelings The first fiction film about asexuality Sammy the Salmon 7 minutes AWARD BEST COMEDY Unable to pluck up the courage to tell his girlfriend he s gay Spencer comes across Sammy a talking salmon who offers to get his love life back on track Listen 10 minutes I Stand Corrected A troubled gay man s search for connection in the 1970s 80s on the Southside of Chicago Gerri Melnick Executive Producer of r u ok Gamers An amateur female gamer is given a once in a lifetime opportunity to try out for a pro league gaming team only to be repressed by self doubt Just your typical mediocre beige room temperature sex John and Eric put the lust back in lackluster Our history was disappearing as quickly as we were making it With that realization Deborah Edel and Joan Nestle co founded the Lesbian Herstory Archives the world s largest collection of materials by and about lesbians 7 minutes Beauty is in the eye of the beholder But we live in a world that is obsessed with one specific narrow type of beauty How would our perceptions of beauty change if we dared to idealize other types of beauty AWARD BEST COMEDY WRITING AWARD BEST FEATURE VISITING FILMMAKER 20 minutes Bar a student who has a lot of growing up to do and is unfortunately also a bit ignorant needs to study for an exam with Yair a fellow student of his who just happens to be homosexual or else risk failure 13 minutes Best friends Alex Bryan have a bitter fight entirely via text message when one of them sleeps with the other one s crush But just as things seem to settle an unexpected development may lead to yet another rift SATURDAY 7PM 4 minutes AWARD BEST DRAMATIC WRITING Transgender kids and teens being attacked on all sides right now Listen gives a rare and intimate insight into some of their daily trials and tribulations 1 hour 23 minutes The true story of jazz bass virtuoso Jennifer Leitham formerly known as John Leitham who risked everything when she transitioned publicly during the height of her career in order to be her true self SATURDAY 3PM A Time of Us 15 minutes A film about memory and the past courage and regret A Night at Switch and Play 1 hour 12 minutes The Common Fag AWARD B EST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE 4 minutes On the banks of Okanagan Lake documentarian Kenney observes the Fag a particular subspecies of the homosexual and more evolved cousin to the Gay as he preens explores his habitat and extricates himself from the beige restrictions of his box Song Lang 1 hour 41 minutes AWARD BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Set in 1980s Saigon Song Lang is a gritty underworld noir hiding a tender romantic heart At the film s core is the unlikely bond that develops between hunky brooding Dung Lien Binh Phat a tough debt collector for a ruthless loan shark and Linh Phung V pop star Isaac a charismatic young opera singer from a struggling cai luong troupe traditional Vietnamese opera A Night at Switch n Play profiles the award winning Brooklyn performance collective Switch n Play a group that redefines gender performance by blurring the line between drag and burlesque to create a subversive reflective and strikingly queer show VISITING FILMMAKER Cody Stickels Director and Chelsea Moore Producer of A Night at Switch n Play

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WEDNESDAY 7PM The Handyman FRIDAY 7PM Homo Sapiens 9 minutes A single gay man schemes creative ways to have a hunky repairman continue to have to come back to his house to x things but suddenly the fantasies become more than either of them expected ruok Engaged 17 minutes ENGAGED is an LGBT comedic drama that follows Darren who keeps trying and failing to propose to his boyfriend Elliot When their relationship is put into an uncomfortable spotlight during a friend s outrageous engagement party Darren realizes he actually might be self sabotaging himself due to unresolved insecurities about his sexuality The Archivettes 1 hour Reshaping Beauty THURSDAY 7PM A Vast and Curious Universe 9 minutes A queer short film about the creators and fans of a sci fi audio drama of the same name and the way in which the story brings them all together Luke Warm 7 minutes AWARD BEST MUSIC My Mattachine Last Ferry 11 minutes 1 hour 26 minutes When a young gay lawyer arrives on Fire Island to explore his sexuality he becomes witness to a murder after being drugged A stranger helps him to safety but he soon discovers his savior is friends with the killer VISITING FILMMAKER Martin Mulcahy Director of MY MATTACHINE Infinite While it Lasts 19 minutes After falling in love at a party Danny and Seiji just want to be together However their differences might prove stronger than their feelings The first fiction film about asexuality Sammy the Salmon 7 minutes AWARD BEST COMEDY Unable to pluck up the courage to tell his girlfriend he s gay Spencer comes across Sammy a talking salmon who offers to get his love life back on track Listen 10 minutes I Stand Corrected A troubled gay man s search for connection in the 1970s 80s on the Southside of Chicago Gerri Melnick Executive Producer of r u ok Gamers An amateur female gamer is given a once in a lifetime opportunity to try out for a pro league gaming team only to be repressed by self doubt Just your typical mediocre beige room temperature sex John and Eric put the lust back in lackluster Our history was disappearing as quickly as we were making it With that realization Deborah Edel and Joan Nestle co founded the Lesbian Herstory Archives the world s largest collection of materials by and about lesbians 7 minutes Beauty is in the eye of the beholder But we live in a world that is obsessed with one specific narrow type of beauty How would our perceptions of beauty change if we dared to idealize other types of beauty AWARD BEST COMEDY WRITING AWARD BEST FEATURE VISITING FILMMAKER 20 minutes Bar a student who has a lot of growing up to do and is unfortunately also a bit ignorant needs to study for an exam with Yair a fellow student of his who just happens to be homosexual or else risk failure 13 minutes Best friends Alex Bryan have a bitter fight entirely via text message when one of them sleeps with the other one s crush But just as things seem to settle an unexpected development may lead to yet another rift SATURDAY 7PM 4 minutes AWARD BEST DRAMATIC WRITING Transgender kids and teens being attacked on all sides right now Listen gives a rare and intimate insight into some of their daily trials and tribulations 1 hour 23 minutes The true story of jazz bass virtuoso Jennifer Leitham formerly known as John Leitham who risked everything when she transitioned publicly during the height of her career in order to be her true self SATURDAY 3PM A Time of Us 15 minutes A film about memory and the past courage and regret A Night at Switch and Play 1 hour 12 minutes The Common Fag AWARD B EST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE 4 minutes On the banks of Okanagan Lake documentarian Kenney observes the Fag a particular subspecies of the homosexual and more evolved cousin to the Gay as he preens explores his habitat and extricates himself from the beige restrictions of his box Song Lang 1 hour 41 minutes AWARD BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Set in 1980s Saigon Song Lang is a gritty underworld noir hiding a tender romantic heart At the film s core is the unlikely bond that develops between hunky brooding Dung Lien Binh Phat a tough debt collector for a ruthless loan shark and Linh Phung V pop star Isaac a charismatic young opera singer from a struggling cai luong troupe traditional Vietnamese opera A Night at Switch n Play profiles the award winning Brooklyn performance collective Switch n Play a group that redefines gender performance by blurring the line between drag and burlesque to create a subversive reflective and strikingly queer show VISITING FILMMAKER Cody Stickels Director and Chelsea Moore Producer of A Night at Switch n Play

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About THE FESTIVAL This annual festival grew out of a weekly Queer Film Series at MSUM that started in the Fall of 2008 Since 2009 we ve brought films from all over the country and all over the world with a focus on LGBT lived experiences to the Fargo Theatre for a unique look at our stories and our lives This year marks a transition in festival leadership Both myself and Sean Coffman have served as Co Directors this year I can t gush enough about Sean and know that the festival will be in great hands with him starting next year 11 We are also immensely grateful to the very talented festival staff who have made this work possible over the years Beth Hagemeister Section 5 Design Studio Graphic Design Ben Efron Technical Director Jayce Branden Web Guru Cindy Roholt The Chairman of the Board The festival also owes its very existence to our sponsors The MSUM Office of Diversity Inclusion The MSUM School of Media Arts Design The Arts Partnership The Fargo Theatre And thanks to YOU our audience for your support of independent queer cinema THANK YOU Enjoy the show September 18 20 7pm September 21 3pm 7pm FARGO THEATRE SPONSORS MSUM OFFICE OF DIVERSITY INCLUSION MSUM SCHOOL OF MEDIA ARTS DESIGN THE PRIDE COLLECTIVE COMMUNITY CENTER