15h15

(Shorts Film Competition)
Get Happy, by Mark Payne (USA, 2008, 25’)

At the age of 12, Mark Payne began making home movies of himself performing as his favorite singers: Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand and Diana Ross. A year later, he was working in the entertainment business along such luminaries as Bob Hope and Milton Berle. Directed by Mark Payne himself, and including actual footage of his childhood performances, Get Happy is a coming of age musical extravaganza about a child raised by his mother and grandmother, who allowed him to express himself in a most unconventional way.

(Competition Documentary)
Transformismo no Feminino: Betty Santos | Male Impersonation: Betty Santos,
by Margarida Baptista (Portugal, 2009, 52’)

Male Impersonation: Betty Santos aims to inform and enlighten the audience on the current Male Impersonation scene in Portugal. But it is also a tribute to the life and work of Betty Santos, the only active Portuguese female-to-male impersonator. The documentary includes several interviews, not only with colleagues and the family of Betty Santos, but also with actors, anthropologists, and psychologists whose unexpected testimonies are recorded on film.

17h15 / SHORTS PROGRAMME 3 (82') (Shorts Film Competition)

And Thou Shalt Love, by Chaim Elbaum (Israel, 2008, 28’)
James, by Connor Clements (United Kingdom, 2008, 17’)
Tanjong Rhu | The Casuarina Cove, by Boo Junfend (Singapore, 2008, 19’)
Yo Sólo Miro | I Only Watch, by Gorka Cornejo (Spain, 2008, 18’)

In And Thou Shalt Love, Ohad, an Israeli orthodox soldier repents himself for the secret desires he hides from others. But when Nir arrives from the army, Ohad has to face his demons. Young James leads a tormented life and cannot find comfort, neither in his family, nor in school. Will an unknown man he meets in a public restroom be the answer to his problems? In a short film that is also a manifesto, a man seeks another man whom he’d met in a Singapore cruising area, just before a police raid, in The Casuarina Cove. Julia and Eduardo are a middle-aged couple with some secrets. But, after all these years, Julia is still able to surprise Eduardo, in I Only Watch. J.F.

19h15

(Best Documentary Competition)
Das Andere Istanbul | The Other Side Of Istanbul, by Döndü Kilic (Germany, 2008, 82’)

The Other Side of Istanbul offers never-before-seen insight into the diversity of the gay experience in Turkey and the difficulties of homosexual self-discovery in a predominately homophobic society where “other” sexual orientations are hidden, repressed, or met with hostility. The film explores how the members of Turkey’s LGBT community defend their rights more confidently as the accessibility of information via new media expands, as they adopt more Western lifestyles and attitudes, and as the debate over Turkish admission to the European Union grows fiercer. Much like us, the world grows smaller each and every day for the Turkish men encountered in this film, but unfortunately, unlike many of us, each of these men must live in a land where some fear change and will stop at nothing to keep things the way they are. Istanbul is a city of stories, just when you think you know them all, you get a glimpse of The Other Side of Istanbul.

(Best Documentary Competition)
Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon, by Jeffrey Schwarz (USA, 2008, 82’)

From the dawn of the sexual revolution comes the outrageous true story of 1970s gay porn icon Jack Wrangler, who became a major brand name in adult entertainment, as well as a hero to the newly liberated gay population. Jack Stillman grew up in Beverly Hills, a child of privilege with a decidedly sensitive nature. Jack wanted to be in show business from an early age. He honed his acting and directing talents, but when show business success eluded him, he turned to bartending and go-go dancing in the burgeoning gay community of West Hollywood. When he was asked to be part of a gay male strip revue called “Hot Jocks,” he decided to change his name to something more memorable: Jack Wrangler. In the 1970s, gay men trying to overcome the stigma of homosexuality saw in Jack a new butch role model. Jack made some of the era’s most memorable films, did personal appearances, and even had a line of official merchandise. Not content to be a big fish in a small pond, he decided to cross over into the more lucrative straight porn world and became an even bigger success. While in New York, Jack met legendary vocalist Margaret Whiting, and much to their surprise, they fell head over heels for each other. Although their relationship confounded their friends, as well as Jack’s gay audience, the couple have weathered the storm and remained together for 30 years. Jack Wrangler’s story is one of self-invention and determination, and although he has gone on to an accomplished career in legitimate theatre, he knows he will always be Jack Wrangler, former porn star.