Frameline returns with online lineup
Pride Month grew out of a fight against injustice, with the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City serving as a catalyst in the gay rights movement. As we enter the 50th anniversary of San Francisco Pride, demonstrations in the Bay Area and cities across the country are fighting another form of injustice in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
That’s a heavy way to start talking about a film festival, but as the folks at Frameline reveal the lineup for their special online 44th edition (a live edition is tentatively scheduled for sometime in the fall), they are well aware of what’s going on around them.
“Pride Month has begun with riots and protests in the face of systemic injustice. The LGBTQ+ community is no stranger to these issues and we honor and support all those raising their voices in dissent and demanding equality,” said Frameline Executive Director James Woolley, in a statement. “Frameline has featured inspiring, thoughtprovoking cinema for more than 40 years and created a festival atmosphere that fosters community engagement and discourse.”
A prime example of that is one of the festival’s showcase films, the world premiere of “Denise Ho — Becoming the Song,” Sue Williams’ documentary about the Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress who has become a leading voice in the prodemocracy movement — and in case you haven’t heard, Hong Kong is currently in the news, too. (To the ire of the Chinese government, she met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last year.)
Also featured is a sneak preview episode of Showtime’s blackthemed series “The Chi,” specifically targeted for Pride Month.
Frameline 44, one of several events to celebrate San Francisco Pride’s 50th, will screen online June 2528 at www.frameline.org. Most tickets cost $8 to $10 per film, with the option to purchase a $250 pass that is valid for events all year. Ticket holders can tune in to “live” screenings of the films, with introductions and Q&As, or access the films at any time during the festival.
But not everything is online only. For the first time since March, a Bay Area film festival is set to have a live event: Frameline is scheduled to host a screening of the world premiere of Jen Rainin’s documentary about Curve magazine founder Franco Stevens, “Ahead of the Curve,” at the West Wind Solano DriveIn Theater in Concord, on June 27.
Other highlights include the World War IIset “Summerland,” starring Gemma Arterton and Gugu MbathaRaw (Arterton plans to participate in a live Q&A following the film); Thom Fitzgerald’s comedy “Stage Mother,” in which Oscarnominated actress Jacki Weaver plays a conservative Texas church choir director who suddenly inherits a San Francisco drag club; a look at fashion designer Pierre Cardin in “House of Cardin”; and the recently unearthed short film “Parade,” long thought lost, about the first Pride Parade in San Francisco in 1970.
And don’t worry: The wildly popular shorts programs “Fun in Boys Shorts,” “Fun in Girls Shorts” and “Transtastic” are there as well. No Frameline would be complete without them.