Hatsu Koi
First Love
Hatsu-koi
Director: Imaizumi Koichi
Japan 2007/97 minutes/colour
In Japanese with English Subtitles
Tadashi, in his last year of high school, is secretly in love with his classmate Kota, but dares not tell him about it. One summer day, he was picked on by his classmates calling him "Fag!" which shooed Kota away from him. Deeply hurt and depressed, Tadashi spotted on the train a gay couple Hiroki and Shinji who were chatting so happily that he followed the two men. Before he knew it, Tadashi is drawn into an adventure of desire, love and friendship.
Festivals:
Out Takes-New Zealand, Seoul LGBT Film Festival, Kansai Queer Film Festival-Japan
Goodbye Boys
Goodbye Boys
Director: Bernard Chauly
Malaysia 2006/88 minutes/colour
In English with Malay and Chinese Dialects with English Subtitles
Goodbye Boys is a simple journey with complicated realizations. Set in 1990, Ipoh, Malaysia, a gang of pimply guys with raging hormones, undecided ambitions and formative identities. They set out on a grueling 5-day 100km grueling journey through the Kinta Valley – once the richest tin deposit in the world (managed by Chinese immigrants), now an abandoned plain - that changes friendships and selves. The landscape which Director Bernard cleverly employs in the film, is beautifully photographed and nostalgic, as it captures the forgotten tin mines and sleepy towns which were once, more vibrant than they are now. And it mirrors what the boys are going through as they leave their carefree youth and embark upon adulthood. Goodbye Boys is the personal journey of a few that can be understood universally. It is a timeless journey that affirms growing up as being a beautiful tragic-comedy.
Festival:
Tokyo International Film Festival
No Regret
No Regret
Huhwaehaji Anah
Director: Leesong Hee-Il
South Korea 2006/114 minutes/colour
In Korean with English Subtitles
The award-winning NO REGRET, which has broken box office records for independent films in Korea, is a romance that interweaves the bliss of love with the harsh politics of class distinction. Sumin, an orphan from the countryside, goes to Seoul to study art design. Supporting himself with odd jobs, he comes to the attention of Jaemin, a man from a rich and conservative background. But Sumin loses his factory job and begins to prostitute himself in order to survive. Despite their vastly different socioeconomic strata, Jaemin is determined to win Sumin’s heart…
(This film is made possible with the help of funds from the Dutch film distributor: Fortissimo Films)
Awards/Festivals:
Best Independent Director of the Year-Director’s Cut Awards Korea, Best Film Award-Ansan International Next Film Festival, Best New Actor-Critics' Choice Award Korea, Berlin Film Festival, Pusan Film Festival
Stealth
Stealth
Comme Des Voleurs
Director: Lionel Baier
Switzerland, France 2006/112 minutes/colour
In French with English Subtitles
Lionel is confused. There’s a rumour going around that one of his great-grandfather was not Swiss, but a mysterious Polish. The family doesn’t seem to care, but Lionel, suffering an identity crisis, develops an obsession with a Polish illegal immigrant woman, to the point of jeopardizing his gay relationship with Serge. Resolved to get to the bottom of the mystery, Lionel accompanied by his sister Lucie, decides to go find out about Poland for himself.
But do Lionel and Lucie really want information on an obscure ancestor, or do they just want to get away from it all? Everything seems possible in this wild quest for identity.
Awards/Festivals:
New Director New Film Festival-NewYork, Special Jury Award-Mannheim Film Festival
Stupid Boy
Stupid Boy
Garçon Stupide
Director: Lionel Baier
Switzerland 2004/94 minutes/colour
In French with English Subtitles
Loic’s life is as structured and orderly as the lines on a sheet of music paper. By day, he works in a chocolate factory, and by night he indulges his sexual desires, one after the other. But one day, he decides to do something exceptional, something ‘really new’. He’s not yet sure what this will be but he already starts saving money by reducing his food intake – popping stomach pills to suppress his appetite. But all this changes when the young man makes two chance encounters: first, with a strange man from McDonald’s, and second, and more importantly, with Rui, the local star football player. Thanks to these new acquaintances and to Marie’s perseverance, Loic is forced to re-examine his life and ultimately ends up changing… Loic isn’t a stupid boy after all…
Award:
Best European Director Prize-New European Film Festival (NEFF) in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
Surveillance
Surveillance
Director: Paul Oremland
United Kingdom 2007/86 minutes/colour
In English
Surveillance is a fast moving conspiracy thriller set in contemporary Britain. Adam is a teacher. He lives in the countryside and comes to London to club and pick-up guys on the net. But one of these men carries deadly information about an affair with a gay Royal. There are those who would stop at nothing to keep the heir to the throne's sexuality a secret, including murder.
Festivals:
Berlin Film Festival, Outfest-Los Angeles
Tan Lines
Tan Lines
Director: Ed Aldridge
Australia 2006/109 minutes/colour
In English
www.tanlinesthemovie.com
From the sun-drenched beaches of Australia comes this sexy coming-of-age romance. Cute teen Midget Hollow (Jack Baxter) wanders through life riding big waves and partying with surfer boys. When Midget's best friend's gay brother Cass arrives on the scene, the two quickly dive head first into a clandestine sea of sexual awakening. As his lusty romance with the dark-eyed Adonis is soon discovered, Midget has to navigate between his friends' reaction and his newfound love all while growing up during a hot summer of fun in the sun!
Festivals:
Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Queer Screen Sydney
Tuli
Tuli
Director: Auraeus Solito
Philippines 2006/107 minutes/colour
In Tagalog with English Subtitles
Set in the Semana Santa or Holy week... TULI is about the town's circumciser and his daughter and how one painful and traumatic event in her childhood sets a series of events that makes her rebel against the towns "macho" or male-dominated society and decides to have a lesbian affair with her best friend and have the only man her father didn't circumcise to impregnate here.
Awards:
Best Picture and Best Director-Cinemanila, NETPAC Jury Prize-Berlin Film Festival