Editor

Out Film CT is pleased to announce that the Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Film Festival is celebrating its 23rd year this May, bringing to the region a wide range of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) documentaries, shorts, and full-length feature films.  The festival runs from Thursday, May 27th through Saturday, June 5th, 2010.

"The screening committee has been working diligently since August to pull together a great line-up of films for this year's festival.  And, as always, we expect to bring several directors, actors and special guests to make the festival a unique cultural event for the state." said festival director Shane Engstrom.  Last year, festival attendees were treated to live question and answer sessions with filmmakers and actors from as far away as San Francisco and Newfoundland.  

Here are a few of the films expected to screen (subject to availability):

• Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement - Connecticut native Susan Muska and Greta Olafsdottir tell the love story of two remarkable women whose commitment to each other is an inspiration to us all.  After 42 years, feisty and delightful lesbian couple Edie and Thea are finally getting married.
• Prodigal Son - Filmmaker Kimberly Reed returns home for her high school reunion, ready to reintroduce herself to the small town as a transgender woman and hoping for reconciliation with her long estranged adopted brother Marc.
• The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls - Fun, disarming and musically provocative, the Topp Twins are New Zealand's finest lesbian musical comedy duo and the country's greatest export since rack of lamb and the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.
• Violet Tendencies - In this romantic comedy, Mindy Cohn of ‘The Facts of Life' fame plays a woman who, feeling her biological clock ticking, tries to distance herself from her gay friends in an effort to land a straight boyfriend.
• Baby Love - Manu, a gay pediatrician in his forties, has the perfect relationship with his partner Philippe, a successful lawyer.  But things become very complicated when Manu insists on pursuing his life-long dream of adopting and raising a child.   
• Undertow - An unusual ghost story set on the Peruvian seaside; a married fisherman struggles to reconcile his devotion to his male lover within his town's rigid traditions.
• Mississippi Damned - Three poor, Black kids in rural Mississippi reap the consequences of their family's cycle of abuse, addiction and violence.  They independently struggle to escape their circumstances and must decide whether to confront what's plagued their family for generations or succumb to the same crippling fate. 

Presented by Out Film CT, the festival takes place at Cinestudio on the campus of Trinity College, 300 Summit Street, in Hartford, CT.  Films are shown nightly at 7:30 p.m., with matinees on May 27th and May 28th at 3:00 p.m.  Admission prices are $9 for general admission and $7 for students and seniors, except $15 and $12 for Opening/Closing gala screenings (Friday, 5/28 & Saturday, 6/5) which includes the films, food, beverages and musical entertainment.  Tickets will be available online two weeks prior to the festival or at the door.

A Cinema Café is offered on Friday and Saturday evenings starting at 6:30 p.m., featuring gourmet salads, and light meals from local area restaurants.  Adding to the festivities, a silent auction is offered throughout the duration of the film festival.  Movie buffs can bid on a wide range of items that include exotic travel, fine dining, artwork, spa packages, and fine wines. 

Out Film CT is a nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to presenting outstanding LGBT cinema and other theatrical events throughout the year, culminating in the 10-day Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.  As Connecticut's longest-running film festival, it has become a distinctive fixture in our state's cultural landscape, bringing the community together to introduce, celebrate and rediscover the ideas and values that make the LGBT community unique.

For more information, call 860-586-1136, or visit http://www.outfilmct.org/.