QDoc 2014

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Meet John “The Dog” Wojtowicz – a Vietnam vet, bank robber, bisexual polygamist, gay activist and — last but not least — the real-life character behind Sidney Lumet’s 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon.

In a case where truth indeed proves stranger (and more radical) than fiction, Wojtowicz’s actual story proved to be too outrageous and far too queer for even hollywood of the ‘70s to fully commit to the screen. Vulgar, monomaniacal, passionately insightful and possibly dangerous, Wojtowicz is one of the most vivid characters brought to nonfiction cinema in years.

Directors Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren do comprehensive justice to the life and times of their subject by setting interviews from family, loved ones and eyewitnesses against especially well-used and evocative archival footage.  Swinging between shock, poignancy and humor, The Dog gives us a true antihero who challenges our notions of sexual and social identity while making us question the fine and morally troubling line between passion and pathology. And finally, if you think John “The Dog” is an extraordinary character, wait till you meet his mother.

— Donal Mosher

The Dog: Dirs Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren 2013 USA 101 min

At a time when gender-nonconforming people are marginalized and mistreated the world over, Kumu Hinapresents an intimate portrait of a proud and confident mahu (transgender) teacher who is passing on ancient Hawaiian culture and traditions to her students as she searches for love and a fulfilling romantic relationship in her own life.

Over the course of a momentous year, Hina inspires a tomboyish young girl to claim her place as leader of a boys hula troupe, culminating in a rousing year-end performance at their inner-city public charter school. Hina also takes a chance at happiness when she marries an unpredictable young man from Tonga who finds it difficult to adjust to life in modern Honolulu.

As the trials and tribulations of Hina’s journey unfold, her Hawaiian roots and values give her the strength and wisdom to persevere, offering viewers a rare glimpse of island life that tourists rarely see and an understanding of the true meaning of aloha — unconditional love and respect for all.

Kumu Hina: Dirs Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson USA 2014 74 min

Community Partners:  API Pride;   Portland Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays;  TransActive Gender Center

Winner of the Berlin International Film Festival Teddy Award for best documentary highlighting LGBT themes, The Circle brings documentary and narrative cinema together to tell the history of the first gay rights organization in Europe and the lives behind it. At the heart of this story is the marvelous romance of two men, Röbi and Ernst, who were not only at the political center of The Circle but went on to become the first gay men married in Zurich.

Spanning Switzerland’s tumultuous period between the ‘50s and present day, The Circle sets intimate contemporary interviews against a lushly re-created, almost pulp tale of closeted teachers, cabaret cross dressers, murderous rent boys, police raids and the endurance of love and free expression. If this weren’t enough, keep an eye on the subtle and poignant cameos by the wonderful Marianne Sägebrecht.

— Donal Mosher

The Circle: Dir Stefan Haupt Switzerland 2014 102 min

Community Partners:  Gay and Lesbian Archives of the Pacific Northwest; SAGE Metro Portland; Zeitgeist Northwest; SMYRC

In the incongruously funny opening scene of My Prairie Home, trans singer-songwriter Rae Spoon performs amid local cowboys and farmers chowing down at a roadside diner in an unnamed prairie town. Director Chelsea McMullan’s seductively playful film reveals Spoon’s inspiring process of building a life as a transgender person and artist, featuring upbeat music and insightful musings in a journey across the Canadian heartland.

Spoon’s deeply personal lyrics are informed by a childhood growing up queer and trans in an evangelical Christian household. The music, however, is tied to the land, inspired by the meditative nature of traveling alone across endless prairies under enormous blue skies. Whether performing at truck stops, roadside diners or alt-country music taverns, Spoon occupies a space that is neither insider nor outsider but exists somewhere in between. Owning this space with a cool certainty, Spoon asserts, “The prairie is just as much mine as it is anyone else’s.”

Interspersed with witty, quirky music videos, My Prairie Home turns convention upside down — a perfect visual counterpart to Spoon’s music. But as thoughtfully structured as the film is, the real beauty is in getting to know this unique and talented artist.

My Prairie Home: Dir Chelsea McMullan 2013 Canada 76 min

Community Partners:  Music Fest Northwest;  PSU’s Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies Department;  Siren Nation

George Takei has boldly gone where no man has gone before: In his iconic role as Mr. Sulu on Star Trek, he became one of the first Asian-American sex symbols on television. He narrowly lost a campaign for the Los Angeles City Council.  He’s a fan favorite on The Howard Stern Show. And after coming out in 2005, Takei staged a late-career comeback as an outspoken civil rights activist and as the unofficial “King of Facebook,” with a following in excess of 6.5 million.

To Be Takei offers a fly-on-the-wall look at Takei and his husband, Brad, touring the country for sci-fi conventions and speaking engagements — including an appearance in Portland — while rehearsing the Broadway-bound musical Allegiance, inspired by his experience of growing up in Japanese-American internment camps during World War II.

Filmmaker Jennifer M. Kroot (It Came from Kuchar) intersperses inventive animation sequences with insightful interviews from Asian-American leaders (the late Hawaiian Senator Daniel Inouye, former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta) and Star Trek shipmates (particularly priceless: Takei’s love-hate relationship with William Shatner, and Leonard Nimoy’s reaction to homoerotic fan fiction). Throughout it all, Takei guides the audience through his life with refreshing candor and his signature baritone laugh.

Hitting a career peak at age 77, George Takei shows us all how to live long and prosper.

— Jimmy Radosta

To Be Takei: Dir Jennifer M Kroot 2014 USA 90 min

Community Partners:  API Pride; Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival; Portland Taiko

Wildness captures the creativity and conflict that arose when a group of young queer artists of color organized a weekly performance party at the Silver Platter, an historic bar in the east end of Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park neighborhood that has been home to the Latino LGBT community since 1963. The party, also called Wildness, became an incubator for queer performers, punks and dance music aficionados who shared the space with the bar’s established clientele of immigrant trans women. This unexpected collision of communities became a platform for cross-generational and cross-cultural queer alliance.

With a touch of magical realism, the bar itself becomes a character in the film, whispering the histories of the LGBT community for whom it has provided sanctuary for generations, away “from the ignorance, the fear and hatred of the outside world.” Paying homage to the place so many called home, Wildness guides viewers through the Silver Platter’s colorful and tumultuous history to its present-day existence, complete with intoxicating party footage and a potent, genre-melding soundtrack.

In his stunning first feature film, director Wu Tsang succeeds in addressing issues of immigration, gentrification, identification, class and community with an exciting and authentic voice, utilizing creative twists on the standard documentary format.

In English and Spanish, with Spanish and English subtitles

Wildness: Dir Wu Tsang 2012 USA 73 min.

Community Partners: Causa Oregon; Portland Institute for Contemporary Art; Portland Latino Gay Pride