Sep 28, 2007  |  By: HARRIETTE YAH  | COMMENTS     

A gay jock, an intersexed teen, Cate Blanchett in drag: Queer films buzzed around this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, held Sept. 6-15. Toronto, which falls after Venice on the festival circuit, is known for its A-list presence — this year Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were on hand. But there’s another side of the fest, showcasing independent and niche films, including gay options. Watch for a couple of these to play Sundance in January before hitting theaters; others you can catch at a queer film festival near you, or down the line on DVD. Standouts — like the Todd Haynes festival hit — are scheduled for theatrical release in the coming months.

A slew of films by queer directors (not necessarily with queer content) and films that featured or centered on queer characters played the fest. The hottest was “I’m Not There,” Todd Haynes’ Bob Dylan-inspired visual feast about the multiple psyches of the artist. Look for Cate Banchett to get an Academy Award nomination for her turn as one of the Dylans — in perfect cross-dressing form.

Toronto opened with “Fugitive Pieces” by Jerome Podeswa, based on the bestselling novel by Anne Michaels. Podeswa is also known for directing episodes of “Queer as Folk,” “The L Word,” and “Six Feet Under.”

Gregg Araki screened “Smiley Face,” a film whose tone is far from the director’s dark-themed and well-received “Mysterious Skin.” Anna Faris carries this entertaining and colorfully shot tale about Jane F and the wacky adventures that ensue after she mistakenly eats her roommate’s pot cupcakes.

Queer indie master Gus Van Zant was on hand for the North American premiere of “Paranoid Park,” which uses a stunning visual mix of 8mm and 35mm film to tell the slow, meditative story of a skateboarding kid caught up in one heck of a messy situation. Although it claims no queer content, “Paranoid’s” homoerotic feel — heralded by long tracking shots of the newbie Gabe Nevins — is hard to deny. Of note is Van Zant casting the teens off of MySpace. Look for “Paranoid Park” in theaters in March 2008.

Ira Sachs (“Forty Shades of Blue”) premiered “Married Life,” a sublime, well-executed dark comedy about the complications of love, which gets my vote alongside “I’m Not There” for the film with best performance of the festival: Pierce Brosnan playing a mistress-stealing best friend.

Work by other directors in the queer world include Francois Ozon’s “Angel” and Ventura Pons’ “Barcelona (A Map).”
THE FESTIVAL TOOK PLACE over a 10-day period, and by day three, buzz was building for a German/Turkish co-production, Fatih Akin’s “The Edge Of Heaven,” which weaves multiple plotlines together, one centering on a lesbian couple. By the festival’s end, “Edge” was still a standout and championed by a few queer festival programmers on hand.

Paul Schrader (“Taxi Driver,” “American Gigolo”) premiered “The Walker,” a political mystery set in D.C. and starring Woody Harrelson as a gay Southerner. Harrelson plays Carter Paige III, a modern gigolo (that is, a social companion not a sex toy) who “walks” to places like the opera with socialites and senators’ wives when husbands have more serious matters to address. However, when one of the wives gets wrapped up in an unsightly scandal involving sex and a murder, Carter must choose between loyalty and honesty. Starring Kirsten Scott Thomas, Lily Tomlin and Lauren Bacall, “The Walker” will have mainstream appeal. (Be ready for commentary about the full frontal male bondage artwork hanging on the walls of Harrelson’s on-screen lover’s apartment). The film will make its East Coast premiere as Reel Affirmations’ closing night offering, Oct. 20.

Also making queer news at Toronto was “The Jihad of Love,” a brave documentary exploring the lives of homosexual Muslims. Directed by Parvez Sharma, “Jihad” was produced by Sandi Dubowski who broke ground with “Trembling Before G-d,” about Orthodox Jewish gays and lesbians.

In other documentary news, filmmaker Arthur Dong (“Coming Out Under Fire,” a documentary about gays in the military during World War II) premiered “Hollywood Chinese,” a landmark exploration of Chinese American film history.

THOUGH NOT OFFICIALLY a film market, Toronto serves as a platform for films seeking distribution. Among them was “The Secrets,” an Israeli drama more about women’s empowerment than same-sex relationships (though there is one at its core) set in a seminary for Jewish women.  “The World Unseen” was unfortunately disappointing — everyone was rooting for this film ...