All Aboard Sundance 2006. Kelli ( left ) and Rosie O'Donnell with director Shari Cookson, promoting their new film about the duo's cruise company, R Family. Former Chicagoan Guin Turner at the Fest.
Although the high-altitude ski resort town of Park City, Utah, is landlocked, there's some pretty good sushi to be had at the Kompai restaurant. But I haven't come to Park City for sushi. I'm here to catch an early look at what could be the coming year's biggest and most-buzzed-about gay films, at the Sundance Film Festival. Past fests have launched Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Die Mommie, Die! and Mysterious Skin. So what sets 2006 apart from the last go-round?
'There are bigger names in the lineup this year,' said out Sundance programmer Shari Frilot over sushi at Kompai. 'Robin Williams in The Night Listener. Rosie O'Donnell. Tony Kushner. And Kinky Boots is a really big production, a Miramax Disney [pic] for gays. We didn't have that kind of film last year. And we didn't have an a-list actor playing gay. This year you see a little more of that [big name] element.'
That said, it was a strangely divisive year for film fans—there was little consensus regarding what was good. Buzz was overall at a lower volume, and a film one audience member raved about would be disparaged by another. I was told that a documentary about women suffering eating disorders, Thin, was amazing and powerful. I passed on the recommendation to someone who, it turned out, had already seen it and responded with 'That was horrible.' These contradictions and clashes were typical.
But films and names aside, this was arguably the queerest year at Sundance yet. The three-year-old, multi-room Queer Lounge (decorated by Barclay Butera) overtook most of the Gateway Center's ground floor. There were two—TWO!—queer brunches, many panels and even book signings by visiting authors Armistead Maupin and 101 Must-See Movies For Gay Men's Alonso Duralde. The gayness (and perhaps thin air) began to permeate and queer-up even straight filmmakers and talent. 'I'm a bi-curious wannabe bear from New Jersey,' proclaimed indie film god Kevin Smith (Clerks) at a screening of documentary Small Town Gay Bar, which he produced.
An opening night selection, Nicole Holofcener's Friends With Money, featured a supporting gay character. So did many additional not-necessarily-gay films (see sidebar for gayest of the gay). Steve Carrell played a recently dumped gay man in Little Miss Sunshine, the fest's biggest buzz title and buy (by Fox Searchlight for $10 million). The L Word's Kate Moennig is a sexy and promiscuous lesbian (typecasting, anyone?) artist in Art School Confidential. And a section of Kirby Dick's delightful MPAA expose, This Film Is Not Yet Rated, is devoted to the harsher ratings bestowed upon gay films. Concurrent film fest Slamdance didn't boast any gay features per se, although Larry Clark's latest, Wassup Rockers, is undeniably homoerotic, and a handful of notable LGBT shorts included Dirtyglitter 1: Damien, Gender, No Exit, Patterns, and Los Angeles comedy troupe Pretty Things' The Homecoming.
Music also played a role in Park City. Rufus Wainwright, who appeared in last year's Heights, performed a couple of sets at the Sundance ASCAP Music Café. On Sunday morning he hobnobbed with John Waters during the 10th Annual Outfest Queer Brunch at the Grubsteak Restaurant, where Waters previewed the upcoming Here! Network series, John Waters Presents Movies That Will Corrupt You. 'Ten years ago I would've been put in a mental institution [for showing these films],' Waters quipped. 'Now we're having a party for it!' The day before, PlanetOut hosted a brunch at Cisero's where Honey Labrador, The L-Word's Daniela Sea, and many others watched PlanetOut short film contest entries and a new documentary, Be Real.
When celebrities weren't getting in on the homo action—Nick Nolte, Toni Collette, Michael Rappaport, Anne Heche, and Timothy Hutton were amongst the Queer Loungers—they swagged it up at the oodles of gifting suites and lodges lining Main Street. At the Ultimate Comfort Lounge I bumped into a polite and smiling Scott Wolf, who nabbed a cool new Blackberry and Kate Sommerville skin products and treatments (also visiting the UCL—Lucy Liu, Gretchen Moll, Matt Dillon and The Beastie Boys). Coolest swag of 2006? Ajne custom-blended body scents; Ray-Bans' latest aviator shades; Motorola phones; and Kiehl's Men's Facial Fuel and Musk Body Cleanser. Levi's launched two new scrumptiously luxurious denim lines, Capital E and Red, and their gifted celebs—including Justin Kirk and Terrence Howard—were asked to donate to YouthAIDS (net proceeds from Kiehl's Musk cleanser also go to YouthAIDS).
Happily, gay filmmakers took away the most treasured goodies of all: Sundance filmmaking prizes. Quinceañera, by writer/director team Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer, swept both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award. And director Carter Smith's creepy yet sexy Bugcrush—think Dennis Cooper meets M. Night Shyamalan—won a Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking. It's pleasing to know that even during a less bombastic and buzzing year for films, gays ruled the dance floor.
