I have cleared my schedule, saved up my popcorn money, picked out my wardrobe and am looking forward with baited breath for the opening night of this years Connecticut Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. As always the schedule has enticed my interest to the point of marking it on my calendar in days to go highlighted numbers. Of particular interest to me is the film, “Pedro.” It plays on Sunday and by no means is it the only film worth seeing, but it is a reminder that some absolutely fantastic work is being done in the gay film industry that rivals that of mainstream filmmaking.

Our community has seen advances in leaps and bounds from all over the world with topics and story lines of not only interest to our community, but real life exposes of topic matter that has been responsible in part for the greatly increased understanding of the gay community by society in general. And there is more to be done. As portrayed in “Ask Not.”

Just this year alone some A-list actors have portrayed roles in some of the best work gay films have ever seen. Screen writers, directors and producers who once shied away from gay films have come around and are now applying their talent to some of these works.  

Out Film CT has endeavored to bring us year after year films from the leading edge of the best works available. Do yourself a huge favor and take some time to take in some of these films. You will be seeing some of the best work yet and before it hits the streets for general distribution. I have checked out some of the screeners and I must say they have done a great job for us. I give the festival two rainbows up.

Here is a sample of what to look forward to. The full schedule and details as well as more information, can be reviewed at www.outfilmct.org.

The festival starts out with a sneak preview on Thursday, May 21 at 8:00 p.m. with the film, “Tru Loved.” Sixteen-year-old Tru is uprooted by her lesbian moms from her comfortable gay-friendly home in San Francisco and moved to Southern California.  Tru’s only friend is a closeted football player, and even that friendship is jeopardized when she starts the school’s first Gay-Straight Alliance.

Opening Night is Friday, May 22 at 7:30 p.m. The evening starts with a Shorts Program: Out & About! Don’t miss these eclectic 6 short films where we venture out and about from river swimming to salsa dancing, followed by the evening’s feature presentation — “I Can’t Think Straight.” An exuberant, romantic comedy about the clashing of two worlds and cultures. Tale, a London-based Palestinian, prepares for her elaborate wedding when she meets Leyla, a young British Indian woman who turns her world upside down.

On Saturday, May 23 at 3:00 p.m. we have another Shorts Program: Suburbia to Sarajevo, followed by the feature “Ask Not.” A rare and compelling documentary film that explores the effects of the US military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay and lesbian service members. The film exposes the tangled political battles that led to the discriminatory law and examines the societal shifts that have occurred since its passage in 1993.

Saturday evening, at 7:30 p.m. with short films Heroes! (or Queeroes?!) Four enthralling tales with plenty of pluck on display, A Day at the Beach, Hirsute, In Twilight’s Shadow, Candy Boy. The evening feature presentation is “The Country Teacher.”  When a gifted young teacher moves to the countryside and befriends a woman and her 17-year old son, a series of events is set in motion that tests the boundaries of their friendship… a profoundly moving story of desire, responsibility, forgiveness and the need to belong.

A still from the movie "Pedro."

Sunday, May 24 at 3:00 p.m. Shorts Program: Imaginanimation followed by feature presentation “Pedro.” In 1994, MTV made the groundbreaking decision to cast openly gay, HIV-positive Cuban-American Pedro Zamora as part of MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco.

Then at 7:30 p.m. Shorts Program: Sunday Secrets followed by feature presentation “Ferron: Girl on a Road.” Director Gerry Rogers’ beautiful portrait of Canadian singer/songwriter Ferron, known for influencing Mary Gauthier, The Indigo Girls and Ani DiFranco is a must see.

Monday, May 25 at 7:30 p.m. Shorts Program: Story Time — A celebration of stories including a letter from William Burroughs to Allen Ginsberg, a cross generational encounter at a Laundromat, an avant-garde stalking horse, and a community theater troupe strives for Broadway ala Xanadu, followed by feature presentation “Antarctica.” This bold, original drama, with its attractive and provocative ensemble cast, explores the age-old quest for true love... and the carnal diversions along the way.

On Tuesday, May 26 at 7:30 p.m. Shorts Program: Family Ties offers four shorts that explore the ties that bind and answer the haunting questions: Who gets the sex toys after a break-up? How could you raise a transsexual child and not know it- followed by feature presentation “Trinidad.” which follows Colorado’s transformation from Wild West outpost to “sex-change capital of the world,” and follows three transgender women who may steer the rural ranching town toward becoming the “transsexual mecca.”

Wednesday, May 27 at 7:30 p.m. (Centerpiece Shorts) Program: Dangerous Love a daring shorts program of dicey situations followed by feature presentation “Sex Positive.” This film explores the life of Richard Berkowitz, a revolutionary gay hustler-turned-AIDS activist in the 1980s, whose invaluable contribution to the invention of safe sex has never been aptly credited.  Berkowitz emerged from the epicenter of the epidemic as a community leader, demanding a solution to the problem before anyone else would pay attention.

Thursday, May 28 at 7:30 p.m. Shorts Program: World Shorts Shorts from around the world explore LGBT rights and discord followed by feature presentation, “Girl Seeks Girl.” Spain’s answer to The L Word. This sexy and amusing work is breezy and fast-paced. Don’t miss this pursuit of love and of sexual satisfaction in cosmopolitan Madrid.

Friday, May 29 at 7:30 p.m. “Training Rules:” Rene Portland had three training rules during her 26 years coaching basketball at Penn State—no drinking, no drugs and no lesbians. This stunning expose reveals how women’s collegiate sports, caught in a web of homophobic practices, destroys the lives and dreams of many of its most talented athletes is followed by feature presentation “Drool.” Life looks up when Anora Fleece, bullied by her husband, discovers the friendship (and more) of the new ‘cocoa skinned’ woman next door. When she accidentally kills her husband, Anora takes off on a family road trip with her kids and lover, looking for the perfect place to ‘bury daddy.’ Winner of Best Screenplay Prize at the 2006 Slamdance Festival.

Saturday, May 30 at 3:00 p.m. Shorts Program: Testimonials & Turmoil Modern day accounts of gay life in Beirut, Lebanon are juxtaposed with Harvey Milk’s own recorded reflections and premonition of his assassination followed by feature presentation “Showgirls: Provincetown, MA.” This giddily entertaining overview of Provincetown’s annual stage review scales the heights and plumbs the depths of that bucolic seaside town’s legendary Monday night show, which takes place under the auspices of drag guru Ryan Landry, along with a number of his perennial drag cohorts.

Saturday, May 30 at 7:30 p.m. (Closing Night) Shorts Program: Friends & Lovers: Be a fly on the wall as an odd couple falls in love while searching for something special, and then witness some Bollywood mom-style vigilante justice when she finds her son is the victim of a vicious bully. Finally, enjoy this gay take on “Friends” when we join four Kansas City misfits as they venture to the Emerald City of NYC. followed by feature presentation “Chef’s Special.”  Maxi thinks his life is just perfect: he’s a famous chef and owner of a gourmet restaurant in Madrid, and is open about his sexuality. The sudden appearance of his kids on the scene, the result of a prior sham marriage and the arrival of an attractive Argentinean ex-soccer star next door will force him reconsider everything he has held dear.

Take in one or take in them all. This year’s festival promises to be time well spent. I look forward to seeing you there.