ENTRY: Free

Tea Samosas will be served during the breaks.

Date: Sunday, 13th October 2013

Time: 1:30 pm – 7:30 pm

FILMS:
The films are excellent quality original DVDs that were purchased by us or by friends on our behalf. We do NOT show pirated or illegally downloaded films.

GB announces the latest in its always super popular series of free film screenings – and seriously SUPER popular, at the last screening we had not only every seat in the around 100 seater auditorium full, but every step and bit of floor space taken up. So make sure you come early to get place to sit!

As always, the screening is entirely free, and so are the samosas and chai we provide in the breaks which, for many people, are as important as the films thanks to all the gossip and meetings that take place there. The films are excellent quality original DVDs – no jerky downloads – which we have purchased from abroad or have had gifted to us by friends.

Please note though, that the screenings are for those above 18 only and we will ask for proof of age if needed. We are also strict about not letting in people if they come too late, or if they go out and then want to go back in. The reason is that at this venue the screen is right next to the entrance to the auditorium and it is very disruptive when people keep going in and out. So while I realise many gay guys seem to feel it is a fundamental right to go in and out and take calls or check up on friends or plan the rest of their evening while the film is going on, please desist for the sake of everyone else.

This time’s film screening has something of a South American theme, for two of the films. One is a much acclaimed Peruvian film which some people will remember from the Kashish film fest a couple of years back – and the film is so good that those who saw it there will probably want to see it again! And the other is an Argentine film which also has some serious fans, including one person on the Gaybombay mailing list who has been telling us for ages we should show it, and now are are.

The films and timings are:

1. 1.30 pm – Undertow
2. 4 pm – Plan B
3. 6 pm – The Big GAY Musical

Quick notes on the films:

– Undertow (Contracorriente) – A small Peruvian fishing community might hardly be the place one would imagine might be the setting for this incredibly moving gay film of love, loss and finding some kind of redemption. Yet as the film unfolds, the setting makes sense, not least because of the importance, in so many ways, of the fierce tides and undertows in the sea that sustains the village.

The central character is a very hunky (and often shirtless) fisherman who is having an affair with an artist – yet is also married to a woman in the village and about to have a child. Even more, he is one of the main men in the village, with a reputation to uphold so can see no chance of ever coming out and acknowledging his love for the other man.

I am not going to give away the central twist in the film other than to say that it takes the film into supernatural territory, yet the setting of the film is so strongly realised, it does not seem weird. And also, it involves a loss and undeniable tragedy, yet the film is not exactly about that. The tragedy is not the focus of the film, but amazingly enough the source of its final strength.

Absolutely not to be missed.

http://www.thebacklot.com/review-charming-undertow-will-easily-catch-you-in-its-grip/06/2010/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1368491/?ref_=sr_2

http://www.thebacklot.com/will-oscar-be-swept-away-by-the-gay-undertow/10/2010/

– Plan B – Plan B – a quirky and charming film set among young artists in Buenos Aires. The premise is sort of crazy, but these are the sort of people who do the crazy things that make it plausible.

Bruno has been dumped by his girlfriend and he wants revenge – and what better way to get it than through her new boyfriend Pablo, a sweet, cute and easygoing guy. Bruno is also sweet, cute and seemingly easygoing, except for this desire for revenge and the rather screwball plan he comes up with to do. Which is (a) he tries to steal his girlfriend back, but if that doesn’t work (b) he steals her new boyfriend away from her.

The one big problem with this plan is that the boyfriend isn’t gay, and neither is Bruno…at least till now. And so Bruno starts finding ways to hang out with Pablo, and they become friends, and then closer friends and then, well, wait and see. All I’ll say is you should pay attention to the opening scenes in the film if you really want to appreciate the final scene.

I must admit there are times when I thought I’d get annoyed with the film since in real life I have little patience for these sort of aimless, goofy hipster types the film deals with. And yet they, and the film, are so charming in such a laid back way, I found myself getting charmed by the film, and I am sure you will be too.

Http://www.thebacklot.com/review-plan-b-tells-the-story-of-straight-men-in-love/06/2010/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1408972/

The Big GAY Musical – well, the title says it all.

Yes, this is about a big gay musical and has everything one might expect in that, which is bitchy songs, candyfloss story and lots of cute and minimally clad men. It has all that in spades, especially the last, which is not surprising since the musical in question is about how God created Adam and Steve, and naturally their clothing is fig leaf jockstraps. Do I need to say more?

Well, perhaps I should add there’s a bit more than just the musical. The film is really about the cast of the musical, especially the two super cute guys who play Adam and Steve and the complications of their life as part of the theatre business in New York. In the course of the film the whole musical gets performed, but it keeps getting interspersed by the behind the scenes story.

I am going to be honest and say that this behind the scenes stuff is not always that great. There is an AIDS track that sort of could have been better handled, and not everything in the ‘real world’ part seems that convincing and the ending is surprisingly flat. But its OK because all this is really just framing for the big gay musical which is very gay and has some big reasons for gay interest and the musical part is pretty good with some genuinely funny songs. It could all have been a bit better, but what it is is plenty of fun to see.

http://www.thebacklot.com/the-big-gay-musical-deserves-to-take-a-bow/10/2009/