EROS Pride Festival 2000

Wednesday thru Saturday

October 25-28, 2000

Presented in conjunction with

EROS - Trinity College Gay Straight Alliance

Film Descriptions

Wednesday, Oct. 25 7:30 p.m.

Get Real (Great Britain, 1998 110 min.) Directed by Simon Shore

Get Real follows the fate and fortunes of sixteen year old Steven Carter,
who is finding it increasingly difficult to reconcile life in high school
with the pressures of his parents' aspirations and his own inner state of
hormonal overdrive. There's one thing Steven is completely reconciled to,
however: he's gay and has known it for years. His only confidante in such
matters is Linda, the girl next door, currently on her 48th driving lesson
in the hopes of one day getting her way with driving instructor Bob. The
center of attention for the entire student body is John Dixon: sporting
superstar, academic achiever and all-around dreamboat. Naturally, he is
Steven's object of desire. Things take an unexpected turn when he discovers
that his feelings for John are returned. But while Steven wants to shout
their love from the rooftops, John insists on keeping it firmly in the
closet. At the school commencement ceremony, Steven decides that it's time
to Get Real.


Thursday, Oct 26 7:30 p.m.

Show Me Love (Sweden, 1998 89 min.) Directed by Lukas Moodysson

Selected as Sweden's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award, Show Me Love is a story about hidden longings, betrayals of
friendship, new love, and finding one's identity. A semi-recent addition to
the small town of Amal, Agnes is an outcast and rumored to be a lesbian. As
if things couldn't get any worse, her secret crush happens to be on the most
popular girl in school, Elin. Elin, however, thinks little of Agnes until
one night she kisses Agnes on a bet. Faced with the realization that she
enjoyed it, Elin must decide what to do - admit she's a lesbian or deny her
feelings and push Agnes further away. This film beautifully captures the
implications that exist in trying to be who you are while retaining your
place in the social class system of high school. Can Agnes and Elin step
beyond the boundaries and find love?


Premiere!

 Friday, Oct. 27 7:30 p.m.

I'm the One That I Want (US, 2000 96 min.) Directed by Lionel Coleman
Starring Margaret Cho
Unapologetically bawdy, and uninhibited, I'm the One That I Want features
comedienne Margaret Cho boisterously hitting all cylinders, delivering the
kind of incendiary live stand-up performance she's become famous for. Cho
went from cult favorite to national sitcom fixture in 1994 as the star of
TV's All American Girl. Its cancellation provides comic fodder for Cho, the
self-described "slutty younger sister" of Connie Chung. Considering herself
an outsider's outsider, even within her own Korean-American community, she
has managed to forge a special bond with her vast lesbian and gay audience.
With a skillful blend of physical gestures and dead-on mimicry, Cho
waggishly assaults fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld and his ubiquitous fan,
impishly proclaims her "heterophobia" and offers a gut-busting take on the
sexual orientation of Chippendale dancers. A sassy, defiant declaration of
self, I'm the One That I Want is definitely not for the Reader's Digest
crowd.


Friday, Oct. 27 9:35 p.m.

Edge of Seventeen (US, 1998 99 min.) Directed by David Moreton

Edge of Seventeen is a real gem. From Toni Basil to the Eurythmics, from
friendship bracelets to whip-its, the summer of 1984 was about as '80's as
the '80's ever got. Stuck right in the middle of it is Eric Hunter, heading
towards his senior year in Sandusky, OH, and passing the summer working at a
local amusement park in the fast food restaurant. He is joined by his long
time girl/friend Maggie, as they don their ugly brown polyester uniforms and
face the world. Also at the restaurant is Rod. He casts his baby-blue eyes
at Eric, who finds it increasingly difficult not to flirt back. His
attraction to Rod confuses, terrifies, and exhilarates him. Bit by bit,
Eric begins embracing the clothes, attitude and music of the era to express
the new person he is becoming; namely, himself (he gets strong support from
his brassy boss, played by an outrageous Lea Delaria). As Eric steps
trepidatiously into a world he doesn't quite understand, the division
between who he is and who he wants to be begins to strain. It becomes
apparent that something, soon, has got to give...


Premiere! 

Saturday, Oct. 28 2:30 p.m.

Paragraph 175 (US, 2000 81 min.) Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey
Friedman

Paragraph 175, the new feature documentary from Academy-Award-winning
directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (The Celluloid Closet, Common
Threads), uncovers a hidden chapter of 20th-century history--the persecution
of homosexuals by the Nazis. Built around the intimate stories of people
who survived the War, the film follows their lives from the flourishing
homosexual subculture of Weimar Berlin through the Nazi rise to power and
its terrible consequences. Paragraph 175 explores the range of experiences
of homosexuals during the time - from prisoners to resistance fighters to
collaborators - and sheds new light on a dark moment of our collective past.
Winner - Best Documentary Film - 2000 Sundance Film Festival. "Powerful
emotions! The elegance and restraint of the filmmaking makes the impact all
the more devastating!" - David Ansen, Newsweek.


Premiere!

 Saturday, Oct. 28 7:30 p.m.

Psycho Beach Party (US, 2000 95 min.) Directed by Robert Lee King.

A rambunctious, campy tribute to surfer movies and teen exploitation films
of the '50s. Surf's up, and teen Florence Forrest longs to hang ten at the
beach. Problem is, her mother's too squares Ville to understand, their hunky
live-in Swedish exchange student Lars is too goody-two-shoes to be any fun,
and the local beach bums don't want a girl in their surfer gang. When
Florence finally proves her surfing prowess and is dubbed "Chicklet," a
string of pesky murders suddenly spoils everybody's summer fun. Suspects
get the third degree: even Chicklet, who's guilty of nothing except...wait a
minute! A split personality? Legendary playwright Charles Busch adapts
this wickedly funny romp from his hit play of the same name (as well as
playing homicide detective Monica Stark)! Featuring a cute cast, hot music
and bikinis-a-go-go, Psycho Beach Party is a twisted comedy riot with gay
innuendo, energy and humor blended into every riotous minute.


Saturday, Oct. 28 9:35 p.m.

It's In the Water (US, 1997 100 min.) Directed by Kelli Herd

The return of an audience favorite! Azalea Springs is pretty much your
standard American hometown: Junior League, big-haired ladies who lunch, and
a lovely country club for all the "right" people. It's also having a
problem with the water system: something in it is turning regular folks into
homosexuals! Mix in brother Daniel's "Homo-No-Mo" meetings, the local
newspaper, and a group of rabid homophobic picketers, and you've got a
recipe for panic! Heads reel. Women weep. Mothers, hide your children!
In the midst of it all, we find Alex, a young woman dealing with a distant
husband, an overbearing mother and the tedium of endless society chatter.
She finds herself drawn to Grace, her old high school friend who has
returned to town. Mark Anderson works at the local newspaper and is
covering the story on the town's water. He finds himself becoming involved
with Tomas, who mistakenly attends an ex-gay meeting thinking that it's an
AA meeting. The events that unravel as a result of these two love affairs
bear witness to what happens to people when hysteria and homophobia take
control of their lives. A winning combination of romantic comedy, farce,
and a good-natured assault on prejudice.