This year's 37th Annual Frameline International LGBT Film Festival will kick off in San Francisco on Thursday, June 20 and run through Sunday, June 30. Screenings will be held at three cinemas in San Francisco and one in Berkeley, CA.
You can see the full schedule here and check out some notable films below:
G.B.F., directed by Darren Stein, spotlights two gay best friends, Brent and Tanner (Paul Iacono and Michael J. Willett), who plan to come out and get popular at their high school by becoming the ultimate accessory to one of the prom queen candidates—a gay best friend. When Brent accidentally leaks the truth about Tanner's sexual orientation, their friendship gets ugly as Tanner quickly rises to the top of the social popularity ladder. Check out the trailer below.
Concussion, directed by Stacie Passion, centers around Abby (Robin Weigert) who wakes up from being hit in the head with a baseball with a concussion and a new zest for the life she wants to live. Stuck in a mundane marriage with her wife, Abby begins to build a life aside from her suburban housewife one, fixing up a loft in the city and diving into sex work on a quest to feel real intimacy. When the two parts of her double life collide, Abby must examine what self-actualization really means.
Codebreaker, nominated for a GLAAD Media Award and directed by Clare Beaven and Nic Stacey, chronicles the life of Alan Turing, a mathematician whose brilliant mind and innovative career were overshadowed by his orientation. The film features interviews with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and other thinkers in the world of science and numbers who knew Turing well.
Gay Latino LA: Coming of Age is a documentary that follows the lives of three young Latino gay men – Carlos from South Los Angeles, Alex, an undocumented Mexican immigrant in Downtown Los Angeles, and Brian, a recent college graduate and current GLAAD staff member from East Hollywood – and their journey of self-discovery and growth over a two-year period.
The Battle of amFAR, directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffery Friedman, documents the formation of amFAR to fight the AIDS epidemic during the 80s, when the disease was rampant and survivors were scarce. The organization was founded by Hollywood starlet Elizabeth Taylor and research scientist Dr. Mathilde Krim who, together, worked to raise awareness around and engage the medical community in finding a cure for the AIDS epidemic.
This year, the festival will also be focusing specifically on the importance of LGBT media in the classroom. In 2011, the FAIR Education Act, otherwise known as SB 48, passed and schools are now legally required to acknowledge and discuss the histories and contributions of people with disabilities and LGBT-identified people in textbooks, lessons and media in classrooms.
Frameline will be hosting a free panel in collaboration with KQED to discuss how filmmakers, non-profits, and LGBT organizations can help create LGBT media and safe spaces in schools for discussions to take place. Among the panelists are State Senator Mark Leno, who authored the FAIR Act, GSA Network Executive Director Carolyn Laub and other educators who have had first-hand experience teaching LGBT material in the classroom. The panel will be hosted by Mills College Associate Provost and Professor of Education David Donahue.
Tickets for matinee screenings are $10 for the public and $8 for Frameline members, and all other shows are $12 for the public and $10 for Frameline members. The Castro Theatre has a Castro Pass available for $200 that can be purchased for all festival shows, aside from Opening and Closing night, screened at The Castro Theater. For $40, the general public can grab Weekday Matinee Passes for all shows before 5:00 pm; Frameline members can purchase the same passes for five dollars less. Buy your tickets today at www.frameline.org.