Carlos is spending the summer in the country with his family in order to help out with things. Perhaps he won’t even be returning to the capital, as economic prospects are hardly rosy there either. Extremadura on the other hand, sparsely populated and for a long time one of the most neglected regions in Europe, is experiencing a tentative upturn. Tourism and modernisation rub shoulders with almost archaic customs and a conservative, mostly elderly population here. Sleepless Knights depicts all this in casual, unobtrusive fashion, in images that have at times a truly otherworldly beauty. The central theme is the love story between the newly returned Carlos and the young policeman Juan. “You don’t look like you’re from here,” remarks Juan when they meet. “I’m not from here,“ replies Carlos, “I live in Madrid.” Whether to be from here or elsewhere is a decision that many here have to make. Extremadura, Madrid, maybe even Munich? This uncertainty suffuses their love story with a peculiar sense of tension before the backdrop of a seemingly relaxed, uneventful summer. It is only the old men striding through the austere landscape in their strange knight costumes who remain blissfully untroubled.

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The worst fear of many closeted teens came true for 16-year-old Zach Stark in 2005, when his parents sent him against his will to a camp run by the ex-gay Christian reform group “Love In Action.” Depressed and fearful, Zach began blogging, and from this “modern-day message in a bottle,” news of his plight spread internationally. Featuring interviews with activists, ex-clients, psychologists, the Rev. John Smid (director of Love In Action during Zach’s internment), and, for the first time, Zach himself, this inspirational documentary recounts the events that resulted from a young man’s cry for help. (Description courtesy of the Seattle Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.)

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Wanting to quit prostitution in Manila and start a new life, Sofia, a transgender woman, gets her chance when an old friend asks her to look after her twelve year-old son, Tomas, while she works overseas for a year. Sofia packs her bags and moves to the small town of Talisay where she becomes Donna, taking care of Tomas. As she’s about to settle into this quiet, idyllic life, the past inevitably creeps back up and she discovers that the town’s mayor Tiongson, who is seeking re-election, is a crony of Verano, one of her regular clients back in Manila. Determined to erase any trace of her past, Donna discreetly hatches a plan to remove Tiongson from power and rid the town of Verano’s influence.

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