File photo.
From the 1950s SoCal movie heartthrob Tab Hunter’s story of working in Hollywood while in the closet, to a sendup of women in prison films, this year’s QFilms Festival looks to have it all, in an expanded four-day festival format: tragedy, comedy, horror, and love.
The QFilms Festival, Long Beach’s longest-running film festival since 1993, will be held September 10 through 13 at the Art Theatre at 2012 East Fourth Street and at the neighboring LGBTQ Center of Long Beach, a release issued today stated.
“QFilms is the largest annual LGBTQ cultural event outside of the Pride festival and parade,” said Porter Gilberg, executive director of the LGBTQ Center of Long Beach. “As the only LGBTQ film festival in Long Beach, QFilms provides a tremendously affirming and enriching experience for our 1500 attendees each year.”
The festival’s “exponential growth” over the last four years led the Center to add an extra day to the festival, Gilberg said.
“We realized we needed to keep up with audience demand,” he said.
The festival chose over a dozen films out of more than 200 festival submissions. Cast members and the film’s directors will be on hand to mingle with festivalgoers and answer questions.
A jury will vote on award winners in several categories, and net proceeds will benefit the LGBTQ Center of Long Beach and its community outreach programs.
Opening night will feature “Tab Hunter Confidential,” an exploration of the Hollywood heartthrob’s life and career before he came out as a gay man. Additionally, “Kittens in a Cage,” featuring Gigi Bermingham as a power-hungry matron, is a sendup of women in prison films. The rest of the festival’s opening night includes an Opening Night Party between screenings of the two films, and an after-party at Hamburger Mary’s on Pine Avenue in downtown Long Beach.
The complete schedule of screenings at the festival are as follows:
Day One: Thursday, September 10
- 7:00PM | Tab Hunter Confidential (Long Beach premiere) followed by Q&A with director Jeffrey Schwarz and producer Neil Koenigsberg
- 8:00PM – 10:00PM | Opening Night Part at the Center
- 9:15PM | Kittens in a Cage (Southern California premiere) followed by Q&A
- 10:00PM – 1:00PM | Hamburger Mary’s After Party on Pine Avenue.
Day Two: Friday, September 11
- 7:00PM | Liz in September | Starring Patricia Velasquez, the film is about a woman on a Caribbean vacation who refuses to allow health issues to hold her back; (Long Beach premiere) followed by Q&A with cast member Eloisa Maturen.
- 8:00PM – 10:00PM | Party at the Center
- 9:15PM | Those People | A story set in New York, featuring an elegant look at a young man struggling with an intense love for his best friend; (Long Beach premiere) preceded by short film “Britney-Holics Anonymous,” followed by Q&A.
- 10:00PM – 1:00AM | Hamburger Mary’s After Party
Days Three: Saturday, September 12
- 11:00AM | All Sorts of Shorts program featuring “Clown Service,” “God I Hope I Get It,” “Deux,” “Tomgirl,” “House, Not Home,” “More of Last Night” and “Gonna Sip That Sip, Hit That Dip.” Followed by Q&A with filmmakers and cast members.
- 1:15PM | While You Weren’t Looking (Long Beach premiere) preceded by short film “Girls You Know.”
- 3:00PM | Upstairs Inferno | A film about a little-known hate crime in New Orleans that is actually the largest gay mass murder in U.S. History
- 5:15PM | Clambake | By Andrea Meyerson, a documentary on women who gather annually in the summers of Provincetown, Massachusetts; (West Coast premiere) followed by Q&A with director Andrea Meyerson and cast member Vickie Shaw.
- 7:30PM | Drown (Long Beach premiere) followed by Q&A with cast member Harry Cook.
- 8:00PM – 10:00PM | Saturday Night Party at the Center
- 9:15PM: S&M Sally | A revealing “romp” through the world of BDSM for women and men; (Long Beach premiere) followed by Q&A with cast members.
- 10:00PM to 1:00AM | After Party at Hamburger Mary’s on Pine Avenue.
- 12:00AM | The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Art Theatre
Day Four: Sunday, September 13
- 10:30AM | How to Win at Checkers (Every Time), (Long Beach premiere) preceded by short film “New Year.”
- 12:30PM | Men’s Shorts program featuring “Pipe Dream,” “Morning Announcements,” “Seven Drinks,” “Relacion Albierta,” “Bombs,” “You. Me. Bathroom. Sex. Now;” “Mi Amigo Jaime” and “Lady of the Night.” Followed by Q&A with filmmakers and cast members.
- 2:45PM | Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story (Long Beach premiere) preceded by short film “Midnight” and followed by Q&A with director Michael Stabile and others.
- 5:00PM | Women’s Shorts program featuring “Truth Be Told: Stacy,” “The First Session,” “Ma/ddy,” “Plunge,” “Carina,” “Blood & Water,” “Trucker Kitty,” “Falling” and “First Clue.” Followed by Q&A with filmmakers and cast members.
- 7:00PM | BFFs (Long Beach premiere) followed by Q&A with screenwriter and actress Tara Carsian.
- 7:30PM – 9:00PM | Closing Night Party at the Center
- 9:15PM | Velociraptor | Regarding two young Mexican men coming to terms with their feelings for each other while the world comes to an end (West Coast premiere)
- 9:00AM – 12:00AM | After Party at Hamburger Mary’s on Pine Avenue
This story was updated on 08/11/15 at 4:55PM with the official times for the film screenings.
Above, left: photo courtesy of Tab Hunter official website.