Keep The Lights On Archives - Big Gay Picture Show

Keep the Lights On (DVD)

January 28, 2013 By Lewis Shepherd Leave a Comment

Starring: Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth, Julianne Nicholson
Director: Ira Sachs
Running Time: 100 mins
Certificate: 18
Release Date: January 28th 2013

Keep the Lights On tells the story of a Danish filmmaker, Erik (Thure Lindhardt), who’s working on a new documentary and living in New York City. He enters a loving yet complicated relationship with Paul (Zachary Booth), a struggling drug and sex addict. The film takes a rare and honest look at the complications that impact on most relationships and the negative effects addiction can cause for yourself and a partner, all put together in a way that makes you not think of this as a ‘gay film’. [Read more…]

GALECA (Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association) Announce Dorian Awards Winners

January 17, 2013 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Who cares about the Oscars? The Dorian Awards are where it’s at, although I may be slightly biased as I’m a member of GALECA, the Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, which hands out the gongs to the best in TV and film.

The winners of this year’s awards have now been announced, with Argo and Keep The Lights on taking the biggest prizes of Best Film and Best LGBT Film. Daniel Day-Lewis and Anne Hathaway also have reason to celebrate, as they’ve picked up some love from the gay critics, who’ve awarded them Best Actor and Best Actress for Lincoln and Les Miserables respectively.

GALECA’s members deemed Ezra Miller worthy of their We’re Wilde About You Rising Star, honouring him for his portrayal of a bullied gay teen in The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

In the more unusual film categories, the comic drama Bernie, starring Jack Black as a murderous – but supernice – funeral director, was named Unsung Film of the Year. Channing Tatum’s guy-strippers melodrama Magic Mike and the Zac Efron-starring potboiler The Paperboy tied for the group’s novel Campy Film of the Year title.

On the TV side, American Horror Story won TV Drama of the Year for the second straight year (this time it tied with the conspiracy thriller Homeland). The series’ star, Jessica Lange, won TV Performance of the Year a second time as well. Girls took TV Comedy of the Year, while Modern Family and freshman gay-life satire The New Normal tied for LGBT TV Show of the Year. Campy TV Show of the Year honours went to the Lindsay Lohan starring biopic Liz & Dick, while the Unsung TV Show award was given to the comedy Happy Endings.

In new categories, GALECA named Ryan Murphy, co-creator of American Horror Story, The New Normal and Glee, as Wilde Artist of the Year. Fox’s Life of Pi was the group’s pick for Visually Striking Film of the Year, while TV or Movie Title of the Year went to Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, which bested the likes of I Was Impaled and It’s Christmas, Carol! for that silly, er, title.

The complete list of Dorian Award winners is below. A celebratory toast will be held Sunday, February 17the in Los Angeles. For more information, please visit: galeca.com and https://www.facebook.com/galecadorianawards

FILM OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Argo (Warner Bros.)

Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight)
Keep the Lights On (Music Box)
Les Miserables (Universal)
Lincoln (DreamWorks/Touchstone)
Moonrise Kingdom (Focus)

FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – ACTOR
WINNER: Daniel Day-Lewis / Lincoln (DreamWorks/Touchstone)

Alan Cumming / Any Day Now (Music Box)
Bradley Cooper / Silver Linings Playbook (Weinstein)
Hugh Jackman / Les Miserables (Universal)
Joaquin Phoenix / The Master (Weinstein)
John Hawkes / The Sessions (Fox Searchlight)

FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – ACTRESS
WINNER: Anne Hathaway / Les Miserables (Universal)

Emmanuelle Riva / Amour (Sony Pictures Classics)
Jennifer Lawrence / Silver Linings Playbook (Weinstein)
Jessica Chastain / Zero Dark Thirty (Sony/Columbia)
Marion Cotillard / Rust and Bone (Sony Pictures Classics)

LGBT FILM OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Keep the Lights On (Music Box)

Any Day Now (Music Box)
Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros.)
Gayby (Wolfe Releasing/The Film Collaborative)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Summit/Lionsgate)

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
WINNER: How to Survive a Plague (Sundance Selects)

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (IFC)
Bully (Weinstein)
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel (Samuel Goldwyn)
The Invisible War (Cinedigm)
The Queen of Versailles (Magnolia)

VISUALLY STRIKING FILM OF THE YEAR
(honoring a production of stunning beauty, from art direction to cinematography)
WINNER: Life of Pi (Fox)

Anna Karenina (Focus)
Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros.)
Les Miserables (Universal)
Moonrise Kingdom (Focus)

CAMPY FLICK OF THE YEAR (TIE)
WINNER: Magic Mike (Warner Bros.)
WINNER: The Paperboy (Millennium)

2016: Obama’s America (Rocky Mountain)
Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros.)
Pitch Perfect (Universal)
Rock of Ages (Warner Bros./New Line)

UNSUNG FILM OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Bernie (Millennium)

The Cabin in the Woods (Lionsgate)
Chronicle (Fox)
Holy Motors (Indomina)
Looper (Sony)
Your Sister’s Sister (IFC)

TV DRAMA OF THE YEAR (TIE)
WINNER: American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
WINNER: Homeland (Showtime)

Breaking Bad (AMC)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Mad Men (AMC)

TV COMEDY OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Girls (HBO)

The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Happy Endings (ABC)
Louie (FX)
Modern Family (ABC)

TV PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – ACTOR
WINNER: Damian Lewis / Homeland (Showtime)

Aaron Paul / Breaking Bad (AMC)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson / Modern Family (ABC)
Jim Parsons / The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Jon Hamm / Mad Men (AMC)

TV PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – ACTRESS
WINNER: Jessica Lange / American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)

Claire Danes / Homeland (Showtime)
Julianne Moore / Game Change (HBO)
Edie Falco / Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
Lena Dunham / Girls (HBO)
Sofia Vergara / Modern Family (ABC)

TV MUSICAL PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Jennifer Hudson, Tribute to Whitney Houston, The Grammys (CBS)

Darren Criss, “Teenage Dream,” Glee (Fox)
De’Borah Garner, The Fray’s “You Found Me,” The Voice (NBC)
Megan Hilty and Katharine McPhee, “Let Me Be Your Star, Smash (NBC)
Raza Jaffrey, Katharine McPhee and cast: “A Thousand and One Nights, Smash (NBC)

LGBT TV SHOW OF THE YEAR (TIE)
WINNER: Modern Family (ABC)
WINNER: The New Normal (NBC)

American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
Happy Endings (ABC)
Smash (NBC)

CAMPY TV SHOW OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Liz & Dick (Lifetime)

666 Park Avenue (ABC)
American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
GCB (ABC)
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo (TLC)
Smash (NBC)

UNSUNG TV SHOW OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Happy Endings (ABC)

Bunheads (ABC Family)
Catfish (MTV)
Fringe (FX)
GCB (ABC)
Parenthood (NBC)

TV OR MOVIE TITLE OF THE YEAR
WINNER: Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23 (ABC)

GCB (ABC)
I Was Impaled (Discovery Fit & Health)
I’m Having Their Baby (Oxygen)
It’s Christmas, Carol! (Hallmark Channel)

WE’RE WILDE ABOUT YOU (NEWCOMER AWARD)
WINNER: Ezra Miller

Andrew Rannells
Anna Camp
Ben Whishaw
Eddie Redmayne

WILDE WIT OF THE YEAR
(honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
WINNER: Jon Stewart

Bill Maher
Chelsea Handler
Lena Dunham
Sarah Silverman
Stephen Colbert

WILDE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
(honoring a truly groundbreaking force in the fields of film, theatre and/or television)
WINNER: Ryan Murphy

Lena Dunham
Louis C.K.
Tony Kushner
Tig Notaro

TIMELESS AWARD (previously announced)
(honoring an actor or performer whose exemplary career has been marked by character, wisdom and wit)
WINNER: Sir Ian McKellen

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Ezra Miller, Daniel Day Lewis FILMS: Argo, Keep The Lights On, How To Survive A Plague, Lincoln, Life Of Pi

GALECA (Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association) Announce Award Nominees

January 9, 2013 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

The BAFTA award nominees were announced this morning and the Oscars reveal their shortlist tomorrow, but now it’s time for a list that’s much closer to our hearts (not least because I’m a member), as GALECA – the Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association – has announced the nominees for their Dorian Awards.

This year GALECA has put Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Keep the Lights On, Les Miserables, Lincoln and Moonrise Kingdom up for its Best Picture Award, while Any Day Now, Cloud Atlas, Gayby, Keep the Lights On and The Perks of Being a Wallflower are up for LGBT Film Of The Year.

Keeping things fresh GALECA also has some more unusual categories, such as Unsing Film Of The Year (Bernie, The Cabin in the Woods, Chronicle, Holy Motors, Looper and Your Sister’s Sister), and Campy Film Of The Year (2016: Obama’s America, Cloud Atlas, Magic Mike, The Paperboy, Pitch Perfect, Rock of Ages), which goes to an OTT movie rather than something deliberately trying to be camp.

Sir Ian McKellan will also be honoured with the Timeless Award, ‘honoring an actor or performer whose exemplary career has been marked by character, wisdom and wit’. He certainly deserves it both for his exemplary career and his outspoken and ceaseless LGBT advocacy.

The winners will be announced on January 16th. GALECA was founded in 2008 and consists of around 80 film and TV critics and entertainment journalists. Take a look below for the full list of nominees (via THR):

FILM OF THE YEAR
Argo (Warner Bros.)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight)
Keep the Lights On (Music Box)
Les Miserables (Universal)
Lincoln (DreamWorks/Touchstone)
Moonrise Kingdom (Focus)

FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – ACTOR
Alan Cumming / Any Day Now (Music Box)
Bradley Cooper / Silver Linings Playbook (Weinstein)
Daniel Day-Lewis / Lincoln (DreamWorks/Touchstone)
Hugh Jackman / Les Miserables (Universal)
Joaquin Phoenix / The Master (Weinstein)
John Hawkes / The Sessions (Fox Searchlight)

FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway / Les Miserables (Universal)
Emmanuelle Riva / Amour (Sony Pictures Classics)
Jennifer Lawrence / Silver Linings Playbook (Weinstein)
Jessica Chastain / Zero Dark Thirty (Sony/Columbia)
Marion Cotillard / Rust and Bone (Sony Pictures Classics)

LGBT FILM OF THE YEAR
Any Day Now (Music Box)
Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros.)
Gayby (Wolfe Releasing/The Film Collaborative)
Keep the Lights On (Music Box)
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Summit/Lionsgate)

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (IFC)
Bully (Weinstein)
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel (Samuel Goldwyn)
How to Survive a Plague (Sundance Selects)
The Invisible War (Cinedigm)
The Queen of Versailles (Magnolia)

VISUALLY STRIKING FILM OF THE YEAR
(honoring a production of stunning beauty, from art direction to cinematography)
Anna Karenina (Focus)
Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros.)
Les Miserables (Universal)
Life of Pi (Fox)
Moonrise Kingdom (Focus)

CAMPY FLICK OF THE YEAR
2016: Obama’s America (Rocky Mountain)
Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros.)
Magic Mike (Warner Bros.)
The Paperboy (Millennium)
Pitch Perfect (Universal)
Rock of Ages (Warner Bros./New Line)

UNSUNG FILM OF THE YEAR
Bernie (Millennium)
The Cabin in the Woods (Lionsgate)
Chronicle (Fox)
Holy Motors (Indomina)
Looper (Sony)
Your Sister’s Sister (IFC)

TV DRAMA OF THE YEAR
American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
Breaking Bad (AMC)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Homeland (Showtime)
Mad Men (AMC)

TV COMEDY OF THE YEAR
The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Girls (HBO)
Happy Endings (ABC)
Louie (FX)
Modern Family (ABC)

TV PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – ACTOR
Aaron Paul / Breaking Bad (AMC)
Damian Lewis / Homeland (Showtime)
Jesse Tyler Ferguson / Modern Family (ABC)
Jim Parsons / The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Jon Hamm / Mad Men (AMC)

TV PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR – ACTRESS
Claire Danes / Homeland (Showtime)
Jessica Lange / American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
Juliane Moore / Game Change (HBO)
Edie Falco / Nurse Jackie (Showtime)
Lena Dunham / Girls (HBO)
Sofia Vergara / Modern Family (ABC)

TV MUSICAL PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Darren Criss, “Teenage Dream,” Glee (Fox)
De’Borah Garner, The Fray’s “You Found Me,” The Voice (NBC)
Jennifer Hudson, Tribute to Whitney Houston, The Grammys (CBS)
Megan Hilty and Katherine McPhee, “Let Me Be Your Star,” Smash (NBC)
Raza Jaffrey, Katherine McPhee and cast: “A Thousand and One Nights,” Smash (NBC)

LGBT TV SHOW OF THE YEAR
American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
Happy Endings (ABC)
Modern Family (ABC)
The New Normal (NBC)
Smash (NBC)

CAMPY TV SHOW OF THE YEAR
666 Park Avenue (ABC)
American Horror Story: Asylum (FX)
GCB (ABC)
Here Comes Honey Boo Boo (TLC)
Liz & Dick (Lifetime)
Smash (NBC)

UNSUNG TV SHOW OF THE YEAR
Bunheads (ABC Family)
Catfish (MTV)
Fringe (FX)
GCB (ABC)
Happy Endings (ABC)
Parenthood (NBC)

TV OR MOVIE TITLE OF THE YEAR
Don’t Trust the B—- in Apt. 23 (ABC)
GCB (ABC)
I Was Impaled (Discovery Fit & Health)
I’m Having Their Baby (Oxygen)
It’s Christmas, Carol! (Hallmark Channel)

WE’RE WILDE ABOUT YOU (NEWCOMER AWARD)
Andrew Rannells
Anna Camp
Ben Whishaw
Eddie Redmayne
Ezra Miller

WILDE WIT OF THE YEAR
(honoring a performer, writer or commentator whose observations both challenge and amuse)
Bill Maher
Chelsea Handler
Jon Stewart
Lena Dunham
Sarah Silverman
Stephen Colbert

WILDE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
(honoring a truly groundbreaking force in the fields of film, theater and/or television)
Lena Dunham
Louis C.K.
Ryan Murphy
Tony Kushner
Tig Notaro

TIMELESS AWARD
(honoring an actor or performer whose exemplary career has been marked by character, wisdom and wit)
Sir Ian McKellen

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
FILMS: Argo, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Keep The Lights On, Lincoln, Moonrise Kingdom, Any Day Now, Cloud Atlas, Gayby, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

LGBT Films Get The Nod Amongst Independent Spirit Awards Nominations

November 28, 2012 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

The nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards have been announced and LGBT movies have done pretty well. The ISAs are the premiere US awards for independent movies. Many see them as the Oscars for those who don’t have the means to launch a massive, multi-million dollar awards campaign (e.g. most LGBT film), but who have still made a great movie.

Ira Sach’s Keep The Light On – about the tumultuous 10-year relationship between two men, which spirals downwards due to drugs – leads the LGBT contingent with four nominations. They include Best Feature, Best Director, Best Screenpay and a Best Male Lead nomination for the wonderful Thure Lindhardt, who plays the film’s leading man, Erik.

Other LGBT interest came with Richard Linklater’s Bernie scoring two nominations. The film, about a closeted undertaker, is up for Best Feature and Best Male Lead (Jack Black). Indeed, Best Male Lead is a pretty gay category, as Wendell Pierce is also up for the award for playing a married man who starts a relationship with a teenage boy in Four (Bradley Cooper, John Hawkes and Matthew McConaughey are also nominated in the same category for playing straight roles, so it’s not totally gay).

Elsewhere, Gayby gained queer filmmaker Johnathan Liseki a Best First Screenplay nomination. The movie is about a straight woman and a gay man who decide to have a baby together.

In the Best Documentary category, How To Survive A Plague scored a nom. The movie looks at the early days of the AIDS crisis and the emergence of activist groups such ACT UP and TAG. Finally, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, which features queer actor Ezra Miller playing a brash gay teen, scored a Best First Feature nomination.

The Independent Spirit Awards will be presented on 23rd February, 2013. You can find all the nominees here.

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Thure Lindhardt, Jack Black DIRECTORS: Ira Sachs, Jonathan Lisecki FILMS: Keep The Lights On, Gayby, Four, Bernie, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, How To Survive A Plague

Chatting With Keep The Lights On Director Ira Sachs

November 2, 2012 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Ira Sach’s Keep The Lights On has been getting massive amounts of praise on the festival circuit, with rave reviews and adoring audiences. It even won the Teddy award for the best gay-themed film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The movie, about a relationship between two men which faces huge difficulties over the course of a decade, has now reached UK cinemas (you can read our review here). Director Ira Sachs was in the UK last month for the movie’s screenings at the London Film Festival, so we took the opportunity to catch up with him.

You’re in the UK for the London Film Festival. I believe there was a screening of Keep The Lights On last night. How did the audience react?
I think the audience was really engaged with the film, and they had lots of good questions. It always sort of sparks the viewer’s introspection, I think. [Read more…]

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth DIRECTORS: Ira Sachs FILMS: Keep The Lights On

Keep The Lights On (Cinema)

November 1, 2012 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Starring: Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth, Julianne Nicholson
Director: Ira Sachs
Running Time: 101 mins
Certificate: 18
Release Date: November 2nd 2012

Keep The Lights On comes to the UK after an incredibly well-received run on the festival circuit and very strong reviews for its US release. So does it live up to the hype that’s suggested this is the gay-themed film of the year? It pretty much does.

There’s been a lot of comparisons between last year’s Brit flick Weekend and Keep The Lights On. There are indeed quite a few similarities between the movies, even if one takes place over two days and the other 10 years. They share a similar tone and style, so that rather than a traditional narrative it’s like peeping in on two gay people’s lives, almost documentary style. They also share the fact that while for years most gay-themed films have centred on issues of identity, both Weekend and Keep The Lights on are about living a gay life once those questions have largely been settled. [Read more…]

Keep The Lights On UK Poster Debuts

September 28, 2012 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Keep The Lights On is undoubtedly the most buzzed about LGBT-themed movie of the year. It arrives in the UK on November 2nd, following screenings at the upcoming London Film Festival (we’ve seen it and it’s well worth watching, but you’ll have to wait for our full review for all our thoughts). Now Peccadillo Pictures has released the UK quad poster for the movie, which you can see above.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘It’s 1997 and New York City is in a state of intense flux when documentary filmmaker Erik Rothman (Thure Lindhardt) first meets Paul Lucy (Zachary Booth), a handsome but closeted lawyer in the publishing field. What begins as a highly charged first encounter soon becomes something much more, and a relationship quickly develops. As the two men start building a home and life together, each continues to privately battle their own compulsions and addictions. A film about sex, friendship, intimacy and most of all, love, Keep the Lights On takes an honest look at the nature of relationships in our times.’

And if you’d like to see more, click here for the trailer.

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
ACTORS: Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth DIRECTORS: Ira Sachs FILMS: Keep The Lights On

Peccadillo Pictures Reveals UK Release Slate – What LGBT treats are coming?

July 13, 2012 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Distributor Peccadillo Pictures’ bread and butter is finding interesting gay-themed films from around the world and bringing them to the UK, along with various other intriguing non-gay treats. They’ve now revealed their planned cinema releases for most of the rest of 2013, as well as a preview of what’s coming in 2013. So what can we look forward to (text from Peccadillo Pictures press release)?

LEAVE IT ON THE FLOOR – IN CINEMAS AUGUST 1ST (EXCLUSIVE WEST END RUN)
Dir: Sheldon Larry | Country: USA
“A sizzling mash-up of Paris Is Burning, Rent and Dreamgirls” – IndieWire

Sheldon Larry’s audacious, raunchy and big-hearted musical—with songs by BEYONCE’S music director Kim Burse and choreography by BEYONCE’S dance master Frank Gatson Jr.—takes us into the fabulously funky world of voguing. (Remember the documentary Paris is Burning?) Here the setting is contemporary downtown L.A. Our hunky, homeless hero Brad, discarded by his homophobic mom, falls in with the members of the House of Eminence, ruled by the stern aging diva Queef Latina, who keeps a careful, loving watch over her makeshift family of runaways and throwaways. When two of her crew fall for Brad, the Queef is royally unamused. STEP UP and STREETDANCE move aside, there’s a new beat in town…

CIRCUMSTANCE – IN CINEMAS AUGUST 24TH
Dir: Maryam Keshavarz | Country: Iran/USA
“SWIRLING AND SENSUOUS. Ripples with the indignant energy of youthful rebellion…undeniable power and conviction.” – A.O. Scott, The New York Times

Set in contemporary Iran in the unseen world of Iranian youth culture, filled with underground parties, sex, drugs and defiance, Circumstance is the story of two vivacious young girls – Atafeh and Shireen – discovering their burgeoning sexuality, struggling with their desires and the boundaries placed upon them by the world they were born into.

Winner of the Sundance Audience Award, Circumstance is a thrilling exposé of an Iranian culture rarely seen. Maryam Keshavarz’s directorial debut has blazed a promising trail at film festivals the world over, challenging audience’s pre-conceived perspectives of a society and how women can defy the rules imposed upon them, despite the dangers they face.

HIT SO HARD – IN CINEMAS OCTOBER 5TH (TBC)
Dir: P.David Ebersole | Country: USA
“Hit So Hard is one of the most inspiring rock docs in recent memory” – San Francisco Bay Guardian

When Nirvana burst onto the scene in 1991, the music they played spoke directly to an angry and disenfranchised generation. Grunge took over MTV and radio overnight… but just three years later, the drug-related deaths of several musicians and the suicide of Kurt Cobain closed the books on an all too brief era. Patty Schemel, the acclaimed drummer for Courtney Love’s seminal rock band Hole, was in the middle of all of it. The openly gay woman who always felt different never dreamed she would be in a multi-platinum band, touring with legends… or that, thanks to drug addiction, she could lose it all. Given a video camera just before Hole’s infamous Live Through This world tour, Patty filmed everything; the shows, the parties, and startlingly intimate footage of Kurt and Courtney. This footage has never been seen… until now.

Directed by P. David Ebersole, HIT SO HARD is a harrowing tale of overnight success, the cost of addiction, and ultimately, recovery and redemption. Featuring music from Hole, Nirvana and grunge legends Sonic Youth, HIT SO HARD is an all-access backstage pass to the music that shaped a generation.

KEEP THE LIGHTS ON – IN CINEMAS OCTOBER 2012
Dir: Ira Sachs | Country: USA
“Breaking new ground in contemporary Gay American cinema” – The Hollywood Reporter

It’s 1997 and New York City is in a state of intense flux when documentary filmmaker Erik Rothman (Thure Lindhardt) first meets Paul Lucy (Zachary Booth), a handsome but closeted lawyer in the publishing field. What begins as a highly charged first encounter soon becomes something much more, and a relationship quickly develops. As the two men start building a home and life together, each continues to privately battle their own compulsions and addictions. A film about sex, friendship, intimacy and most of all, love, Keep the Lights On takes an honest look at the nature of relationships in our times.

COMING IN 2013
LOVING WITHOUT REASON
Dir: Joachim Lafosse | Country: Belgium/France
WINNER: BEST ACTRESS – Cannes: Un Certain Regard

Young, effervescent and full of life, Murielle (Emilie Dequenne, Rosetta) has a promising future ahead of her when she meets and falls head over heels for the handsome Mounir (Tahar Rahim, A Prophet). A wedding soon follows, and the happy couple quickly set about preparing to make a family. However, with family comes ties, and none come so tight as that between Mounir and the mysterious Doctor Pinget (A Prophet, Sarah’s Key), his adoptive father. As Murielle continues to bring new life into the family, in the form of four beautiful young girls, frictions between Mounir and Doctor Pinget reach boiling point. Helpless to extract her husband and children from the wealthy nest that Doctor Pinget has provided for them, Murielle is drawn deeper into an unhealthy three-way relationship. With Doctor Pinget acting as Murielle’s personal pharmacy, and Mounir taking extended trips abroad to Morocco, Murielle becomes increasingly alone and unstable. There is only one way out of this nightmare, and for Murielle, all sense of reasoning must be abandoned.

Celebrated director Joachim Lafosse’s intense, multli-layered dissection of an unorthodox family unit created an unprecedented buzz at the Cannes Film Festival, not least because it was based on real-life events.

KUMA
Director: Umut Dag | Country: Turkey

Ayse, a beautiful 19-year-old girl from the Turkish countryside, is chosen to be married to the handsome Hasan, son of formidable and house-proud mother Fatma, who resides in Vienna with her husband and six children. However, what soon becomes apparent is that Ayse is to be second wife to Fatma’s husband. This tight-knit family go to great lengths to preserve traditional values, and although polygamy is illegal in Austria, Ayse is welcomed with warmth. Yet, her presence in a country whose language and culture is entirely foreign to her immediately marks her as an outsider. As Western societal norms and Muslim religious beliefs draw closer together in an ever diversifying family unit, tensions arise, resulting in an explosive stroke of fate.

Umut Dag’s mature feature debut is a rich tapestry of swirling emotions, suppressed desires, unspoken words and uncomfortable yet pressing social and political questions.

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
FILMS: Leave It On The Floor, Circumstance, Hit So Hard, Keep The Lights On, Loving Without Reason, Kuma

Keep The Lights On Trailer – Take a look at the gay-themed festival hit

May 4, 2012 By Tim Isaac Leave a Comment

Keep The Lights On has been having a successful festival run, screening at Sundance, Berlin and most recently Tribeca. Now a short but sexy trailer for the gay themed film has arrived. Here’s the synopsis: ‘It’s 1997 and New York City is in a state of intense flux when documentary filmmaker Erik Rothman (Thure Lindhardt) first meets Paul Lucy (Zachary Booth), a handsome but closeted lawyer in the publishing field. What begins as a highly charged first encounter soon becomes something much more, and a relationship quickly develops. As the two men start building a home and life together, each continues to privately battle their own compulsions and addictions. A film about sex, friendship, intimacy and most of all, love, Keep the Lights On takes an honest look at the nature of relationships in our times.’

CHECK OUT THESE RELATED ARCHIVES:
DIRECTORS: Ira Sachs FILMS: Keep The Lights On