Week of Jan 6
The new year is here, and LA's cinemas (and many of its Queers) are deep in awards season. Luckily, there's still a couple cool Queer film events this month, including local doc Chinatown Punk Wars, nearly-lost queer-coded Australian horror Wake in Fright, and the return of ONE Archive's Sci-fi, Magick and Queer LA: Sexual Science and the Imagi-Nation exhibit at USC. And the Extremely Unique Dynamic premiere week party continues at Vidiots this week!
Extremely Unique Dynamic
Jan 7, 8 & 9; 7:00 pm @ Vidiots Eagle Theater
Directors Harrison Xu & Ivan Leung in person, with special guests each night
Ryan and Daniel, two childhood best friends and aspiring actors, spend one final weekend together before Ryan has to move to Canada with his fiancé. Wanting to create one lasting memory, they decide to make a movie… about two guys making a movie.. about two guys making a movie. Along the way, they unpack their decades-long friendship and prepare for the next chapters of their respective lives.
Also This Week
Ema
Jan 6, 10:00 pm @ Egyptian Theatre
To celebrate the release of Maria, the third in his accidental "Great Women" Trilogy, The Egyptian looks back at the career of Pablo Larraín. Check out Ema, the tense tale of a chaotic bisexual dancer trying to get her son back at all costs as her marriage collapses.
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Jan 12, 7:00 pm @ Vidiots Eagle Theater
NEW RESTORATION! Though married to Agnes Varda for most of this life, French New Wave icon Jacques Demy was bisexual and died of AIDS-related complications in 1990. He is best known for his sunny musicals of the 1960s, where his voice shines through with romantic optimism.
Next Week
Chinatown Punk Wars
Jan 15, 7:00 pm @ Philosophical Research Society
Director Steve Kochones in person
Gregorio Davila's Queer Diaspora series continues with this local documentary, about the 1970's punk scene in LA. Shunned by Hollywood venues, punk acts moved to Chinatown, where two rival punk bars developed into an inclusive underground scene welcoming of all sexualities.
Wake in Fright
Jan 17, 8:10 pm @ New Beverly Cinema
This nearly-lost, queer-coded, incredibly violent Australian horror film follows a schoolteacher (out actor and Ian McKellan ex-bf Gary Bond) who is stranded in an Outback mining town, where the local men draw him deeper and deeper into their deranged life far from civilization. Content warning: animal cruelty.
Tickets from The New Beverly >
Rebecca
Jan 18, 3:15 pm @ Vidiots Eagle Theater
In Alfred Hitchcock's first American film, the villainous housekeeper Mrs. Danvers is coded as a lesbian--whose unhealthy obsession with the gentleman's dead first wife motivates her to try to destroy his new bride.
Slamdance in LA
Don't forget that Slamdance has moved its annual festival from Park City to Los Angeles this year, running February 20-26! We'll be sharing a full guide to Queer picks at LA's newest film festival in the coming weeks, and the full lineup of features and shorts is now online to browse.
Sci-Fi Exhibition Extended
Extended by popular demand, ONE Archives' Sci-fi, Magick and Queer LA: Sexual Science and the Imagi-Nation re-opens Jan 14 and runs through March 15. The exhibit explores the connections between science fiction fandom and occult communities with the U.S. LGBTQ history in the mid 20th century. Includes experimental short films by Queer trailblazers Kenneth Anger and Curtis Harrington.