Memento, writer/director Christopher Nolan's highly original and stylized movie ( at the Music Box through April 19 ) , tells the story of insurance investigator Leonard Shelby ( Guy Pearce, of The Adventures Of Priscilla Queen Of The Desert fame ) who is suffering from short-term memory loss following a head injury. Leonard is searching for the man who raped and murdered his wife, and who is also responsible for the blow to his head. The disjointed, flashback-laden telling of the story is a reflection of the way Leonard's damaged memory works and never works against the advancement of the plot or action.
The 17th Chicago Latino Film Festival opens Friday, with films through May 2, including lots of queer-related cinema delights. Call ( 312 ) 431-1330, or see www.latinoculturalcenter.org:
Friday, April 20: Opening Night features Waiting List, a Cuban film from the co-director of Strawberry and Chocolate. $60-$75 includes an opening reception, 6 p.m. $15-$20 for ceremony and film. Art Institute, Monroe and Columbus.
Sunday, April 22: Hunter's Moon ( O dia de caça ) , a Brazilian film directed by Alberto Graça. Nando and his transvestite friend Vander are caught up in a cocaine trafficking deal. 9 p.m., Biograph Theater, $7-$9.
Monday, April 23: Desi's Looking for a New Girl, directed by Mary Guzman. Desi del Valle, 20-something Lesbian Latina Urbanite, is reluctant to find a new relationship after a painful breakup with her longtime girlfriend. 9:15 p.m., Facets Multimedia, 1517 W. Fullerton, $7-$9.
Wed., April 25: Desi's Looking for a New Girl, 9:15 p.m., Facets. Also, Hunter's Moon, 9 p.m., Three Penny Cinema, 2424 N. Lincoln, $7-$9. Also, Noche Mexicana Fiesta with a special presentation of the Gloria Lifetime Achievement Award to Mexican director Arturo Ripstein and a screening of Ripstein's No One Writes to the Colonel. Northwestern University, Thorne Auditorium, 750 N. Lake Shore Dr.
Thursday, April 26: Diastole and Sistole, a Columbian film directed by Harold Trompetero. Comedy looks at various contemporary Columbian romantic and sexual relationships, including a transvestite and a bisexual man, 9 p.m., Three Penny.
Friday, April 27: Waiting For the Messiah, an Argentinian film directed by Daniel Burman. Two men in Buenos Aires escape their lives through each other. 7 p.m. Also, Erase otra vez ( Once Upon Another Time ) , a psychological sexual comedy from Spain, in which a group of college friends reunites and confronts each other's issues of sexuality and friendship. 8:50 p.m. Biograph.
Saturday, April 28: Diastole and Sistole, 9 p.m., Three Penny Cinema. And, Ramo de fuego ( Blossoms of Fire ) , a documentary by Maureen Gosling and Ellen Osborne on the Zapotec women of southern Oaxaca, Mexico, where homosexuality is embraced. 9:45 p.m., Facets, $7-$9.
Sunday, April 29: Erase otra vez ( Once Upon Another Time ) , a psychological sexual comedy from Spain, in which a group of college friends reunites and confronts each other's issues of sexuality and friendship. 4:10 p.m., Biograph, $7-$9.
Wednesday, May 2: Waiting For the Messiah, 7 p.m., Biograph Theater.
Starting May 9, the Silver Images Film Festival features its 2nd annual Gay and Lesbian Film Festival as part of Silver Images, showcasing the lives of older gay men and lesbians. When Shirley Met Florence, For Better or For Worse, and The Confession, documentaries on older gay and lesbian couples, will screen May 9 at 7 p.m., free, at Church of the Open Door, 5954 S. Albany. ( 312 ) 458-3600, www.aarp.org . They also screen May 9, 7 p.m., free, at the Gerber/Hart Library, and May 12, 7 p.m., free, at the Holy Covenant Metropolitan Community Church, 11 W. Maple, Hinsdale.
The History Channel Sex In The 20th Century, a four-part series narrated by Peter Coyote, takes a vast look at the recent histories of sex, including the advent of AIDS and the early days of American birth control. Airs starting this Sunday.
In-your-face comic Reno is now on Friday nights on Bravo cable.
The Chicago Dept of Public Health presents Kevin's Room, a one-hour dram centering around the lives of five African-American gay men. Premieres 8 p.m. Sun., April 22, WPWR UPN Channel 50. Viewing Parties at Fuse, 738 N. Clark, and Club Escape, 1530 E. 75th, begin at 7 p.m. and include refreshments. Call ( 312 ) 747-5856.
Armistead Maupin's Further Tales of the City is making it to the small screen again—but this time for Showtime, so look for more nudity. Public TV took a big hit when the first series aired in 1993. The new four-parter airs beginning May 6 and picks up where the original and a previous Showtime special left off. Olympia Dukakis and Laura Linney return.