The air of the city is still vibrant with Gay Pride festivities, and yet another wave of LGBT creativity is about to take over: this August bank holiday weekend marks the return of GAZE – Dublin’s international LGBT film festival. Now in its 21st year, GAZE has grown in size to become one of the most respected LGBT film events in both Ireland and the world. The typically packed-to-the-brim program will include over twenty other films and a variety of events, such as spoken word events and post-screenings chats; this year’s GAZE festival will enrich your long summer weekend with quality productions and lively discussions – all in the delightful setting of Smithfield’s Light House Cinema.
Valentine Road
In February 2008, 14-year-old Brandon McInerney shot dead 15-year-old Lawrence ‘Larry’ King in their classroom, claiming that King, a biracial LGBT teen living in the guardianship of the social care system, had pushed him to breaking point with flirtatious behaviour and romantic overtures.
Marta Cunningham honestly explores this sad tale from both sides, exposing the failures of the education and justice systems and the partisan media storm that followed the murder. With interviews from people on both sides of the case and some harrowing police footage, Valentine Road is a tough but enlightening documentary.
Monday 5th August, 3.30pm
The Little House That Could
This year’s GAZE festival includes the European premiere of a special documentary by Patricia Field, the Emmy A-winning costumer designer of Sex and the City. The House of Field, owned by Field, is an emporium of the fiercest fashions and lifestyle accessories, and is a destination for all fashion and queer culture fans, located in the heart of Manhattan. In her store, Field has created a haven for multiple generations of drag queens, club kids, artists and performers and has described the House as a kind of “transsexual welfare system,” employing these people when no one else would. Directed by Mars Roberge, a former employee, The Little House That Could is a wild and exciting ride into the New York LGBT community.
Saturday 3rd August, 2.30pm
Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4QzblZ-Dg0U
In February 2012 Pussy Riot, the Russian feminist punk-rock group, staged a performance in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Three members of the group, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich were arrested and tried in court and convicted of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred. This documentary takes us right into the court room as these three young women argue their case against Putin’s government; featuring interviews given by the parents of the three defendants and vox pops from the Russian public about the group and their actions, the documentary presents a detailed account of the events that have grabbed the world’s attention and divided a nation.
Saturday 3rd August, 10.30pm
How To Survive A Plague
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wwhFS1mUaVY
Centred around the wave of HIV/AIDS activism in the ‘80s and ‘90s, the documentary explores the stories of the audiences who lived, suffered and fought through the epidemic as well as to new audiences and new generations of LGBT people who have yet to learn of the battles won for them by those who went before. How To Survive A Plague was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Academy Awards, and is one to watch out for.
Saturday 3rd August, 6.30pm
Different From The Others
Cinemagoers will also have the chance to look back at the history of gay activism in cinema with a special archival screening of Different From the Others. The Weimar-age film was primarily made with the intention of educating the public and presenting homosexuality as a normal human tendency; it centres on the story of a gay man and his lover who fall victim to another man’s attempts at blackmail and explores the difficulties faced by people forced to live in the
closet.
Saturday 3rd August, 2.30pm
My Best Day
Megan lives in a small American backwater and is in a relationship with Amy, a nurse at the local hospital but a new girl in town, SNL’s out lesbian Kate McKinnon, has caught her eye. On the fourth of July, her best friend Karen asks her to join her on an escapade to search for the father she never knew and so begins an Independence Day that Megan won’t likely forget anytime soon… The comedy’s lighthearted and relaxed pace has been praised by reviewers and is sure to both entertain and charm.
Monday 5th August, 3.30pm
The GAZE film festival takes place from Thursday 1st – Monday 5th August 2013 in the Light House Cinema in Dublin.
