GAZE – International LGBT FILM Festival 2016 – Preview

By No More Workhorse on July 21, 2016 • ( Leave a comment )

GAZE – International LGBT FILM Festival 2016 – 28th July to 1st August 2016

Venue: Light House Cinema, Smithfield Square

The festival begins with a single screening on Thursday 28th July 8.00pm and to get you into the mood there is a “special drinks reception” at 7pm. The opening film is “Strike a Pose”. It is a Dutch/Belgium collaboration, which is an anecdotal account of the seven young dancers on Madonna’s stadium tour “Blond Ambition” in the 1990s. It examines their stories, one of whom Kevin Stea, is listed to be in attendance. It should hit the right buttons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hqh7lwaNKw

The next day Friday 29th July 4.30 pm the festival begins in earnest with Screens 1 and 2 of the Lighthouse constantly showing a vast variety of movies of LGBT interest. On that day there is at 8.30 pm Paddy Breathnach’s “Viva” written by Mark O’Halloran tells the story of Jesus, a young hairdresser who works at a Havana nightclub which showcases drag performers. Wishing to be a drag artist himself, his debut is cut short by his estranged father, Angel, who disapproves of Angel’s work at the night club. Viva tells the resulting story. The film was shortlisted for the 88th Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film.

Other highlights include a documentary on William Burroughs simply called ‘Burroughs‘ which aims to “charts the development of Burroughs’ unique literary style and his wildly unconventional life.”

Another fascinating looking documentary is Southwest of Salem: which is “the Story of the San Antonio Four excavates the nightmarish persecution of Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, and Anna Vasquez — four Latina lesbians wrongfully convicted of gang-raping two little girls in San Antonio, Texas.”

With the backing of the Lead Sponsor, Accenture, there is a well laid out, easy to use, pocket- sized brochure in a fetching pink shade which contains all the info on the films of which there are up to ten a day. The festival will end with the Australian 2015 movie “Holding the Man” on Monday 1st August 2016 8.00pm.