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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Danger! The ozone layer of planet Zots is disappearing due to an overabundance of emotion! What can a lesbian space alien do to save her world? Well, board a flying saucer of course, and take a trip to New York City (it’s on planet Earth), where hearts will be broken and “big feelings” will be overcome. From the out-of-this-world people who brought you the wonderful shorts Dyke Dollar, Countertransference, and Hold Up comes the tale of codependent Barr, promiscuous Zylar, and sweet Zoinx, three shiny-headed space aliens on a mission of heartbreak. Can love survive the trials and tribulations of intergalactic romance? With the low-fi kitsch of 50s B movies, director Madeleine Olnek embraces what sci-fi fans have known for years—outer space is the perfect setting for the final frontier of relationship drama. Soup up your cardboard spaceship, put on your tinfoil hat, and find the nearest wormhole to claim your seats for the hilarious Sundance hit Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same. (Description courtesy of Alexis Whitham, Frameline International LGBT Film Festival.)

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When Troy (Murray Bartlett) returns to Los Angeles after a multiyear foray in Barcelona, he contacts Jonathan (Daniel Dugan), the object of his desire during a short-lived, intense summer fling f ive years earlier. Their still-smoldering connection is obvious from the first, but Jonathan tries to fight his desires while his live-in boyfriend Raoul (Adrian Gonzalez) approaches the situation with a hands-off approach. Meanwhile, Troy’s inability to make a commitment one way or the other complicates matters. Lovingly shot and languidly told, August uses the perspectives of all three men and a muddled timeline to tell their stories, successfully mixing Rashomon with a dash of Memento to give a unique twist to the romantic-triangle genre. Writer and director Eldar Rapaport. (Description courtesy of Seattle International Film Festival.)

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