Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival to Deliver the Biggest, Boldest Lineup for 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010 6:00 PM
Albuquerque, NM (September 23, 2010)-- The 2010 Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, sponsored by Comcast, Here! Effex, New Mexico Tourism and the McCune Foundation kicks-off on October 8 with an exciting celebration of more than 70 entries, including short films, documentaries and feature-length films from the USA, Canada, Australia, Europe and South America. The Festival, which is produced by Closet Cinema and will run through October 14, has become both the largest film festival in Albuquerque and the most supported and fastest growing film happening in the state of New Mexico.
"This year is going to be the best Festival bar none, we have an amazing lineup of award winning films" said Festival Director Roberto Appicciafoco. "From films about nontraditional families, to serious historical dramas, to the silly, fun stuff that we all love, this Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival has something for everyone."
The excitement begins on October 8 with a screening of SASHA a funny and heartwarming drama by German director Dennis Todorovic about a young man coming out to his Balkan immigrant family. The 7 p.m. screening will be followed by an opening night party at La Provence.
The international flair of the greatest little GLBT film festival in the Southwest continues with this year's centerpiece film UNDERTOW, which shows October 11 at the Bank of America Theatre located at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Directed by Javier Fuentes Leon, UNDERTOW, is this years audience award winner at the Sundance Film Festival. The film is an unusual ghost story set on the Peruvian seaside where a married fisherman struggles to reconcile his devotion to his male lover within his town's rigid traditions.
Closing the festival is the much-anticipated, star-studded film, and New Mexico Premiere of HOWL directed by Oscar winner Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (THE CELLULOID CLOSET, THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK) and starring James Franco as the famous poet, Allen Ginsberg. The Closing Night party will follow the screening of Howl at Imbibe.
Before you get your film noir on, don't forget to stop by the Nob Hill Bar and Grill for some good old Southwest people watching at the annual Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival "Queer Brunch" on Sunday, October 10. Enjoy complimentary refreshing mimosas, before you race over to the Guild Cinema for the screening of this year's best in queer cinema, which will be showing throughout the day!
In addition to all the great films, parties and celebrity appearances, the SWGLFF will once again feature the ever-popular Audience Awards, where attendees can vote for the best films of the festival. So come out and enjoy, socialize, and be part of one of the biggest GLBT events of the year!
This year's Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival venues include the Guild Cinema, the Bank Of America Theatre, and the Southwest Film Center at the University of New Mexico. Festival passes, punch cards and tickets will be available to purchase beginning September 24 at: Self Serve in Nob Hill at 3904B Central Avenue SE, in Albuquerque and online at www.closetcinema.org.
Program guides with complete information, schedule of films and events will be at the ticket outlet and other locations. For more information about the 2010 Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, visit www.closetcinema.org or call 505-243-1870.
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