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The butch, the transgendered and the beautiful >> A rousing roundup of lesbian choices by JOANNE LATIMER
Out of Season A cursory roundup of films and videos is encouraging, with a feature by Jeanette Buck in the lead. It's called Out of Season, about a dyke named Micki (Carol Monda), who arrives in a small town to play reluctant nursemaid to her dying Uncle Charlie (Dennis Fecteau). Charlie's best friend Roberta (Joy Kelly) is a cook at the local diner--and happens to be a beautiful lesbian. Kim McNabb's screenplay is full of uneven surprises, but it's also refreshing to see the romance between Micki and Roberta develop with little cutesy talk. "Is that the way you think I want to be kissed?" asks Roberta frankly. Unfortunately, there are also a few stink-bomb lines: "What are you running from?" and that kind of thing. Micki, a lapsed photographer, takes up her camera again. And, as everyone in film audiences knows, that's when things get straightened out. Out of Season isn't in a rush, though, and the result is knowable characters (Out of Season plays at the Parisien 6 on Sept. 26 at 7:45 p.m.) The Brandon Teena Story For something that'll creep you out, see The Brandon Teena Story. It's a documentary video about a triple homicide in Nebraska. At the heart of the film is the story of Teena Brandon, who had a sex-change operation and began dating girls in Lincoln, Nebraska. She became known as Brandon and wound up engaged to a girl called Gina. That's not the creepy part. The disturbing thing is what happened to Brandon after fleeing to Falls City. Brandon left Lincoln because of trouble with the law over cheque forgery. But Brandon also left Lincoln because his status as a transgendered person was becoming known around town. Once in Falls City--the motherland of domestic violence--Brandon was persecuted by friends of his new girlfriend. Two rednecks called John and Tom were angry over the gender deception; things went from bad to ugly. The town sheriff was slow, the transcript of Brandon's interrogation was homophobic and the tragic deaths that occurred seemed avoidable. Directors Susan Muska and Greta Olafsdottir construct a complex narrative which includes interviews with the killers and the sheriff, news clips, Brandon's ex-girlfriends, their mothers and Brandon's own family. (The Brandon Teena Story plays at the Parisien 6 on Oct. 2 at 7:45 p.m.) Scent uVa Butch Shoshana Rosenfeld's Scent uVa Butch is something more sexy. It's a 36-minute video about the pleasures, attitudes and histories of, well, butches. About six women are interviewed, including a woman who takes Clark Kent/Superman as a role model, and a Harley Davidson-driving butch who came of age in the 1960s. Everyone discusses their relationship to their female bodies, their childhood and their constructed identities. "It's easy to see the power of being a girly girl and it's easy to see the power of being a man," remarks one interviewee. Another says, "I'm more of a gentleman butch--getting everyone drinks and making sure everyone's comfortable." There are funny stories about forced femininity in childhood and well-chosen clips from films like Bound and About Last Night. (Scent uVa Butch screens at the Concordia's De Seve on Sept. 26 at 5:50 p.m.) Girls Like Us Girls Like Us, while not lesbian in theme or focus, is a sassy documentary that promises a good time. Filmed over four years in Philadelphia, it follows the lives of four teenage girls. Anna is struggling with a strict Vietnamese-American family, while Raelene is dealing with an unplanned motherhood. De'Yona wants a career singing or teaching voice, while Lisa wants to get married and have kids. Then life happens. Girls Like Us is full of hard truths and honest revelations about being a teenage girl. (Girls Like Us plays at Concordia's De Seve on Oct. 4 at 2 p.m.)
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The lesbian-focused lineup at this year's Image&Nation festival pulls a madcap collection out of the female closet. And along with the more accomplished cinematic offerings comes proof that even low budgets can make winning narratives.