Disney-Pixar’s Lightyear will make Frameline history as the first Disney feature with a same-sex kiss, plus a Vinsantos documentary and two Margaret Cho features round out the just-announced LGBTQ+ film festival schedule.
“The Coast is Queer” for the full in-person return of Frameline, the world's oldest LGBTQ+ film festival that just announced the full schedule for their 46th fest here in SF June 16-26. Among the features, a local legend returns, as early 2000s drag-scene icon Vinsantos gets a feature documentary, plus a Disney-Pixar Toy Story prequel may be the unexpected talk of the fest with Disney’s first-ever onscreen same-sex kiss, and two new Margaret Cho features complete the roster of 132 different films from 36 countries.
“What queer film festival would be complete without not one but two appearances by the hilarious Margaret Cho,” Frameline director of programming Allegra Madsen said at a Tuesday night schedule announcement at El Rio.
Old-school San Francisco drag fans will recall the onstage fright antics of Miss Trannyshack 2000 Vinsantos, who has recently retired the drag persona. But the documentary Last Dance (June 23, Castro Theatre) captures the six-month preparation for Lady Vinsantos’ star-studded final show in Paris. Vinsantos’ real-life incarnation, Vincent DeFonte — who now lives in New Orleans — will be on hand for the screening, along with another local legend, Fauxnique.
The opening night feature is the first two episodes of Amazon Prime’s TV series reboot of the women’s baseball comedy A League of Their Own (June 16, Castro Theatre); and closing night will feature Peter von Kant (June 26, Castro Theatre), a sort of reverse-gender version of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant.
Vulveeta (Official Trailer) from Maria Breaux on Vimeo.
There’s more local San Francisco satire in the rock mockumentary Vulveeeta (June 25, Roxie Theatre), the story of the reunion of a 1990s riot grrl band, which features cameos from Lynn Breedlove and… Supervisor Hillary Ronen? “This our own Spinal Tap,” Madsen tells SFist. “It captures this moment of 90s lesbian San Francsico, and brings it into 2022.”
The feel-good crossover hit may well be Bowen Yang and Margaret Cho in Fire Island (June 23, Castro Theatre). Margaret Cho also stars in the screwball Hollywood sendup The Sixth Reel (June 25, Castro Theatre).
And it’s rare for Frameline’s Family Matinee to have the biggest buzz of the festival, but they’ll be screening the new Toy Story prequel Lightyear (June 19, Castro Theatre), the Buzz Lightyear origin story. That film is historic in the sense that it’s the first Disney animated feature to depict a same-sex kiss onscreen, a scene that Pixar employees had to fight to keep Disney from cutting from the film.
More than half of the films will be available for streaming at home following the festival; Frameline Streaming Encore is available from June 24-30, and those available for streaming are denoted on the films’ description pages.
Frameline 46 is June 16-26 at various Bay Area theaters. Tickets here.
Images: (Left) Galerie Vinsantos, (Middle) Searchlight Pictures, (Right) Disney/Pixar
