In the grand tradition of “Perfect Strangers”, the dramedy “Blue Lights” takes place almost entirely during a dinner party with friends.
During a birthday celebration with seven close friends and family, secrets are exposed, emotions and conflicts awake after many years. This is a heartwarming comedic drama with a wonderful Argentinian cast that manages to shed light on the complexities and layers of being LGBTQ in a wide range of ages.
“Blue Lights” deals with subjects that are universal: love, loss, partnership, friendship and also the ability to forgive. This is a dramedy that is set to touch the viewers’ hearts, make them laugh and feel, and the film certainly delivers.
The Writer
American-Lithuanian Kostas and Russian-Lithuanian Dima meet anew in New York, decades after they served together in the Soviet army. They fell in love in the 80’s and Dima joined Kostas and moved to Lithuania. When Lithuania restored its independence, Kostas left to study in New York and left Dima behind. Kostas gained fame, when a book he wrote, based on their love story, became a bestseller and turned him into a sought after writer and lecturer. When they meet again, Dima, who in the meantime married and divorced a woman, wishes to exorcise their demons and rectify the story that is told in the book.
Through examining the art of conversation, director Romas Zabarauskas explores how history and geopolitical changes affect people’s private lives, such as relationships, friendships and love.
Romas Zabarauskas has been a TLVfest’s guest back in 2021, and this is his 5th film.
Mysterious Skin
20th anniversary of the film “Mysterious Skin”
Opening movie of the 1st ever TLVFest, way back in 2006.
“Mysterious Skin” is a heart breaking cinematic art creation directed by Gregg Araki (“Totally F***ed Up”), and is celebrating 20 years to its debut screening at the Venice Film Festival.
“Mysterious Skin” is based on Scott Heim’s book and describes the meeting of two young men in a small town in Kansas. Neil is a hustler and Brian is obsessed with alien abductions. As the paths of the two collide and a shared truth from their past will resurface.
This is a stunning cinematic piece that through its colourful pop beauty describes a horrible and painful reality. This is one of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s best performances.
The Life and Death of a Porno Gang
Winner of the Best Film award at the 2010 TLVFest, this is one of the most powerful films you’ll see this year.
Director Mladen Djordjevic created a biting commentary on post Milosevic Serbia. This film brings together horror, social and political satire, dark humour and lots of sex and violence.
Local criminals hire Marko, a young, artistic and ambitious filmmaker, to make for them porno films. They don’t really appreciate his artistic approach, and after a violent attack, Marko decides to go underground and travel with a troupe of outcasts who participate in a live pornographic theatre production that travels through conservative Serbian villages.
Warning! Not suitable for the faint of heart!
Viewing is 18+ due to explicit sexual content and violence.
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Two more Serbian LGBT movies are screened at the festival.
Young Hearts
In the middle of the school year, 13 year old Elias meets his new neighbor, 14 year old Alexander, a confident boy from Brussels. The two boys enjoy their time together, and as their relationship deepens – Elias develops new feelings. He realizes he is falling in love for the first time. The fear of how his family and the people around him will react makes him keep his feelings to himself and he sinks deeper and deeper into a web of lies that threatens to destroy the beautiful connection between him and his new friend.
Anthony Schatteman’s debut film was one of more pleasant surprises at the latest Berlinale. The Belgian director won praises for his sensitive and intelligent film and is marked as one of the promising voices in contemporary European cinema.
Gay International Mix 1
Duration: 75 min
Gay International Mix 2
Duration: 75 min
Sexy Shorts Mix
A unique and different program – a mix of films that deal with sexuality in a bold and, some might even say, pornographic manner and horror trash movies such as exploitation genre films. The result is a surprising and amusing combination of blood, horror and sex. If you’re looking for short films with plenty of queer sexuality, sexy horror and fun – this is the place for you.
Viewing is 18+ due to explicit sexual content and violence
Duration: 85 min
Warm Film
Two young Serbian actors get an offer to play in a gay movie with daring sex scenes. They are torn between the need to make a living and be famous and the fear of being notoriously labelled. The two begin to research how this subject was treated throughout the history of Serbian, and before that, Yugoslavian, cinema. What was the meaning of queer representation on screen?
“Warm Film” is a fascinating and surprising journey through the history of queer cinema in Yugoslavia and post-Yugoslavia region, from the days of the silent movie to the present, especially given the modern rise of nationalism and LGBTphobia in Eastern Europe.
Two of the films discussed in “Warm Film” will be screened during the TLVFest: “Life and Death of a Porno Gang” (2009) and “Marble Ass” (1995).
A House is Not a Disco
A documentary that goes behind the scenes of Fire Island Pines, an upscale neighbourhood in the popular queer beach town of Fire Island, that had become an international hot fantasy, when the first gay porn films were filmed on the beach there, back in the 60’s.
Back in the day, when it was still illegal to be gay, men used to come to these beaches to enjoy carnal desires and lives free of inhibitions and conflicts. Half an hour ferry ride from New York, Fire Island is still a sanctuary for gay men, even more than half a century later.
Actor Brian J Smith (“Sense8”) in his debut film captures the joy as well as the tension between the Island’s residents and the frequent visitors from the “Big Apple”. The film follows the social changes that had taken place in the past decades, since gay men began to arrive at the small, quaint seaside town. Global warming also plays its part as the beach is slowly disappearing.
The result is a piece of history, seemingly of a very specific place, but it’s also a reflection of the entire queer culture. This is a film about a true paradise, wild nature, vibrant characters, the AIDS epidemic and its long-lasting effects, social activism and also a few eccentric types.