REVIEW: FUSION LGBT POC Film Festival

Jamil Mena of Doorman

Mad Professah checked out the 5th Outfest Fusion LGBT People of Color film festival at the Egyptian Theater. Here are my reviews of the short films that I saw (summaries in italics are from the Fusion program). The grades generally refer to the impact the films had on me and reflect only my particular impressions.

THE MATCHMAKER, Dir. Cinzia Puspita Rini, Indonesia (subtitled), 10 min. Things aren't always what they seem when a beautiful woman in a bookstore leads Darren to believe he's about to embark on a romantic journey. This was a pretty cute short where there's a beautiful Asian woman in a bookstore who appears to be conducting an increasingly serious flirtation with a handsome Asian guy she meets in a bookstore. The most unusual aspect of this short was the dialogue; it was a curious melange of English and Indonesian. GRADE: B.

MAKE A WISH, Dir. Cherien Dabis, USA/Palestine (subtitled), 12 min.
A young Palestinian girl will do whatever it takes to buy a birthday cake. The most interesting aspect of this short was the opportunity to get a glimpse of actual life in the West Bank. The story is told simply and compellingly but there is absolutely no LGBT content to the short. The director was present at the screening and although she did she was a person of color she did not mention she was a member of the LGBT community. But, even so, if an LGBT person of color makes a film about a subject completely unrelated to their identity should it be programmed into an LGBT POC film festival? GRADE: B+.

EL PRIMO, Dir. Nick Oceano, 2007, USA. 16 min.
A sheltered teenager visits his tough, older cousin in Laredo, Texas and learns a
lesson about what it means to be a man. Although quite well-made I had serious intellectual problems with this film. While it is ostensibly about "what it neans to be a man" this is depicted through seriously degrading depictions of women and inclusion of profane and objectifying language that completely took me out of following the story and frankly offended me. I thought this arguably misogynistic film was even less deserving to be included in an LGBT POC film festival than Make A Wish. All the actors were excellent and the film was well-made but the story about a small-town boy who is trapped by heterosexual strictures and assumptions that we have seen MANY times before. GRADE: C-.

KALI MA, Dir. Soman Chainani, 2007, India (subtitled), 15 min.
A suburban Indian mother delivers her own brand of vigilante justice when she finds out her son is being bullied. An aggressively theatrical, disturbing and amusing short film with high production values and two very attractive lead actors in Brendan Bradley and Manish Dayal. Surprisingly effective and very entertaining. GRADE: A-.

PARIAH, Dir. Dee Rees, 2006, USA, 27 min.
A Bronx teen unsuccessfully juggles multiple identities to please her friends and family. An absolutely stunning tour de force. A well-acted, well-directed, compelling depiction of a teen's grappling with gender identity in a contemporary urban environment. Should be required viewing at colleges everywhere. GRADE: A+.

A TWO WOMAN ONE ACT, Dir. Vanessa Libertad Garcia, 2005, USA, 11 min. Two women face the forbidden lust between them in this musical set in the mortuary of a Los Angeles barrio. An attempt at a caliente lesbian dance video is inexpertly directed, marring its effectiveness and overall impact. GRADE: B-.

JUST, Dir. David Maurice Gil, 2007, USA, 10 min.
Two strangers acquaint themselves after meeting each other online and a passionate hook-up, for better (or worse). The strangers were played by actors Keo Woolfood and Edward Gunawan, the latter who also wrote the thought provoking script. Starts off as a simple excursion into eye candy and ends up being quite a serious meditation on the evolving nature of gay male relationships in the Internet age. GRADE: B+/A-.

FIGHTER, Dir. Sharon Barnes, 2007, USA, 11 min.
AJ, a rebellious oil wrestler, uses her prize money to enter herself into an anti-gay Christian conversion program in order to break her girlfriend out of the institution. A disturbingly realistic depiction of life in a heterosexual indoctination camp satirized in the camp classic But, I'm A Cheerlader with two distractingly attractive lead actresses played by Erica Peeples and Monica Raymund. The introductory boxing scene seemed somewhat gratuitous but the work reflects a filmmaker in complete control of her idiom. GRADE: B+.

DOORMAN, Dir. Etienne Kallos, 2006, USA, 18 min.
A deeply closeted Latino doorman of a New York apartment building begins
to emotionally unravel when he is seduced and dumped by a privileged college
kid. A breathtakingly handsome doorman played by Jamil Mena (pictured above) ackowledges and acts on his attraction to a callow youth played by Stephen Sheffer only to discover the kid is a nonchalant party boy who doesn't really care about him. The story is told effectively without using almost any dialogue. Although problematic at parts (why would such a stunningly handsome Latino guy fall for such an ordinary white guy and particularly why would he have unsafe sex with him in a freight elevator?) the cryptic film leaves an indelible impression on the viewer which lasts long after it is over. GRADE: A-.

SHOOTING GERONIMO, Dir. Kent Monkman, 2007, Canada,11 min.
A Cree twist on the old Western starring Miss Chief Eagle Testickle. An experimental monochrome film depicting the re-imaginination and reversal of Native American-White Man tropes in the Wild West. Definitely not for the faint of heart. GRADE: B.

I’M JIN-YOUNG, Dir. Sung-eun Lee, 2006, Korea, 19 min.
An irrepressible little girl falls in love for the first time. A too-cute little girl is the focal point and narrator of this over-long short film about her mother's infidelity with another woman and the complications this introduces to her rapid rush into puberty and beyond. GRADE: B-.

The DL Chronicles: Boo, Dir. Deondray Gossett & Quincy LeNear, USA, 2007, 40 min. Boo is an ex-convict who can't - much to the frustration of his girlfriend - change his lying and cheating ways as he continues to hook up with various sexual partners. When Boo suffers some sobering consequences to his actions, he's finally forced to take a serious look at his life. The very attractive Oneil Cespedes portrays Boo in a believable way that adds to the effectiveness of the entire piece. The writing is sharp and the direction efficient. There are some qualms in endorsing the depiction of Boo as a Black man who is hypersexualized, cheating on his girl with both men and women as he apparently has no job and mooching off his long-suffering, religiously homophobic mother. However, it's clear that Gossett & LeNear are simply depicting a slice of African American LGBT life, and not every representation can be favorable. GRADE: A-.

The DL Chronicles: Mark, Dir. Deondray Gossett & Quincy LeNear, 2007, USA, 40 min. Mark faces the absurd reality of living on the DL in his own home when he asks his boyfriend to pretend to be his roommate when his cousin comes to stay. The short opens with shots of the stereotypically perfect domestic bliss of Mark (Ulrich Que) and Donte (Colbert Alembert), two handsome gay men living in a tastefully decorated apartment in San Francisco with 2 bedrooms (a bedroom and "office" cum guest bedroom). When a distant cousin named Terrell crashes at his place Mark asks Donte to pretend to be his roomate of three years and starts sleeping in the guest bedroom to hide his sexuality from his relative. Hilarity ensues. Again, Gossett & LeNear do an excellent job of marrying verisimilitude and entertainment leavened with humor and hot guys! GRADE: A.

Unfortunately, I missed the Queer Women of Color shorts program on Saturday December 1 because I was exhausted after tabling at the Community Roundtable that afternoon. I look forward to next year's Fusion!