THE 2011 American drama film, “Gun Hill Road” will be screened tonight, as “Painting the Spectrum 9: SASOD’s LGBT Film Festival 2013” continues in its third week. The title of the film, which stars Esai Morales, derives from the Bronx neighbourhood of the same name. The film is notable for starring a transgender character (Michael), who is played by a real transgender person, Harmony Santan, the first openly transgender actress to receive a major acting award nomination in the United States.
After three years in prison, Enrique returns home to the Bronx to find the world he had known has changed. His wife, Angela, struggles to hide an emotional affair, and his teenage son, Michael, explores a sexual transformation well beyond Enrique’s grasp and understanding. Unable to accept his child, Enrique clings to his masculine ideals while Angela attempts to hold the family together by protecting Michael. Still under the watchful eye of his parole officer, Enrique must become the father he needs to be, or once again risk losing his family and freedom.

The festival will continue tomorrow night with Mosquita Y Mari, a coming-of- age tale that follows a pair of Latina teens who fall gradually in love against the backdrop of Southeast Los Angeles.
When straight A student Yolanda — aka Mosquita (Fenessa Pineda) — decides to help struggling tough girl Mari (Venecia Troncoso) with her homework, an intense attraction evolves between the two. As their friendship grows, a yearning to explore their strange yet beautiful connection surfaces. Lost in their private world of unspoken affection, lingering gazes, and heartfelt confessions of uncertain futures, Yolanda’s grades begin to slip while Mari’s focus drifts away from her duties at a new job.
Mounting pressures at home collide with their new-found desires, thus driving Yolanda and Mari’s relationship to the edge, forcing them to choose between their obligations to others and staying true to each other.

On Tuesday night, the festival continues with “Fagbug”, an 83-minute documentary. On the 11th Annual National Day of Silence, Erin Davies was victim to a hate crime in Albany, New York. Because of sporting a rainbow sticker on her VW Beetle, Erin’s car was vandalized, left with the words “fag” and “u r gay” placed on the driver’s side window and hood of her car. Despite initial shock and embarrassment, Erin decided to embrace what happened by leaving the graffiti on her car. She took her car, now known worldwide as the “fagbug”, on a 58-day trip around the United States and Canada. Along the way, Erin discovered other more serious hate crimes, had people attempt to remove the graffiti, and experimented with having a male drive her car. After driving the fagbug for one year, Erin decided to give her car a makeover.

The film-fest is being held at the Sidewalk Cafe on Middle Street, Georgetown at 7pm each Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in June.  All films are for mature audiences, namely, persons 18 years and older.