Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
Comes of Age in its Fourth Year

April 26 -May 5, 2002

The Fourth Annual Festival will screen 60-plus feature films, shorts and documentaries from around the world, including Argentina, Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa and the United States. Of the 27 feature films and documentaries, there will be one world premiere, eight North American premieres, one U.S. premiere, five East Coast premieres, seven Florida premieres and four South Florida premieres; of the 28 shorter works, there will be six world premieres, two North American premieres, three U.S. premieres, six East Coast premieres, six Florida premieres and five South Florida premieres.

Around the world, Rosenberg says, the MGLFF - named "Best Film Festival 2000" by Miami's alternative weekly New Times - is one of the festivals for both the film industry and the general public to watch for high-quality, innovative gay cinema, not to mention the event's fun-tropical-Latin-South Beach flavor. "We have our finger on the pulse of what's out there in terms of film in ways we've never been able to before," he explained. "People out there know who we are. Everyone in the South Florida gay and lesbian community looks at us as the area's premiere gay event; the Miami arts community recognizes us as a high-quality film and cultural event apart from the gay content; and we are now taking our place on the international film festival calendar. The buzz is there; now were going to deepen the groove."

But Rosenberg isn't sitting back and lighting a hand-rolled cigar (a local favorite once distributed at one of last year's Festival parties with the MGLFF logo affixed) just yet. The award-winning filmmaker (Before Stonewall) known for his attention to detail has charged himself, the Festival's Board and the newly expanded year-round staff with deepening the Festival's quality and impact with a projected $600,000 annual budget. In the wake of last year's event, this year's Festival will both open and close at the 1,700-seat, landmark, 1920s Gusman Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami, a move only a few gay or film events have tried. The remaining 34 film programs will take place at the Colony Theatre, 1040 Lincoln Road, a 465-seat venue that sold out continually during the past two festivals.

This year's Festival opens with the North American premiere of Spain's Sagitario, featuring a slew of familiar faces from Latin cinema, including Eusebio Poncela and Angela Molina, two veteran Spanish actors whose credits include between them Carne trémula (Live Flesh), La ley del deseo (Law of Desire) and Martín Hache; Julieta Serrano, a long-time Almodóvar favorite; and Mirtha Ibarra, the internationally acclaimed star of Cuban cinema, whose credits include Fresa y chocolate (Strawberry and Chocolate) and Guantanemera. The whole gala evening is sponsored by the Design Center of the Americas (DCOTA), co-chaired by Lee Brian Schrager from Southern Wine and Spirits of South Florida, and Patricia Field, the well-known costume designer. There is a pre-screening reception at the Gusman Center and a post-screening VIP dinner bayside at the Intercontinental Hotel, with specially priced tickets for the evening's festivities. Director Vicente Molina Foix and star Eusebio Poncela are flying in from Spain for the opening.

The Festival Centerpiece is the East Coast premiere of The Cockettes, a fresh-from-Sundance feature documentary about the legendary gender-bending theater company, with interviews and performance footage from such icons as Divine, Sylvester, John Waters and Holly Woodlawn. The screening is followed by a special reception at the Delano Hotel. Directors Bill Weber and David Weissman will attend.

The Festival returns again to the Gusman Center for closing night with the North American premiere of The Trip, a love story that looks back at the fabulous '70s from a gay perspective, touching on Anita Bryant and other historical events along the way, and starring Alexis Arquette and Jill St. John, among others. Director Miles Swain, along with lead actors Larry Sullivan and Steve Braun, will attend the screening. The Closing Night Gala Honorary Chairperson is Sharon Gless, star of television's Cagney & Lacey and Showtime's Queer as Folk. An Awards Party follows at a still-to-be announced downtown Miami location.

The Festival continues to be the leading gay and lesbian film event in the United States for films from Spain and Latin America, and by U.S. Hispanic directors. This year's line-up, in addition to Sagitario, includes the North American premiere of Spain's I Love You Baby, starring Jorge Sanz (Belle Epoque) and Veronica Forque, another Almodóvar regular; Argentina's Vagón fumador (Smokers Only), the story of a male hustler who picks up men at ATM machines in Buenos Aires, and the woman who becomes obsessed with him; the U.S. premiere of Food of Love, based on the novel The Page Turner by award-winning writer David Leavitt, the first English-language feature from Spain's Ventura Pons, who will be attending the Festival; and the North American premiere of Sexto Sentido (Sixth Sense), the first telenovela or soap opera ever produced in Nicaragua that deals with a range of controversial topics such as homophobia, violence against women and AIDS; the South Florida premiere of De Colores, a U.S.-made documentary about the lives of lesbian and gay Hispanics; and the North American premiere of Historia de amor en baño público (Love Story in a Public Toilet), a short from Argentina. Virginia Lacayo and Liz Miller (Sexto Sentido) and Pablo Oliverio (Historia) will be attending the Festival as well.

Unlike many other gay events, women, and films made by and about lesbians, are a major part of the Festival. Highlights this year include the North American premiere of Sugar Sweet, from Japan, a wild and in-your-face comedy about a group of women who get together to make a lesbian adult film; the North American premiere of Guardian of the Frontier, the first female-helmed feature from Slovenia that tells the story of three college friends who embark on an innocent kayak trip that becomes an unsettling tale of sexual awakening; the South Florida premiere of treading water, a made-in-the U.S.A. story of a one woman's disapproving family and her lesbian lover in a small New England town; from Germany, the East Coast premiere of Journey to Kafiristan, a kind of lesbian The English Patient set in 1939 that follows two women adventurers on their way across Europe to Afghanistan; and the Florida premiere of Love/Juice, another Japanese film that is a lesbian coming-of-age story. Directors Desiree Lem (Sugar Sweet), Lauren Himmel (treading water) and Fosco Dubini (Journey to Kafiristan) will all attend the Festival.

The Festival is even more global and wide-ranging in form and content than ever before. Other Festival highlights include the North American premiere of Bob and Rose, the new British TV series from the creator of the original U.K Queer as Folk, with the programs' creator Russell T. Davies in attendance; the South Florida premiere of Metrosexuality, another groundbreaking television series from Great Britain; the East Coast premiere of the groundbreaking Hong Kong film Lan Yu, a gay male love affair set against the backdrop of the Tiananmen Square massacre -- shot in part surreptitiously in mainland China; the Florida premiere of His Secret Life, in which the director of Steam examines what happens when one woman's husband dies suddenly and leaves behind a secret gay male lover as well; the South Florida premiere of Circuit, a mesmerizing film set in the sex-and-drugs-drenched world of the gay circuit parties; and the North American premiere of A.K.A., a remarkable film about greed and identity and one gay man determined to climb the social ladder that audaciously splits its wide-screen vision (a la Mike Figgis Timecode) into three simultaneous frames. Directors Rikki Beadle-Blair, (Metrosexuality), Dirk Shafer (Circuit) and Duncan Roy (A.K.A.) will also attend.

The Miami Gay & Lesbian Festival is unique in South Florida in presenting such a wide array of documentaries and shorts as well. In addition to the Centerpiece's The Cockettes, non-fiction films include the North American premiere of Simon & I, which chronicles the relationship between two heroes of the South African anti-apartheid and gay and lesbian rights movements; the East Coast premiere of Ruthie and Connie, which tells the story of two seniors, living in retirement in West Palm Beach, who have been lovers for 30 years; the world premiere of dance culture in the mix, filmed right here in Miami; the East Coast premiere of Hand on the Pulse, a portrait of lesbian writer Joan Nestle; and the East Coast premiere of Hope Along the Wind, a profile of Harry Hay, an 87 year-old activist who founded America's first gay rights organization in 1954. Ruth Berman and Connie Kurtz (of Ruthie and Connie), Joan Nestle and director Joyce Warshow (Hand on the Pulse); and directors Michelle Lindenberger (dance culture in the mix) and Eric Slade (Hope Along the Wind) will attend the Festival.

In addition to the many shorts that precede the feature programs, there are three special anthology packages this year: Reflected Light, a group of experimental works from well-known feature film-directors John Greyson (Lilies, Zero Patience), Isaac Julien (Looking for Langston) and Jeremy Podeswa; and What Guys Want and What Girls Like two programs of premiere shorts that ask the question: what's love got to do with it?

The Festival continues to offer films that speak to families, in all their diversity. This year, Saturday, May 4 is designated Family Day, and in addition to the screenings, there will be child-oriented activities as well as free childcare for those under 10 years old. The day's films include the Florida premiere of Oliver Button is a STAR!, a lovely tale about a boy who gets bullied for wanting to be a tap-dancer; and the Florida premiere of Daddy & Papa, a documentary that looks at gay men parenting that just screened at the Sundance Film Festival. Directors John Scagliotti (Oliver Button) and Johnny Symons (Daddy & Papa) will attend the entire day.

There will be a range of PANELS and SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS this year, including the clips-talk program, Bette Midler: Dirty Girl in a Bathhouse, a presentation high-lighting the early years of Bette Midler's career along with her relationship to the gay community and her own Jewish identity; as well as Yanks vs. Brits: I Want My Gay TV, whose panelists include Russell Davies (Bob and Rose, Queer as Folk). Of course, at many of the screenings, directors and actors from the films are present to answer questions from the audience following the screenings of their films.

The Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival has become known as a wonderful SOCIAL EVENTS, as well as an outstanding arts venue, and this year is no exception. For women, there are the Sweet Thing dance party and the Reel Women reception. Now entering its third year is the Ladies Who Lunch Sunday morning brunch plus two films package, which this year includes the aforementioned Hand on the Pulse and the hilarious and sweet Lifetime Guarantee in which lesbian singer Phranc becomes a most unusual sort of Tupperware Lady. Beyond the opening, Centerpiece and closing galas, there are other parties throughout the week, including the post-Circuit film mens' dance party. And of course, Lincoln Road itself in the vicinity of the Colony Theatre becomes one grand promenade of gay and lesbian film-fanatics for the length of the Festival.

Awards
Participating filmmakers are eligible for competitive awards given in a number of categories, including Best Dramatic and Documentary Features, and Audience Favorite. This year's MGLFF has also teamed up with PlanetOut.com, a leader in gay Internet content, to present the PlanetOut.com Short Movie Awards, sponsored by HBO. Twenty-five finalists will be selected by a jury that includes an HBO executive to compete for online Audience Awards determined by visitors to www.planetout.com, the PlanetOut.com website, during the month of March. The prize-winning films will be screened at a special PlanetOut.com program and awards presentation at this year's Festival, where $7,500 in cash awards will be given out. Jenni Olson, PlanetOut.com's Director of Entertainment, commented that, "The Miami fest has quickly become one of the most prestigious stops on the gay film festival circuit, and this is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the best GLBT short films and to support the filmmakers themselves."

History
The Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival began a short three years ago after South Florida had well established itself as a gay-friendly place to live and visit. The Festival was the area's first regularly scheduled arts programming specifically geared toward showcasing works by gay and lesbian artists and catering to gay and gay-friendly audiences. After the first edition of the Festival drew more than 5,000 attendees and the following year's event attracted 7,000 attendees, Rosenberg and the Festival Board decided to expand the Festival from 6 to 10 days in order to accommodate both growing audiences and the increasing amount of solid material the Festival had been receiving from filmmakers from across the globe. Last year's Third Annual Festival sold more than 11,000 tickets and featured more than 70 feature and short works from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Puerto Rico, Spain, Thailand and the U.S.

Sponsors
The Presenting Sponsor of this year's Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival is Southern Wine and Spirits of South Florida.

Other sponsors include Abbey Hotel, Absolut, Advanced Radio Systems/ Motorola,The Advocate, American Express, Burstein Family Foundation, Cabana Boy Run, Corazon Tequila, Dade Human Rights Foundation, Party 93.1 WPYM-FM, Design Center of the Americas (DCOTA), Express Gay News, Ferraro Family Foundation, Florida Department of State and Cultural Affairs Council, Genre Magazine, HBO (Presenting Sponsor Of The Planetout.Com Short Movie Awards), Hotel Nash, Indian Creek Hotel, Laurent Perrier Champagne, Miami Beach Cultural Arts Council, Miami Beach Visitor & Convention Authority, The Miami Herald, Miami New Times, Miami-Dade County Cultural Affairs Department, Miamigo Magazine, Passport Magazine, Planetout Partners, Planetout.Com, Regal Cinemas, Robert Mondavi Wines, Rubell Hotels, Savoy Hotel, Tangueray, TWN, and Voss Water (sponsor list as of March 19, 2002).

The Festival's Honorary Board supports the organization financially and with their expertise. Members include Executive Producers Harvey Burstein, Stephen Herbits; Kent Karlock, Raben & Feldman, Rene T. Rodriguez, Lee Brian Schrager, Jacques Soukup & Aaman Crane; and Bruce Weber & Nan Bush.

Directors include Jerry Chasen and Mark Kirby, Desmond Child, Scott Dansky & John Dawson, Dwina Gibb, Rick Hanley & Paul Kahn, Marc Levin, Sheldon & Myrna Palley, Mayda Perez & Simone Mayer, Alan Randolph, Robert Schafer, Michael Toomey & Dr. Patrick Ward.

Ticket Information
General tickets to the Fourth Annual Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival cost $11; there are special prices for special events. Tickets for all screenings and events go on sale beginning April 1, 2002, via:

Tickets: $11 general; special prices for special events