Miami Beach Cinematheque Presents GLOW, A Monthly Series of LGBT Films

Independent film is a realm that has often been left to the hipsters (every generation has them...) with their eternal black turtlenecks, clove cigarettes and coffee-stained notebooks.

But Miami Beach Cinematheque (MBC) invites all audiences to consider GLOW, a monthly series of LGBT films presented by HBO Latin America and the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

A full house was welcomed Wednesday, Dec. 14-a full and slightly tipsy house. Before the films, cocktails were served at the Miami Beach LGBT Visitors Center, located next to MBC in City Hall. There's nothing like watching a film with a somewhat inebriated LGBT audience in Miami-the interaction with the screen is an art form in itself.

Two films were shown-Sex in the Country, a recently produced short by local filmmaker Lynare Robbins; and Make the Yuletide Gay, a 2009 Christmas film by Rob Williams.

Both filmmakers made appearances at the screenings-Robbins was there in-person to introduce her work, and Williams presented a Q & A session via Skype after his film.

Sex in the Country received the most response from the women in the audience-a brief flash of a lesbian hook-up in a police car may have had something to do with that. The short film is a send-up of Sex and the City with Southern accents. Instead of Cosmos in a bar, there is whiskey around a backyard patio table.

The second film, Make the Yuletide Gay, tells the story of Olaf "Gunn" Gunnunderson (Keith Jordan), a young collegiate who shows his Pride on-campus-complete with Human Rights Campaign T-shirt and lives-in-the-same-dorm-room boyfriend, Nathan (Adamo Ruggiero). But home is where the closet is. When "Gunn" goes back to celebrate Christmas with his Midwestern parents, he puts on his straight boy clothes and becomes "Olaf."

Yet his parents are former hippies-not the type who would usually be opposed to having a gay son.

Gunn's mother, Anya (Kelly Keaton), bakes cookies, speaks in a Midwestern accent, and engages in a lighthearted suburban conflict with a neighbor, Heather Mancuso (played by Alison Arngrim, who is also known for her role as Nellie on Little House on the Prairie).

Gunn's father, Sven (Derek Long), is a professor at the local college, a stoner who almost named his son "Jerry Garcia Gunnunderson."

Despite his parents' liberal inclinations, Gunn hesitates to come out because he doesn't want to take the chance that he'll be treated differently. The conflict arrives when Nathan makes a surprise appearance at the Gunnunderson house, and Gunn must decide whether it's time to come out to his parents.

After the screening, Director Rob Williams shared via Skype how he had set out to create an LGBT Christmas film, so the community could have "something we can watch every year."

If you missed the GLOW series in December, then be sure not to miss the upcoming LGBT films in January and February.

On Wednesday, January 11, GLOW presents Mary Lou, a musical directed by Israeli filmmaker Eytan Fox. The narrative centers on a young Tel Aviv drag queen, Meir (Ido Rosenberg), as he searches for the mother who abandoned him when he was ten years old.

In February, GLOW will screen Going Down in LA-LA Land, which follows the tribulations of Adam, a struggling Hollywood actor (Matthew Ludwinski). Director Casper Andreas will appear via Skype for a Q & A session after the film.

Tickets can be purchased at the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival website.

GLOW at Miami Beach Cinematheque
1130 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL
Mary Lou, Wednesday, Jan. 11
Going Down in LA-LA Land, Wednesday, Feb. 15
Ticket Prices include Cocktail Reception & Film
Producers Circle: Complimentary
Members- Advance: $6.25; Member- Day of: $11.25
Guests- Advance: $11.25; Guests- Day of: $16.25
$2.00 per order fee is assessed to each transaction. To save money, purchase tickets as a group.
For GLOW film schedules and tickets, visit http://www.mglff.com
More Info: www.mbcinema.com