his is the first British Dogme 95 film and was made on a shoestring budget by first-time director Jan Dunn. It tells of the impact of Tasha, a Czech refugee who affects one unhappy British working-class family. The same story is told from three radically different perspectives: that of the good-hearted mother who welcomes Tasha, the teenage daughter who turns against Tasha, and the fed-up father who loathes Tasha. The bare-bones style (no music, no artificial lighting, and actual locations) gives the story a documentary realism that, combined with a determination to tackle a taboo subject head-on, makes this similar in many ways to the films of Ken Loach. Description adapted from the Borderlines Film Festival.

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Winner of best queer feature film at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival, A Year Without Love is a densely layered, eloquent portrayal of Pablo, a hunky young writer and poet who is struggling to come to terms with his HIV-positive status. Desperate for affection, he cruises the gay bars of Buenos Aires, places personal ads, and haunts porn cinemas, each time documenting his search. He meets up with a tough S&M; crowd, and while tenderness may be lacking, he at least finds pleasure, proof that he’s still alive. A thoughtful, poignant, yet challenging look at one man’s approach to loneliness and HIV.

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This unusual and refreshing gay romance portrays the burgeoning relationship between a retired school teacher and a gruff cabbie. Jim has spent almost his entire life at a boy’s school: first as a pupil, then a teacher. Ray is a widower, a former football hooligan with two grown children and a crop of grandchildren. When Jim leaves his coat in Ray’s cab, Ray makes a point to return it, and there is an immediate connection. Can these two men make their love work despite objections from society and family? In this moving and very real film made for British television, we are treated to a sweet and rare romance. Description adapted from the Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

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