THE FILMS

SILVERLAKE LIFE: The View From Here is a highly per-
sonal film which traces the journey towards death of filmmaker
Tom Joslin and his companion of 22 years, Mark Massi, both of
whom are stricken with AIDS. Largely videotaped by Joslin and
Massi themselves and completed by their friend, director Peter
Friedman, the film captures the everyday realities of living with
AIDS. Newsweek: “This painful but bracingly frank film is a tes-
tament to an extraordinary relationship, a love story in extremis.”
(85 minutes)

LAST CALL AT MAUD’S is a lively and loving documentary
that weaves together two parallel narratives. One is an anecdotal
history of San Francisco’s most popular lesbian bar, which flour-
ished from 1966 to 1989; the other, going back to the 1940’s, is a
wider-ranging story of the struggle for gay civil rights as viewed
from a West Coast lesbian perspective. With Jan Oxenberg’s auto-
biographical short HOME MOVIES (Entire program 84 minutes)

JOHANNA D’ARC OF MONGOLIA is German director Ul-
rike Ottinger’s epic adventure tracing a fantastic encounter be-
tween two different worlds. Seven European women of varying
backgrounds are riding the Trans-Siberian railroad when they are
kidnapped by a band of Mongol horsewomen and are abducted to
the plains of Inner Mongolia. The Los Angeles Times: “Wickedly
delightful...sophisticated, mysterious, and deliriously beautiful.”
(165 minutes)

SALUT VICTOR, by French-Canadian director Anne Claire
Poirier, is a delicate and affecting story of late-in-life romance.
Longtime loner Philippe checks into a nursing home, ready to die;
but resident rebel Victor, who is gay, incites him to optimism with
delinquent adventures. The San Francisco Examiner: “A superior
film with subtle emotional shadings and fine performances by the
two leading men.” (83 minutes)

TIME OFF is the first Israeli film to deal seriously with homo-
sexuality in the military. Set at the outbreak of the 1982 Lebanese
war, it is the story of Yonathan, a young man coming to grips with
his sexuality and his identity as a soldier. The Bay Area Reporter:
“A brisk, no fat narrative that questions Israel’s unflinching mas-
culinity.” (45 minutes) Plus NIGHT OUT, a sensitive Australian
film that focuses on a crisis in one couple’s relationship: one partner
takes a “night out” to cruise and runs afoul of gay-bashers. (50 minutes)

TOGETHER ALONE, a triumphant first feature for P.J. Cas-
tellaneta, is an epic conversation between two men who have gone
home together for a one-night stand. Beautifully shot on one set,
in black and white, the film captures the thrill, alienation, and vul-
nerability of a chance encounter. It presents one of the most hon-
est, realistic, and intimate conversations between gay men ever to
appear on screen. With Bruce Weber’s short BACKYARD MO-
VIE. (Entire program 95 minutes)

 

ORANGES ARE NOT THE ONLY FRUIT is adapted by Jean.
nette Winterston from her autobiographical novel and directed by
Beeban Kidron (ANTONIA AND JANE) as a BBC film. It tells
the moving and often funny story of the coming out of the teenage
girl Jess amid the trials of growing up in a strictly religious North
England home. The films begins with the 7-year-old Jess, Whose
parents are raising her to be missionary, and takes her to young
adulthood. Will she be strong enough to fend her herself, or will
she succumb to the pressures of her family, her pastor, and her
congregation? (160 minutes)

DADDY AND THE MUSCLE ACADEMY is subtitled “The
Art, Life, and Times of Tom of Finland.” “Tom” is one of the gay
world’s few authentic icons, whose provocative, hypermasculine
drawings have had an enormous influence on gay identity. Finnish
director Ilppo Pohjola tells the story of Tom’s life, from childhood
in rural Finland to his success in the United States; there are inter-
views with Tom (who died last year at age 71) and his leather-
bound fans and many of Tom’s original drawings. Also TIME
EXPIRED with John Leguziamo. (Entire program 75 minutes)

THANK GOD P’M A LESBIAN is an uplifting and entertaining
Canadian documentary about the diversity of lesbian identities.
Writers Sarah Schulman, Dionne Brand and Nicole Brossard, mu-
sician Lee Pui Ming, and many other prominent women speak
frankly and articulately about issues such as coming out, racism,
bisexuality, S & M, outing, and lesbian literature. Variety called it
“a snappy, intelligent spielfest...a vigorous affirrnation of lesbian
sexuality.” With two humorous shorts ROSEBUD and CAME
OUT, IT RAINED, WENT BACK IN AGAIN. (Entire program
85 minutes)

FORBIDDEN LOVE: THE UNASHAMED STORIES OF
LESBIAN LIVES takes its cue from lesbian pulp novels of the
50’s and 60’s. The Canadian film by Aerlyn Weissman and Lynne
Fernie blends deliberately overwrought fiction and intriguing fact
(via recollections of nine feisty women who came out during that
period) to make a unique mix that has captivated audiences at fes-
tivals this year. Variety called it “undeniably compelling...the pre-
vailing mood is that of wry humor and refreshing candor.” With
Jan Oxenberg’s short A COMEDY IN SIX UNNATURAL
ACTS, a relentless parody of lesbian stereotypes. (Entire program
105 minutes)

Ticket Prices

Entire series ticket $30

Saturday or Sunday All Day Ticket $15
Single admission $5

Please note: Series and day tickets are non—transferable.
Savoy membership is not valid for the festival. No advance sales
for single admissions