Last Day of the Reel Pride Film Festival SUNDAY

 
12:15 PM Clambake Mia Cuppa Caffé 

Director: Andrea Meyerson 2015 USA 94 min.

  

The year was 1984. A handful of entrepreneurial women innkeepers in Provincetown, Mass. gathered together with a mission: to figure out how they could entice summer guests back during the seaside town’s offseason. Without the luxury of social media, or even email, the women hand-wrote letters to all their past guests, inviting them to come enjoy the beautiful autumn scenery—with a clambake and some local entertainment thrown in. They called it “Women’s Weekend,” and during the next three decades, it spawned numerous other lesbian gatherings in Provincetown, expanding from modest grassroots beginning to eventually become one of the most popular lesbian events in the world.

Watch the trailer HERE

12:20 PM Heartland ViSTA Theater 

Director: Maura Anderson 2016 USA  98 min.  

When young Oklahoma artist, Lauren, finds herself heartbroken and struggling with a recent death, she finds escape in a reckless affair with her brother’s girlfriend, which goes against her family’s complacent suburban routine. Heartland explores the shifting nature of sexuality, the limitations of love, and the definition of family, all driven by denial and unexplored grief at the loss of a loved one.

Watch the trailer HERE

1:00 PM Political Animals Tower Theatre 

Director: Jonah Markowitz 2016 USA 85 min.

  

Political Animals tells the story of the civil rights struggle of this century – the gay rights movement - through the eyes of four elected women - a group often left out of gay histories until now. Emotionally charged like its subjects, the film follows four ground- breaking lesbians who took the fight for the causes most personal to them and their communities off the streets and into the halls of government. 

Fierce, determined, focused and passionate, these women had the courage and foresight to start the work of legal rights of the LGBTQ community, ultimately paving the way for other states across the nation. Bills they authored included the first domestic partnership registry enacted by a legislature, the first anti-bullying bill protecting gay students and many more. It was a hard fight – filled with surprisingly heated debates and hateful insults hurled by opponents. This film shows how their legislation brought about change in laws and societal acceptance, the strategies behind this incremental change, and what tough bargains had to be made to get us to where we are today. While legislators often follow the will of the people, these visionary women were brave pioneers in creating lasting and significant social change.

Watch the trailer HERE

2:15 PM Slash ViSTA Theater 

Director: Clay Liford 2016 USA 100 min.

 

Neil is an introverted, questioning high school freshman. Lacking any friend IRL (In Real Life), his main social outlet is the steamy fan fiction he writes about Vanguard, the brawny, galaxy-hopping hero of a popular sci-fi franchise. When his stories are exposed in class Neil is mortified, but the slightly older, effortlessly cool Julia comes to his defense. An erotic “fan-fic” writer herself, Julia pushes Neil to publish his stories to an “adult” forum, where they quickly grab the attention of the site moderator, Denis. When Neil is invited to present his work at a comic con live-read event, he has to face the fact that Denis’ interest in him may be more than simply professional, perhaps like his own feelings for Julia.

Watch the trailer HERE

2:30 PM The Revival: Women and the Word Mia Cuppa Caffé 

Director: Sekiya Dorsett 2016 USA 78 min.

  

Four years ago, 50 friends gathered in a small living room in Washington, D.C. for a poetry event called The Revival. The host, Jade Foster, dreamed of building a safe space where queer women and allies could celebrate being black, women, and carriers of the word. In 2012, the event evolved into a nine-day tour that swept eight cities, touched thousands of lives, and connected five exceptional women.

The Revival: Women and the Word chronicles the creation of an international salon-styled tour led and supported by women. It tells the story of how Jade Foster recruited a group of five dynamic poets and musicians to become stewards of a movement that builds community among queer women of color, upholds literary arts excellence, and occupies living rooms across the country.

Watch the trailer HERE

3:45 PM Raising Zoey / Real Boy (Double Feature) Tower Theatre 

Raising Zoey
Director: Dante Alencastre 2016 USA 54 min.

 

Affecting the lives of countless kids, teenagers and even adults, 13-year-old trans activist Zoey Luna wants nothing more than to simply go to school, learn, have fun with her friends. Unfortunately, ignorance and intolerance have not always made this easy. With the help of her mother Ofelia, her older sister Leticia and the ACLU, Zoey fought school officials for her right to self-identify in school. Even in the face of bullying and endless teasing from both school officials and students, Zoey determinedly continues to live her life as she is and tells her story in the hopes of helping others persevere in living their authentic lives.

Real Boy
Director: Shaleece Haas 2016 USA 72 min.

Bennett Wallace is a charismatic teenager on the brink of adulthood. As he navigates the ups and downs of gender transition and grapples with a history of substance abuse, Bennett embarks on a journey to find his voice - as a musician, a friend, a son, and a man. Filmed throughout four years, Real Boy follows the evolution of Bennett’s relationship with his mother Suzy, who has deep misgivings about his transition. As Suzy struggles to come to terms with his decision, Bennett is taken under the wing of his idol Joe Stevens, a celebrated transgender musician fighting his own demons. Through observational storytelling that is alternately poignant and humorous, Real Boy explores the complexity of addiction, the healing power of music, and the importance of family, both given and chosen.

4:30 PM Girls Lost ViSTA Theater 

Director: Alexandra-Therese Keining
2016 Sweden 106 min. In Swedish with English subtitles.

Kim, Bella and Momo, three bullied teenaage girls are going through the throes of finding themselves. Surrounded by a dark world of teenage violence, marginalization and sexual confusion, the girls have only each other. A seismic shift happens when they discover a curious plant in their beloved greenhouse. It turns out to have mysterious magical qualities that, when consumed, transforms the girls temporarily into boys. But not only does their gender change, the world around them, and their response to it, is profoundly altered.

7:30 PM Other People Tower Theatre

Director: Chris Kelly 2016 USA 97 min.

A struggling New York City comedy writer, fresh from breaking up with his boyfriend, moves to Sacramento to help his sick mother. Living with his conservative father and younger sisters, David feels like a stranger in his childhood home. As his mother worsens, he tries to convince everyone (including himself) he’s “doing okay.” Other People is a bold and hilarious look of one family’s most trying time featuring breakout performances by Jesse Plemons (Friday Night Lights) and the hilarious Molly Shannon (Saturday Night Live).

Watch the trailer HERE