If
you
want
to
get
a
jump
on
Washington’s
gay
film
festival,
Reel
Affirmations,
head
up
to
Philadelphia
for
the
city’s
13th
annual
ode
to
queer
cinema,
an
event
that
attracts
about
30,000
participants
and
can
easily
compete
with
San
Francisco’s
and
Los
Angeles’
festivals.
From
July
12-24,
the
City
of
Brotherly
Love
hosts
a
gay
cinephile’s
dream
—
more
than
150
features
and
shorts
hailing
from
Nigeria
to
South
Korea
and
the
U.S.
The
gayborhood’s
Broad
Street
has
again
become
the
festival’s
main
stomping
grounds
with
the
Prince
Music
Theater,
the
Wilma
Theater
and
the
Arts
Bank
as
the
big
screening
venues.
Soirées
and
awards
ceremonies
are
part-and-parcel
of
the
near
two-week
event,
including
club
nights,
a
Bear
Bash
(after
a
documentary
on
the
heavy-and-hairy
types),
a
Delaware
Riverfront
reception,
ladies’
events
and
a
camp
party
featuring
a
“Mommie
Dearest”
screening.
Each
year,
the
festival
honors
various
gay
film
industry
notables,
and
one
of
this
year’s
Artistic
Achievement
Awards
is
going
to
Farley
Granger,
perhaps
best
known
for
his
role
in
Alfred
Hitchcock’s
1948
film
“Rope,”
a
story
inspired
by
the
gay
murdering
duo
Leopold
and
Loeb.
Granger,
who’s
had
affairs
with
women
and
men,
was
in
a
number
of
other
films
(including
Luchino
Visconti’s
“Senso”),
and
made
TV
and
theatrical
appearances
during
a
long
career.
On
Wednesday,
July
18,
at
7
p.m.,
he’ll
be
presented
with
his
award
at
the
Prince
Music
Theater,
with
a
screening
of
“Rope”
to
follow.
One
of
the
brightest
gems
of
the
AIDS
film
genre
is
“Longtime
Companion,”
and
its
creator,
writer
and
director
Craig
Lucas,
receives
the
other
Artistic
Achievement
Award
on
Saturday,
July
21,
at
5
p.m.
at
the
Arts
Bank.
Aside
from
this
touchstone
movie,
he
also
wrote
the
play
“The
Dying
Gaul”
(1998),
which
he
then
directed
in
a
film
version
in
2005;
he
wrote
“Reckless”
for
the
stage
in
the
’80s
and
the
Tony-nominated
book
for
2005’s
“The
Light
in
the
Piazza.”
A
screening
of
“Longtime
Companion”
will
follow
the
ceremony.
This
year’s
Rising
Star
Award
goes
to
Charlie
David,
Toby
in
the
campy,
sexy
Logo
series
“Dante’s
Cove.”
He
can
be
seen
in
the
opening
and
closing
films
of
this
year’s
festival
(“Four
Letter
Word”
and
“Kiss
the
Bride”),
and
the
awards
ceremony
takes
place
on
Saturday,
July
14,
at
2:45
p.m.
with
a
screening
of
“Four
Letter
Word”
to
follow.
Below
are
brief
reviews
of
a
handful
of
films
from
the
upcoming
festival,
including
the
opening
and
closing
night
offerings.
I
will
be
attending
the
opening
weekend
of
the
festival
and
writing
daily
blogs
for
the
Blade
website
on
the
goings-on,
so
make
sure
to
check
the
site
for
updates.
“Blueprint”
July
13,
5
p.m.
July
14,
5
p.m.
Arts
Bank
In
“Blueprint,”
two
college-age
black
guys
(one
a
Los
Angeles
nerdy
type,
the
other
a
hip-hop
loving
Brooklynite)
meet
at
school
and
try
to
forge
a
romantic
relationship
despite
their
marked
differences.
This
well-shot
film,
directed
by
Kirk
Shannon-Butts,
moves
from
the
grit
of
New
York
City
into
the
country
where
the
two
have
a
“date,”
but
the
boys
spend
more
time
bickering
than
enjoying
the
day.
The
film
remains
vaguely
unsatisfying,
partly
because
the
pair’s
sparring
only
gives
way
to
a
very
short-lived
spate
of
sweetness
marred
by
the
L.A.
guy’s
decision
to
travel
the
world
and
leave
the
Brooklyn
boy
in
the
lurch.
Still,
“Blueprint”
is
a
refreshingly
real
film,
revealing
the
difficulties
faced
by
young
black
men
searching
for
love
and
intimacy,
and
given
the
dearth
of
gay
black
films,
this
exploration
is
a
notable
achievement.
“The
Bubble”
July
20,
7:15
p.m.
July
22,
2:15
p.m.
Prince
Music
Theater
No
questions
are
easily
answered
in
the
tempestuous
relations
between
Israelis
and
Palestinians,
but
“The
Bubble”
attempts
to
transcend
conflict
through
the
age-old
power
of
love.
Directed
by
Eytan
Fox
(who
also
helmed
“Yossi
&
Yagger”
and
“Walk
on
Water”),
“The
Bubble”
is
about
the
love
between
an
Israeli
and
a
Palestinian
and
the
cultural
expectations
they
both
need
to
overcome
in
order
to
be
together.
While
all
this
is
a
noble
sentiment,
the
onus
seems
to
be
more
on
the
side
of
the
Palestinian
(beautifully
played
by
Yousef
Sweid)
who
needs
to
undergo
a
makeover
of
sorts
for
his
Israeli
boyfriend
(another
fine
performance
by
Ohad
Knoller,
seen
in
“Yossi”).
Scenes
reminiscent
of
“Pygmalion”
are
common,
as
is
the
indignation
of
liberal
privileged
Israelis
on
behalf
of
the
occupied
Palestinians.
Still,
the
story
often
soars,
with
love
and
sex
being
the
magic
spell
to
conquer
hatred
and
death.
It’s
too
bad
then
that
the
Fox
and
co-writer
and
life
partner
Gal
Uchovsky
rely
on
violent
stereotypes
at
the
film’s
conclusion,
choosing
to
perpetuate
a
narrow-minded
story
instead
of
making
courageous
choices
for
cultural
change.
“A
Four
Letter
Word”
July
12,
7:30
p.m.
July
14,
2:45
p.m.
Prince
Music
Theater
The
festival’s
opening
night
film
tracks
the
vagaries
of
desire
versus
personal
authenticity
in
ways
that
are
amusing
yet
sometimes
hackneyed.
Citywide
slut
Luke
(Jesse
Archer,
the
cute
columnist
at
Out
magazine)
has
his
day
of
reckoning
when
he
(horror
of
horrors!)
begins
having
feelings
for
a
guy
who
had
the
audacity
to
call
him
a
“gay
cliché.”
This
rude
sex-kitten,
Stephen,
(Charlie
David,
whose
acting
...
