Editor

The Philadelphia Film Society announces the selection of Another Gay Movie and Quinceañera as this year’s 12th Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival’s opening and closing night films. From comedy to drama, these films represent the range and variety of talent highlighted throughout the 13-day festival, July 13-25.

This year’s festival will kick off on a high note with the outrageous, hilariously raunchy, politically incorrect sex comedy, Another Gay Movie, on July 13 at 7:15 p.m. at Prince Music Theater, 1412 Chestnut St. Imagine American Pie with a gay twist as director Todd Stephens introduces us to four high school graduates, each on a mission to lose their anal virginity any way they can.

With 100 jokes a minute, TLA Releasing’s Another Gay Movie is a 100% gay, in-your-face spoof that will have you giggling with glee and gasping from the uncensored outrageousness. This lavender extravaganza features guest appearances by Lypsinka, Graham Norton, Scott Thompson, Darryl Stephens, comedian Ant, Matthew Rush and Survivor’s Richard Hatch. Director Todd Stephens and actors Michael Carbonaro, Graham Norton, Ashlie Atkinson, Jonah Blechman and Darryl Stephens will be on hand to celebrate this Philadelphia premiere.

Another Philadelphia premiere, the winner of both the Dramatic Audience and Dramatic Jury Awards at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, Sony Pictures Classics’ Quinceañera will close out this year’s festival on July 24 at 7:15 p.m. at Prince Music Theater. Quinceañera chronicles Magdalena (newcomer Emily Rios) as she prepares for her quinceañera, the traditional Latino rite of passage that signifies a 15-year old girl’s passage into womanhood. But when religiously devout Magdalena tells her conservative family that she is pregnant, her parents quickly ostracize her. She seeks refuge with her Uncle Tomás (Chalo González) and her openly gay cousin, Carlos (Jesse Garcia). Her new family unit is soon jeopardized when Carlos starts to bond emotionally with one of the men who begin using him for their sexual pleasure.

Using the British “kitchen sink dramas” of the late 1950s as a model, openly gay directors Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland and executive director Todd Haynes have created gay characters who are flawed yet sincere, adding an element of authenticity and raw emotion in their frank depiction of sexuality and sweet, gentle humor. Directors Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland will be in town to celebrate the Philadelphia premiere of Quinceañera.