PIGLFF – Opening Night
It was full house at the Prince Music Theater last night for the opening of the 13th Annual Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. The effervescent duo of PIGLFF Executive Director Rosemary Connors and Development Director Thom Cardwell kicked things off, introducing Greater Philadelphia Tourism spokesman Jeff Guarcino and a well-received Democratic Mayoral candidate Michael Nutter, who got a standing ovation. Also on stage was Jesse Archer, star and screenwriter of the lite rom-com A Four Letter Word, which was the opening night film. Preceding the film was the festival trailer exposing an assortment of attractive, barely-clad men and women at a photo shoot using strips of film to strategically cover their itty bitty titties. This was certainly no bear bash!
At the after-party held at the Hyatt Regency at Penn’s Landing, most people were pretty in P.I.N.K., swigging the premium imported vodka from Holland. Injecting more energy into the evening, the complimentary drink, P.I.N.K., is infused with caffeine and guarana, which is an extract from a Brazilian plant and a natural form of caffeine that is 2 ½ times stronger than the caffeine found in coffee or tea. For the health conscious, it’s billed as having no added flavor, sugar, color or carbs. So it’s sorta like an alcoholic Red Bull without the syrupy sweetness, though the fruity stuff can certainly be added to sweeten your buzz. (Apparently the acronym is for the secret formula that makes up the libation.) Better drinking through balanced chemistry!
The groove was in my heart as DJ Lady Miss Kier was on hand to spin earthly Deee-Lites. (Actually, I didn’t hear anything by Deee-Lite so I couldn’t wait to go home and pull out my “World Clique” CD!) I also met one of the sweetest guys, actor Rex Lee, who plays Lloyd, Jeremy Piven's assistant on HBO's "Entourage." Rex will be part of the staged reading of Another Gay Movie 2: Gays Gone Wild! at the Wilma theater on Saturday night at 7pm. 
Other guests I’m looking forward to meeting in the next 12 days are Hollywood legend Farley Granger, director Craig Lucas, Supermodel to the World RuPaul, RENT-boy Anthony Rapp, Rising Star Award recipient Charlie David, cutie-pie Michael Carbonaro, and dozens more that I probably don’t even know that I’m dying to meet!
The festival brings out familiar and fresh faces and is always a summer treat. If you haven’t yet picked up a catalogue to map out your screenings, check out the festival website below. See you at the movies.
PIGLFF Website: http://www.phillyfests.com/piglff/home.cfm
