The Green Mountain Film ‘Festival Presented by'Focus on Film, the festival will run from March 23-29 at various locations in Montpelier _ Benjamin Smoke Jem Cohen and Peter Sillen’s forceful documen- tary poetically captures the _ life of an extraordinary ' artist, speed-freak and occasional drag queen known simply as “Benjamin.” A legend in the under- ground music scene of Cabbagetown (an industri- al Atlanta neighborhood,) Benjamin’s work with the bands Opal Foxx Quartet and Smoke served as inspi- ration for Patti Smith and REM’s Michael Stipe. Benjamin Smoke is a candid depiction of the South, a profound medita- tion on art and rebellion, and a story about a man who decides to follow his own path in life. The City Hall Arts Center, March 25 and 28 at 8:30 pm. I’m the One that I Want “Several times while watching the movie I laughed until the tears were running down my face,” said New York Times critic Stephen Holden of I’m the One that I Want, the filmed one-woman comedy act of Margaret Cho. Cho’s subject is her own life, from the pressures on women to con- form to a slim body image, to the mating habits of lesbians, gays, and heterosexuals, to the ways in which the media continues to stereotype Asian Americans. ‘ The Savoy, March 23 at 8:45 pm and March 24 at 2 pm. Live Nude Girls Unite! At once racy and earnest, Julia Query and Vicki Funari’s Live Nude Girls Unite! is as provocative as its title. Silver-tongued stripper/comic Query takes the audience into the midst of a group of San Francisco strippers who create the first union of exot- ic dancers in the United States. A moving sub-plot involves Query’s decision to tell her mother, an activist doctor w_ho works closely with prostitutes and drug addicts, about her new profession. "Query’s humor and commitment makes the film one of those rare subversive documen- taries that manages to be comical, political, enlightening, and entertain- ing at the same time. The City Hall Arts Center, March 23 at 8:30 pm, March 24 at 2 pm, and March 29 at 6:30 pm. .. Paragraph 175 More than 100,000 men were arrested inthe Nazis’ purge of homo- 3 sexuals in Germany; of the eight known survivors, six appear in Paragraph 175 to fill a crucial gap in the historical record. The New York Times says: “To the growing body of invaluable cinematic literature documenting the hideous barbarity of Nazism must now be added Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s moving film. At once admirable and deeply unsettling, the film draws upon the testimony of little more than a handful of the all-but-vanished ranks of survivors to relate the horror of their experiences and the after effects that scar and’ roll these" men to the present day.” Friedman and Epstein also directed The Times of Harvey Milk and Common Threads. ’ ‘ The City Hall Arts Center, March 25 at 6:30 pm, and March 29 at 8:30 pm. For a ‘complete schedule, call 802-229-0598 or email savoydv@together.,net. March 2001 | Out in the Mountains |21 -. rt Liz,/l § 2: 1 :;_2. Women ’sFilm Festival 8 Celebrating its tenth year, the festival will run for three weeks starting March 2 at the Hooker—Dunham Theater 84: Gallery and the Latchis Theatre in Brattleboro, VT. Hammering it Out: Women in the Construction Zone . Hammering it Out is the story of a community-initiated lawsuit that result- ed in hundreds of women getting trained to work on a billion—dollar freewaylin Los Angeles in the l980’s and 90’s. Many of the women went into union apprenticeships and became active union members. Women hammer, lay concrete, and tell the truth about train- ing, childcare, homophobia, bathrooms, and other critical issues. Vivian Price’s film asks:~Are women construction workers the Rosie the Riveters.of the present, hired for a short time, then let go when equality is no longer enforce- able? March 2 at 8:15 pm, March 3 at 8:15 pm, and March 4 at 8:15 pm. I The Body of a Poet This remarkable film by director Sonali Fernando is a tribute to one of the great visionaries of the Twentieth Century, Audre Lorde. An internationally admired Black woman poet and political activist, Lorde’s devoted readership accords her cult status. Writers like Alice Walker and June Jordan honor her as “the mother of Black feminism.” Raised by Caribbean parents in 19305 New York, Audre Lorde came of age and came out as a lesbian in a pre-Stonewall world where lesbians were known as “gay girls“ and were usually white. Her electrifying, nightmarish and passionate writings earned her an international fol- lowing and the accolade of Poet Laureate of New York State, where she worked at Hunter College as a Professor of Poetry in the years leading to her death. Assured acting from a dedicated cast and a taut script comprising the work of sever- al contemporary African American lesbian poets make The Body of a Poet one of the most refreshing, brave, and unusual short films of the year. March 3 at 8:15 pm, March 10 at 6 pm, and March 11 at 1 pm. Aimee and Jaguar In 1943, while the Allies are bombing ‘Berlin and the Gestapo is purging the capital of Jews, a danger- ous love affair blossoms between two women. One of them, Lilly ‘ Wust (Juliane A Kohler), married and the mother of 8 four sons, enjoys the privileges of her stature as an exemplar of Nazi motherhood. For her, the affair will be the most decisive experience of her life. For the other woman, Felice Schragenheim (Maria Schrader), a Jewess and the member of the underground, their love fuels her ‘with the hope that she will survive. The film was nominated for a 1999 Golden Globe Award and was Germany’s sub- mission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Both actresses received Silver Bears at the 1999 Berlin International Film Festival for their portrayals of Aimee andi,Jaguar. T his film will show March I 7 at 4:15 pm, and March 18 at 4:15 pm Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for youth and seniors. Festival passes, five shows for $25, will also be available at the door. For the film schedule, call Wild Root Arts at 802-254-9276. For other information, call the Women’s Film Festival at 802-258-1425. . . . . . . . , . ‘ V . > . ‘ I _ . I ‘ ~ _