|
|
For complete schedule go to: http://www.widc.org
DYKE NITE: Friday, March 18th, 9pm
Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St.
Well hay hay hayyyyy. How ya'll been? Many apologies as Brownie has been MIA these last few months. She's been trying to get into graduate school, which as many of you know, can be a bee-otch of an endeavor. Phew! Brownie has missed the hell outta ya, though. Can you find it in your hearts to forgive her? C'mon baby, you know I loves ya! Guess what, as a special gift, Brownie watched the WIDC Dyke Nite Showcase just for you. WIDC's got a great line-up this year. Check out what Brownie saw:
You Stole My Bike directed by super-talented dykediva, Ronit Bezalel, is a music video short film starring the Chicago band I Like Action. Multi-faceted filmmaker, Bezalel, known for her documentary features Voices of Cabrini and A Day On the Force shows a gift for humor and visual style in this madcap caper of a stolen bike and some incredibly cute dykes. Whew, girls with mohawks. Ahem. Check this out. Dykediva's got some mad skills!
Tomboy directed by Judith Cobb is a documentary short that features four Australian adults talking about their experiences growing up as tomboys. Among them are: an out lesbian, a straight woman engaged to be married to a man, a female to male transsexual, and a drag king. Interspersed with the interviews is some beautiful footage of a tomboyish little girl playing shirtless, in all her tomboyish glory. I thought this was a wonderful examination of what it means to be a tomboy, both as a child and as an adult. All of the subjects were viewed as tomboys as little girls, yet all lead very different adult lives.
Out For Bubble Tea by Desiree Lim features three Canadian-Chinese lesbians talking about their experiences over a tasty fruity Asian beverage with tapioca balls at the bottom called Bubble Tea. (Brownie prefers Mango flavored). At the center of the conflict is one lesbian who wants to move out of her parents' house and in with her girlfriend of two years. Her friends' un-helpful suggestions about how to break the news to her parents lead to some hilarious fantasy sequences. The only problem I had with this film is that I couldn't quite tell what the resolution was. On the plus side, it's nice to see the Asian perspective on the coming out dilemma.
5ive by V. Rodriguez is all about lesbian relationship drama. Anyone who can remember the excruciating final hours of their last relationship will find this film painfully familiar. This little film has got some of the best cinematography I've ever seen in a short film. Kudos to Rodriguez. I'll be looking forward to seeing more work from this director in the future.
Did I Just Look At Her? by director CoQuie Hughes is a hilarious examination of the inner thoughts of the gay and straight African-American guests of a dinner party. One woman in particular is having a hard time with her attraction toward some of the other women at the party. But all hell really breaks loose when the butch hottie with the braids shows up. Grrrrrrrrl. Fun and funny.
Cake by director Vanessa Kwan is the visual realization of one girl's memory of a childhood friend with whom she used to share twinkies. I found the memory of love and loss and it's continuing resonance in adulthood to be very moving, but the visual quality of the film is a bit less so. Still, a very interesting work.
Bush Beatin by director Kristen Anchor is a very short short indeed. I leaned over to grab my diet soda and the movie was already over with. That said, this is still a very inventive experimental short combining images of Bush, both literal and figurative.
P.Y.T. by director Tara Mateik is a short I've reviewed for two other festivals and I totally love it more every time I see it. I'm tempted to steal it, though, that would be really rude to WIDC and unwise of me, now that I've just written about it. Dork. This short is a satirical take on Michael Jackson's ÔPeter Pan Syndrome' with Mateik dressed up as Peter Pan doing the complete dance moves and lip-synching to Jackson's song P.Y.T. Love it. Love it. Love it.
Beauteous by director Giovanna Chesler is a three-part short examining, what else, beauty. The first part is a documentary short on a woman re-examining the physical and emotional pain she and her family suffered as a result of the birth defect she was born with and later had corrected with more than twenty surgeries. The second part is the visual story of a woman who is severely burned during her morning ritual of showering and making breakfast, and the third part is the narrative account of a Long Island gay teenager named Donatella who is admired more for her looks than anything else. What price Beauty? I liked this short, I think you will too.
That's it for Brownie this week. Check out WIDC.org for a complete listing of events in the film festival. It all starts Wednesday March 16. Don't miss out! Brownie loves all of ya'll!
|
