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Though the annual ImageOut Film Festival takes place in October, you don’t have to wait to see a range of new-to-Rochester LGBTQ+ stories onscreen. The third annual ImageOut First Cut Spring Film Festival takes place this week, featuring 11 films from around the world and two parties that bookend the screenings. And this year's program offers five stories that move beyond the binary to explore expanding definitions of gender.
First Cut is ImageOut’s supplemental spring film festival founded in 2021 by longtime ImageOut program director Michael Gamilla, who died in March. Interim Head of Programming Adam Lubitow says Gamilla initiated the second fest to increase Rochester’s access to LGBTQ+ films as the face of film distribution changed.
“It was a way to get access to films that wouldn't be available for our traditional fall festival,” says Lubitow. “During the pandemic, when things were tough, he decided it was a good idea to have two festivals, which is amazing. And we were able to get so many more films. I think that's sort of a testament to Michael and what he was able to accomplish throughout his time with the festival.”
First Cut kicks off on Thursday with a party at The DeLand House on Main in Fairport, with hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar, and drag performances.
ImageOut board member Matt DeTurck says they're "trying to do some queer and trans content in the suburbs this year."
“It's always been very downtown focused — we are obviously committed to downtown — but we'll just spread out the love a little bit."
The film screenings begin on Friday night at The Little Theatre, with “L’immensità” from Italy, and “Three Nights a Week” from France.
"Our opening night films are a trans story and a story centered around drag, when those are, unfortunately, flash points of controversy currently,” Lubitow says, referencing the nationwide legal challenges to the rights of trans people and protests launched at Drag Storytime events, including a recent event in Pittsford.
RELATED: Second Pittsford drag story hour brings “wall of love” and “wall of shame”
"I'm really proud that those are the films that we're opening with, making that statement right off the bat," he adds.
Directed by Emanuele Crialese, “L’immensità” is set in 1970s Italy, and follows a mother (Penelope Cruz) and her nonbinary child, who is exploring their gender identity.
“It’s a sweet, hard story about their bond, and it's amazing to look at 1970s Italian architecture, golden-sun-dappled . . . just amazing,” says Lubitow.
The French film from director Florent Gouelou, “Three Nights a Week,” is a story about a man who considers himself straight but finds himself falling in love with a Parisian drag queen named Cookie Kunty.
Audiences are taken on the journey as the main character’s ideas of gender and sexuality expand, which Lubitow says couldn’t be timelier. He adds it’s one of the more romantic, feel-good films of the set.
On Saturday, the venue changes to The Dryden Theatre, with four films being screened throughout the day, beginning with “Casa Susanna,” from director Sébastien Lifshitz, at 11 a.m.
DeTurck says "Casa Susanna" is a notable documentary within the lineup, not only because it won the Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC, but because of its content. The documentary shows both cross-dressing and trans stories from the 1950s and '60s at Casa Susanna, a safe haven for gender-queer people within the Catskill Mountains.
"'Casa Susanna' has these really great stories with interesting visuals shot in peak leaf season in the Catskills," DeTurck says. "It's gorgeous and autumnal and very sweet, it deals with finding identity in the sense of whatever makes you comfortable."
Also screening on Saturday is D. Smith's “Kokomo City,” the festival’s documentary centerpiece from the extreme margins — Black trans women sex workers — which premiered at Sundance earlier this year.
“It's a really vibrant, interesting film that allows them to be themselves in all their complicated, smart, funny, strong individuality,” Lubitow says. "It's literally just them telling their stories, but it's put together in such a unique and entertaining way. I'm really excited for people to see that.”
Screenings return to The Little on Sunday, April 30 and Monday, May 1, and there will be a wrap party at The Little Café on Tuesday, May 2.
Monday’s sole film screening, at 7:30 p.m., is the festival’s archive title, a Gregg Araki film called “Totally F***ed Up.”
Lubitow is particularly excited to screen that one, and it's the first in Araki’s Teenage Apocalypse trilogy.
“Gregg Araki is an amazing filmmaker who kind of rose to notoriety during the New Queer Cinema movement in the ’90s,” he says. "And he's an incredibly unique voice in queer filmmaking.”
But, fair warning — the film is a sobering one in its framing of 15 vignettes of angst and otherness within the context of an epidemic of gay teen suicide.
Ditto on the tears for Saim Sadiq"s “Joyland,” screening on Saturday night, which is the festival’s narrative centerpiece and was the Foreign Language Film Oscar submission this past year from Pakistan.
The trans-centric story shows the consequences of repression in a patriarchal society, Lubitow said. It’s a film that Gamilla wanted to screen for ImageOut’s fall festival last year, but they weren’t able to get it.
On the lighter side is one of Lubitow’s favorite selections for this mini fest, “The Five Devils,” hailing from France's Léa Mysius and screening on Sunday night.
“It’s a love story, but it has genre elements,” Lubitow says. “It's magical realism, there's time travel, it's queer, and it's witchy. And it's got a lot of heart. It's unlike anything I had seen before.”
The fall ImageOut Film Festival dates are Oct. 5-15. But before that, you can catch a Tuesday, May 23 screening of “Billy Elliot” at The Little Theatre, presented in partnership with OFC Creations’ staging of “Billy Elliot: The Musical” this spring. And a celebration of the life of Michael Gamilla will be held at Geva Theatre Center on Saturday, June 17.
The ImageOut First Cut Spring Film Festival takes place Thursday, April 27 through Tuesday, May 2. Complete event and screening dates, times, and locations are listed below. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door (if available). Kickoff and wrap party admission is $5. Seniors and young adults (ages 25 and younger) get $2 off tickets, and programs in the Next Generation Film Series are free to young adults. Visit imageout.org for more details and to purchase tickets.
Thursday, April 27 at The DeLand House on Main, Fairport
5:30 p.m. Kickoff Party
Friday, April 28 at The Little Theatre
6:15 p.m. “L’immensità”
8:30 p.m. “Three Nights a Week”
Saturday, April 29 at The Dryden Theatre
11 a.m. “Casa Susanna”
1:30 p.m. “Blue Jean”
4:15 p.m. “Kokomo City”
7:30 p.m. “Joyland”
Sunday, April 30 at The Little Theatre
12:45 p.m. “It’s Only Life After All”
3:45 p.m. “Big Boys” (Next Generation Series)
6:15 p.m. “Soft”
8:45 p.m. “The Five Devils”
Monday, May 1 at The Little Theatre
7:30 p.m. “Totally F***ed Up”
Tuesday, May 2 at The Little Café
5:30 p.m. Wrap Party
Rebecca Rafferty is an arts writer for CITY. She can be reached at [email protected].
First Cut is ImageOut’s supplemental spring film festival founded in 2021 by longtime ImageOut program director Michael Gamilla, who died in March. Interim Head of Programming Adam Lubitow says Gamilla initiated the second fest to increase Rochester’s access to LGBTQ+ films as the face of film distribution changed.
“It was a way to get access to films that wouldn't be available for our traditional fall festival,” says Lubitow. “During the pandemic, when things were tough, he decided it was a good idea to have two festivals, which is amazing. And we were able to get so many more films. I think that's sort of a testament to Michael and what he was able to accomplish throughout his time with the festival.”
First Cut kicks off on Thursday with a party at The DeLand House on Main in Fairport, with hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar, and drag performances.
ImageOut board member Matt DeTurck says they're "trying to do some queer and trans content in the suburbs this year."
“It's always been very downtown focused — we are obviously committed to downtown — but we'll just spread out the love a little bit."
The film screenings begin on Friday night at The Little Theatre, with “L’immensità” from Italy, and “Three Nights a Week” from France.
"Our opening night films are a trans story and a story centered around drag, when those are, unfortunately, flash points of controversy currently,” Lubitow says, referencing the nationwide legal challenges to the rights of trans people and protests launched at Drag Storytime events, including a recent event in Pittsford.
RELATED: Second Pittsford drag story hour brings “wall of love” and “wall of shame”
"I'm really proud that those are the films that we're opening with, making that statement right off the bat," he adds.
Directed by Emanuele Crialese, “L’immensità” is set in 1970s Italy, and follows a mother (Penelope Cruz) and her nonbinary child, who is exploring their gender identity.
“It’s a sweet, hard story about their bond, and it's amazing to look at 1970s Italian architecture, golden-sun-dappled . . . just amazing,” says Lubitow.
The French film from director Florent Gouelou, “Three Nights a Week,” is a story about a man who considers himself straight but finds himself falling in love with a Parisian drag queen named Cookie Kunty.
Audiences are taken on the journey as the main character’s ideas of gender and sexuality expand, which Lubitow says couldn’t be timelier. He adds it’s one of the more romantic, feel-good films of the set.
On Saturday, the venue changes to The Dryden Theatre, with four films being screened throughout the day, beginning with “Casa Susanna,” from director Sébastien Lifshitz, at 11 a.m.
DeTurck says "Casa Susanna" is a notable documentary within the lineup, not only because it won the Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC, but because of its content. The documentary shows both cross-dressing and trans stories from the 1950s and '60s at Casa Susanna, a safe haven for gender-queer people within the Catskill Mountains.
"'Casa Susanna' has these really great stories with interesting visuals shot in peak leaf season in the Catskills," DeTurck says. "It's gorgeous and autumnal and very sweet, it deals with finding identity in the sense of whatever makes you comfortable."
Also screening on Saturday is D. Smith's “Kokomo City,” the festival’s documentary centerpiece from the extreme margins — Black trans women sex workers — which premiered at Sundance earlier this year.
“It's a really vibrant, interesting film that allows them to be themselves in all their complicated, smart, funny, strong individuality,” Lubitow says. "It's literally just them telling their stories, but it's put together in such a unique and entertaining way. I'm really excited for people to see that.”
Screenings return to The Little on Sunday, April 30 and Monday, May 1, and there will be a wrap party at The Little Café on Tuesday, May 2.
Monday’s sole film screening, at 7:30 p.m., is the festival’s archive title, a Gregg Araki film called “Totally F***ed Up.”
Lubitow is particularly excited to screen that one, and it's the first in Araki’s Teenage Apocalypse trilogy.
“Gregg Araki is an amazing filmmaker who kind of rose to notoriety during the New Queer Cinema movement in the ’90s,” he says. "And he's an incredibly unique voice in queer filmmaking.”
But, fair warning — the film is a sobering one in its framing of 15 vignettes of angst and otherness within the context of an epidemic of gay teen suicide.
Ditto on the tears for Saim Sadiq"s “Joyland,” screening on Saturday night, which is the festival’s narrative centerpiece and was the Foreign Language Film Oscar submission this past year from Pakistan.
The trans-centric story shows the consequences of repression in a patriarchal society, Lubitow said. It’s a film that Gamilla wanted to screen for ImageOut’s fall festival last year, but they weren’t able to get it.
On the lighter side is one of Lubitow’s favorite selections for this mini fest, “The Five Devils,” hailing from France's Léa Mysius and screening on Sunday night.
“It’s a love story, but it has genre elements,” Lubitow says. “It's magical realism, there's time travel, it's queer, and it's witchy. And it's got a lot of heart. It's unlike anything I had seen before.”
The fall ImageOut Film Festival dates are Oct. 5-15. But before that, you can catch a Tuesday, May 23 screening of “Billy Elliot” at The Little Theatre, presented in partnership with OFC Creations’ staging of “Billy Elliot: The Musical” this spring. And a celebration of the life of Michael Gamilla will be held at Geva Theatre Center on Saturday, June 17.
The ImageOut First Cut Spring Film Festival takes place Thursday, April 27 through Tuesday, May 2. Complete event and screening dates, times, and locations are listed below. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door (if available). Kickoff and wrap party admission is $5. Seniors and young adults (ages 25 and younger) get $2 off tickets, and programs in the Next Generation Film Series are free to young adults. Visit imageout.org for more details and to purchase tickets.
Thursday, April 27 at The DeLand House on Main, Fairport
5:30 p.m. Kickoff Party
Friday, April 28 at The Little Theatre
6:15 p.m. “L’immensità”
8:30 p.m. “Three Nights a Week”
Saturday, April 29 at The Dryden Theatre
11 a.m. “Casa Susanna”
1:30 p.m. “Blue Jean”
4:15 p.m. “Kokomo City”
7:30 p.m. “Joyland”
Sunday, April 30 at The Little Theatre
12:45 p.m. “It’s Only Life After All”
3:45 p.m. “Big Boys” (Next Generation Series)
6:15 p.m. “Soft”
8:45 p.m. “The Five Devils”
Monday, May 1 at The Little Theatre
7:30 p.m. “Totally F***ed Up”
Tuesday, May 2 at The Little Café
5:30 p.m. Wrap Party
Rebecca Rafferty is an arts writer for CITY. She can be reached at [email protected].
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