The best of Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival 2009

As Hong Kong’s Lesbian and Gay Film Festival steps into its 20th year, it promises to be more thought-provoking and diversified than ever.

Starting November 20 (Friday), the 12-day festival’s lineup ranges from decade-old, epochal Chinese homosexual films to feel-good offerings fresh from Europe.

Here’s a roundup of the festival's best films:

Shortbus (UK, 2006)

Director: John Cameron Mitchell

Screening dates: November 21 (IFC) and November 27 (Broadway Cinematheque)

Plot: This indie romantic-comedy explores a myriad of sexually troubled characters in a New York underground salon. Among them: a sex therapist who has never had an orgasm, and a dominatrix who can’t connect.

Critic’s take: “Shortbus is engagingly crafted with a pleasing ensemble of newbie actors. It's an observant, comedic pop charmer about relationships -- relationships with longtime companions and new encounters, with families of choice, and with oneself. It is big-hearted, soft-spoken, and often really funny.” -- Film.com

No Regret (South Korea, 2006)

Director: Leesong Hee-il

Screening dates: November 22 (Festival Walk AMC) and November 30 (IFC)

Plot: Sumin, a gay-bar prostitute, falls for rich boy Jaemin, but their passionate affair quickly descends into tragedy.

Critic’s take: “Even a melodrama can be made credible in the hands of a skilled director, as Leesong Hee-Il reminds us." -- San Francisco Chronicle

East Palace, West Palace (China, 1996)

Director: Zhang Yuen

Screening dates: November 23 (Broadway Cinematheque) and November 29 (IFC)

Plot: Flashbacks and strange attraction/revulsion is in store for a young gay man held for an overnight one-on-one police questioning, and the police officer responsible for the interrogation.

Critic’s take: "Focused almost entirely on the nightlong interrogation of the young gay man, A-Lan (played by Si Han), by the police officer, Xiao Shi (Hu Jun), ''East Palace, West Palace' is also a splendidly acted film that, thanks to the skills of Mr. Zhang, never seems stagey or confined.” -- New York Times

Patrik, Age 1.5 (Sweden, 2008)

Director: Ella Lemhagen

Screening dates: November 22 (AMC Festival Walk) and November 24 (IFC)

Plot: A homosexual Swedish couple’s adoption plans go hilariously pear-shaped when their ‘1.5 years old’ baby turns out to be a 15-year-old teenage thug.

Critic’s take: “'Patrik, Age 1.5' delivers a formulaic-sounding conceit with enough unpredictability and downplayed sentiment to earn the heartwarming emotions that might too easily have arrived on cue.” -- Variety

 

Hong Kong Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

November 22 - December 1, 2009
www.hklgff.hk
tel. +852 3552 3388

Tickets available at bc.cinema.hk and www.amccinemas.com.hk