By Hans Pedersen, December 2015 Issue.
Liz in September
DVD release Nov. 3; iTunes & Amazon release Dec. 1 | Not rated
Actress and activist Patricia Velasquez (“The L Word,” “Arrested Development”) is known as the first openly lesbian supermodel. Here the Latina star plays a woman who’s celebrating her birthday by partying with friends in the Caribbean, but she’s also hiding a life-altering secret. When her friends dare her to seduce an emotionally fragile young woman, the two quickly forge a deep connection. Award-winning Venezuelan director Fina Torres and talented Latina actresses Mimi Lazo and Eliosa Maturen bring this sensuous story about how sisterhood can sometimes trump sexual attraction to life. The film, in Spanish with English subtitles, has screened at several LGBT film festivals.
Seashore
DVD release Nov. 24 | Not rated | 83 minutes
A tender Brazilian coming-of-age story about a teenager, Martin (Mateus Almada), and his best friend, Tomaz (Mauricio Barcellos), whose unique bond grows more intense one winter weekend at the seashore. As each young man explores his own sexual orientation, the two 18-year-olds begin to learn how fine the line between friendship and love can really be. This quiet drama moves slowly and meanders, but in the end, offers a sweet portrait of young men discovering their sexuality. Seashore is written and directed by Marcio Reolon and Filipe Matzembacher, two men who, although they never met as teens, grew up on the same beach in Brazil. This film is in Portuguese with English subtitles.
