Out Festing

Is 2021 the best Outfest ever? The must-see titles from the AWESOME lineup.

Boy Culture: The Series

Outfest, the inimitable LGBTQ-themed film festival based in Los Angeles, has returned for another year. This year's lineup also has us convinced: it might be the best Outfest lineup ever.

In an even more fortuitous turn, Outfest will also allow festival members to view titles from home anywhere in the USA. That gives attendees a great chance to catch some of these awesome titles ahead of the rest of the world; most debut at the festival true-indie style, without a distributor or release date set. As a general rule, all titles will be available to stream online the day following their in-person screening.

But which titles land in the can't-miss category, you wonder? That's why we're here, folks. In addition to an advance look at the upcoming releases Ma Belle, My Beauty, My Name is Pauli Murray and Everybody's Talking About Jamiecheck out our must-see titles from Outfest 2021.

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[tps_header] [caption id="attachment_588383" align="alignnone" width="670"] Boy Culture: The Series[/caption]

Outfest, the inimitable LGBTQ-themed film festival based in Los Angeles, has returned for another year. This year’s lineup also has us convinced: it might be the best Outfest lineup ever.

In an even more fortuitous turn, Outfest will also allow festival members to view titles from home anywhere in the USA. That gives attendees a great chance to catch some of these awesome titles ahead of the rest of the world; most debut at the festival true-indie style, without a distributor or release date set. As a general rule, all titles will be available to stream online the day following their in-person screening.

But which titles land in the can’t-miss category, you wonder? That’s why we’re here, folks. In addition to an advance look at the upcoming releases Ma Belle, My Beauty, My Name is Pauli Murray and Everybody’s Talking About Jamiecheck out our must-see titles from Outfest 2021.

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Boulevard!

Documentarian and cinephile Jeffrey Schwarz returns with his latest outing, a chronicle of an ill-fated musicalization of Sunset Blvd. spearheaded by Gloria Swanson herself, and featuring music & lyrics by gay couple Richard Stapley and Dickson Hughes. What starts as a dream project becomes a bizarre nightmare for the three, with a story so weird it could only come from Hollwyood. As always, Schwarz delivers the goods mixing rare archival materials and new interviews (including with Mark Saltzman, David Del Valle and Robert Osborne) for a wild and weird chapter in showbiz–and queer–history.

August 17.

Gemmel & Tim

With double murderer Ed Buck finally rotting away with his prison sentence, director Michiel Thomas takes a tender look at two people lost amid the media circus: Buck’s victims. Gemmel & Tim recounts the lives of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean, the two gay, African-American men seduced and killed by Buck. Featuring extensive interviews with friends, family, activists and some of Buck’s other victims lucky enough to escape him with their lives, Thomas humanizes and eulogizes the two vibrant souls lost to a monster. Thomas also dives further into Buck’s personal connections that shield him from arrest for years–with frightening and infuriating implications. It’s an empathetic portrait of two lives lost, a monument to the activists that encouraged Buck’s arrest, and a scathing indictment of systemic ineptitude.

August 15.

Baloney

Anyone needing a bit more meat in their lives should look no further than Baloney, the documentary chronicle of a mostly male, mostly naked, very erotic San Francisco burlesque show. Director Joshua Guerci takes a no-holds-barred approach into the eccentric minds of the show’s creators, or into the tongue-in-cheek (and possibly other body parts) style of it all. If we tell you that the show features penile piano playing, we think you’ll get the idea.

August 20.

Boy Culture: The Series

Q. Allan Brocka returns with this new show, a sequel to his 2006 cult film. Boy Culture: The Series catches up with X (played again by Derek Magyar), a rentboy still living with his sometime boyfriend Andrew (Darryl Stephens). But with a new crop of young, hot, male sex workers hitting the escort circuit, can X keep up?

August 19.

Being Bebe

Drag Race alum Bebe Zahara Benet stars in this documentary biopic which chronicles her career and drive to succeed in showbiz. The film, under the direction of Emily Branham, follows Benet as he prepares for Drag Race, enjoys his first rush of international acclaim, struggles to find work, and rises again. The film also examines the effect of Benet’s success on her native Cameroon, where homosexuality remains very illegal. It’s a naked look at a consummate performer, reluctant activist, and intensely private person fighting for a career in showbusiness.

August 21.

Crystal Diaries

The crystal meth epidemic and its effect on the queer, African-American world take center stage in this new film by directors Enyce Smith and Gina Lamb. Smith and Lamb focus on personal stories (including Smith’s own) of how substance abuse infects communities, often generationally. The directors also tie the meth epidemic in with the story of Gemmel Moore (see above), and how his heinous death prompted a call to action among black gay men. Featuring candid interviews, footage of meth survivor support groups, Crystal Diaries plays less like a cry for help, than a raw plea to accept it.

August 15.

Jump, Darling

Screen legend Cloris Leachman gives her final performance in this dramedy about a drag queen living with his grandmother. Thomas Duplessie stars as Russell, a boozy wannabe drag queen kicked out by his wealthy boyfriend. Flat broke and with nowhere to turn, he crashes his elderly grandmother Margaret’s (Leachman) house to regroup. With her health in decline, Russell sees an opportunity to pull himself together, while Margaret sees a chance to dodge spending her final days in a nursing home. A tender bond develops between the pair as Russell questions his life choices, and Margret considers how to spend the rest of hers. It’s a beautiful story for anyone who has ever loved a grandma…or done drag at grandma’s house.

August 15.

Potato Dreams of America

We swooned over this comedy which premiered at Frameline45 this year, the autobiographical story of director Wes Hurley’s life. Born in remote Soviet Russia, young Potato (as his mom calls him) dreams of a life in America, land of the movies. When his mother Lena realizes her young son is gay, she passes herself off as a mail-order bride to help the pair escape. Flash forward years later, when Lena has married the eccentric John, and Potato struggles with coming out and forsaking his Russian past. This very funny comedy has more than a few twists up its sleeve too, and features a memorable performance by Jonathan Bennett (of Mean Girls) as Jesus. Yes, that Jesus.

August 18.

No Straight Lines

Hot on the heels of Robin coming out of the closet, this new documentary arrives at Outfest tracing the rise of LGBTQ content in the world of comic books. Though now a mainstream phenomenon, readers once had to seek queer comics out in the seedy underground of drug-themed and pornographic zines. No Straight Lines follows the journey from Jayson to Fun Home, as told by the fringe artists and writers that keep queer stories alive until the mainstream was ready.

August 14.

Homebody

Director Joseph Sackett delivers a trippy twist on the Freaky Friday premise, which finds a young, queer kid named Johnny (Tre Ryder) invading the mind of his babysitter Melanie (Colby Minifie). A bright, often surreal journey follows as Johnny encounters sex with men, fashion, and even childbirth, as experienced from a female point of view. Homebody recalls the wacky tales of Roald Dahl with its quirky humor and fantastical premise, and features a spectacular performance from Minifie in the lead.

August 15.

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