TODAY’S SCREENINGS
• El Grito en el Cielo (Shout Out), 7:00 pm
• (Colony, $8)
• Swallows, 9:00 pm (Colony, $8)
• Head On, 11:00 pm (Colony, $8)El Grito en el Cielo (Shout Out)
Directed by Félix Sabroso and Dunia Ayaso
Spain, South Florida Premiere
A very sexy María Conchita Alonso stars in this over-the-top Spanish comedy as Miranda Vega, host of an enormously popular but tacky television variety show. Miranda faces off against her seemingly arch rival, a has-been lesbian actress played by the very Bette Midler-like Loles León.
The hysterical - and nearly impossible to summarize - plot revolves around the network’s attempts to increase the ratings by holding a talent show with some decidedly strange audience members (two drug addicts who play living statues and a poetry-reciting hooker among others) and airing tasteless undercover video segments.
The story is set in motion when León’s character, Marta Peña, is caught on camera and then broadcast in a profane screaming match outside her front door with her female biker lover.
This instant camp classic - complete with Carmen Miranda numbers, fist fights, a hunky production assistant who is sleeping with everyone, absurd twists, and Marta’s butch ex-convict maid Soraya as an unlikely talent show contestant performing her artistic karate - has a little something for everyone.
In Spanish with English subtitles. Director Félix Sabroso and Maria Conchita Alonso will attend the screening and discuss the film with the audience.Swallows, 9:00 pm (Colony, $8)
Directed by Harvey Marks
USA, South Florida Premiere
At the center of this warm and accomplished film are two very different pairs of gay men. The first is the adult son of a free-spirited mother returning for a visit to the small California town where he grew up, and the local handyman who catches his eye.
The second is two middle aged former lovers, older and possibly wiser. Hank’s atmospheric but fraying-at-the-edge restaurant, The Swallows, is faltering. His ex from more than twenty years ago, Pietro, arrives to cater a wedding.
Sexy thirty-something Eddie temporarily becomes the new cook in the kitchen, and pretty soon snares the heart of gay but very discreet Jeff. Jeff hangs his tool belt in the house he shares with his straight brother Paul.
Although he’s engaged to be married, Paul is having an affair with an unusual older woman, Eddie’s mom. Into this classic circle of requited and unrequited romance director Harvey Marks adds some funny surprises and some good-natured farce. He creates a grown-up love story for anyone who’s ever hoped for a second chance, and dreamed of a happy ending.
Director Harvey Marks will attend the screening and discuss his work with the audience.Head On, 11:00 pm (Colony, $8)
Directed by Ana Kokkinos
Australia, Miami Premiere
Head On is an intense and boldly explicit account of twenty-four hours in the life of strikingly handsome Ari, the nineteen year old gay son of Greek immigrants living in Australia.
His parents and their generation, still rooted in the country of their youth, and loyal to their own political and social struggles, do not understand the first generation of Australian children they have raised. Caught in a sexual and cultural crossfire, Ari seeks freedom and release in drugs, clubs and anonymous sex with a line of quick-fix men.
This is a rite of passage film where nothing is neatly resolved - not for Ari, his drag queen buddy Charlie, or any of their circle of friends. Beautifully shot, Head On is richly textured with its urban setting, Greek bouzouki music and the gritty details of Ari’s erotic life.
Newcomer Alex Dimitriades smolders in his sensational performance as Ari in this official selection of the Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. Lesbian director Ana Kokkinos’ feature film debut is pure dynamite.
