dcoster@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (David Peter Coster) (12/12/90)
First Annual Princeton Lesbian and Gay Film Series Provided by David Peter Coster All films in Kresge Auditorium, Frick Hall at 8 PM until January, when same or new location will be announced. October 8 SHE MUST BE SEEING THINGS, USA 1987, 95 min., color, 16mm Humor, jealousy, sexual obsession: the story of Agatha, a lawyer, and Jo, her filmmaker girlfriend. "Beyond Gravity," NZ 1988, 48 min., color, 16mm Flamboyant rebel, Johnny, meets shy glass technician, Richard, in this offbeat love-story. October 22 VERA, Argentina 1987, 87 min. A young woman believes she is a man trapped in a woman's body in this intense investigation of sex roles. "Susana," USA/Argentina 1980, 25 min. An autobiographical look at racism, homophobia and sexism in Latin America and the U.S. by the director of Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, Susana Munoz. November 6 "Honored By the Moon," USA 1989, 15 min., color Native American lesbians and gays talk about their lives. "Tongues Untied," USA 1989, 55 min., color, 16mm Director Martin Riggs' personal account of the struggle of being black and gay in America. November 20 "On Guard," AUS 1983, 51 min., color, 16mm An aerobics instructor, a disillusioned nurse and two other lesbians conspire to sabotage a reproductive engineering facility and alert the media to a Brave New World bioproduction line. A heist movie which incorporates frank portrayal of the characters' domestic and sexual, personal and political struggles. "Because the Dawn," 1988, 40 min., color, 16mm An alluring, upbeat, modern day vampire musical comedy set to swing tunes. Sax-playing Vampire Marie seduces sports photographer Ariel from behind the camera. December 4 PARIS IS BURNING, USA 1990, 75 min., color, 16mm By Jennie Livingston. A look at the double lives led by Black and Hispanic gay men in Paris. This film follows a group of messengers, welfare recipients, salespeople and prostitutes through two worlds: everyday poverty and discrimination, and the world of "Realness", where through costume and competition, dance and performance, they mimic and transcend the world that excludes them. This powerful documentary gives insight into the lives of the mostly gay black and Hispanic "children" who created the dance called voguing. "Illusions," USA 1982, 34 min., B&W A black woman who passed as white in Hollywood during the 1940's has a relationship with a black woman singer who provides the voice for a white movie star. The film's title also refers to the use of cinema in wartime Hollywood. December 18 "No Need to Repent: The Ballad of Rev. Jan Griesinger," USA 1989, 27 min., color By Ann Alter. Reverend Jan Griesinger is an "out" minister in the United Church of Christ who has integrated her ministry, her politics and her personal life. The story of a courageous contemporary feminist, this film reveals a few of the many levels of her activism. "The Way of the Wicked," 1989, 15 min., color By Christine Vachon. Two women rush to rescue a young girl from her first communion in this stylish film which addresses Catholic roles for women. "Adventurous and erotic, dramatic, funny. It has the iconoclast's love of the icon." "Cover Comrades in Arms," GB 1990, 50 min., color, 16mm By Stuart Marshall. Six lesbians and gay men recall living, loving and serving in the British armed forces in World War II. January 8 "Pink Ulysses," NL 1989, color/B&W, 16mm. By Eric de Kuyper. The inner struggle of "pink Ulysses" is entwined with a loose adaptation of THE ODYSSEY in this sensual film featuring footage from a 1950's bodybuilding show, Eisenstein, and a TV version of "Sleeping Beauty" by the Dutch National Ballet. "Strawberry Shortcut," USA 1989, 5 min., color, videotape By Tom Rubnitz. A drag queen intimates her secret recipe. "Meet Bradley Harrison Picklesimer," USA 1987, 35 min., color, 16mm. By Heather McAdams. The profile of a Kentucky drag queen. January 15 DRY KISSES ONLY, USA 1990, 75 min., color, videotape By Jane Cottis and Kaucyila Brooke. At last... lesbian subtexts of Hollywood movies are revealed through inventive editing, hilarious commentaries and interviews. "Can't You Take a Joke?," AUS 1989, 26 min., color, 16mm By Viki Dun. A woman cartoonist, with the help of pet character lady dick, sets about recovering her mysterious female client's lost sense of humor. "No No Nooky TV," USA 1987, 12 min., color, videotape By Barbara Hammer. Lesbian humor. February 5 COMING OUT, GDR 1989, 109 min., color, 35mm. By Heiner Carow. One of the first films from the Eastern bloc to address the subject of homosexuality, this East German film is the story of a young school teacher who is confronted with his sexuality after a chance encounter with an old friend. February 19 "Looking for Langston," GB 1989, 40 min., B&W, 16mm A search for black gay culture during the Harlem Renaissance, combining an aesthetized view of a Harlem gay club and archival material from the period. "International Sweethearts of Rhythm," 30 min. "Tina and Ruby," 30 min. Two films based on a true story of a multiracial all-women jazz band which played for the Army during World War II. Two of the women became lovers. March 5 "Night Out," AUS 1989, 50 min., B&W, 16mm When Steve leaves town for a few days, his lover Tony decides to cruise the beach one night, and is brutalized by a gang of thugs. The event triggers an examination of the couple's supposedly wonderful relationship. "'Out' Takes," USA 1989, 13 min., color, videotape Pee Wee's Playhouse, Rex Reed and a Japanese soft core porn show are juxtaposed in this examination of homophobia on broadcast TV. "Trojans," GB 1990, 33 min., color, 16mm A look at nineteenth century Greek poet Constantine Cavafy, whose work is loaded with homoeroticism and motifs from Greek history. The film reflects the same heady ambiance using sexy Derek Jarmanesque super-8 visuals and the poet's work on the soundtrack. March 26 NOVEMBERMOON, FRG 1984, 106 min., color, 35mm. Dir. Alexandra von Grote. The story of enduring love between a German Jew, November Messing, and her French lover during German occupation of France in World War II. April 9 FULL MOON IN NEW YORK, HK 1989, 89 min., color, 35mm Three Chinese women immigrants in New York, one from mainland China, one a Taiwanese actress, and one a successful entrepreneur and restaurateur from Hong Kong. The film can be taken as a symbol of the struggles of the three Chinas to come together. "Chinese Characters," CAN 1986, 21 min., color, videotape A study of culture shock as Asian men relate their histories and their relationship to Anglo-biased erotica. April 23 MARK HARRIS'S NOCTURNE, USA 1989, 100 min., B&W, 16mm A contemplative coming of age story about Martin, a shy pianist new to New York, who meets the handsome Gino. Martin thinks he's found his match, but Gino only wants a casual sexual liaison. As Martin slides into obsession he is forced to deal with a terrible secret from his past. "Joy Chamberlain's Nocturne," GB 1990, 58 min, color, 16mm 45-year old Marguerite returns home for her mother's funeral and meets memories which are the key both to her self-repression and her desire. May 7 "Flesh & Paper," GB 1990, 30 min., color, 16mm The life and writings of the lesbian writer and poet Suniti Namjoshi who is from an Indian royal family and resides in England. Includes interviews with her friends and with the young Indian women who take her as a role model. Directed by Pratibha Parmar. "Dreams of Passion," USA 1989, 5 min., B&W, 16mm A black woman daydreams about another black woman in a dance studio, and her dreams come true. "Storme: The Lady in the Jewel Box," USA 1987, 21 min., color, 16mm or video The black woman whom this film is about, Storme DeLarverie, was an MC and male impersonator at the Jewel Box Revue, the first integrated gender impersonation show and a forerunner of La Cage aux Folles. The revue was very popular with a mainstream public from the 1940s to the 1960s. Directed by Michelle Parkerson, who also directed "Sweet Honey in the Rock." May 14 WHERE THE SUN BEATS DOWN, Portugal 1989, 88 min., color, 35mm A haunting film of a young man determine to break the sexual and class taboos of his culture, modern day Portugal. Nuno returns from the city to his sister's farm where a relationship develops between him and Alberto, a young farm worker, which threatens the stability of Nuno's snobbish family. By Joaquim Pinto. "Pride," USA 1989, 28 min., color, videotape ACT-UP New York's Diva TV (Damned Interfering Video Activists) celebrates events of Lesbian and Gay Pride Weekend 1989. David Coster dcoster@phoenix.princeton.edu