NewFest 2008 Filmmaker Q&A Recaps

NewFest 2008
Filmmaker Q&A Recaps

Antarctica – June 6, 2008
Directed by Yair Hochner

“Shabbat Shalom,” proclaimed Hochner, who hails from Israel, that Friday evening with a hardy chuckle in reply from the audience. Hochner said it was his dream to premiere Antarctica at NewFest. In Israel, only 20 people saw it. Even not all of the cast and crew came. Hochner described his film as a light romantic comedy with a twist. “North Americans like that,” he said.

At the Q&A, the first question thrown out was why was the character of Shoshana, the mother, played by a man in drag? Hochner replied that he thought it would be most appropriate. He was a big fan of Divine (from the John Waters movies). The actor, Noam Huberman, in the film has his own theater show in Israel. He was a little bit afraid to play this part, because nobody has ever played such a role in Israel before. Before casting this actor, Hochner said an A-list Israeli actress wanted to do it, but he declined for the other actor. When asked how the plot was conceived, Hochner said when he started writing the script, all of the characters were straight. Then when he came out, he changed them all as gay. As for the title Antarctica, he said it reflects the characters and their mood and situations as being frozen who need to open themselves to love somebody. It’s a state of mind.

Bi the Way – June 6, 2008
Directed by Brittany Blockman & Josephine Decker

Didn’t attend this screening at NewFest, but did at SXSW. Here are those notes.

Between Love & Goodbye – June 8, 2008
Directed by Casper Andreas

According to Andreas during the Q&A, Between Love & Goodbye was shot in December of 2007 over a period of 18 days. He called it a mixture between Green Card, The War of the Roses and A Streetcar Named Desire. The film is a love story set in New York City about two men, one a musician (Kyle played by Simon Miller) and the other a French actor (Marcel played by Justin Tensen) who marries a lesbian (Sarah played by Jane Elliot) to get his green card. Their relationship starts to untangle when Kyle’s transsexual ex-prostitute and fellow band member sister/brother (April/Cole played by Rob Harmon) moves in causing tension between the couple. The cast was also present for the Q&A. One audience member blatantly asked Harmon the following question, “Where did you do most of your research being such an angry cunt?” to which Harmon replied, “My mother’s up there (in the audience).” Despite this, Harmon playfully went along and continued answering by saying that he had a lot of fun playing the part and didn’t really do any research. He did spend sometime with Sabrina, a real transsexual woman on the set, who taught him a lot. Andreas followed up by saying that some people thought the April/Cole storyline was a little controversial, since the character keeps going back and forth between genders, but he wasn’t trying to say anything nasty in particular about transsexuals. Was any of the story autobiographical, one person asked the Swedish-born Andreas, who said only some parts were. Some of his friends have gone through similar experiences, but this and his other films are really just about being young and gay in New York.

Whirlwind – June 9, 2008
Directed by Richard LeMay

Didn’t attend this screening, but did a One-on-One Q&A with LeMay along with screenwriter Jason Brown last week.

Be Like Others – June 12, 2008
Directed by Tanaz Eshaghian

NewFest’s Basil Tsiokis introduced the evening’s program which began with Bram Vergeer’s short documentary 7 Years, which examines homosexuality in Kenya, followed by Eshaghian’s feature doc Be Like Others, a very compelling story of men in Iran who decide to have sexual reassignment surgery to become woman because their country outlaws homosexuality, yet according to their religious law, being a transgendered person is legal. Neither Veneer nor Eshaghian were present for a Q&A after, but Tsiokis had mentioned beforehand that both films were part of the festival’s Activism and Repression program that feature places around the world where being gay is a crime. “It’s important to keep this in mind as we think about our own rights,” he said.

One-on-One Q&A: Whirlwind's Richard LeMay & Jason Brown

One-on-One Q&A:
Whirlwind
Director Richard LeMay & Screenwriter Jason Brown

WHIRLWIND TRAILER

In advance of the New York Premiere of Whirlwind at NewFest: The 20th Anniversary New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Film Festival, I spoke with the film’s director Richard LeMay and screenwriter Jason Brown for a One-on-One (or in this case one-on-two) Q&A. Whirlwind is a narrative feature about a group of 30-something gay men in New York City whose friendships are tested when a new guy enters the equation and toys around with their lives while they’re planning a party to celebrate an older gay couple’s 25th anniversary. Whirlwind screens at NewFest on June 9th at 5:45pm and June 13th at 3:15pm, both at AMC Loews 34th Street in Manhattan.

TFPN: How did you come to collaborate together on Whirlwind?

LeMay: We’ve been friends for a while and I had done a movie previously that I made really low budget that did very well and got worldwide distribution called 200 American. We talked about the possibilities of working together and how much fun it would be.

TFPN: What inspired you to make this particular story? What did you draw from your own lives into it?

Brown: We talked a lot about Richard’s last film that was also gay subject matter. A lot of people had responded to it well from around the world. It had a lot of heart to it telling stories about people who were real people and just going through life and having issues. I was really intrigued with taking that to another step and showing slices of what Richard says he never sees in gay cinema. We started throwing out a lot of “what ifs?” Richard and I came up with the story together. I don’t think I would have felt comfortable tackling this without working with him on that level because being straight; it’s just not my experience. I was too scared it would be inauthentic. My main approach in writing the actual screenplay once we got the story down was that I would never say, “what would a gay guy say here?” I just would say, “what would a person say?” or “what would this character say?” Some of the things that come out of their mouths you might consider something a gay person might say more than a straight person, but had to do more with character and less with thinking about the whole approach as I’m writing a gay film. I was just writing a story about these guys.

LeMay: For starters, we were talking about my last film. One of the things that caught me off guard was that at film festivals in 2003/04, people would line up and shake my hand and say, “thank you for a happy ending.” I never really thought about it before. Many gay films are issue-oriented which is really important like AIDS, homophobia and whatnot, but I just wanted to make more movies with a positive slant for gay cinema. And even though there’s a lot of negative stuff that comes out in the film, I think there’s a really positive message at the end. I think that was a catalyst of how we were going to steer this.

Brown: The main story is about a group of 30 year olds and there dealing with more serious life issues like settling down and growing older. So that’s part of the slant you don’t often see. Also, another couple in the film is 25 years into their relationship.

LeMay: The fact that we were celebrating an older gay couple, maybe it’s out there, but I’ve never seen it. When we were shooting the party scene at the end, I was looking at the monitor and I saw those two guys kissing and everyone claps and celebrates, and I just thought, that’s really cool. We looked over a whole demographic; it’s usually the hot young 20-somethings, go-go boys or transvestites. All that stuff is great, but it was just kind of nice to see 30-something guys who are your average people. They’re not doing anything crazy with their lives. It’s just the dynamic of when you’re in your 30s. I speak for myself, being a gay man, you kind of just settle into this family of friends. And they kind of become your family outside of your actual family. No matter how dysfunctional it can be, which these characters are, in the end, they’re all there for each other. That was something that intrigued me.

TFPN: The film starts with a character driven story of these men who have a very tight bond with one another, until Drake, the new guy, comes into their lives and pulls the wool over their eyes, creating the film’s main conflict. Did you draw upon any other infamous characters throughout film or literature to create this character, or is he based on an actual person?

LeMay: It wasn’t really based on anyone in particular or characters from other movies. He was just kind of a catalyst to drive a wedge in between these people’s lives.

TFPN: (To LeMay) Which character do you resemble the most?

Drake, no just kidding! Good question. I never really thought about it. Everybody can see themselves in somebody. I see myself in a lot of different characters and at different times in my life. I’m probably a combination of Sean and Bobby. I am a bit regimented and I’m also a bit discontented at times.

TFPN: (To Brown) Did your experience training at Writer’s Boot Camp prepare you for this screenplay?

Brown: Yes, absolutely. You have to learn how to tell a story and craft a piece. Some writer’s can do it sort of naturally. We see enough films that we know kind of what has to happen, but unless you have vocabulary to really understand how to craft and compose a story, how to execute certain things, it’s difficult to get through it without wasting tons of time on thousands of drafts. I instruct at Writer’s Boot Camp now. The tools have definitely been a huge help in the whole process.

TFPN: What are your distribution plans for Whirlwind? Any more festivals coming up?

LeMay: We’ve been accepted to OutFest LA (July 15th at 9:30pm), which is pretty huge. And we’ve been approached by several distributors. We just have to start feeling the offers and see what happens with it.

TFPN: What are you both working on next?

LeMay: I’m producing a movie called Daybreak in the Bahamas this summer. I leave next Saturday.

Brown: Richard and I have a horror film that we’re trying to put together.

"Bi The Way" Making New York Premiere at NewFest

Speaking of the NewFest film line-up, be sure to check out the New York premiere there of Brittany Blockman's and Josephine Decker's documentary Bi The Way. I caught the film down in Austin, TX, during the South by Southwest Film Festival. Here are my notes from that Q&A.

Bi The Way is a documentary on bisexuality and the whatever generation featuring Dan Savage (sex columnist), Michael Musto (Village Voice), Jonathan Caouette (Tarnation) and 100 other people from across the US and across the sexual spectrum.

Screening: FRIDAY, JUNE 6th at 5:45 pm in the NEWFEST Film Festival, Loews 34th St Theater (at 8th Ave), New York City.

NewFest Announces 2008 Line-Up

The New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Film Festival (NewFest) announced earlier this week the program of films and events for the 20th annual festival to be held June 5-15. Among the activities at NewFest are several panel discussions planned during the 5th Annual NewFestFilmmakers Forum on June 14-15 at the John Outcalt NewFest Lounge. Six panels will cover a variety of topics, ranging from LGBT networking to the practical money side of filmmaking. There will also be a panel called Acting Out, which is a discussion with out actors and filmmakers.

NewFest will take place from June 5-15 and will be hosted by AMC Loews 34th Street Theater (312 W 34th St. at 8th Ave). Full program, schedule, and ticketing information will be available online at www.newfest.org by May 16.

The Films of NewFest 2008:

Feature Films

2 Mums and a Dad
14 Degrees Eastwards
Affinity
The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela
Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild!
Antarctica
Ask Not
Be Like Others
Before I Forget
Being Proud Black & LGBT in America
The Beirut Apt
Between Love & Goodbye
Between Something & Nothing
Bi the Way
Boystown
Butch Jamie
Chip & Ovi
Ciao
Clandestinos
Clapham Junction
Daddy's Love
Devoteé
Don't Go
Drawn Out Love
Dream Boy
Dreams Deferred: The Sakia Gunn Film Project
Drifting Flowers
Ebony Chunky Love: Bitch Can't Get a Date!
Eleven Minutes
Equality U
Fairytale of Kathmandu
Fashion Victims
Fatherhood Dreams
The Houseboy
In Sickness and In Health
An Island Calling
It's STILL Elementary
Japan Japan
Just As We Are
Karl Rove, I Love You
King Size
La León
Looking for Romeo
The Lost Coast
Love My Life
Luchando
Meadowlark
Mom, I Didn't Kill Your Daughter
Mulligans
The New World
No End
OMG/HaHaHa
On the Other Hand, Death: A Donald Strachey Mystery
Out In India: A Family's Journey
Out Late
Pageant
Ready? OK!
Saturn in Opposition
Searching 4 Sandeep
The Secrets
Seeds of Summer
The Sensei
Sex Positive
She's a Boy I Knew
Simply Love
Solos
SqueezeBox!
Straight
Suddenly, Last Winter
Sugar Rush
The Taste of Nothingness
This Kiss
U People
The Universe of Keith Haring
What Love Means
When I Knew
Whirlwind
The World Unseen
Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon
You Belong to Me