What you need to know about aGLIFF 2022, Austin's LGBTQ film festival
June might get its share of LGBTQ fun for Pride Month, but Austin's lucky enough to have a really gay August, too. Following the return of annual Austin Pride Festival & Parade celebrations on Aug. 20, the city's oldest running film festival marks its 35th edition with loads of queer cinema just a few days later.
When and where is aGLIFF 2020?
AGLIFF 2022 runs Aug. 24-28, and this year, its 85 films will screen at Galaxy Highland in North Austin. (There's also a virtual version of the festival, Aug. 29-Sept. 5.)
More local film news:Austin's weirdest festival returns with sharks, Viennese cocktail robots, Park Chan-wook
What movies should I see at aGLIFF?
Oh, this is our favorite part.
The opening night film is "All Man: The International Male Story" (7 p.m. Aug 24). Written and co-produced by Peter Jones (who got his start at Austin's KVUE, according to the fest), this documentary tells the story of the men's fashion catalog that helped redefine images of masculinity. Actor Matt Bomer narrates the film; Jones will attend the screening.
The documentary centerpiece film, "Black As U R" (7 p.m. Aug. 26), is director Micheal Rice's part-autobiographical exploration of queerphobia and Black spaces. The narrative centerpiece film, "Camila Comes Out Tonight" (7 p.m. Aug. 27), is directed by Inés María Barrionuevo and tells the story of an Argentinian teen girl's political and romantic revolution.
Closing night, the fest will screen "You Can Live Forever" (7 p.m. Aug. 28), a Canadian film about a lesbian affair in a Jehovah's Witness community.
Now, if you're asking us, here are a few aGLIFF flicks that caught our eyes on the schedule.
Austin workout maven Erica Nix talked to us earlier this year about "Erica's First Holy Shit," her hallucinatory pandemic project about living as a creative in These Our Times (9:15 p.m. Aug. 26). It's a must-see. While we're talking about Austin connections ... The directors of the experimental feature "Three Headed Beast," Fernando Andrés and Tyler Rugh, are locals (7 and 7:30 p.m. Aug. 25). Randa Jarrar, filmmaker of the "Yes Goddess" short, is a former Austinite (9:30 p.m. Aug. 28), and director Hope Wager's short "Prairie" was filmed in Austin (7:15 p.m. Aug. 26). "Mama Bears" is a South by Southwest 2022 documentary about Christian mothers and their transgender kids, and it features local activists (2:15 p.m. Aug. 28).
The Spanish film "Cut!" is about a filmmaker whose queer giallo film plays out murderously in real life, too (11 p.m. Aug. 26). We love a meta horror outing, and it stars La Prohibida, an icon of Spain's drag scene. In the same neighborhood: "The Phantom of the Sauna" (4:45 p.m. Aug. 28) is a queer murder musical from Spain featuring Supremme de Luxe and Pupi Poisson of "Drag Race España," an international "RuPaul's Drag Race" spin-off. (It's really good; watch it!)
Two repertory titles we love will screen for aGLIFF. There's "Happy Together" (9:15 p.m. Aug. 25), Hong Kong auteur Wong Kar Wai's 1997 classic about a troubled romance that spans the globe, and then a 35th anniversary showing of '80s rom-com "Mannequin," starring Andrew McCarthy as a department store artist, Kim Cattrall as a surprisingly warm-blooded dummy and Meshach Taylor as a camp icon (4:30 p.m. Aug. 27). It's a formative piece of art for at least one gay newspaper writer.
A few more to squeeze in: "Moneyboys," about a hustler and a found family in Taiwan (4:45 p.m. Aug. 27); "Son of Man," a world-premiere film shot in secret in Iran (9:15 p.m. Aug. 26); "Keep the Cameras Rolling: The Pedro Zamora Way," a documentary about the late AIDS activist and "The Real World" housemate of the title (2:15 p.m. Aug. 26); and "Nelly & Nadine," a documentary about two women who met on Christmas Eve in a Nazi concentration camp (7:15 p.m. Aug. 25).
More:At queer-owned Scissor Sisters Hair Show salon, customers find shear star power
How do I get a badge to aGLIFF?
Badges are on sale for $125 at agliff.org/prism; you can purchase an aGLIFF membership and get into the fest. Access to the virtual program costs $75. You can also buy single tickets to movies, starting at $15; tickets to "All Man: The International Male Story" and "You Can Live Forever" are $30 and include access to post-screening parties.
Correction: An earlier version of this story contained the incorrect badge price for aGLIFF and misspelled the first name of "Black As U R" director Micheal Rice.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: What you need to know about aGLIFF 2022, Austin's LGBTQ film festival
