The 14th Annual FilmOut San Diego -- San Diego's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender film festival -- kicks off Wednesday and runs through June 3 at the Birch Theater in North Park.
Since last year's festival, the Don't ask, Don't tell policy in the miltary has been repealed; a federal appeals court struck down Prop 8; and President Obama announced his support of same-sex marriage. So it has been a momentous year for the gay community and some of those issues will be reflected in the films playing at this year's festival.
It has been less than a year since the 13th Annual FilmOut San Diego. Last year, the festival moved its usual spring date to the summer month of August because of financial challenges. But the festival is back this year at its regular spring time dates. The festival kicks off Wednesday night with "Cloudburst," a romantic road movie written and directed by Thom Fitzgerald, and starring Oscar-winning actresses Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker as Stella and Dot, an aging couple who escape from a nursing home in Maine and drive to Nova Scotia on a quest to be legally married.
On Thursday, there will be a screening of the 2000 film "Sordid Lives" -- described as a "black comedy about white trash" -- with special guest Dixie Longate and a tribute to the film's director Del Shores.
There will also be films with San Diego ties. Carrie Preston's "That's What She Said" screened at Sundance in January and was produced by the San Diego-based company, Daisy 3 Pictures. On opening night, James Valdez' short "Fallen Comrade" will accompany "Cloudburst." The film is a story about the bond between two soldiers in the U.S. Army and the impact after one is lost in combat. The film stars Javier Lezama ("No Me Hallo") as Julian Reyes, the lead role. "Fallen Comrade" is San Diego-born Valdez' thesis film at UCLA. The film won 2 awards at the Miami LGBT Film Festival earlier this month: Best Short Film Audience Award and Jury Selection Award.
Here is the Indiegogo trailer for the film:
The festival continues through June 3 with a selection of features, shorts, documentaries, comedies, and dramas. Plenty to choose from.
