An Egyptian gay couple encounters a supernatural spirit. A documentary filmmaker revisits her past loves and learns even more about them and herself. Two women in Austria form a connection over an Irene Cara song in the iconic film “Flashdance.”
Those are just a few characters from around the globe you’ll run into onscreen at this year’s Frameline film festival, the largest celebration of LGBTQ film.
It kicks off June 19 with a Juneteenth-themed celebration in San Francisco’s Castro District and includes an outdoor screening of “Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero,” a drag performance and a dance party, and runs through June 29. Screenings are in San Francisco (and Oakland, where noted below) and a handful of selections will stream.
This week, Pass the Remote shines a light on lesser-hyped offerings. We’ll have more next week, too. To peruse Frameline’s entire program and to purchase tickets, visit frameline.org/festival/browse.
The adage “you can’t go home again” applies to director Marwan Mokbel’s horror-laced “The Judgment,” an eerie, sometimes sensual exercise wherein a return visit to Egypt for anxiety-ridden Mo (Junes Zahdi) to attend to urgent family matters forces him and his lover Hisham (Freddy Shahin) back in the closet. Their return also flings open the door to more of Mo’s uneasiness about being gay and a lurking evil presence. “The Judgment” isn’t an outright horror film, but it does cast an off-putting spell as Mo confronts who he is and who his family expects him to be. (8:30 p.m. June 24 at the Vogue; streams June 24-30)
Some godawful inebriated dance from straight female doc Marie (Caroline Peters) catches the curiosity of female carpenter Fa (Proschat Madani) in director Kat Rohrer’s frothy yet meaningful romantic feature debut, “What a Feeling.” Be patient, though, since it takes time for these two to become lovers. Wound-up Marie needs to admit she’s attracted to women and carefree Fa might need to finally commit. “What a Feeling” gives you all the feels and does it with energy and soul. It’s the perfect way to celebrate Pride. (6 p.m. June 23 at New Parkway Theater in Oakland, with Rohrer and costar Barbara Spitz appearing; tickets at rush)
A struggling writer (is there really any other?) does a deep dive commitment to be literary authentic by becoming a sex worker, a gig he finds enjoyable, even freeing, in talented Finnish British writer-director Mikko Mäkelä’s (“A Moment in the Reeds”) second film, “Sebastian.” Author Max (Ruaridh Mollica, flinging himself into the naked role) switches between two identities and soon discovers that each experiences highs and lows. “Sebastian’s” sex-positive message (the film is robustly sexual) passes no judgment on the writer and sex worker; both find happiness. (6 p.m. June 24 at the Vogue, with Mäkelä, Mollica and producer James Watson slated to attend)
In the optimistic coming-of-age drama “Young Hearts,” the ebb and flow of teen attraction swells into something that approaches a tender love between 14-year-olds: Elias (Lou Goossens) and the new guy on his block, Alex (Marius De Saeger). The beautifully composed and gorgeously photographed first feature from Anthony Schatteman takes us through Elias’ struggles to accept that he is inexorably drawn to Alex, a gregarious sort who is more comfortable about his sexuality. “Close” filmmaker Lukas Dhont co-wrote the screenplay and unlike that accomplished film, “Young Hearts” is hopeful, with a supportive community gathering around Elias and helping him get where he needs to be. Goossens sears into your heart in one of the best young performances of the year. (6:30 p.m. June 21, Palace of Fine Arts, with Schatteman slated to attend)
An unusual documentary in the lineup is director Chloé Barreau’s “Fragments of a Life Loved,” a home-movie-like experience that reflects on the filmmaker’s flirtations and lovers of both sexes. Barreau revisits her exes (someone else interviews them) and juxtaposes those candid remembrances with documentation of them together years ago. While this sounds like it’s too self-absorbed to be relatable, “Fragments” connects and inspires a sense of deja vu and speculation about what exes recall about us and what we remember most about them. This one’s a talker. (6 p.m. June 24 at the Roxie, with Barreau slated to attend)
If Frameline handed out an MVP award, it might go to actor-director Brian J. Smith, best known for his role in the Netflix series “Sense8.” He has two films in Frameline. He stars in “Haze” (8:30 p.m. June 28, Roxie) and directs “A House Is Not a Disco” (6:30 p.m. June 29 at the Herbst Theatre). “Disco” details the infancy of the renowned gay getaway destination Fire Island. This superior documentary provides a sharp historical perspective and shows how the East Coast vacation hotspot changed and is still changing, including how climate change has affected the beach. There’s a bittersweetness to everything about “A House Is Not a Disco,” echoed in the words of those who still love going there but are wondering and worrying if the gay mecca will continue to withstand, even resist, the test of time. (Smith, participant Iman Le Caire, editor Blake Pruitt and producer Joseph Conforti are slated to attend. It also streams June 24-30.)
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