From the acclaimed director of Married Life and Forty Shades of Blue comes a haunting, subtle tale of a contemporary gay relationship. Debuting at Sundance and winning the Teddy Award at the 2012 Berlinale, Keep the Lights On is a visually stunning film that “breaks new ground in contemporary American gay cinema” (The Hollywood Reporter). The deeply personal story charts the highs and lows of an emotionally and sexually charged relationship between two men. It’s 1997 and New York City is in a state of intense flux when documentary filmmaker Erik Rothman (Thure Lindhardt) first meets Paul Lucy (Zachary Booth), a handsome but closeted lawyer in the publishing field. What begins as a highly charged first encounter soon becomes something much more, and a relationship quickly develops. Told over the course of ten years, this is a film about sex, friendship, intimacy and most of all, love.

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Called “The True Fairy of Rock & Roll” and “Hype of the Year,” Jobriath’s reign as the f irst openly gay rock star was brief and over by 1975. Now, 35 years later, Jobriath A.D. spotlights his life, music, groundbreaking influence and the new generations of fans slowly re-discovering him. A hymn to the enigmatic, cult glam rocker Jobriath, ‘I am the true fairy of rock’. His brief but fascinating career as an openly gay performer, sometimes called ‘the American Bowie’ is uncovered by this pioneering documentary which has a wealth of archive footage. Adored by Morrissey and The Pet Shop Boys, this is a celebration of a singer-songwriter whose legacy has been all-too-little appreciated; Jayne County, Gloria Jones, Jake Shears, Marc Almond and manager Jerry Brandt are among the interview subjects. Jobriath’s unashamed queerness was just too much for the early 70s. Director Kieran Turner has crafted a rewarding film as a lasting tribute to the creative talent of a major f igure. (Description courtesy of Brian Robinson, BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.)

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Outliving Dracula explores the radical inf luence of the classic (and first) lesbian vampire story, JS Le Fanu’s Carmilla, on generations of filmmakers - from Carl Dreyer’s extraordinary Vampyr to Roger Vadim’s Blood and Roses, from the Gothic kitsch of Hammer through to films produced for an art gallery context. Featuring interviews with leading film scholars and lesbian artists influenced by Le Fanu, Outliving Dracula seeks to redefine Le Fanu’s critical importance as an Irish writer whose ghostly traces remain profound and enigmatic. This documentary suggests that Carmilla may perhaps be more radical and transgressive today as a creative wellspring than its successor Dracula.

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