SFWFF: Opening Night (LGBTQ Short Films)
SFist Jessie helps kick off Opening Night at the SF Women's Film Festival!
Yesterday was the opening night party of the Women’s Film Festival ! The night kicked off with LGBTQ films and included acoustic band Trusting Lucy performing before the show, trailers for movies on everything from Gwen Araujo to trannie-bike-messenger-speed-addicts, shorts by writer/ director/ actress and general lesbian-icon Guinevere Turner, and then a Q&A with Ms. Turner herself (yes we have a new crush).
We arrived pretty hungry so we can personally vouch for the catered hors d'oeuvres after our third trip back to the hummus bowl. And even though the dim red-light feel of 12 Galaxies made for a strange opening night venue, the crowd was all mingly and polite, young and old. You know, just like a fratty boy party!
After the jump: highlights from the short films, including everyone's favorite gay-marrying mayor, well-hung lesbians, and more! Picture of Guinevere Turner from the SFWFF website. And check out the schedule .
Here's the highlights from the films:
--The trailer for “One Wedding and a Revolution” a documentary about city hall’s same-sex marriage licenses back in 2004. We got all misty watching Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon get married. But our favorite parts were the interviews with Gavin himself, including a scene when he talked about his own wedding and how it meant so much to him, and how it pained him to think that same-sex couples couldn’t experience what he did. (Oh Gavin! And was that a framed picture of you and Kimberly in the background?!)
-Guinevere Turner’s shorts "Hung” and “Hummer” (two separate films). A writer on the L Word, Guin’s style was there on both films. But it was the storyline that won us over. The premise for “Hung”: Five lesbians get to have a penis for a day – what’s not to love?!
The night definitely covered a wide range of LGBTQ women. But in our hummus-induced haze, the night felt a little long. Guin Turner was so fabulous (so funny! so witty!), we wished the crowd hadn’t thinned out by the time she spoke. Some of the screening problems were a little tricky too. The end of “Long Distance” cut off and now we’ll never know: Does Misaki stay with her girlfriend in Milwaukee? Go back to Japan? The suspense!
But for a film festival just a wee three years old, we are blown away and we’re headed out for more. The festival continues this Friday at the Little Roxie, so go get your estrogen on!