BentFest 2011


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Welcome to BentFest2011
Springout is Canberra's very own celebration of Queer culture, and this year Bent Lenses is proud to present BentFest2011 - a celebration of queer culture on screen. Screening at CSIRO Discovery Centre Friday 11, Saturday 12, Sunday 13 & Friday 18 November. All films are $10 each, with tickets available on the door at each screening, but this year Bent Lenses is offering a special ticket price for a BentFest2011 season pass - all 8 films for $50. A saving of $40. Click here to buy your season pass online. Tickets in the BentFest raffle available at every screening & will be drawn just before the screening of Bearcity on Friday 18 November. Tickets $2ea or 3 for $5 with a single prize of a DVD pack containing the entire screening program for Bent Lenses from 2011 ($500 value). Friday 11 Nov @ 7.30pm Kickoff @ 9.15pm Role/Play Saturday 12 Nov @ 7.30pm Cost of Love @ 9.15pm Eating Out 4 Drama Camp Sunday 13 Nov @ 4pm Sea Purple @ 6pm Marine Story Friday 18 Nov @ 7.30pm The Doctor's Wife (with filmmaker Q+A) @ 9.15pm Bearcity
Friday 11 November 2011 °Doors open @ 7.00pm °Tickets & Bar open from 7.00pm ° Film screens from 7.30pm KICKOFF screens 7.30pm, interval at 9pm, ROLE/PLAY screens 9.15pm ° Venue: CSIRO Discovery Centre, Nth Science Road, Acton (Map 49, B15) °Ticket price: $10 INDIVIDUAL FILM OR $50 FOR THE SEASON PASS. OFLC RATING MA	KICKOFF: What happens when the hardest team in the Sunday Soccer league comes up against a gay team (pun intended) and finds they've finally met their match? Watch and wince as fledging referee Elton Glixton struggles to control this testosterone tsunami as rude-boy meets bum-boy in this outrageous new comedy set in the crazy gung-ho world of 5-a-side footy. Directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair. UK. 2009. 90mins. "outrageous, camp and off the wall" sosogay.org Watch the trailer Visit the website screens with ROLE/PLAY This sexy, intelligent gay drama is a meditation on the price of fame, using the hot button topic of ‘closet celebs’ as the backdrop to a very human romance. This two-hander movie brings together a just-outed soap star and a divorcing gay-marriage activist, both avoiding the media flack by hiding out in a discreet Palm Springs resort. Closeted TV actor Graham Windsor (Steve Callahan) has been sacked from his day job after being identified in a leaked gay sex tape, while high profile activist Trey Reed (Matthew Montgomery) is facing a backlash in the gay and rightwing press for apparently cheating on his husband and wrecking his hard-fought marriage. It’s not the best of introductions with both men instantly rubbing each other up the wrong way. Politicised Trey can barely hide his contempt for what he perceives as Graham’s cowardice and betrayal of the cause, while the other man quickly points out Trey’s hypocrisy. Of course, as the men get to know each other and begin a passionate affair they realise that life is never as black and white as the media would have us believe. With writer/director/producer Rob Williams’ years spent working in the film industry it’s tempting to wonder just how much of his story is based on first-hand account... Callahan and Montgomery have great chemistry together and disprove the old adage that real-life partners don’t make good screen couples... Role/Play is a well-written, well acted and very timely gay movie. It has something to say about the tensions that exist in all of us, but above all it’s a very 21st Century love story. Directed by Rob Williams. 2010. 100mins. MA. Text from thatgaymovie.com Watch the trailer
Saturday 12 November 2011 °Doors open @ 7.00pm °Tickets & Bar open from 7.00pm ° Film screens from 7.30pm COST OF LOVE screens 7.30pm, interval at 9pm, EATING OUT 4 DRAMA CAMP screens 9.15pm ° Venue: CSIRO Discovery Centre, Nth Science Road, Acton (Map 49, B15) °Ticket price: $10 INDIVIDUAL FILM OR $50 FOR THE SEASON PASS. OFLC RATING MA	COST OF LOVE Dale (Christopher Kelham) is a kinky sex addict and rent boy whose speciality is indulging clients in their quirky fantasies. But when childhood friend and secret crush Raj (Valmike Rampersad) announces his engagement to Veena (Mandeesh Gill) and asks Dale to his best man, he is forced to rethink his own thoughts and feelings, and his life is thrown into disarray. What’s more, troubled drag queen and close friend Sean (Michael Joyce) doesn’t have a knack for subtlety when it comes to telling the truth, and there’s a rise in hate crimes even more troubling than Dale’s clients’ requests. The film’s central performances are particularly winning. Kelham portrays wry and aloof Dale to great effect, projecting a suave and sexy character against a fragile and vulnerable persona visible through ever-widening cracks in his demeanour. He is supported tremendously by (the late) Joyce, who even brings his real life drag persona – Estee Applauder – to the film. Joyce plays a brilliant mix of high-camp and high-drama against a brutally honest and heartbroken personality, performed with a sense of genuine humanity. The talented duo are both superbly cast and the real chemistry between them makes their scenes together totally engrossing to watch. Directed by Carl Medland. 2011. UK. 100mins. Text from sosogay.org. Watch the trailer Read and inteview with director Carl Medland Screens with Eating Out 4: Drama Camp The fourth film in the successful and funny Eating Out franchise. Casey (Daniel Skelton) and Zack (Chris Salvatore) are living together and seem to have lost their relationship's "spark". Things get crazy when they both apply to "Dick Dickey's Drama Camp" with a raunchy horror short film and are accepted. When the boys get there, trouble hits their fragile relationship as Zack meets a gorgeous new "straight" boy Benji (Aaron Milo). Soon, Benji and Zack are paired up to perform an ultra-sexy version of The Taming of the Shrew together before Casey's very eyes. Directed by Q Allan Brocka. 96 mins. USA. Watch the trailer
Sunday 13 November 2011 °Doors open @ 3.30pm °Tickets & Bar open from 3.30pm ° Film screens from 4.00pm THE SEA PURPLE screens 4pm, interval at 4.40pm, MARINE STORY screens 6pm ° Venue: CSIRO Discovery Centre, Nth Science Road, Acton (Map 49, B15) °Ticket price: $10 INDIVIDUAL FILM OR $50 FOR THE SEASON PASS. OFLC RATING MA	THE SEA PURPLE Nothing - not her father, not the church - can stop unruly Angela from being with her childhood best friend turned great love, Sara. Based on a true story, Viola di mare, presents a uniquely engaging portrait of family, community and gender roles in a 19th century Italian village. Purple Sea is a surprising, powerful film from Italian writer/director Donatella Marioca. A period piece set on a rural 19th century island, it’s a heartfelt, riveting, completely unpredictable love story between two women. "The acting and cinematography sell the story beautifully. Ragonese and Solarino have wonderful chemistry together, and Solarino especially shines through her trials and eventual dual role as Angela/Angelo. The supporting characters are all well drawn, particularly Salvatore and Tommasso, serving respectively as the least and most sympathetic male characters... Almost as gorgeous as our leads is the spectacular camera work, which highlights both the natural beauty of the island and the trickier, darker environs of the town itself. The love scenes, in particular, are beautifully shot, and rightfully leave the fancy moves to the performers... It’s rare for lesbian films – particularly those set in the past – to offer genuinely interesting stories that feel fresh and even surprising, but Purple Sea rises well above expectations and delivers. This is a highly recommended, beautiful piece of work." aFTEReLLEN.COM. Italy. 2009. In Italian with English subtitles. Watch the trailer screens with MARINE STORY The story of a tough ex-Marine (played by The Gymnast favorite Dreya Weber) kicked out under “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and her difficult assimilation into civilian life, it deftly showcases the difficulties of women in the modern military. We first meet Alexandra (Weber) as she walks, military pack in tow, through a southwestern desert town. Every few moments, we see a flashback to her martial past – her deployments, her drills and her pride being an American soldier. She encounters old friends, buys a rusty car and stops a robbery at a tiny convenience store (badass Sarah Connor-style), prompting a few words from the town sheriff. Clearly a stranger in a strange land, she’s miserable outside of the rigid confines of the Marine Corps. A product of a military family and a real diehard for the cause, her “honorable discharge” has left her with nothing but an empty house and a lack of direction. “What next?” asks a friend, while Alex shrugs and orders tequila. Soon, she’s faced with a new challenge: One of the young criminals she accosted in the convenience store has a choice – military or jail – and her grandmother begs Alex to help her get ready for boot camp. Enter Saffron Snow (out actress Paris Pickard), a brooding young woman with a classic chip on her shoulder and difficult past — her entire family died in a car crash when she was young. She has one month to get in shape and Alex gladly takes the job. The drill sergeant vs. headstrong kid dynamic has been played out, but it does work here. After a predictably rocky start, the two women develop a strong rapport, as Saffron takes to the training and to her hardcore (but certainly not unfeeling) mentor. Directed by Ned Farr. USA. 2010. Watch the trailer
Friday 18 November 2011 °Doors open @ 7.00pm °Tickets & Bar open from 7.00pm ° Film screens from 7.30pm THE DOCTOR'S WIFE screens 7.30pm, interval at 9pm, BEARCITY screens 9.15pm ° Venue: CSIRO Discovery Centre, Nth Science Road, Acton (Map 49, B15) °Ticket price: $10 INDIVIDUAL FILM OR $50 FOR THE SEASON PASS.	THE DOCTOR'S WIFE In September 2008, Dr Vincent Cornelisse accepted a position in the (very) country town of Biggenden, QLD. He and his partner Jonathan made plans for their move. Neither of the two had ever lived in a country town and were excited about the scene change but nervous about how they would be received. A friend jokingly suggested that Jonathan should film their experience in case they were murdered. Jonathan decided to do this, not because he thought they would be in danger, because he believed that it was going to be a positive and enlightening journey. The Doctor's Wife explores their journey through Jonathan's eyes. Audiences will get a glimpse into the real life experiences of a rural medical practitioner and his partner. "Jonathan is a multi-talented artist who lays bare all the raw emotions and fears inherent with being a stranger in a very strange land. A colorful cast of real life characters embody this film and Jonathan has captured them gingerly." Hollywood Fringe Read Jonathan's interview on ThatGayMovie.com Visit the website Special meet-the-filmmaker screening. Jonathan Duffy & Dr Vincent Cornelisse are special guests of Bent Lenses and will introduce this screening and present an audience Q+A afterwards. screens with BEAR CITY Twenty-year-old aspiring actor Tyler (Joe Conti) is too embarrassed to tell his compulsively thin Chelsea-boy peers about his jones for ampler flesh. Sneaking off to a Manhattan bear bar, he's adopted by an older couple (Brian Keane & Stephen Guarino). They offer him room to rent, while differing on resultant menage-a-trois prospects. Meanwhile, Tyler pursues their stud-about-town pal Roger (Gerald McCullough), who's reluctant to let his A-list muscle bear pals know he'd fall for a mere twink. "absolutely must-see" AfterElton.com Directed by Douglas Langway. USA. 2010. Watch the trailer
Previously screened
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