If you’ve ever found yourself on the outside looking in, then you are probably familiar with the coping strategy of acquiring the identity of a movie character in order to gain legibility within the situation. The central character of Jenni Olson’s mesmerizing essay film is a gender dysphoric, Midwestern tomboy who is drawn to borrowing masculine personas from Hollywood characters as a mode of understanding how to deal with being drawn to unavailable women. A fascinating and unlikely reinvention story, The Royal Road simultaneously explores cinematic spiritual channeling, the conquest and colonization of Mexico and the American Southwest, fading historical Californian urban landscapes, and the passions found in butch identity to achieve an achingly beautiful and poetic defense of remembering. Probing roads from El Camino Real, to the Boulevard of Broken Dreams, to the road right outside the front door, Olson crafts a deeply intelligent and transcending observation of the human condition that reaches for redemption in the embrace of history, nostalgia, mindfulness, and sheer beauty. If you give yourself over to it, it will crack you wide open.

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Two estranged gay brothers attempt to make amends in Wade Gasque’s charming small-town drama. Set against the sun-kissed fields of Central California, and anchored by strong performances from Mark Strano and pornstar-turned-leading man Frankie Valenti (aka Johnny Hazzard), TIGER ORANGE pits two diametric opposites against each other – the closeted introvert versus the out-and-proud hunk. The result is a blunt, playful meditation on queer sibling rivalry and the childhood bonds that force us together.

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Actor/comedian Tom Lenk has been a nerd all his life; on stage, on screen, and in reality. Known for his comedic roles in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Cabin in the Woods,” “Transformers,” and “Much Ado About Nothing,” Tom attempts to fulfill a lifelong “drama geek” dream to perform his live solo comedy show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, the largest and most famous theater festival in the world. Part “dorkumentary,” part concert film, NERDGASM takes us behind the scenes of Tom’s unusual, exciting and sometimes lazy approach to creating a non-traditional “one man show” – from practice shows in L.A.’s low-rent Theater Row to grandiose and historic British venues. Throughout the trip Tom tries to satisfy his own personal Scotland-centric geeky cravings for Harry Potter, underground cities, Loch Ness Mythology and delicious sausage rolls. Tom’s fun-loving and neurotic persona is put to the test on stage, in the Scottish Highland wilderness and in the “Buffy” themed memorabilia room at the home of his biggest local Edinburgh fan.

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