Father Geek here with our 1st report in from the Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival... Dorothy (no not that one) is our wide-eyed girl on the scene soooooooo with no further adieu I'll place you in her more than capable hands...
Dorothy Parker here!
So while Harry is away waxing on and waxing off in China, a new spy, the delightful Nikki Finn, and myself will be bringing AICN as much coverage as we can of the Fifteenth Annual Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival. aGLIFF is not one of your stuffy once a year festivals--this group organizes year round screenings with a fun and flair that is part of why film geeks migrate to Austin faster than hustlers to Hollywood. Some of my fav screenings have been their drive-in showing of Queen of the Universe, complete with folks arriving in and showing off their vintage hot rods, and also their block party screening of Hairspray. But these event type screenings are just an appetizer to the annual ten day festival, a festival that has consistently had solid programming of spectrum of films that might not receive distribution or be screened anywhere else.
But for opening night, we saw a film that just got a distributor, and for those of you who enjoyed American Movie, features Mark Borchardt and Mike Schank, playing characters, well, very much like themselves... But I'll let Nikki tell you all about it...
Dotty signing out--take it away Nikki!
The full moon alway has strange affects on people and perceptions, but it also creates a sense of unreal.. light during night and shadows after midnight. It's the perfect time for the start of aGLIFF! The opening night film for the 15th annual aGLIFF: Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival, kicked off tonight with the documentary-styled comedy, Britney Baby, One More Time. After the usual round of introductions of the aGLIFF board members, sponsors and contributors, the lead actor in Britney, Angel Benton, was invited onstage to say a few words. Looking very unbritney-like in short gelled down hair and an oversized black hooded sweatshirt, Angel spoke briefly about the film before saying that we had probably heard enough St. Olaf stories and should get to the film, giving a quick high kick and asking everyone to come to the after party. There is something very heartwarming about a guy who can reference The Golden Girls while showing his semi-autobiographical ode to his pop princess.
The basic premise is that we watch a Britney Spears fan / look-alike on a cross country journey with a camera crew to meet her idol, being confused with the woman of his adoration and meeting new friends and learning lessons along the way. However, a parallel plot involves a struggling semi-intelligent (and mostly unwashed) indie film maker named Dude who is desperately seeking some way to finance his second film. The movie shows the lengths he will go to to make his dream a reality including selling his integrity (which is shaky at best) and his blood (which one would question that anyone would even want). He thinks he can make some fast money by interviewing Britney Spears on her Milwaukee tour date and sell that to a TV station. The only pig-tailed queen he ends up with is Robert the soul of the film, and it's independent spirit. Robert is played by Angel Benton who guides the filmmakers into a world that they had never imagined.. a world in which Britney Spears is a God. He and the cameraman Diane (played by the ascerbic Shannon Walker Williams) are the voices of sanity in a world that is both money hungry and valueless. Miss Spears' manager complains about the look-alike saying that he is diluting the brand image as if Britney were Pepsi or Coke. One of the most touching moments is when Robert is describing how difficult it is for a tranvestite to survive in the gay universe (if you're not a muscle mary, then you already have two strikes against you). He describes the attraction that many gay men have toward "fierce" women such as Britney and Madonna before her, trying to make his friends, and the audience as well, understand the fascination many have with celebrity and divas in particular.
What this little ducky got from the picture is that individuality is as important as any other character trait, even when you're aping the look, moves and attitude of someone else. If that's what gets your rocks off, then you go! This isn't to say that this film will have any kind of major mainstream appeal. It feels too much like the safe stepchild of a cross between The Beatles A Hard Day's Night and an early John Waters film. However it is this union that also gives it it's most strength. The character of Mike, the straight-stoner voice in the bunch who plows off one liners and gutteral expressions right and left, seemingly without a script or even prodding, feels like a modern day Edith Massey.. that would be if she were able to see the spectacle Britney had on the fans in the film. After the film we were bussed to the new Austin Lyric Opera building and, in a confirming moment that truely anything is possible, Angel gave an impromptu lip-sync and dance performance when the DJ started playing Britney Spears. It may have just been the moon (or the cosmopolitan in my hand) but I swear for a moment that just might have been Britney shimmying on the floor.
