PIGLesbianFF

Over the weekend I was lucky to screen four strong and diverse films with a lesbian focus at the 13th annual Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (PIGLFF), continuing through July 24. If you haven’t seen any of the following achievements, keep your eyes open as they could pop up as a Festival Favorite at the end of next week. Hopefully they’ll get a theatrical release before landing on DVD. Each is unique in tone and point of view.
One of the great benefits about a film festival is having guests on hand. Two of the stars from Out at the Wedding, Cathy DeBuono and Andrea Marcellus, were mingling at the XXX at XIX party on Saturday night and seemed to make fast-friends with everyone they met. Their cheerful personalities are easily translated in the hilarious romantic-comedy, about a straight woman, Alex (Marcellus) pegged as a lesbian at her sister’s wedding. The laughs are non-stop, as the cast elevates the script about identity, perception and puts a new twist on staying in the closet. Instead of a gay person who is typically portrayed as uncomfortable with being out, it’s Alex who hides and keeps secrets from loved ones.
Also on hand this weekend were co-directors Dominque Cardona and Laurie Colbert who presented their impressive feature Finn’s Girl, about a lesbian mother juggling the troubles of raising a rebellious daughter while getting death threats from pro-life fanatics. This alternately touching and gripping drama takes a controversial topic and adds a ripped-from-the-headlines conclusion that challenges traditional thinking. I wasn’t familiar with the progressive theory but now have something new to read up on.
Radical feminist politics and patriarchy gets skewered in the satire Itty Bitty Titty Committee about a punk guerrilla group that influences a shy Latina working for a plastic surgeon. When Anna realizes that a chest size is unimportant and it’s the surgeon who is a boob, she joins the C(I)A (or Clits in Action) and helps the subversive sisters make political statements and raise consciousness. Some of the bois might like this one, but the target audience is definitely for the grrls.
Probably the most beautiful film at the festival is The Chinese Botanist’s Daughter, about a woman who goes to study herbal medicine and falls in love with the professor’s daughter. The stunning filmmaking accents the story from moments like a rainstorm seeping through the cracks in the bedroom ceiling that parallels a woman’s breaking heart to the general surroundings of the lush gardens that reflect the growth and beauty of two women in love.