-TV/FILM-
The 15th annual Hamptons International Film Festival hits various East End venues Oct 17–21. The festival continues to celebrate the American independent film while introducing a unique and varied spectrum of international films and filmmakers. This year’s highlights include “A Conversation with…” legendary actress Vanessa Redgrave; Turn The River, a film about a pool-hustling mother and physically abused son hell-bent on fleeing from their terrible lives; I Am an Animal: This Story of Ingrid Newkirk and PETA (enough said); and Four Minutes, the story of an unlikely bond between a solitary piano teacher and a talented young murderess in an all-women’s prison.
As the religious right steps up efforts to convince the public that gays can turn straight, a powerful new documentary provides a sobering look at the dangers of “conversion” therapy. Directed and produced by psychiatrist Dr. Alicia Salzer, Abomination: Homosexuality and the Ex-Gay Movement makes its debut on Oct 24 at The Anthology Film Archives. Salzer profiles four gay Christians who did everything possible to become heterosexual, including undergoing conversion therapies such as shock therapy, hypnosis, gender coaching, and sham marriages.
Premiering Oct 9, MTV’s new reality-competition dating series, A Shot At Love with Tila Tequila, captures bisexual MySpace queen Tila Tequila in her pursuit to find a new paramour. To help Tila meet the man or woman of her dreams, MTV found 16 straight guys and 16 lesbians to vie for her affection and attention. Think I Love New York (admit it, you watched it, too!), with a twist.
