2 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Frameline 49: 7 must-see movies capturing the LGBTQ+ experience
Frameline turns 49 this year, unreeling a prismatic array of films that capture a wide variety of LGBTQ+ experience.
Drama, comedy, romance, documentary, even animation, all step into the festival spotlight. The 10-day event is bookended by star turns from John Lithgow and Olivia Colman in the opening night drama 'Jimpa' on Wednesday, June 18, and by Dylan O'Brien in the closing night comedy 'Twinless' on Pink Saturday, June 28.
'Playing with Fire: A Psychosexual Emergency'
When the 2020 CZU Lightning Complex fire forced artists and activists Beth Stephens and Annie Sprinkle to evacuate their Boulder Creek (Santa Cruz County) home, it inspired the couple to confront the realities of the wildfires that threaten communities while acknowledging fire's capacity to renew.
Partially narrated by Albert, a glorious white peacock personified by voiceover, this vivid documentary accompanies Stephens and Sprinkle on their journey to get to the heart of fire. Visiting with artists, a formerly incarcerated firefighter, Indigenous elders and others, the filmmakers concoct a heady brew of the mystical, the magical and the scientific.
Burlesque artist Lady Monster's fiery tassel dance, a flaming stunt from performance artist Cassils, and a ceremony binding Stephens and Sprinkle to a most unusual partner are among the arresting scenes in a film that blends art with a call to action.
11 a.m. Friday, June 20. Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., S.F.
'The Librarians'
In her chilling documentary depicting the crisis modern-day librarians face, filmmaker Kim A. Snyder fittingly quotes Ray Bradbury classic dystopian novel 'Fahrenheit 451' about a fascist society where books aren't just banned, they're burned.
With politicians, school boards and Moms for Liberty waging a fierce campaign to limit what young people can read, United States' librarians are the heroes fighting for free expression and the right to read.
Snyder follows unfolding events at libraries, school board meetings, legislative sessions, and more in this illuminating, enraging documentary.
1:30 p.m. Saturday, June 21. Vogue Theatre. Vogue Theatre, 3290 Sacramento St., S.F.
'By Design'
While her mother (Betty Buckley) and friends (Samantha Mathis, Robin Tunney) barely notice Camille's sudden vegetative state, the chair's owner, pianist Olivier (Mamoudou Athie), develops his own passionate obsession with the comely piece of furniture.
3:30 p.m. Saturday, June 21. Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., S.F.
'Lesbian Space Princess'
Broken-hearted Princess Saira, future queen of Clitopolis, gets a second chance at love when Straight White Malians kidnap her bounty hunter ex-girlfriend Kiki and demand an unusual ransom only Saira can access.
The introverted royal undertakes a grand interstellar adventure to rescue her love, facing down her fears, lack of confidence, and misogynist spaceship. Through her escapades along the way to the Straight White Malians' lair, can she gain enough pluck to prevail?
First-time feature makers Emma Hughes Hobbs and Leela Varghese won the Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival for this Australian import, a hilarious, eye-popping animated caper.
8:30 p.m. Sunday, June 22. Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., S.F.
'She's the He'
'Superbad' meets 'Bottoms' in writer-director Siobhan McCarthy's debut feature that views gender and identity through the lens of a raunchy teen comedy.
Obsessed with his dream girl Sasha, brash high school senior Alex decides the only way he can get close to her is if he can invade the girls' locker room. To achieve that goal, he and his best friend Ethan pretend to come out as trans girls, an act with profound consequences for shy, self-deprecating Ethan.
Misha Osherovich as Ethan is a standout in a sparkling ensemble of trans, queer and nonbinary actors in this raucous coming-of-age film with serious intent and a huge heart.
5:45 p.m. Tuesday, June 24. Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St., S.F.
'We Are Faheem & Karun'
Indian border guard Karun and Faheem, a college student living in the country's northern region of Kashmir, live deeply closeted lives. But when they meet at a border checkpoint, instant attraction flares. Reconnecting in Faheem's village, there is no denying their feelings.
The actors' erotic chemistry is white-hot even as their characters' situation is fraught. Karun's family expects him to marry. Faheem is Muslim. And the situation at the border is turning into a tinderbox.
Co-writer/director Onir based this sensual, sensitive drama on a real-life Indian soldier's story.
6 p.m. Wednesday, June 25. Vogue Theatre, 3290 Sacramento St., S.F.
'Drive Back Home'
Alan Cumming turns on his ebullient charm to play Perley, an adman arrested for public indecency in 1970 Toronto, in this drama inspired by writer/director Michael Clowater's family history.
Reluctantly coming to his estranged brother's rescue is terse plumber Weldon (Charlie Creed-Miles), who insists Perley come back with him to their small New Brunswick hometown.
5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 26. Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave., S.F.
