Frameline Film Festival: Calling All Nerds and Art Freaks 

This program I felt was particularly fascinating. Perhaps due to (save for) Harvey Milk, I was unaware of the people each of these short documentaries were highlighting. The film was entitled Calling All Nerds and Art Freaks, which was under the program 60s/70s Underground & Queer Cinema, so each of the shorts within the film took a more historical perspective. The program began with Uncle Denis? a collection of interviews and artifacts from the family of one of the great '70s gay icons, Quentin Crisp; then moved into 575 Castro, which was filmed on the set of the 2008 Gus Van Sant's movie Milk; next, a short on a less well known, but incredibly influential gay man in Decoding Alan Turing; and concluding the film was a documentary on the progressive and brilliant art/activist group General Idea.

Uncle Denis?
"I don't need family or one specific person. I have spread my love over the whole human race, and now it's threadbare."
Uncle Denis? is the first of the shorts presented by Adrian Goycoolea and is a touching tribute and family recollection to his famous uncle, Quentin Crisp. The collection of faded home movies and interviews with various members of Goycoolea's family make this piece memorable and offer a different perspective into the life of the notorious Crisp. It also brings up the question of how public figures, especially ones that do not conform to societal standards, fit into our notion of the family, and people are rarely privy to these familial reflections. The family's recollections and memories on growing up with him, meeting him for the first time, happy moments and sad, allow the audience a personal and almost intimate lens into Crisp's and his family's world. The most unforgettable parts of the film are the humorous, dry witted quotes of Crisp that had the audience chuckling throughout. From the perspective of someone unfamiliar with him previously, it was amazing to see the courage and strength of Crisp to be willing to embrace his gender fluidity and refusal to stay in the closet. Young queens, watch out! We have nothing on Crisp!

575 Castro
"It's about giving people Hope..."
Just one of the poignant lines uttered by one of San Francisco's most famous gay icons, Harvey Milk. This short was filmed on location at 575 Castro Street, home of the original Camera Store owned and operated by Harvey himself. The location had been restored for the 2008 Oscar winning film, Milk, so we get to listen to the actual audio recording that Harvey made in case of his death by assassination as the director artfully moves around the store. Beautifully and masterly shot and the audience (gay and straight alike) cannot help but feel empowered and inspired by the words and life of this great man and leader.

Decoding Alan Turing
"It never dawned on him to hide his homosexuality..."
Next, we move into Christopher Racster's film entitled, Decoding Alan Turing, which gives only a glimpse into the life of a scientific genius, Alan Turing. He is credited by many as the father of modern computer science and his concept for the Turing machine actually led to the creation of computers. We learn that he worked as a British naval decoder during World War II and is responsible for cracking the German military's impossible Enigma coded messages. Sadly, while extremely influential in the war effort, Turing is arrested for being homosexual in the 1950s, which at that time is a criminal offense. This event, which basically ends his career, led to his suicide in 1954. It was an inspiring film to see and learn about this brilliant man, but also quite sad that due to stigmas we were robbed of his genius much too early. This unfortunately is not a problem that we have left in the '50s, rather it is still a pertinent issue that continues to plague society even to the present, depriving us (and military intelligence) of many brilliant people based merely to their sexuality.

General Idea
"Art as Life and Life as Art"
This documentary by Annette Mangaard entitled, General Idea: Art, AIDS and the Fin de Siécle follows the birth of the 1969 Toronto trio, which became known as General Idea. We learn about their amazing twenty-five years of creating art and sharing their lives together through the interview of the last remaining member AA Bronson, archives of old television footage, and pictures. They are probably best well known for their manipulation of the LOVE stamp, transforming it into an AIDS logo that became internationally famous. They used parody, irony, and lots of camp to subvert many of the constructs of popular culture. They faced criticism from American AIDS activists in refusing to integrate their message into one of public health, and chose, instead, to align themselves with the European notion of sex and love, and fought to normalize and expose the disease. Their collaboration in many ways has been a model for activist artists and other collectives today, especially their work that defiantly tackled society's silence surrounding the AIDS epidemic. Their contribution to the continuing battle against AIDS and the freedom and right to love whomever we wish is unmistakable and undoubtedly inspiring.

NSRC reviewed films from the 33rd annual Frameline Frameline's San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival through a partnership agreement with Frameline Films. For more information on this or other Frameline films, please contact Frameline Distribution.

Marik Xavier-Brier is a Masters candidate in the Sexuality Studies Department at San Francisco State University where he researches identity and sexuality in virtual worlds. His current research interests include the construction of gay identities, sexual interaction, and sexual citizenship within virtual environments. He is an avid online gamer and has been a resident of Second Life since 2006.