Tag: Outfest

Writer/director Doug SpearmanOne very hot Friday afternoon, amid the swelter and indie rock music of Republic of Pies, a hipster hangout in North Hollywood, actor, writer and director Doug Spearman sits down across from us, iced coffee in hand. Spearman has come straight from the airport, where he picked up longtime editor Christo Tsairas from arrivals. Tsairas has flown in from Boston on the eve of a milestone for both men: their latest film From Zero to I Love You, opens...

James Sweeney moved from his native Alaska to Los Angeles to study film at Chapman University. After several attempts at launching an acting career, Sweeney moved into casting, moonlighting writing and directing short films. His acclaimed shorts The First and Before Midnight Cowboy both earned slots at Frameline, the celebrated San Francisco-based queer media arts festival, and helped him generate enough buzz to drum up funding for his first feature, Straight Up. The romantic comedy plays at Outfest July 23...

Gabrielle Zilkha has survived fandom, and lived to tell the tale. Having captured some notice with her first feature documentary, Doing Jewish, about a Jewish community in Ghana, she landed her attention on images of queer people in the media, and the fans that love them. The result, Queering the Script, plays at Outfest July 20. Queering the Script focuses on the ongoing push for LGBTQ diversity in films and television, and the devoted fandom that springs up every time a character even hints...

Director Gregor SchmidingerThe hour has grown late in Vienna, Austria when we finally get Gregor Schmidinger on the phone. He’s called Austria home for most of his life, save the time he spent studying film at UCLA. Since returning to his native land, Schmidinger has already earned notice for his first film Homophobia, as well as for several other queer-themed shorts. This July 19, he returns to Los Angeles with his latest film, the surreal drama Nevrland. The film follows 17-year-old...

Director Rachel Mason (right) visiting Circus of Books“I’m standing in the $0.99 store. I have a two-year-old that needs supplies for his birthday party tomorrow.” Rachel Mason doesn’t give herself a break. The noted musician and performance artist has spent the first half of the year traveling the country with her new film Circus of Books. It opens at Outfest July 18 before coming to Netflix this fall. The documentary traces the history of Mason’s family business, the West Hollywood adult shop...

A certain horror film popularized the line “I see dead people.” The new movie Holy Trinity operates under a similar conceit, although it makes clear the main character gained her abilities as a result of inhaling too many fumes. The film comes from the mind of Molly Hewitt, who wrote and directed, and stars. Hewitt plays Trinity, a queer dominatrix who’s life ends up in shambles after she gains her newfound power. Of course, that she keeps huffing paint doesn’t help matters. Holy...