There are not a lot of smaller films opening this weekend, but we can easily grant our highest recommendation to Weekend. Also, if reading about Margaret last week piqued your interest, you better make plans to see it by Thursday night. It's already down to two screenings a day at the Regal Arbor and is unlikely to make it to a third weekend in town. more ›

There are even more reasons than normal to be out and proud (or inside with air conditioning and a cold drink...and proud) in Austin this week. With Austin Pride's official move to September, Pride Weekend now lands on the same week as the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF). How appropriate! It's nice to see aGLIFF delivering another strong lineup through their Executive Director transition — Board President John Livingston recently handed over the reigns to South By Southwest alum, Lindsay Muse. Thanks to these two and, most importantly, aGLIFF's ever-dedicated programming team, we have nearly 40 films at our fingertips, plus some new and exclusive special events that serve to spice up their 24th year. more ›

This Saturday, Pride month continues as aGLIFF hosts their annual summer fundraiser and art auction, BOOM at East Side Stages. The evening brings together over twenty five LGBT artists of all mediums to celebrate the community's differences through self expression. Artwork will be up for auction with the proceeds going to benefit aGLIFF and the artists themselves. If you're blissfully unaware, aGLIFF's programs include filmmaking experiences for LGBT youth, assistance for US and international filmmakers, and free public screenings.

Doug Langway's BearCity explores relationships within a group that often doesn't get much recognition in the gay community. The movie had its World Premiere earlier this summer at NEWFEST and has subsequently been a big hit at several LGBT festivals. It even received the Los Angeles Outfest 2010 Grand Jury awards for Outstanding Screenwriting and Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film. Now more ›

There are many highlights on the schedule of the 23rd annual Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival, but one of the biggest is the World Premiere of Daniel Alexander's documentary Freeing Bernie Baran. more ›

Krewes are the groups who put together parade floats and/or balls that occur during the annual celebration of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. The first predominantly gay krewe (Krewe of Yuga) was formed in 1959, just weeks after three Tulane students were acquitted for the murder of a gay man named Fernando Rios. more ›

Tonight, aGLIFF is throwing an after party at Cheer Up Charlie's featuring Our Footloose Remake, the thing in question. Our Footloose Remake is a crowdsourced remake of 1984's Footloose cut together from over 50 separate scenes shot by 58 different directors. Produced by Tim Marklevitz and Dave Seger, the film jumps from live action to animation to puppetry and stars 33 Ren McCormacks and 27 Ariel Moores. more ›

In Contracorriente (translation: Undertow), Miguel and his wife Mariela live in a small coastal Peruvian village and are expecting their first child. On the down low, Miguel is having an affair with painter Santiago, an old childhood friend. Homophobia and gossip abound in the seaside village, and so Miguel ("Chino" to his pals) feels the need to carry on this secret double life. more ›

Jools and Lynda Topp are not the kind of people you meet everyday. These twin sisters are cultural icons in their native New Zealand, and with this entertaining biographical documentary, they’re certainly not people you’ll soon forget. Raised on a dairy farm, they realized early on that they loved to sing…and that they were lesbians. These talented ladies have brought together conservative farmers, radical lesbians, and everyone in between, and given them a place to come together. It’s a touching portrait of two incredibly interesting people that is guaranteed to inspire you…while making you laugh at the same time. more ›

Channeling intense volunteer passion, subtly opening conservative minds, and standing up to the occasional pesky picketing threat — all in a day's work for Jake H. Gonzales, Programs Director of the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF). While the act of wading through a preposterous amount of films and contacts would be enough to make us feel that we had the right to walk around slapping...anyone, Jake exudes a most understanding and calm energy that—to us—seems like an incredible feat when you're one week away from launching a film festival. Although we would have liked to have spent the interview trying to find a way to bottle that energy for ourselves (muah ha ha), asking a few questions involving the diverse lineup of films and events aGLIFF 23 is bringing our way September 7th-12th seemed like the more pertinent thing to do. We convened at Cherrywood Coffeehouse to discuss unforgettable yodelers, angry transwomen, and why it's so damn hard to get people to heart the documentaries like we do. We then forced Jake to play a LGBTQI Pop Culture Thought Game with us. Like we said, really understanding energy. more ›

Living in Austin gives film fans more choices than just the wide releases that flood the multiplex. Here's a look at some of the smaller films and special events opening across town this weekend. more ›

Photos by Aaron Geiser and Chaz Gordon from aGLIFF's annual BLOOM fundraiser, which took place last Friday at Action Figure Studios. The evening's performers included aerialist Agent Red, artist Rob Rough, the Queertastiks, Austin based arts collective Queer Sol, Kings N Things and walker-assisted stripper Granny P. Note: some potentially NSFW photos in the gallery. more ›

This month, aGLIFF takes a little detour from the film festival circuit and brings you BLOOM, a celebration of LGBT and ally artists that break new ground in works across all mediums, including (deep breath): digital, canvas, performance, photography, theatre, dance, sculpture, film, and mixed media. That's a whole lot to celebrate. more ›

We think the "a" in aGLIFF actually stands for awesome. Not even a month after their 22nd film fest, the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival is hosting a screening of Bruce La Bruce's gay, artsy zombie film Otto; or, Up with Dead People this Sunday at the Alamo Ritz. This just so happens to be a brunch and, really, who doesn't love eating a breakfast/lunch hybrid while watching semi-civilized zombies disembowel rabbits and chew on cat tails? A picture of Otto (Jey Crisfar) and the words "gay," "zombie," and "film" are probably all that's needed to get a packed room at the Ritz, but we'll go into a little more detail. We all should have seen queer zombies coming from forever hip, usually controversial director Bruce La Bruce since he already brought us Give Piece of Ass a Chance and I Know What It's Like to Be Dead. Mixing the literal interpretation of those two titles results in the gist of Otto. more ›

The 22nd annual Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival kicks off today and runs through Sunday at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. This year's trimmed-down programming lineup includes heavy dramas like I Can't Think Straight, a 2007 film about a romance between a Jordanian woman and an Indian woman (and the cultural conflicts therein), and more light-hearted fare, such as The Big Gay Musical, which features over-the-top musical numbers like "God Loves Gays" and "I Wanna Be a Slut." Documentaries, short films, and a trio of parties round out the schedule. [Schedule] [aGLIFF Official Site] more ›

What began in 2006 as an equal parts homecoming for the new season and fashionable fundraiser has grown into something of a tradition for the festival, the largest of its kind in the southwest. Like in past years, this year's BLOOM culminates in a raffle where one lucky boy or girl will drive away in a brand new Subaru of his or her choice (valued up to $24k)—as only up to 2,000 of their $20 raffle tickets are to be sold, the chances of winning are significantly better than, say, winning American Idol. Guests at BLOOM also get to enjoy an open bar while checking out a sampling from some of the films to be screened at this year's festival. more ›

After five days of fun, the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival comes to a close tonight with a screening of Were the World Mine, Tom Gustafson's tale of youthful lust and small town homophobia. After the screening, the fest will officially wrap up with a Closing Night Party at Arthouse (7th and Congress). There'll be food, vodka and much, much more. Admission is $10 and all are welcome. more ›

This afternoon, aGLIFF presents Chris and Don: a Love Story, a documentary chronicling of the real life love story between British writer Christopher Isherwood (probably most famous for penning Cabaret) and American portrait painter Don Bachardy. Through photographs, archival footage and candid interviews with Bachardy, the film follows the couple from their first meeting in 1950s Malibu to Isherwood's death in 1986. As you might imagine, 1950s California was not the ideal place for an uncompromisingly out couple to flourish--let alone one with a near thirty year age difference (Bachardy was 16 when he met Isherwood on a local gay beach). But despite the challenges, the couple remained deeply, happily in love. more ›

Originally released in South Korea under the name Cheonhajangsa Madonna” (we can see why they changed the name), this heartwarming comedy will make you smile on the inside as well as out. Deok Hwan is heartbreakingly funny as a high school sophomore who signs up for a wrestling tournament in order to win the grand tournament cash prize--the exact amount he needs for a sex change operation. more ›

In 1991 while the mainstream was discovering grunge music, a new revolution was already brewing. In the heart of San Francisco, Jon Ginoli and Chris Freeman were realizing that just because they were gay didn’t mean they had to like dance music. Frustrated with the lack of musical options in which to celebrate their lifestyle, they decided to create their own—gay music that wasn’t music for a gay bar. Pansy Division was born. more ›

In addition to the other great films playing tonight at aGLIFF (we also heartily recommend Austinite P.J. Raval's sex change doc Trinidad), the folks at Fantastic Fest will co-present a screening of the French thriller Room of Death (Le Chambre des morts). more ›

ypical European excellence defines this beautiful story of six characters in Turkey and Germany. As usual, the Euros have a strong eye and ear for reality and a penchant for politics. This one convincingly crosses international borders, as we follow the philosophy professor, Nejat and his dad, Ali, who's just asked a prostitute to live with him; a young Turkish revolutionary (the prostitute's daughter), and a German mother and daughter. more ›

IMPORTANT UPDATE: Due to logistical issue with the print of Manuela y Manuel, the film has been replaced with The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela for tonight's screening. The Amazing Truth follows Raquela (Raquela Rios), a Philippino transsexual internet porn star who moves to Iceland while longing for the city of her dreams, Paris. A full description can be found here. more ›

The 21st Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival kicks off today with a slew of great films, and a sure-to-be-awesome opening night afterparty at Oilcan Harry's. aGLIFF is the oldest and largest gay and lesbian film festival in the Southwest, and this year's program contains more than 120 films from 17 countries (including some award-winning drama, documentary, comedy and horror features). The festival really gets going tonight with an Austinist-sponsored screening of Otto; or, Up With Dead People, a zombie flick with a twist. more ›

Gustav pushing back RNC plans.

Image from Austin Asian Film Fest official site Austin Asian Film FestivalThursday November 8 - Sunday November 11Various VenuesAll access badge $30, Individual films $7 / $5 students, AFS, TAA[info]Austin has a mind-blowing number of film festivals. In the last six weeks alone we've had the Austin Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, aGLIFF, The Austin Polish Film Festival and the Dismember the Alamo Zombie Film Fest--all of which were awesome. And beginning tomorrow, we'll have another... more ›

With three days left for the 20th annual Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF), the festival organizers have decided to offer up several free screenings to the public. "One of the issues we've talked a lot about this year is how to make the festival as inclusive and affordable as possible," said Lucas Schaefer, Executive Director of aGLIFF. "We want everyone who wants to attend to be able to attend as many of... more ›

“Then wolves will live in peace with lambs. And leopards will lie down to rest with goats. Calves, lions and young bulls will eat together. And Reverends will profess their love for leather culture.” The above spin on a few verses from the Book of Isaiah pretty much sums up the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival’s stellar opening festivities. As expected, there was a strong sense of community that only increased throughout the... more ›

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... more ›

ACL Previews Interview: Ghostland Observatory Previews: The Broken West, Big Sam’s Funky Nation & Rose Hill Drive Previews: Billy Joe Shaver and Fionn Regan Previews: Brandon Rhyder and Ocote Soul Sounds Interview: The Broken West Previews: Sylvia St. James, Jeffrey Steele, and Amy Cook Interview: Bloc Party ACL Fest Updates: Google Mashup, Contests, Eco-Chic Previews: Augustana, Amos Lee Interview: Peter, Bjorn, and John ACL Band Clash, Round 3: Wilco Vs My Morning Jacket Travis... more ›