The annual Park City, Utah showcase of independent cinema, the Sundance Film Festival, kicks off this Thursday and runs through Sunday, January 31st. As always, the festival includes a substantial number of LGBT-interest films, many of which will be making their way to you over the course of 2016.
This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the annual unofficial gathering of the tribe, the Outfest Queer Brunch (this Sunday, January 24th from 11-2 at the Grubsteak Restaurant).
Here are seven films by and about LGBT women on this year’s line-up, with descriptions and photos of the films courtesy of the Sundance Film Festival.
As You Are (U.S.A.)
Director: Miles Joris Peyrafitte – As You Are is the telling and retelling of a relationship between three teenagers as it traces the course of their friendship through a construction of disparate memories prompted by a police investigation. Cast: Owen Campbell, Charlie Heaton, Amandla Stenberg, John Scurti, Scott Cohen, Mary Stuart Masterson. World Premiere
First Girl I Loved (U.S.A.)
Director: Kerem Sanga – Seventeen-year-old Anne just fell in love with Sasha, the most popular girl at her L.A. public high school. But when Anne tells her best friend, Clifton-who has always harbored a secret crush on her-he does his best to get in the way. Cast: Dylan Gelula, Brianna Hildebrand, Mateo Arias, Jennifer Prediger, Tim Heidecker, Pamela Adlon. World Premiere
The Intervention (U.S.A.)
Director: Clea DuVall – A weekend getaway for four couples takes a sharp turn when one of the couples discovers the entire trip was orchestrated to host an intervention on their marriage. Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Cobie Smulders, Alia Shawkat, Clea DuVall, Natasha Lyonne, Ben Schwartz. World Premiere
Lovesong (U.S.A.)
Director: So Yong Kim – Neglected by her husband, Sarah embarks on an impromptu road trip with her young daughter and her best friend, Mindy. Along the way, the dynamic between the two friends intensifies before circumstances force them apart. Years later, Sarah attempts to rebuild their intimate connection in the days before Mindy’s wedding. Cast: Jena Malone, Riley Keough, Brooklyn Decker, Amy Seimetz, Ryan Eggold, Rosanna Arquette. World Premiere
Kiki (U.S.A., Sweden)
Director: Sara Jordenö – Through a strikingly intimate and visually daring lens, Kiki offers a riveting, complex insight into a safe space created and governed by LGBTQ youths of color, who are demanding happiness and political power. The film is an exciting coming-of-age story about agency, resilience, and the transformative art form of voguing. World Premiere
Plaza de la Soledad (Mexico)
Director: Maya Goded – Maya Goded became a world-known photographer when she explored the oldest commercial district in Mexico City: La Merced, where prostitution has been present since the Aztecs. This film intimately and lovingly portrays a group of wise women who made this place their home, and it celebrates their amazing survival skills. Cast: Carmen Muñoz, Leticia Guzmán, Epifanía Ruiz Lucas, Ángeles Álvarez Llorente, Raquel López, Carlos Pérez Ramírez.
Suited (U.S.A.)
Director: Jason Benjamin – Bindle & Keep, a Brooklyn tailoring company, makes custom suits for a growing legion of gender- nonconforming clients. World Premiere
For complete information about all the other great movies at this year’s Sundance Film Festival please visit the official website.
Jenni Olson (@JenniOlsonSF) is VP of e-commerce at WolfeVideo.com and has been writing about LGBT film since 1986. She is a card-carrying Sundance Film Festival member and encourages everyone to join now and support independent cinema.
