Every year, when QFest comes to town, I drop everything — food shopping, laundry, the gym, family and sleep — because I have films to see!
While I try to catch as many as I can to cover before the fest, there are always a handful of titles I see in the theater for purely personal reasons.
Number-one on my list of films to see at QFest is “Hawaii” (9:30 p.m. July 15, Ritz East, 125 S. Second St.), queer Argentine filmmaker Marco Berger’s latest romantic drama. I have admired all of Berger’s work since his dazzling debut, “Plan B,” and I marvel at how he builds sexual tension among his characters. (Check out his shorts in “Sexual Tension: Violetas” at QFest this year).
I am also pleased to be introducing two films at QFest and doing post-screening Q&As with the filmmakers.
“Tumbledown” (9:15 p.m. July 18, East; 9:15 p.m. July 21, Ritz at the Bourse, 400 Ranstead St.), directed by Todd Verow, is a striking drama about a dangerous love triangle. (Full disclosure: I assisted in the editing of this film.) This erotic thriller is told from three different perspectives to deliberately blur reality. I am anxious to see how viewers respond to this unsettling drama, which is based on a true story. What I admire about “Tumbledown” — in addition to the brave performances by Verow, co-writer Brad Hallowell and newcomer Brett Faulker — is the film’s sinister mood and tone. Verow uses shadows and light, as well as (usually naked) bodies to communicate despair and desire. It’s a remarkable work that I hope will resonate with viewers.
“Tumbledown” will be preceded by “Fire Island ’79,” an extremely sexy short Verow made with Patrick McGuinn that re-imagines the life of a late porn star.
The other film I’m excited about is McGuinn’s impressive new feature, “Leather” (7 p.m. July 21, Bourse), which will make its world premiere at QFest. Like all of McGuinn’s work, this romantic drama set in the Catskills concerns men in an isolated setting measuring their past experiences against their present. To me, such a set-up provides a great crucible for drama (see also “Tumbledown”), and McGuinn’s characters — who became empowered over the course of the story — really grew on me; I was sad to see “Leather” end. I especially liked the look of the film, the graininess of the 16mm photography and the strong soundtrack. I can’t wait to see this film again on the big screen.
See you at QFest.