Unique and Universal

Made in Secret: The Story of the East Van Porn Collective

D: One Tiny Whale

When you get intelligent people working together toward something they believe in, you usually get something interesting regardless of whether they succeed. Another constant in the history of creativity: When people can't find what they're looking for – in song, in museums, on film – and decide they must do it themselves, the end result is at the very least original. So it is with the East Van Porn Collective – "You can't call us that," member Professor University explains, because "'porn' is a word that makes people stop thinking, and that's the opposite of what we wanna do" – a handful of twenty- and thirtysomethings in Vancouver who make films to turn themselves on both sexually and aesthetically. The documentary following their efforts gets off to a rocky start; not technically, but rather due to the fact that member nerd-girl was not made aware that director One Tiny Whale (his real name is possibly Godfrey Something-or-other, as that's how the subjects refer to and address him throughout the film; it's unclear at first that the documentary itself is part of the movement) would be attending meetings. After an emergency session, a consensus is reached: OTW can shoot everything except for what appears on the collective's tapes. He can shoot them shooting, but he can't shoot what they've shot once it's on screen. It's a good consensus, one of the many the members come to: They rotate jobs on productions, discuss and collaborate on storyboards, make compromises, and maintain free and spirited debate to ensure the integrity of the collective and its work. That work is billed to be from the perspective of an "anarcho-feminist porn collective," and it is, on one level, as notions of gender and identity are at the fore. But it's also from the perspective of activists trying to be actors getting naked, young people making movies while struggling with some of their most intimate emotions. A fascinating, refreshing film. – Shawn Badgley

Sunday, Oct. 2, 9:40pm

WILBY WONDERFUL

D: Daniel MacIvor; with Sandra Oh, James Allodi, Paul Gross, Rebecca Jenkins, Ellen Page, Callum Keith Rennie

This one's billed in aGLIFF's program notes as a "farce." False advertising, frankly: While there's the occasional volley of small-town-inspired absurdity, the humor overall is a far gentler thing. In fact, this Canadian import is a subtly moving dramedy about all the trouble that sex (or the possibility of sex) can land a person in. Wilby Wonderful tracks three storylines set on Wilby Island, a seaside village marked by the kind of incestuousness and gossip common to any cloistered community. A promiscuous single mom (Jenkins) and her sexually curious daughter (Page) are struggling to make a new life for themselves by opening a diner; a high-strung realtor (Sideways' Oh) is too distracted by work to tend to her disintegrating marriage with the town sheriff (Gross); and Mr. Jarvis (Allodi), a wannabe-suicide mired in a local scandal, can't seem to close the deal on ending his life. (The film comes closest to farce in cooking up increasingly bizarre interruptions to Jarvis' frequent appointments with an oven, a noose, and the like.) Writer-director MacIvor takes his time – maybe too much time – establishing the characters and their myriad connections, and his film is needlessly cryptic about that town scandal, but once it (and the audience) gets its bearings, the result is a quiet, unassuming pleasure. An added bonus is the landscape: rocky crags, a picturesque main street, and the Wilby Sound, which surrounds, stifles, and inspires the island's inhabitants. – Kimberley Jones

Tuesday, Oct. 4, 7pm

LOGGERHEADS

D: Tim Kirkman; with Tess Harper, Bonnie Hunt, Michael Kelly, Michael Learned, Kip Pardue, Ann Pierce, Chris Sarandon

Loggerheads, which was nominated for Sundance's Grand Jury Prize, skips artfully from mountains to hamlet to ocean. It deserves a hearty thanks from the North Carolina Tourism Board; curiously, this multilayered drama raises the blood pressure about as much as the average travel doc. The themes within – abandonment, disavowal, disease – are the stuff of Greek tragedy, but the effect – though not unsatisfying – is remarkably sedate. Director Kirkman (who also directed the documentary Dear Jesse) enlists a team of well-known actors (some of whom, like comic actress Bonnie Hunt, are playing against type) to tell three interwoven stories: Hunt is a middle-aged woman living in Asheville and searching for the child she gave up when she was 17; Sarandon (The Princess Bride) plays a minister whose piety causes tension with his wife (Tender Mercies' Harper); and Pardue (The Rules of Attraction) plays Mark, HIV-positive and fighting a one-man battle to protect the coast-dwelling loggerhead turtles. Kirkman long delays revealing the link between the three stories – and when he does, the moment is confused by a jarring temporal jump – but no matter: The narrative's linchpin may be located elsewhere, but the movie's heart resides in supporting actor Michael Kelly. It isn't a showy part – he plays a motel owner and Mark's friend and eventual lover – but Kelly is a compelling, compassionate presence. – Kimberley Jones

Wednesday, Oct. 5, 7pm

That Man Peter Berlin

D: Jim Tushinski

Peter Berlin was the poster boy for the Seventies gay sexual revolution. Literally. Prince Valiant haircut, leather pants, motorcycle boots, an always exposed and incredibly buff chest, a beautiful face and cheekbones somewhat resembling Owen Wilson, and an enormous cock. John Waters describes him as "Dinah Shore with a hard-on." Berlin began his fateful trip to male gay iconhood with his erotic self-portraits. He was a talented photographer and was photographed by few other than himself and good friend Robert Mapplethorpe. Berlin is still remembered for his porn career in the Seventies even though he appeared in only a few flicks, most notably 1973's Nights in Black Leather and the Berlin-directed That Boy. He wasn't afraid of portraying the mundane aspects of the gay scene in his films, along with the not-so-mundane sex that would follow, drawing the attention of Andy Warhol among other notables. Berlin flaunted his sexuality through his photography and films and, of course, by displaying his bulging crotch, and was inspirational to less open members of the gay community. That Man finds Berlin alive and well (with Dutchboy haircut intact) in San Francisco and more than willing to tell his story at the age of 66. Despite his promiscuous ways, he avoided falling prey to HIV – unlike the majority of his contemporaries – because of his dedication to safe sex. This is only one way Berlin was ahead of his time, though his over-the-top image of male sexuality has endured to this day and still can be seen in the style of leatherboys throughout the land. If you saw That Man strolling down the street, you'd certainly remember him. – Mark Fagan

Saturday, Oct. 8, 7:30pm

The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green

D: George Bamber; with Daniel Letterle, Meredith Baxter, David Monahan, Diego Serrano, Dean Shelton

Based on the series of comics of the same name by Eric Orner, The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green applies Murphy's Law to the romantic comedy genre. The titular Ethan (played believably by Letterle, previously of Camp) is unlucky in love, lust, real estate, and just about everything in between. His coterie of exes – including Kyle (Serrano), the recently outed baseball player; Punch (Shelton), the seemingly never-closeted man-hound; and Leo (Monahan), the man so uptight as to pursue a relationship with a gay Republican – enter and exit through the revolving door of Ethan's life with startling speed. Adding some refreshing X's to this XY bonanza are Ethan's mom (played by Baxter, reprising her role as the mother of a gay son, i.e., Elyse Keaton from Family Ties) and the only slightly luckier in love of the lesbian variety Charlotte (Shanola Hampton). Bamber keeps the comedic characters and situations rolling from one scene to the next, but seemingly attempts to cram the entire Orner catalog into a small package. Luckily the precocious cast makes this sometimes-goofy endeavor well worth viewing. Much of this burden lies on the shoulders of Letterle, who handles the balance of comedy and loser's charm seamlessly, making him easy to identify with. For your sake, try not to identify too much. – James Renovitch

Saturday, Oct. 8, 9:30pm