The Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF) is all grown up in its 20th year and it shows in tonight’s kickoff festivities. Not only is the inaugural film—Call Me Troy—a world premiere, it is also the first documentary in the festival’s history to serve as an opening night film. The schedule continues to entice with another noteworthy first: the Sapphire MojitoMartini. You can down this “aGLIFF 20 Signature Cocktail” and chat up daring activist Rev. Troy Perry himself at the Austin City Hall afterparty.

The festival's week-long lineup rivals GLBT cable haven Logo’s year-round programming in its diversity -- there are dramas, comedies, documentaries, classics, foreign picks, animated films, short films, stand-up, and music videos.

The all-inclusive material is a direct result of aGLIFF 20’s goal of appealing to a wider audience that includes more heterosexual attendees. Programming director Lisa Kaselak elaborates: “This year's theme, ‘WE SPEAK FILM’, is intended to speak to the universal power of film as a transcendent communication medium – as an art form, as a means of political participation, as a way to underscore the fact that, despite our myriad differences, our common experiences connect us far more than they separate us.”

What better way to start a transcendence than screening a film that focuses on one of the first people bold enough to mix the terms "evangelical" and "gay power"? aGLIFF has managed to be the first to acquire the only documentary that centers on Rev. Troy Perry. While other gay revolutionaries have already been immortalized in narrative features (The Times of Harvey Milk, Before Stonewall), Rev. Perry had yet to serve as a central subject until Call Me Troy this year. A man of many firsts -- he started the Metropolitan Church to recognize the gay community and he performed the first same-sex marriage in the U.S. in 1969 -- it is only right that Rev. Perry will be in attendance to usher in an opening night genre exclusive with aGLIFF.

Check back here for highlights from opening night.

Related:
At 20, aGLIFF in Fine Form

[aGLIFF Official Site]
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Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF)
Sept. 28th – Oct. 6th

aGLIFF Opening Night Party
Sept. 28th
Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd St.
9pm-Midnight
[More Info]