The tenth Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival runs from Friday, November 9, through Sunday, November 18, at Chicago Filmmakers, 1229 W. Belmont; the Music Box, 3733 N. Southport; Horizons Center, 961 W. Montrose; Footsteps Theatre, 6968 N. Clark; Women & Children First, 5233 N. Clark; and Rodde Center, 4753 N. Broadway. Tickets ($4 for most matinees, including 5 pm shows; $5 for most evening shows) go on sale a half hour before the first show; advance tickets can be purchased before the day of the show at Chicago Filmmakers. Festival passes are $55 (good for all screenings) or $25 (good for six screenings only, not including opening night). For further information call 281-1981 or 281-8788.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 10
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JAMES BALDWIN A documentary by Karen Thorsen about the late novelist and essayist that touches on various aspects of his life and work. From a literary standpoint, one occasionally regrets the film’s efforts to “illustrate” some of its commentaries (including footage from various dramatizations of his work) because this tends to shortchange the viewer’s imagination. (An ideal Baldwin documentary might have juxtaposed passages from his neglected and fascinating book about film, The Devil Finds Work, with clips from the films he writes about, which would have been more to the point.) Despite the value of many of these commentaries (from former lovers, friends, relatives, and colleagues, such as Ishmael Reed), which testify to the love and lucidity that Baldwin inspired, it is the material drawn from numerous interviews with the writer himself that is most beautiful and priceless: Baldwin was usually his own best explicator, and his passion and power as a speaker are given full rein (1989). (Music Box, 3:00)
THE LAST SONG Pisan Akarasainee’s feature from Thailand, a hit on its home turf, concerns a country boy who comes to the big city, is supported by a female impersonator, and has the hard luck of falling in love with a lesbian (1989). The festival is showing its sequel, Anguished Love, on Thursday, November 15. (Music Box, 7:15)
THE OUTSIDERS Not to be confused with Francis Coppola’s homoerotic teenage film of the same title, this is the first gay film licensed by the Taiwanese governmen-t-a suspense story directed by Yu Kan-Ping about a group of boys in Taipei whose families have expelled them for being gay. When shown at the Chicago Lesbian & Gay International Film Festival in 1987, it was one of the most popular selections. (Music Box, 3:00)
OUT ON TUESDAY: PROGRAM 2 The second of four programs to be shown from Britain’s Channel Four gay and lesbian newsmagazine. Segments include Women Like US, which portrays 16 lesbians between the ages of 50 and 80; Let’s Pretend, which concerns lesbian mothers; and School for Scandal, a guide to the British tabloids’ treatment of homosexuality. (Women & Children First, 7:30)
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14
