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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A POW in Nazi Germany, Vietnam peace promoter, leading gay rights advocate and loving partner of 46 years to Charles Chiarelli, Taking a Chance on God follows the extraordinary life of 86-year-old Jesuit priest John McNeill. This powerful documentary, tells McNeill’s inspiring story of faith, love and perseverance in the face of oppression and rejection. McNeill, the co-founder of the LGBT Catholic group Dignity NY, author of the revolutionary “The Church and the Homosexual,” and leader in the gay community during the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, has refused to let his voice be silenced despite being expelled from the Jesuits after forty years of faithful service. Chronicling his love for the Church, the LGBT community, his Jesuit brothers and his partner Charlie, “Taking a Chance on God” proves that there can and should be harmony between the gay community and the Catholic Church. (Description courtesy of Emily Suttmeier, Woodstock Film Festival.)

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Things get very complicated very quickly when Joe, an angsty drug dealer, meets Belle, a buoyant suicidal psychopath, in this dark comedy. After an outlandish accident in Tel Aviv leaves the pair with a body to dispose of, they embark on a madcap journey to lose the cops - and end up finding love in Sderot (the target of ongoing rocket attacks). Gritty but tender, Joe + Belle offers an absurd portrait of life in contemporary Israel. Come and see the film that AFTERELLEN.com calls “Totally offkilter, sexy and stylish in a distinctly grungy, almost ‘90s sort of way” that “manages to say something deep about love and violence while still offering all the gallows humor you could hope for.

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