FI Film & Video Festival Staff

Photo by Bruce-Michael Gelbert

Opening Night, September 13

The festival began on a high note, just after the fifth anniversary of 9/11, with “Saint of 9/11,” Glenn Holsten’s extraordinarily moving documentary about Franciscan Father Mychal F. Judge, New York City Fire Department Chaplain, who perished at Ground Zero in the line of duty on September 11, 2001. The film was introduced by its co-producer, Mychal Judge’s friend Brendan Fay, who had shown “A Month’s Mind,” filmed at an October 11, 2001 memorial for Judge, at the 2002 festival here.

In “Saint of 9/11,” Brendan talks of his and Judge’s shared sexual orientation, choices the latter made in order to function within the historically homophobic Church and city Fire Department, and struggles he had with these formidable institutions. Fay speaks, as well, of their shared Irish heritage and a memorial, held for Judge in Keshkerrigan, attended by his twin sister, Dymphna, is shown.

Other talking heads here include John McNeill, Judge’s spiritual counselor and author of the groundbreaking book “The Church and the Homosexual;” FDNY officers; and street people Judge had helped, one of whom says, “With that robe, it was like Jesus Christ coming at you.” The film covers Judge’s work with people with AIDS, the homeless, elderly, and alcoholics—Judge, a “friend of Bill’s,” had been sober for 23 years at the time of his death--as well as his efforts for peace in Northern Ireland. There is footage of Judge in his capacity as FDNY Chaplain, including one clip, fatefully, from September 10, 2001.

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An interview was filmed in the Grove with Fred Langevin, who sought out Judge for a man, dying of AIDS early in the crisis, who wanted to talk to a gay priest. There is a priceless still of Judge in drag in a show at a convent in Canterbury, England.

Clips of President Bill Clinton, being interviewed, and Senator Hillary Clinton, a speaker at Judge’s funeral, are included.

On a very different note, “Hitchcocked,” a short by David M. Young, whose “Freud Slips” and “Looking for Mr. Right” were part of earlier festivals, offered a witty gay variation on the “Psycho” shower scene, with a surprise twist, and preceded Lou Peterson’s blood-splattered thriller “In the Blood,” produced by Sean Cassity. Young, Peterson and Cassity were present to speak about their work.

Peterson’s movie takes place on a university campus plagued by multiple murders and young, blonde Jessica (James Katherine Flynn) seems to be exactly the killer’s type. The filmmaker cleverly scatters clues, often deliberately misleading, pointing to suspects 1) Jessica’s brother, Cass (Tyler Hanes), wrestling with both his nascent gay desires and a psychic strain that runs in the family, revealed to him by the siblings’ Aunt Helen (Alison Fraser, in a memorable portrayal), savvy about their gifts and about sex; 2) Mike (Robert Dionne), the handsome classmate who pursues Jessica, alarming both the girl and her brother; 3) the university’s creepy dean; and the hustler (Carlos Alberto Valencia), who has a gun and can find his way around campus, but has he really a motive? Images come at such a confusingly fast pace at the resolution, though, when all suspects turn up at the supposedly locked gym, that an epilogue is necessary to clarify just who done it, who is dead, and who is in shock.

September 14

“Minette: Portrait of a Part-Time Lady” is Grovite Adrian Milton’s profile of a popular drag entertainer, who was born in 1928, made her stage debut in 1948—“I was a debutramp,”she quips—and died in 2001. Milton was present, as was Patrick Lehman, of the Grove, who offers recollections of Minette in the film. Minette was a heroine of the downtown scene and such performers as Hapi Phace and Agosto Machado recall her here. Minette reminisces about her carnival work, comments that she made more money as a sex worker than as a singer, and is said to have said, “I haven’t had a man in my mouth in nine years.” She was a firm believer in the inspirational powers of LSD, just as forcefully denounced Big Oil and, as a member of Gay Liberation Front, remembered distributing free lemonade and gay newspapers at the trucks, an erstwhile Village sex spot.

“P[eople] O[f] P[ride] Parade,” a work in progress, was filmed in 2005 by Ryan J. Wolowski--who worked at the Grove Hotel in 2004, the year he entered the Mr. Fire Island Leather contest—at the 15th annual Long Island Pride parade in Huntington, third annual Out in Sayville celebration, and seventh annual Cherry Grove Pride parade. Ryan, who introduced his documentary, included not only shots of PFLAG Long Island and discussion about gay high school students, but also an interview with a woman about the daunting challenge of coming out to her parents. There is footage of supportive Republican Councilman Christopher D. Bodkin, a former Sayville Ferry captain, speaking about the Grove, the Pines, Long Island Pride, and AIDS. Familiar faces here include Tom Hroncich, of Out in Sayville, Outlook Long Island magazine, and Gay Democrats of Suffolk County, with his partner, Angelo; Cliff Satriano, who worked with Ryan at the hotel; Stephen J. Flynn, Peter Daly and Julia Maresca of the LI and FI Film Festivals; Stephen Sebor, of Rainbow Connection TV; Maria and Samantha, seen in front of the Bunkhouse; Paul Jablonski; Miss Pearl; Mistress Sharon and Wendy Lewis; Bud Hendriksen; Sherri Rase; Lee Sharmat and Janice Pullicino; CGFD’s Elaine Lukash and Craig Hollywood; CGCAI’s Roland Michely; 2005 Grove Homecoming Queen Ivana Cocktail; Rainbow Bouquet Amelia Migliaccio, SallyAnn Piacentino, Linda Dickerman and Barbara Hirsch, Lynn Belensky and Pat Wagnis, and Lynne Tunderman; Messrs. FI Leather 2001 yours truly and 2005 Joe Saporito, 2002 Peter B, with Phil, and 2003 Master James; Laura Spadafino and children Alexandra and Zachary; sisters Martha and Dawn Pitkin; Richard LaFrance; Ariel Sinclair; Mark Lemay; David Sce; Daryl Terry, sporting a mermaid’s tail; Titania; Bob “Rose” Levine; Bart and John Drago; Porsche; Edgar; and John “Rae Lindsay.” Ryan is currently working on “Out and About,” a television show about the gay community in the Hamptons.

Samantha Farinella was on hand to present her documentary “Left Lane: A Year on the Road with Alix Olson,” about the eponymous charismatic militant lesbian feminist performance artist for whom the director was tour manager. We see Olson reciting her poetry at the March for Women’s Lives in Washington D.C. in Spring 2004; interviews with Dottie Katz, her grandmother, at the Michigan Women’s Music Festival; with Laura Katz Olson, her mother, who said, “Maybe I failed,” when Alix wanted to try out to become a cheerleader; with her father, Gary Olson; and with the sign language interpreters. Alix, Samantha and company visited some places that would give many of us pause, like North Carolina, where they had a tense encounter with half-a-dozen policemen, and Nebraska, where they found an amazing Gay Straight Alliance at a progressive high school. Musicians Holly Near and Tret Fure and past President of National Organization for Women Patricia Ireland make cameo appearances.

Two seasons ago, Indian filmmaker Sridhar Rangayan’s “The Pink Mirror” was the sensation of the festival. A new work of his, “Yours Emotionally,” shot in England and India, was shown this year and a hauntingly beautiful film it is, demonstrating what East and West, young and old, and straight and gay can learn from each other. Ravi and Paul leave Leiscester, England to investigate Ravi’s ancient ancestral homeland, India, where families still expect their gay sons to marry women and the caste system retains much of its rigidity. They find themselves at an exotic, erotic gay gathering, right out of the Kama Sutra, at the Temple of the Goddess of Love. Emotions unexpectedly run high when Ravi falls for Mani---and then meets Mani’s wife-to-be. The encounters between the men here are steamy and the older gay male couple, Murthy and Anna, is strikingly portrayed.

“Don’t Tell, Don’t Ask,” directed by and featuring Paul Lekakis, star of Island Repertory Theatre’s “Two Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter’s Night,” was the first of a late night series of shorts shown at the Ice Palace. An erotic scene soon gives way to serious discussion about disclosing HIV status on a date. Margaret Cho, Harvey Fierstein and Bruce Vilanch put in appearances. Proceeds from the film benefit Project Angel Food in California.

A family emergency forced me to miss the September 15th films, including the all-night Camp and Vamp Horror Fest, and some of the following day’s offerings, but I returned in time for the

Closing Night, September 16

“A Very Serious Person” is a touching new drama, directed and starring Charles Busch and featuring Polly Bergen. Elderly Mrs. Aronson, a retired nurse, fatally ill, opens her beach house, apparently in the Rockaway area, for a last summer with her young grandson, Gil (P.J. Verhoest), a teenage gay-in-training, who knows musicals and old movies, pretends to be Marie Antoinette, wants to wear his grandmother’s turban and gold charm bracelet, and listens to Maria Callas singing “Casta Diva.” Jan (Busch), a Danish male nurse and former dancer, comes to care for Mrs. A and turns the household routine upside down, taking charge of Mrs. A’s bathing and diet, to the chagrin of housekeeper Betty (Dana Ivey), and disciplining the boy, who develops a crush on him. Jan and Gil begin to hang out together at a beauty parlor run by Glenda (frequent Busch sidekick Julie Halston) and Lee (Carl Andress, who wrote the script with Busch). Cautious Jan and flamboyant Lee clash about which aspects of gay sensibility the precocious 13-year-old should be exposed to, but are soon helping him plan to put on a campy show for his grandmother. Whether Jan could reasonably continue to play a significant role in Gil’s life after Mrs. A’s death is a major issue raised in the film.

“Invasion of the Pines” is a short shot by Jon Morrow, mostly at the 2005 Grove Invasion of the Pines, as seen from a Pines perspective, with Pines folks preparing their Invasion drag and recounting the event’s history. Familiar figures seen here are Panzi, Lucy Fur, Serreta Edge, Gusty Winds, Bella, Mathilde von Sluttenberg, Rose Levine and Michael Fitzgerald, Ciara Borealis (Mike Lavers), Mother, Urban Sprawl, Anne Tique as Endora, Orangeena and her donkey friend, Giorgio, Tampona d’Amour (director Morrow), Aneeda Greenkard, Sheila Styles, and this writer. “Invasion” is dedicated to “the fabulous girls of Fire Island.” Morrow was present as was the director of the final film of the festival.

Randolph Mark Viverito’s “My Name Is Jackie Beat” makes for an absorbing portrait of brash, larger-than-life performer Jackie Beat, heard, mostly at defunct New York City club Fez, singing personalized adaptations of “Love Child,” “I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus,” “From a Distance” (about a drag queen’s makeup), “I Write the Songs (that make the whole world sick [sic])” and, waving around an artificial penis and borrowing tones of Shirley Bassey, “Dildos Are Forever.” There are other performance clips from Toronto, Berlin and Hollywood and interviews with Jackie’s alter ego, Kent Fuher, at home with his Yorkie.

There are appearances by Roseanne Barr, Margaret Cho, Joan Rivers, Gusty Winds, Sherry Vine, Flotilla DeBarge; Mistress Formika, who reminds Jackie as she dresses, “You are a drag queen, not a football player in makeup;” Lady Bunny, who says of Jackie, “She is a very twisted kind of showgirl;” and World Famous Bob, her “drag daughter,” who dragged her to OA. At one point Fuher protests, “I just want to be a real person,” adding, “It’s like being Barney.” Jackie Beat performed at Cherry’s and was put up at Holly House and the film makes plain her dismay at the guesthouse accommodations that Hiram Rivera showed her. Clips of Kent as a child, with his siblings and his mother, who liked to claim she was Mussolini’s illegitimate daughter, come near the end of the film, and there are interviews with Kent’s sister and father.

The festival staff next puts on the Long Island Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, at the Cinema Arts Centre, 423 Park Avenue in Huntington, from November 10-16.