By Megan Smith
There are infinite ways to describe resistance. But for queer folks—especially for those of us in the South—our visibility is a radical and defiant form of resistance. Now, more than ever, it’s important for us to be seen, heard, and have our stories shared. That notion has been the driving force behind QFest—Houston’s annual LGBTQ film festival—for over two decades. On July 27 through 31, the festival celebrates its 21st year by bringing queer intersectional documentaries, shorts, comedies, and biopics to big screens across the city.
Opening night kicks off with Hello Again—a film adaptation of Michael John LaChiusa’s 1994 musical of the same name—which follows 10 characters’ love affairs over 10 decades in New York City. “Hello Again is a lot of fun!” says Kristian Salinas, executive director of QFest. “Its an outrageous adaptation of an experimental opera that was commissioned and performed in the ’90s at Lincoln Center. What can you expect? An all-star cast including Rumer Willis, T.R. Knight, Audra McDonald, and Martha Plimpton (the latter two share a lesbian sex scene).”
“Never in my life would I have thought I’d see Martha Plimpton in a lesbian sex scene,” Salinas adds. “She also has a semi-nude scene with a gender-fluid character. Plimpton is a revelation and McDonald, of course, is fabulous! There are many wonderful tales in Hello Again, but Plimpton’s and McDonald’s is perhaps the most resonant as it seems to speak most to the here and now. Is it a coincidence Plimpton is made up to look a tad like a former first lady who threw her hat in the ring for the highest office in the land? I think not!”
‘The Fabulous Life of Allan Carr’ (2017). Photo courtesy of QFest.
The rise and fall of one of Hollywood’s most notorious producers and party boys is brought to the screen in The Fabulous Allan Carr. This documentary, showing at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston on July 28, showcases the life of unapologetically gay producer Allan Carr (Grease, Grease 2, Can’t Stop the Music) from his heyday to his disastrous production of the 1989 Annual Academy Awards (which culminated in a live-action Snow White and Rob Lowe singing a parody of “Proud Mary”) that ultimately ended his career. “It became notorious,” Salinas explains of the event. “The nicest thing you can say about it is that it was very awkward. But you have to include the word ‘very.’” The film includes interviews with Bruce Vilanch—the writer on the Academy Awards production—as well as other celebrities who remained friends with Carr after he was blacklisted from the industry.
The tragedy and reactionary uprising presented in Julio of Jackson Heights will resonate with queer Houstonians who experienced the 1991 murder of Paul Broussard. The film details the murder of Julio Rivera, a gay Puerto Rican hustler who was killed in 1990 by a gang of straight men on the streets of Jackson Heights, a neighborhood in Queens, New York. When it became obvious that the police were not concerned with justice for Rivera (they wrote the murder off as a “trick gone bad”), the LGBTQ people of Queens forged an alliance with queer Manhattanites in a true testament to the power of community organizing. “It’s a very sincere documentary,” Salinas says, noting that QFest is intentionally holding this particular screening at RIPCORD, so that its message is received in a longtime community space. “Bars feel this impact,” Salinas explains. “These attacks still happen.”
‘Small Talk’ (2016). Photo courtesy of QFest.
In response to the fact that a meager 29 percent of films in U.S. festivals are female-directed, QFest makes it a goal to showcase the films of women directors. Small Talk—which Salinas bills as “the most important film we’re showing”—is one of these selections. In an intimate tale of vulnerability and understanding, Taiwanese filmmaker Hui-chen Huang has a series of powerful conversations with her masculine-presenting lesbian mother, whom she has lived with for years, but knows nothing about. Her mother shares difficult memories of her previous marriage to an abusive husband who she was forced to marry at a young age, the will it took to escape, and her struggle to keep herself and her children safe. “What’s interesting is that the introduction leads the viewer to assume certain things about the relationship that turn out not to be true,” Salinas hints. “That’s what makes it so powerful—the more traumatic elements are revealed gradually, and they establish a new relationship with one another.”
The festival closes with director Margo Pelletier’s surprisingly deep Thirsty—a musical biopic on the life of Provincetown’s Scott Townsend (played by Townsend himself), who grows to be the renowned Cher impersonator, Thirsty Burlington. “It talks about his youth, growing up with an alcoholic mother who never wanted to hear that he way gay,” Salinas explains. “His mother was divorced, broke, and they were living in the projects. His father was a drunk, former-military guy…but years later, he stopped drinking, had a come-to-Jesus, and accepted his son. It also hints that the father may be gay too, even though he’s married [to a woman].”
The film continues on to showcase Townsend’s first relationship and blossoming drag career. “The film is really good. This director really brings a lot that reflects why we need more diversity in directing. There are elements [to the film] that I feel would not have come out if it had been a gay man directing it,” Salinas says, in reference to the film’s exploration of queer identity development, bullying, and the constructs of femininity and masculinity. “It’s about finding your own voice.”
Reflecting on this year’s lineup, Salinas stresses: “These are the types of films we need to be seeing right now—films about families bonding, censorship, immigration, and how our communities really do need to work together. This festival has to be done.”
QFest runs July 27-31 at various venues around Houston. For a full schedule, location information, and to purchase tickets, visit q-fest.com.
