Festival to stream December 7 – January 8.
The winter series will open with the feature-length documentary PAT ROCCO DARED – the life story of one of Hollywood’s gay pioneers, remembered both for his political activism and his erotic gay films. The film has won five “Best Documentary” awards in recent festivals from Australia, France, and throughout the United States. This winner of 10 awards overall has been seen in nearly 40 festivals worldwide and will stream from December 7-18.
Second in the festival will be the award-winning 2022 feature UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS, winner of two awards in the 2022 LA Outfest (Best Narrative Feature, Outstanding Performance in a Narrative Feature) and winner for Outstanding First Feature award in the 2022 Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival. This entertaining road-trip dramatic film involving a dwarf and his alien-obsessed neighbor will stream from December 14-25.
Concluding the winter festival will be the Canada’s DAWN, HER DAD & THE TRACTOR, a dramatic feature about a trans woman returning home and introducing her new identity to her family on a farm in Nova Scotia, which will stream from December 28, 2022 – January 8, 2023.DAWN, HER DAD & THE TRACTOR has been recognized in eight recent film festivals in the US, Canada and Australia, in which it has won awards for Best Feature, Best Narrative Feature, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and Audience Choice.
From UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS.
The festival’s third week will be HOT HOLIDAY SHORTS - a program of eight short films from the USA, France, Germany, Russia, and Denmark. The program explores gay male sexuality in genres ranging from the erotic, humorous, poetic, and fantastic; in situations that depict seduction, comic misunderstandings, and the support and freedom found within the gay community. The shorts will stream from December 21, 2022 – January 1, 2023.
From the short film BROTHERS.
Access to the films is $12.00 per film. Monthly memberships are also available for $10.00 per month which entitles the purchaser to a $5.00 discount on each of the festival programs ($7.00 per program) plus one free membership event and free admission to an Open Space Arts staged play reading to take place in 2023.
Tickets for the individual programs are now on sale HERE
Membership passes are available HERE
Winter 2022-23 Pride Film Festival –Complete Schedule
Week 1 – December 7 - 18, 2022
PAT ROCCO DARED
(2021, USA, 1:30)
Directed by Morris Chapdelaine and Bob Christie
Written by Bob Christie
In this colorful trip back in time, filmmaker and activist Pat Rocco shares his incredible life story as one of Hollywood's original boundary-pushing gay pioneers, remembered both for his political activism and his erotic gay films. The cast includes Phyllis Diller, Rev. Troy Perry and Harvey Milk. Winner of 10 awards in festivals throughout the United States and the world.
Week 2 – December 14 – 25, 2022
UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS (2022, USA, 1:40)
Directed by Juan Felipe Zuleta
Written by Juan Felipe Zuleta and Leland Frankel
One of the most entertaining and unique road-trip movies! An uptight dwarf and his free-spirited, alien-obsessed neighbor hit the road on a border-defying search for their place in the universe. 2022 Award winner - Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival (Outstanding First Feature), 2022 LA Outfest (Best Narrative Feature, Outstanding Performance in a Narrative Feature).
Week 3 – December 21, 2022 – January 1, 2023
HOT HOLIDAY SHORTS - Gay short films from the Gonella Film Collection
Clockwise from top left: BROTHERS, FIRE ISLAND, LA DISYUNTIVA, LE DERNIER MATIN DU MONDE.
BROTHERS (France/Russia, 9:20)
Damien and François decided to come out of the closet today, but no one believed them. They didn't look gay enough.
FIRE ISLAND ‘79 (USA, 7:44)
Directed by Todd Verow and Patrick McGuinn
Written by Todd Verow
When filmmaker Chase Hook committed suicide on December 31st, 1979, his conservative family destroyed all his gay erotic films. Recently super8 home movies of his last summer on Fire Island were found, along with the tape from his answering machine. The contrast between the natural freedom of the beach and the messages he got is remarkable.
LA DISYUNTIVA (Germany, 13:00)
Directed by Antonio Zucherino
Two men walk agitatedly on a dirt road between underbrush until one follows the other in the foliage. This short is intense and sexual.
LE DERNIER MATIN DU MONDE (France, 8:34)
A young man on Christmas Eve prostitutes himself in the streets of Paris when he meets a character who may be an angel Guardian.
LE GOÛT DE L'AUTRE (France, 8:43)
Written and directed by Jordan Fleury Kervella
Over a cup of tea, Julien tries to seduce Alan. Surprised, Alan avoids Julien. After this failure, Julien goes back to his sex addiction. Julien’s memories and imagination join to lose himself until he enters the poetic world of Alan.
LOVE YOU TYLER (USA, 8:42)
Directed by Ari Itkin and Devon Diffenderfer
Things get a little awkward when Luke starts to talk about his new girlfriend, Tyler, who has the same name and career as his straight roommate. This interaction is funny and unexpected.
PD (France, 7:19)
A cruising area takes on majestic proportions as we discover Greek-esque male bodies in the forest. The sonnets 18, 57, and 20 by William Shakespeare add to the film's Midsummer Night's Dream-like ambiance. PD began as an homage to the book Derek Jarman’s Garden photos by Howard Sooley and is filmed entirely with a mobile phone.
SPANDEX - A TIGHT STORY ABOUT MASCULINITY (Denmark, 23:00)
A lovely black and white film about sports and dance, love and friendship, and leopard print spandex!
Week 4 – December 28, 2022 – January 8, 2023
DAWN, HER DAD & THE TRACTOR (2021, Canada, 1:30
After her mother's death, a young trans woman returns to the family farm in Nova Scotia, where she sees her father and sister for the first time in many years and the first time since her transition.DAWN, HER DAD & THE TRACTOR has been recognized in eight recent film festivals in the US, Canada and Australia, in which it has won awards for Best Feature, Best Narrative Feature, Best Actor, Best Cinematography, and Audience Choice.
ABOUT PRIDE FILM FEST
Pride Film Fest began in 2012 as Queer Bits, an in-person film festival that was a program of Chicago’s Pride Films and Plays artistic company. In 2002, Pride Film Festival was spun off as off as a separate entity and promises year-round LGBTQ film programming presented in streaming and occasionally in-person formats in Chicago.
Through this abundance of programming, Pride Film Fest will showcase the breadth of world LGBTQ film art – from shorts to features and everything in between - that expresses the variety and complexity of queer life across the globe. The fall schedule will include six separate programs streaming for 12 days each. Themes will explore the experiences of gay men and women, trans, gender queer, non-binary, and even asexual identities.
David Zak is the director of Pride Film Fest, a program of Open Space Arts. Open Space Arts is a non-profit organization dedicated to performances related to contemporary issues. This past summer, Open Space Arts presented the world premiere of THE KRAMER PROJECT, a dramatic adaptation by David Zak of Larry Kramer’s seminal 2004 speech, “The Tragedy of Today’s Gays.”
