Schedule | Reviews | Between The Cracks
QFest 2009, the film festival formerly known as the Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (PIGLFF), runs from 9 July 2009 to 20 July 2009. This is the first festival after the split between TLA and the Philadelphia Film Society. TLA won custody of this festival and is running it with a new name and under a new organization, The Philadelphia Cinema Alliance. At the gay film festival, not all the drama is on the screen …
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Schedule
Also available via My Festivals Calendar on the QFest website …
| Day | Time | Title | Venue | |
| Mon July 13 | 7:15 PM | Rivers Wash Over Me | Ritz East 1 | |
| 9:30 PM | Watercolors | Ritz East 1 | ||
| Tue July 14 | 9:15 PM | It Came from Kuchar | Ritz East 2 | |
| Wed July 15 | 9:15 PM | Love and Human Remains | Ritz East 1 | |
| Thu July 16 | 9:15 PM | Friends & Lovers: Ski Trip 2 | Ritz East 2 | |
| Fri July 17 | 7:15 PM | Redwoods | Prince Music Theater | |
| 9:30 PM | Mr. Right | Prince Music Theater | ||
| Sat July 18 | 9:30 PM | ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction | Ritz East 1 | |
| Sun July 19 | 12:15 PM | An Englishman in New York | Prince Music Theater | |
| 4:30 PM | Lucky Bastard | Ritz East 1 | ||
| 7:00 PM | Surprise Screening: Eating Out 3 | Prince Music Theater | ||
| Mon July 20 | 7:15 PM | Out in the Silence | Ritz East 2 |
Reviews
| Features | Shorts | |||
| Excellent | 5/5 | 1 | 1 | |
| Very Good | 4/5 | 0 | 1 | |
| Good | 3/5 | 3 | 2 | |
| Fair | 2/5 | 2 | 1 | |
| Poor | 1/5 | 0 | 1 | |
| Walk-Out | 0/5 | 1 | 0 | |
| TOTAL | 0 | 6 |
The Features
Excellent (5/5)
Patrik 1,5 – Enjoyed in spite of loads of warmth & heart. Great execution with a fondness for Things American in a good way.
Very Good (4/5)
Good (3/5)
And Then Came Lola – Ambitious, entertaining homage to RunLolaRun that sometimes stumbles with its balance of chase & “processing”.
Boy 3/5 – Overcomes its typical gay Asian indie film gotchas–including awful poetry–with some warm, quirky, sexy moments.
Hollywood je t’aime – French fish-out-of-water in L.A. could be tighter, never gets too cliched, good ending. Good first try. — The main character is not always likeable–which I like–and the film tries a few devices that work reasonably well given this was writer/director Jason Bushman’s first feature film. Chad Allen keeps it muted and doesn’t upstage his less-experienced costars. I will say I find it hard to reconcile his Ross with Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, and they did show a rather embarrassing clip of Allen on ST:TNG at the pre-film ceremony. Some editing might smooth out the rough/slow parts, but I still like it on the following day and I’m eager to see Bushman’s second effort.
Fair (2/5)
Chef’s Special –
Pornography – Hooky first third until kitchen-sink plot twists paint this thriller into corner. Sometimes closure’s a good thing.
Shank – Uneven gang Brit flick with good ideas, some crazy-train moments totally derails in last act. Retitle: ImprobableThing — Now I spend more time in the world of Willing Suspension of Disbelief than most, but I just couldn’t accept some of the pivotal plot points. I would love to see some of these good ideas end up in the hands of more capable storytellers. There was a Latino gang film called ‘On The Down-Low’ a few festivals ago that had different problems; hopefully the next one will be just right.
Poor (1/5)
Walk-Out (0/5)
Homewrecker – So cheesy even the actors are Doritos’ orange. Walked out after 40 minutes because doing laundry is more fun. — This was really a zero, and I should have known better since some of the cast has been in previously awful films. The utter lack of production value, talent, or writing can’t be deliberate.
The Shorts
Excellent (5/5)
James – Perfectly captures intense Irish lad’s well-acted critical moment & father figure’s critical failure in response.
Very Good (4/5)
Good (3/5)
Dish –
Vandals –
Fair (2/5)
Shotgun –
Poor (1/5)
Sunshine Sparkling in My Eyes –
Between The Cracks
Here lie films I wanted to see but couldn’t due to schedule conflicts, venue conflicts, bad reviews, naps, cats sleeping with dogs, etc.
Finding, Loving, and Losing Mr. Right
Out in Philly – Season 3
Out on the Edge
Raging Sun, Raging Sky
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