GAYLETTER

I guess the title says it all — who knew there was an International Gay Rodeo Association and lots of lesbian cowgirls and gay cowboys who strap on the chaps, buckle up their 501s and hunker down to compete in gay rodeos all across the US? Each rodeo on the circuit has 13 events, open to both men and women AND you don’t even have to be gay to compete AND you can therefore see women riding bulls and men barrel racing, something that is apparently unheard of on the straight circuit. I got a six pack of PBR and some unshelled peanuts, sat back in a comfortable chair and watched some fierce bull riding, barrel racing, calf roping and all the related antics associated with an authentic rodeo. The film is screening as part of The Film Society at Lincoln Center’s Mountainfilm 2014 series and there will be a Q&A following the screening with director Matt Livadary and producer Erin Krozek. What an uplifting film busting open every stereotype in the book about the macho male dominated world of straight rodeo. Buck tradition and head on out to Lincoln Center for a rousing evening of cinema and the after party open to all ticket holders.  —Gayletter

I was bowled over by this new documentary about 4 time Olympic diving gold medalist Greg Louganis called ‘Back on Board.’ The raw honesty and compassion with which Greg addresses the camera in an age when artifice and rehearsed sincerity is rampant is truly remarkable. First of all, who doesn’t love a nubile 16- year-old, tanned, buff, phenom jumping and twirling in the air for 2 hours! But seriously the story is not all triumph as we discover the painful realities of post-Olympic fame, his coming out as gay and HIV+, and the shady business partners he had to endure. Considered by many to be the greatest diver of all time, Louganis is now 52 and gray but fit as can be (we see him do a dive at the end). He’s even gotten back into the sport after a twenty year absence as a mentor to the 2012 Olympic diving team. If you’re free this Sunday night do yourself a favor and check out Back on Board screening as part of New York’s Documentary festival — you will leave the theatre invigorated and yearning for tickets to the 2016 summer games in Rio.    —Gayletter

If you’re in the mood for a slow boil, tender gay love story then this movie is for you. Chip, the stunning lead of Five Dances is a new arrival to Manhattan. He’s an 18 year-old naive soul from Kansas who joins four dancers, two male and two female, to rehearse a modern dance for a performance. At first Chip, played by brilliant dancer Ryan Steele, sleeps in the studio until he befriends fellow dancer Katie who he moves in with. Other than some scenes in their apartment, 5 Dances unfolds in the rehearsal studio. “The movie itself is like a dance gracefully and deliberately paced and choreographed, the characters weaving in and out of each other’s lives as they do in the dance they’re rehearsing.” I don’t want to give away too much but will say that Chip’s sexual awakening, which transpires over the even paced course of the movie, is palpable and in sync with his opening up as a person. Keep the tissues nearby, the end may just bring you to tears....of joy that is.  —Gayletter

This awesome event is happening at BAM as part of the 2014 Next Wave Festival. If you are in NYC, this is such a great and rare opportunity to see some of Warhol’s most provocative and underground cinema. It’s curated by The Andy Warhol Museum and they’ll be showing “15 never-before-seen, digitally restored selections from the 1960s, wtih. Five artists representing a musical trajectory from the post-Velvet Underground 70s to today — Dean Wareham (Galaxie 500, Luna), Tom Verlaine (Television), Martin Rev (Suicide), Eleanor Friedberger (The Fiery Furnaces), and Bradford Cox (Deerhunter, Atlas Sound) — will perform live alongside Warhol’s celluloid oeuvre, featuring Marcel Duchamp, Edie Sedgwick, Donovan, Warhol himself, and others.” The thing that I am the most excited about is the motionless eight hour shot of the Empire State Building, I know some of you might think that’s boring, but I guess I am just into that sort of stuff, if you aren’t, what about “a short of Lou Reed drinking a Coke”? No? Well maybe this just isn’t for you. Sorry.  —Abi

Crystal Fairy & The Magical Cactus and 2012 (I just love saying the full title) is one of those films I can watch over and over again. A few weeks ago I had my first experience with psychedelics, so  last weekend I was super excited to re-watch it (a mescaline trip is a central part of the plot). The film stars Michael Cera as a young arrogant American traveling through Chile, and Gaby Hoffmann as a maternal, carefree girl who he unintentionally invites to join him and his three Chilean friends on an adventure to a remote beach to try a local hallucinogen — the mescaline-bearing San Pedro cactus. The film’s director Sebastián Silva based the film on a real life encounter, he calls it “a story about the birth of compassion in someone’s life.” That’s a pretty spot-on description for the film. Its takeaway is simple — underneath all our stupid layers we all want the same thing — to be seen and understood. The film gets to this conclusion in a very natural, entertaining way. It’s short, sparse, easily digestible — like all the best trips should be.  —tom

I am totally enamored by artist Kehinde Wiley. For one thing he throws the most fabulous (and generous) parties in his massive, exquisitely appointed SoHo loft on many of the calendar’s holidays. But more importantly Kehinde, “has carved out a place for the heroic African-American figure in classical Western portraiture” That’s quite a feat for just one man! Hats off to BAM for bringing Kehinde and Jeff Dupre’s intimate documentary Kehinde Wiley: An Economy of Grace to their cinemas this Thursday for the premiere screening of the film and a Q&A with the artist, filmmaker, producer and editor. All I know is that the film deal’s with the artist’s exploration of female portraiture to reveal another side of black femininity. In the opening of the trailer for the film Kehinde states, “Everything is political, If I were to paint a bowl of fruit I would be a young, black American male painting a bowl of fruit.” How true. Can’t wait to see the film, delve into the world of Kehinde’s process and hear “the word” directly from the source.  —Gayletter

I never do this but I’m breaking stride just this once. I’m writing the Netflix description for this french/belgian film called Come Undone because it’s just too perfect. “Brooding 18-year-old Mathieu meets Cedric, an attractive carefree boy his own age and is swept away by the first stirrings of homosexual passion.” That puts it mildly — the two boys fuck like bunnies all summer long in a beach town in Brittany, France. They cavort naked in the surf, passionately hump in the dunes and stroll around arm in arm as if they are in the Castro! The boys are painfully cute, their love immediate and heartwarming and once the summer comes to an end they must chose what to do with their mutual feelings. Director Sebastian Lifshitz keeps the camera moving in the most striking fashion, making for some very interesting and intimate storytelling. Not to worry, it’s not all smooth sailing, there is a strong psychiatric element to the plot that commences at the onset and keeps you on your toes ‘til the end. It almost had me coming undone, but in the best possible sense of the word.  —Gayletter