Apr 20, 2007  |  By: GREG MARZULLO  | COMMENTS     

Film fans in Washington can get their fill over the next 10 days at the 21st annual Film Fest D.C., the District’s international film festival. There aren’t too many gay offerings this year mixed in with the more than 80 films from 30 countries, but that shouldn’t stop local gays from exploring the festival’s options.

Film Fest D.C. opened on April 20 at the Lincoln Theater with “La Vie En Rose,” a biopic about 20th-century chanteuse legend Edith Piaf. The French film, directed by Olivier Dahan, follows the singer’s troubled upbringing, ascent to fame amid the denizens of the Parisian art scene (including various and sundry lesbians and drag queens) and her tragic end. Marion Cotillard plays the Sparrow in a revelatory transformation, and Piaf fans will be happy to know that the film opens in D.C. theaters on June 15. The movie has already grossed more than $40 million in France since its February release.

The real queer coup of the festival is “The King and the Clown,” which plays on Friday, April 20, at 8:45 p.m., and Saturday, April 21, at 6:30 p.m. Both showings are at the Wisconsin Avenue Cinemas, 4000 Wisconsin Ave., NW.

From South Korea, “The King and the Clown,” directed by Lee Jun-ik, underwent a “Brokeback Mountain” syndrome in its home country, becoming one of the top grossing films in Korean cinema history. The movie tells the story of a troupe of risqué jesters (this is 1506 after all), two of them being gay lovers, Jang-sang (Woo-seong Kam) and Gong-gil (Jun-gi Lee). The pair is arrested for mocking the despotic King Yeonsan (Jin-yeong Jeong), but instead of lopping off the offending heads, his majesty allows the troupe into his palace, honoring them for their forthrightness.

Of course, the pretty Gong-gil is also part of the reason for the king’s interest, and soon, a whole love triangle develops between the two clown lovers and his highness.

China banned the film for its content (no surprise there), despite the film’s rave reviews the world over. The film was seen by nearly 4 million people in Seoul and lasted 112 days at the box office, all the more remarkable since the cast is made of up actors who were (then) unknown to Korean moviegoers.

ANOTHER OVERTLY GAY offering at this year’s festival is co-presented with the Embassy of Spain. “The 2 Sides of the Bed,” from director Emilio Martinez-Lázaro, is a sequel of sorts to his 2002 film “The Other Side of the Bed,” which also featured gay themes and a lesbian character. In “2 Sides,” many of the first film’s characters are back. The film plays on Saturday, April 21, at 11:15 p.m. and Sunday, April 22, at 3 p.m. at the Wisconsin Avenue Cinemas.

Javier (Ernesto Alterio) is about to get married to the lovely Marta (Verónica Sánchez) and are partying with a good friend Pedro (Guillermo Toledo) at a club. Pedro’s girlfriend Raquel (Lucía Jiménez) sings at the establishment, and on a break from her set, she has sex with Marta in the bathroom.

This leads to a series of madcap adventures, which includes several musical numbers — mostly reworked takes on Spanish pop from the ’70s and ’80s.

THERE ARE A number of discussions with directors of films and special series at the festival. A grouping titled Voila Cinema! focuses on modern French cinema, and Views from the News is a series of movies that take their inspiration from media headlines.

General admission to individual shows is $9 and can be purchased through www.tickets.com.