Queer Film Blog

Puccini For Beginners Opens Feb 2nd!

From the director of the legendary classic, The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love comes this hilarious tale about a girl who can’t say yes—to love.

The gorgeous Elizebeth Reaser (The Family Stone) turns in a tremendous performance as Alegra, an opera-loving New York City lesbian who bluntly describes herself as: “narcissistic, passive-aggressive, self-absorbed and incapable of connecting.” After Alegra’s commitment issues send her girlfriend (Julianne Nicholson) off into the arms of another man, Alegra finds herself suddenly attracted to two new lovers: Philip (the delicious Justin Kirk of Angels In America fame) and Grace (Gretchen Mol in a whimsical performance).

The Top Ten List Phenomenon

The perennial quest for the ten "best" LGBT movies continues.

Here's a good one -- any list that starts with Times Square (click to see my raving fanaticism on PopcornQ) has gotta be good!

Frameline Opening Night (6-15-06)-- The Hot Lesbian Hit!

Frameline, the SFLGBT Film Fest managed to snag the hottest lesbian film of the year for Opening Night (Thursday, June 15th at the Castro) even though it has not yet secured a distributor.

Commitment-phobic Alegra (the stunning Elizabeth Reaser, The Family Stone) gets dumped by her long-suffering girlfriend (Julianne Nicholson). But her pals aren’t exactly supportive when she then falls for a guy (the gorgeous Justin Kirk of Angels in America fame). To make life even more complicated, she also gets the hots for Gretchen Mol!

Another Reason to Visit SF in June

Frameline's Persistent Vision Conference is coming up in June (during the 30th Anniversary of the SF LGBT Film Fest). This is the massive think-tank state-of-the-queer-film-union event that happens every five years.

Attn. Queer film professionals: Don't miss it.

Check out the Persistent Vision Blog for more details.

Advance Review: Teen Lesbians of the Eastern Bloc

Fresh off a premiere at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival, keep an eye out for Love Sick on the queer film fest circuit this summer.

The first lesbian-themed Romanian feature, this weirdly compelling drama is dripping with atmosphere and youthful, over-wrought emotions. With its wonderfully poppy soundtrack, cute young Eastern European girls and MTV aesthetic, Tudor Giurgiu’s debut feature bares a cinematic resemblance to that infamous TATU music video, “All The Things We Said.”

The Joy of Life at the Pacific Film Archive

Tonight I finally saw Jenni's film, The Joy of Life at the PFA in Berkeley. Though I've had the DVD for some time now, I couldn't bring myself to watch it on the small screen without Jenni sitting next to me. I got my wish. The Joy of Life is an incredibly moving experimental landscape film, personal diary and unconventional documentary about falling in love and falling in death. While the butch lesbian narrator explores her confusing love relationships, we see beautiful, still compositions of a hidden San Francisco. Later the film explores the making of Frank Capra's Meet John Doe and the history of the Golden Gate Bridge as a suicide icon.  Funny, sexy, and sad, and ultimately a case for living life in all its messiness and complexity, The Joy of Life is a must-see when it comes out on DVD later in the year.

About Jenni Olson, Queer Film Blog Co-Founder

Jenni Olson has been programming, researching, collecting, creating, and writing about lesbian, gay, bi and transgender (LGBT) film since 1986 and is one of the world's leading experts on LGBT cinema. She is the former director of entertainment and e-commerce for PlanetOut.com and Gay.com, where she founded PopcornQ.com, a massive LGBT film website (http://www.planetout.com/popcornq/) based on her book, The Ultimate Guide to Lesbian & Gay Film and Video (Serpent's Tail , 1996).

Jenni has been involved in numerous LGBT film and video projects in various capacities. Her latest archival research project, The Queer Movie Poster Book, was recently published by Chronicle Books. Her vintage queer movie trailer program, Homo Promo, is now available on DVD from Strand Releasing.

Jenni's first feature film, The Joy of Life world premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2005 and is now making the rounds on the film festival circuit. Look for it on DVD in Summer 2006!

About Tom Rielly, Queer Film Blog Co-Founder

Tom Rielly is best known as the Founder and former CEO of PlanetOut.com, which joined forces with Gay.com to create the largest gay and lesbian online company with over 5 million monthly customers. Based in San Francisco, the company is now called PlanetOut, Inc.  PlanetOut went public on the NASDAQ (Quote) in 2004. In 2006, PlanetOut added The Advocate, Out, OutTraveler magazines and RSVP Vacations to its media and travel holdings.

In 2006, Rielly co-founded the Queer Film Blog with longtime friend and colleague Jenni Olson. Currently, Rielly is CEO of Griot Digital, LLC, a marketing, interactive and startup consulting firm. Clients include Canyon Ranch, TED Conferences, and PumpOne.

Rielly is also an accomplished actor, stand-up comic and satirist. His original satires, which close the annual TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) conferences, receive standing ovations year after year. His deadpan delivery combines cerebral musings, wordplay, original props, and classic slapstick, including concussion-inducing pratfalls, bottles of olive oil drenching his head, or a dance duet with an inflatable lowlife woman.

His "warm up acts" have included evangelist Billy Graham and former Vice-President Al Gore. In 1980 he played the role of Reissman in the feature film, My Bodyguard.   He also performed at the TYPO conference twice, the largest graphic design conference in Europe, and at YPO University in Florence, as well as the Aspen Design Conference.

In 2005 Rielly served as Executive Producer for Jenni Olson's first feature film The Joy of Life, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It will be released on DVD in Summer, 2006.

"Another perfect film." -indieWIRE
"Hypnotic. " -The Village Voice
"Unforgettable." -San Francisco Examiner
"One of the most sensuous documentaries you will ever see." -The East Bay Express