21yo Dylan is a day laborer and a farm hand who works hard to support his family and be a father figure to his younger brother. Dylan is trying to keep on an appearance of stability but there’s something missing in his life. When he gets a temporary job on a communal queer ranch he feels that for the first time he belongs. He finds friends and falls in love. Sky (trans actress Eve Lindley) is a rodeo performer and the partner of the macho ranch owner Pepe. The two are happy to share their bodies with Dylan, but maybe it won’t be enough.
Charlie Plummer shines as the lead with a very natural, quiet and confident performance. Cinematographer Katelin Arizmendi re-imagines the coming-of-age movie against the stunning backdrop of New Mexico. Director Luke Gilford’s debut film is a hallelujah song to the ultimate queer American dream showcasing the real-life International Gay Rodeo Association.
Fragments of a Life Loved
For over thirty years, both in Rome and in Paris, Chloé Barreau filmed her relationships. When she’d enter a relationship she made sure to shape her memory with videos, stills and writing. But how do her exes remember her and their experience from the relationship with her? How close is their version to Chloé’s version?
“Fragments of a Life Loved” builds up a mosaic of a woman’s life, the film’s creator, based on interviews with those who loved her. Intimate memories and private materials are woven together to expose the universal sides of relationships and the way we experience love stories through the years’ perspective.
Three Nights A Week
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Cookie Kunty is a talented Parisian drag queen. Everyone who is familiar with the world of drag knows how hard it is for drag queens to find love. Therefore, when Cookie meets 29 years old Baptiste, she finds it hard to believe that he’s interested in her, but Baptiste is immediately mesmerized by Cookie. At first he’s driven by the idea of creating a photography project with Cookie and sinks into her world, but eventually starts to develop a relationship with Quentin, the young man behind the drag queen. The problem is, Baptiste has never been in a relationship with a man before and he is in a long term relationship with Samia, a hospital nurse, who also works at the HIV clinic.
In his debut film director Florent Gouëlou provides the audience a cinematic experience rich in colors and music, and featuring a different and surprising love story, which is also a coming out story. Actor Pablo Pauly is wonderful as Baptiste and Romain Eck as Cookie/Quentin builds a moving and complex character.
Girl Picture
Best friends Mimmi and Ronkko work at a local shakes bar after school. They exchange honest stories about their frustrations and expectations of love and sex. Rebellious Mimmi is swept into a thrilling and unexpected romance with Emma, a professional figure skater practicing for the European Championship. Both girls struggle to find the trust and compromise needed to sustain a long term relationship. Meanwhile Ronkko is hopping from one party to another and from one sexual encounter to the next in order to find the One that would make her feel sexual satisfaction and give her the long sought after orgasm she craves.
“Girl Picture” is a delicate and funny exploration of the fears and confusions that come with discovering one’s sexual identity and female sexuality. Director Alli Haapasalo brings to life the three main characters’ unbridled young spirit in a very intelligent and contemporary way. The three main actresses are very impressive in creating the characters of young and complicated individuals. “Girl Picture” is a film which gives us a positive and refreshing view of the power of female friendship.
Go Fish” & introduction by Shir Reuven”
Celebrating 30 years anniversary of the sapphic cult film with a short lecture by Shir Reuven.
~30 minutes long opening before the screening.
A romantic comedy set in Chicago that shakes all the conventions of that period about the way lesbians and bisexual women were shown on screen.
Five friends in their early 30’s are living and loving in Chicago. Max is looking for a meaningful relationship. Kia is in love with Evy, who lives with her mother and tries to get rid of her ex-husband. Ely is ready for an adventure that might come her way and shares an apartment with Daria – “The” Lesbian of Chicago, who had every girl in Chicago pass through her bed.
Rose Troche’s debut film is a witty and fast-paced comedy about women who are very comfortable with their sexual identity and who are trying to fulfill themselves emotionally as well.
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Undertow
15th anniversary of the film “Undertow”
A moving cinematic piece that takes place in an idyllic fishermen village on the coast of Peru.
Miguel is a handsome fisherman, married to Mariela and expecting their first child. Miguel is hiding from his family and friends his love for Santiago the painter, who is shunned by the village locals. An unexpected event will change their lives and will force Miguel to make a fateful decision.
“Undertow” is a thrilling and sensitive drama that will not leave you unaffected.
Dying Briefly
Sebastian joins an important dance company and meets Arsenio – a charming and experienced dancer. The two begin an intense affair and become a couple. The crisis arises with the arrival of a new and manipulative choreographer that shakes up the group dynamics. Now the couple have to compete with each other for the same role and yet stay true to themselves. Will their relationship (and the troupe) survive this competition?
Did you love “Black Swan” with Natalie Portman? Are you addicted to Netflix’s “Elite”? Juan Briseño’s debut film “Dying Briefly” manages to do the impossible and combine the two. The result is beautiful and thought provoking, dealing with issues of body image, bullying and self harm. Hypnotizing cinematography, sexy and talented actors and impressive choreography will sweep you away for 85 minutes.
Viewing is 18+ due to nudity, sexual content and violence (including sexual violence).
Blue Lights
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.
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.