Monday, November 20, 2006

• Family Affairs
  Whether they're miles away or beyond the grave, parents and siblings sure know how to push our buttons.
  
  
  • Ideology
    (Juana Awad & Jorge Lozano, Canada, 2005, video, 5 min.)
    An exploration of the contradictory feelings a daughter has toward her father.
    
    
  • dé jà vu 323
    (Laura Cadenazzi, Italy/UK, 2005, video, 3 min.)
    An experimental short film based on the feeling of dé jà vu.
    
    
  • you wash my skin with sunshine
    (Kathleen Mullen, Canada, 2005, video, 6 min.)
    With few childhood memories of her mother's affection, the director mines old home movies for evidence. When she doesn't find exactly what she's looking for, she sets out to create a new family portrait, starring her surprisingly willing mother.
    
    
  • What Remains Human
    (Maureen Bradley, Canada, 2005, video, 24 min.)
    When the ashes of her estranged father show up in the mail, Rebecca enlists the help of her quirky siblings to find a suitable spot to dispose of the sooty cremains.
    
    
  • Room Number 3 (Hong Lekti Sam)
    (Navarutt Roongaroon, Thailand, Thai w/ English Subtitles, 2004, video, 22 min.)
    During a surprise visit, a mother finds that there is more going on between her daughter and her new roommate than meets the eye.
    
    
  • Man Seeking Man (Mies Etsii Miesta)
    (Matti Harju, Finland, Finnish w/ English Subtitles, 2004, video, 12 min.)
    An older daddy arranges an anonymous daytime sex romp and is aroused by the possibilities when a young guy shows up at his door. Unfortunately, there is one surprise in store that will make the afternoon go limp.
    
    

• Family Affairs
  Whether they're miles away or beyond the grave, parents and siblings sure know how to push our buttons.
  
  
  • To Hold A Heart
    (Michael Wallin, USA, 2005, video, 13 min.)
    Two men with seemingly little in common find each other in a not-so-chance encounter at the gym. Slowly, an intense bond of intimacy and trust develops. Could this be love?
    
    
  • Gypo
    (Jann Dunn, UK, 2005, video, 98 min.)
    
    There are three sides to every story.
    
    Helen (Pauline McLynn) has been married to Paul (Paul McGann) for twenty-five years. She lives a monotonous and frozen existence on the Kent coast of England. Desperate and damaged, she is looking for change.
    
    Paul is on the brink of a breakdown, sick and tired of being stuck in the poverty trap. Bitter, hypocritical, and bigoted, Paul's biggest fear is change.
    
    Into their lives comes Tasha (Chloe Sirene), a Romany Czech refugee awaiting her British passport and her chance for freedom - a concept taken for granted by all those around her.
    
    Told in three revelatory narratives, Gypo brings to life a broad range of answers to questions of immigration and race. From Paul's deep-rooted xenophobia to Helen's desire for new experiences outside her mundane life, Tasha embodies everything one is drawn to and the other hates. The film reveals how the disintegration of an ordinary working class family finally comes to a head when unexpected emotions are unleashed.
    
    The first certified Dogme95 film made in the UK, Gypo is an innovative, gripping and engaging journey into the heart of a dysfunctional British family. The film reveals how suburban fears and tabloid sensationalism have come to perpetuate the myths surrounding refugees.
    
    British Independent Film Award for Best Achievement in Production
    
    The Levi's(R) First Feature Award, Frameline San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival