Courtesy of the Scottsdale International Film Festival, November 2017 Web Exclusive.
As part of its 17th annual event, the Scottsdale International Film Festival will screen four titles of specific LGBTQ interest.
The 2017 festival, which will take place at Harkins Shea 14 Theatre from Nov. 2 to Nov. 6, will feature films in 11 different categories. The "LGBTQ Themes" category will include the following titles:
Chavela
Screens Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. and Nov. 5 at 3:05 p.m.
Chavela is the captivating portrait of barrier-breaking Mexican ranchera singer Chavela Vargas whose international fame peaked after a triumphant return to the stage at the age of 71. Born in Costa Rica in 1919, Chavela Vargas ran away to Mexico City as a teenager to sing in the streets. By the 1950s, she had become a household name, delivering her performances with raw passion and a unique voice. Just as influential were her cultural contributions; Chavela was a bold, rebellious, sexual pioneer who defied gender and sexuality stereotypes at a time when being “out” was often dangerous. Chavela centers around a 1991 interview – the singer's first public appearance after 15 hard years lost to alcoholism and heartbreak. In the final years of her life, Chavela rises to her momentous third act, achieving international fame, a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, and becomes a muse to many, including renowned filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar.
Director: Catherine Gund & Daresha Kyi
Country: US/Spain/ Mexico
Year: 2017
Runtime: 90 minutes
Language: English/Spanish with English subtitles
Principal Cast: Chavela Vargas, Pedro Almodóvar, Elena Benarroch, Miguel Bosé, Alicia Elena Pérez Duarte y Noroña
Producer: Catherine Gund & Daresha Kyi
Cinematographer: Catherine Gund (Mexico), Natalia Cuevas (Mexico), Paula Gutierrez (Spain)
Editor: Carla Gutierrez
Music: Gil Talmi
In Between (Bar Bahar)
Screens Nov. 4 at 12:35 p.m. and Nov. 5 at 7:45 p.m.
Lalia , Salma, and Nur share an apartment in the vibrant heart of Tel Aviv. Lalia, a criminal lawyer with a wicked wit, loves to burn off her workday stress in the underground club scene. Salma, slightly more subdued, is a DJ and bartender. Nur is a younger, religious Muslim girl who moves into the apartment in order to study at the university. Nur is both intrigued and intimidated by her two sophisticated roommates. When her conservative fiancé visits, he is horrified by her secular friends, entreating her to hasten their marriage, leave Tel Aviv, and assume her proper role as a wife. She refuses, and his violent response leaves all of the women shaken. Salma and Lalia also face turmoil: Lalia has found love with a modern Muslim man whose acceptance proves less than unconditional, and Salma discovers that her Christian family in a northern Galilean village is not as liberal as they claim. These three very different women find themselves all doing the same balancing act between tradition and modernity, citizenship and culture, fealty and freedom.
Director: Maysaloun Hamoud
Country: Israel
Year: 2016
Runtime: 103 minutes
Language: Hebrew / Arabic with English subtitles
Principal Cast: Mouna Hawa, Shaden Kanboura, Sana Jammalieh,Shaden, Mahmoud Shalaby, Henry Andrawes, Aima Sohel Daw, Riahd Sliman, Ahlam Canaan, Ferass aser, Khawlah Dipsy, Suhail Hadad, Eyad Sheety
Writer: Maysaloun Hamoud
Producer: Shlomi Elkabetz
Cinematographer: Itai Gross
Editor: Lev Goldser, Nili Feller
Music: MG Saad
The Lavender Scare
Screens Nov. 2 at 2:15 p.m. and Nov. 4 at 12:50 p.m. Official Trailer.
With the United States gripped in the panic of the Cold War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaims that homosexuals are “security risks” and orders the immediate firing of any government employee discovered to be gay or lesbian. It triggers a vicious witch hunt that ruins tens of thousands of lives and thrusts an unlikely hero into the forefront of what would become the modern LGBT rights movement. Based on the book, The Lavender Scare, by David K. Johnson.
Director: Josh Howard
Country: US
Year: 2016
Runtime: 77 minutes
Writer: Josh Howard
Producer: Josh Howard
Cinematographer: Richard White
Editor: Bruce Shaw
Music: Joel Goodman
Tamara
Screens Nov. 3 at 8p.m. and Nov. 4 at 7:35 p.m. Official Trailer.
Some dreams are harder won than others. Recalled to Venezuela by family tragedy, Teo must put all his dreams on hold in order to help his mother. A successful law student at the University of Paris, with a great job awaiting him, Teo was also realizing a dream of transitioning to a woman. But family obligation forces Teo to abandon the pursuit of true identity and blend into society. Years later, as a successful lawyer with two children, Teo decides that his true nature will not stay buried. Tamara graphically depicts both the physical and emotional paths Teo must follow to become Tamara, fighting not only her own doubts, but also the prejudice and contempt of the world around her. With a superb lead performance and unwavering honesty and compassion, TAMARA charts the journey we all take in some form, showing how humanity cheers us on to triumph. Based on the real life story of Tamara Adrian. –Cleveland International Film Festival
Director: Elia K. Schneider
Country: Venezuela/Uruguay/Peru
Year: 2016
Runtime: 110 minutes
Language: Spanish with English subtitles
Principal Cast: Luis Fernadez, Prakriti Maduro, Karina Velazquez
Writer: Fernando Butazzoni
Producer: Jose Novoa
Cinematographer: Petr Cikhart
Editor: Christian Alexander
Music: Osvaldo Montes
Scottsdale International Film Festival
Harkins Shea 14 Theatre
7354 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale