LOS ANGELES - Outfest, the Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization dedicated to nurturing, showcasing and protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media, has announced its programming lineup for Outfest 2008: The 26th Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
The oldest continuously running LGBTQ film festival in the entertainment capital of the world will run July 9-21, one day longer than previous years. In addition to the 212 films from 25 countries, Outfest will host more than a dozen panels and special events and nearly 50 parties for more than 50,000 attendees at eight venues across Los Angeles including West Hollywood, Hollywood, Santa Monica and downtown.
Among the notable events scheduled for this year are the Outfest 2008 Achievement Award presentation to Emmy-winning writer-director Donna Deitch, an opening night gala featuring a screening of Laurie Lynd's heartwarming feature Breakfast with Scot starring Tom Cavanagh (Ed) and Ben Shenkman (Angels in America) and a closing night gala and screening of Stewart Wade's film Tru Loved. Other gala screenings include the Dramatic Centerpiece, Affinity; the Documentary Centerpiece, A Jihad for Love; the first-ever Platinum Centerpiece, Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell; and an awards-night screening of Were the World Mine. The festival series, Outing Politics, will offer a collection of five films - Choose Connor, Ask Not, The Times of Harvey Milk, Sizzle, and Karl Rove, I Love You - that present the many ways U.S. politics has an impact on LGBTQ people's lives.
"I continue to be impressed by the caliber of filmmaking and the diversity of subjects tackled by Outfest filmmakers each year, and 2008 is no exception," said Outfest interim executive director Kirsten Schaffer. "The stories are passionate, entertaining and meaningful; they provide audiences a window into the lives of LGBTQ people that not only shows their struggles, but presents the same joys and accomplishments seen in ‘straight' films."
Outfest 2008 continues its tradition of cultivating new talent and films by hosting a number of world premieres including A Place to Live, Friends and Lovers: Ski Trip 2, Laughing Matters...Next Gen, The New Twenty, The Ode and Sizzle.
This year's Four in Focus films will celebrate first-time feature film directors who represent the next wave of talent: Chris Mason Johnson (The New Twenty), Brian Pera (The Way I See Things), Jennifer Phang (Half-Life) and 20-year-old Luke Eberl (Choose Connor).
"Many LGBTQ filmmakers get their start at Outfest, and this year definitely features some stars in the making," Outfest director of programming Kimberly Yutani said. "We're honored to showcase talented new filmmakers and help them and their films achieve the recognition they deserve."
As part of Outfest's mission to protect the past, showcase the present and nurture the future, the Outfest Legacy Project will unveil its second LGBTQ film restoration project: the seminal 1978 film Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives. The film was directed by the Mariposa Group, a collective of talented filmmakers that includes Rob Epstein, who went on to win Academy Awards for his pioneering documentaries Common Threads: Stories of the Quilt and The Times of Harvey Milk (which also will be screened at Outfest 2008).
Donna Deitch will receive the 2008 Outfest Achievement Award. Deitch is an accomplished writer-director who secured her place in LGBT film history with Desert Hearts, arguably the most beloved lesbian film of all time. She won an Emmy for The Devil's Arithmetic starring Kirsten Dunst and Brittany Murphy, and earlier in her career, Deitch grabbed the attention of Oprah Winfrey, who chose her to direct the Emmy-nominated The Women of Brewster Place. She then returned to indie film with her heart-wrenching personal documentary An Angel on My Shoulder that screened at Outfest 1998, and later directed the moving Common Ground. An accomplished TV director, Deitch's dozens of credits include the adored teen lesbian series South of Nowhere and episodes of prominent TV shows such as NYPD Blue, ER and Heroes.
"Outfest is thrilled to honor Donna Deitch with the 2008 Achievement Award," Schaffer said. "She is a gifted director and a pioneer who continues to bring groundbreaking images of women and lesbians to the screen."
Boom!, the second annual Outfest Music Festival, will showcase a diverse lineup of musicians from rock to hip hop. All possess indie appeal and play to an LGBTQ audience. The Troubadour plays host venue on July 19 and will feature bands such as Yo Majesty, DJ Ipek, Macka and more.
Festival tickets go on sale to Outfest members June 9 and to the general public June 16.
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