World Cinema Showcase 2008
The World Cinema Showcase opens at the Paramount, Wellington on March 20th. This year there are several films featured in the programme that have gay or lesbian themes.
ANNIE LEIBOVITZ: LIFE THROUGH A LENS
USA | 2006 | 90 minutes | M – drug references
Fri 28 Mar, 6.15 pm and Sun 30 Mar, 12.00 pm
An insightful look at one of the most popular photographers of our time, Life through the Lens, allows Annie Leibovitz to talk for herself about her work for magazines such as Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair and about the more intimate work revealed in her remarkable recent book. Directed by her sister Barbara, the film also covers personal aspects of her life such as her pivotal relationship with Susan Sontag, and includes interviews with converts such as Mick Jagger, Yoko Ono, Mikhail Baryshnikov & Hilary Clinton.
BLACK WHITE & GRAY: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff & Robert Mapplethorpe
USA | 2007 | 77 minutes | Rated: M – adult themes
Wed 2 Apr, 8.15 pm and Thu 3 Apr, 2.15 pm
An in-depth look at the life and work of art curator Sam Wagstaff and his influence on the life and work of his lover Robert Mapplethorpe. A finely drawn portrait… admirably explores all the shades of Wagstaff's fascinating character. — New York Sun
AN ISLAND CALLING
New Zealand | 2008 | 78 minutes
Thu 3 Apr, 6.15 pm and Fri 4 Apr, 2.00 pm
On July 1, 2001, John Scott and his partner Greg Scrivener were murdered in their home in Suva Fiji. John, from an old European-Fiji family and educated in New Zealand, was the Director-General of the Fiji Red Cross and worked as a go-between in the hostage crisis during the coup of 2000. Annie Goldson’s feature documentary is based on the book "Deep Beyond the Reef" by John’s brother Owen, and traces the story of the Scott family, the political crises that have marked Fiji’s recent history right up to the present day, the killings and their aftermath, and the volatile mix of colonial privilege, tribal authority, Christian fundamentalism and democracy that exists in the Pacific.
MALA NOCHE
USA | 1985 | 78 minutes | Rated M – offensive language & sexual references
Mon 31 Mar, 8.30 pm and Wed 2 Apr, 2.30 pm
Gus Van Sant’s assured first feature shows that his poetic identification with disaffected outcast youth has been with him for a long time. Mala Noche introduces us to Walt, who works in a liquor store in Portland, Oregon and his unrequited love for a young Mexican hustler. Shot in 1985 on 16mm film for around $25,000USD this is the first, smallest and most essential planet on the Van Sant solar system. – Boston Globe
For extra updates and information explore the website at www.worldcinemashowcase.co.nz/WellingtonSchedule2008.html.