FILMOUT SAN DIEGO 22nd Annual LGBTQ Film Festival is set from September 8 – 11; The four-day queer film festival opens with “In From The Side” and closes with the docfilm “All Male: The International Male Story”

By Oliver Carnay

FilmOut San Diego’s 22nd Annual LGBTQ Film Festival is taking place from September 8 through 11, 2022.  Dozens of films will be screened during the four-day festival at the San Diego Natural History Museum (THE NAT) AND THE MUSEUM OF PHOTOGRAPHIC ARTS (MOPA) both located in San Diego’s historic Balboa Park.  The festival will feature award-winning films from Sundance, SXSW and Berlin Film Festivals, along with independent features and a variety of short films.  

The Opening Night Film and Party will take place on Thursday, September 8, 2022 @ 7:00 p.m. at THE NAT with “IN FROM THE SIDE,” directed by Matt Carter, which tells about a group of gay athletes trying to push past rivalries to score an elusive win, but a secret affair simmers among them.

The Closing Night Film will end the festival on Sunday, September 11, 2022 @7:30 p.m. at MOPA with a Closing Night Dessert Reception after the screening with the documentary film “ALL MAN: THE INTERNATIONAL MALE STORY,” directed by Bryan Darling and Jesse Finley Reed.  The film is narrated by Matt Bomer and features interviews with the magazine founder Gene Burkard, Carson Kressley, Drew Droege, and former “International Male” staffers.  The groundbreaking mail-order catalog, filled with flashy pages of gorgeous models in chic menswear became a shared language and aspirational sanctuary between gay men in and out of the closet since 1979.
 
 
Men’s Centerpiece movie will be David Lewis’ “ALL KINDS OF LOVE” while Women’s Centerpiece movie is Michelle Ehlen’s “MAYBE SOMEDAY” (saw this film during Outfest and I highly recommend this film .. read my review here: http://hollywoodflip.com/award-winning-filmmaker-michelle-ehlen-talks-about-her-latest-film-maybe-someday/
 
Festival Spotlight features Travis Fine’s “TWO EYES” and under the International Spotlight is Francois Ozon’s “Peter Von Kant”
 
Filmmakers and talents from the films in the festival are planning to attend and participate in the audience Q&As after each respective screenings.
 
I have attended this yearly festival and I can say all the film selections throughout the festival have been all great.  I highly recommend the following films (which I’ve seen at Outfest Film Festival):
LONESOME – Down and out and on the run, handsome drifter Casey rolls into big city Sydney with a longing for connection and an untold past in the countryside. Adrift within the all-consuming hook-up scene of this unknown urban labyrinth, he strikes up a friendship with charismatic fellow hustler Tib after crossing paths in bed. Their connection quickly settles into a physical and emotional partnership that offers the promise of a new beginning for them both but only if they can survive the secrets and sinister forces that surround them. With an eye towards finding the sublime where others might look away, director Craig Boreham crafts an erotic, sensitively tuned vision of striking vulnerability that dares to kindle hope and redemption against the most impossible odds.

Content advisory: This film contains intense scenes of a graphic sexual nature.

MAMA BEARS – In Texas, Kimberly overhears her four-year-old Kai praying for God to take her home to Jesus rather than having to live as a boy. In Oklahoma, Sara is bedridden and cries for days after her son Parker comes out. In California, as her daughter Tammi decides to allow herself to find love with another woman after wrestling with 33 years of religious guilt, Tenita is taking the first steps to understanding. Across the country, there are over 30,000 “Mama Bears” who work to make the world kinder and safer for LGBTQ children of all ages. While they may come from strict religious upbringings and consider themselves devout Christians, the fierce love they have for their queer and trans children is unwavering, pushing them to choose not to be hateful reflections of a loving God.

Daresha Kyi is unflinching as she points her lens towards families whose faith has been challenged, documenting their journeys with care and empathy. Both intimate and thought-provoking, follow these mamas as they take their own brand of grassroots advocacy across the country, one hug at a time.

PAT ROCCO DARED – Activist, artist, filmmaker, and entertainer Pat Rocco’s legendary career spanned decades, encompassing nude male erotic films and documentaries that bore witness to crucial moments in queer history, including speeches by Harvey Milk. In this exploration of Rocco’s work and life — which features lovingly restored versions of some of Rocco’s rarest films — filmmaker Charlie David sits down with Rocco for exclusive interviews prior to his death in 2018. Ever the good-natured showman, Rocco’s candid talks reveal the daring personality required to create work that valued, desired, and celebrated queer bodies when popular culture labeled them as shameful — revealing this to be a vital record of an unforgettable trailblazer.

PETER VON KANT – One of contemporary cinema’s most prolific and stylish artists, François Ozon’s (8 Women, Summer of ‘85) latest breathes dazzling new life into a landmark of the queer canon. This tale of romantic obsession uses the framework of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1972 masterpiece The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant and remolds it to focus on prickly film director Peter (Denis Ménochet), whose friend and frequent star Sidonie (a superb Isabelle Adjani) introduces him to young aspiring actor Amir. Peter is instantly infatuated, but with the beautiful Amir’s star rising and attention wandering, the potential rejection sends Peter’s temper into overload. No one is safe, including Peter’s long-suffering, silent assistant and his understanding mother (Fassbinder regular Hanna Schygulla), and the result is an explosive actors’ showcase that needs to be seen to be believed.
 
For complete lineup of films, festival tickets (in-person and virtual), screening updates, sponsorships and volunteer information, please browse at www.FilmOutSanDiego.com