Austin’s longest-running film festival returns for its 36th celebration of LGBTQ+ movies from around the world. Kicking off with Glitter & Doom – Tom Gustafson’s jukebox musical tribute to the Indigo Girls – next Wednesday, Aug. 23, get ready for four days of the best of queer cinema.
aGLIFF presents Prism 36, Wed.-Sun., Aug. 23-27. Galaxy Highland, 6700 Middle Fiskville. Virtual encore: Aug. 28-Sept. 4. Tickets, passes, and info at agliff.org/prism
10th Anniversary Screening: G.B.F.
A decade after playing at Austin Film Festival, it’s the return of the cult classic queer comedy about high schoolers competing to acquire the must-have fashion accessory: a gay best friend. Director Darren Stein will attend to receive this year’s aGLIFF Legacy Honoree Award, and for screenings of two more of his movies: Sparkler (1997), and Jawbreaker (1999).
Sparkler: Fri., 9:30pm
G.B.F.: Sat., 7pm
Jawbreaker: Sun., 4:15pm
Sneak Preview: The Judgement
Earn bragging rights with an early look at the latest horror from Ouija Summoning writer/director Marwan Mokbel about a gay couple who travels from America to Egypt because of a family emergency: They hide their relationship, only to discover that someone knows the truth and is using witchcraft against them.
Sat., 9:30pm
Truth Be Told
Black churches have often been a bastion of the struggle for civil rights – but not always when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights. Documentarian Nneka Onuorah discusses the institutionalized homophobia of Black churches with Billy Porter, Meagan Good, Cedric the Entertainer, and more in this year’s centerpiece documentary film.
Fri., 7pm
1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture
Conversations about the role of religion and anti-queer rhetoric continue with Sharon “Rocky” Roggio’s exploration of how a bad translation of a single verse of the Bible – 1 Corinthians 6:9 – went beyond being simply a typo and has lead to the religious right embracing homophobia and bigotry
as an act of faith.
Sun., 1:45pm
Closing Night Film: The Mattachine Family
Director Andy Vallentine and writer Danny Vallentine draw on their own experiences as gay parents in this tender examination (executive produced by Zach Braff) of the position of parenting in queer culture, as the Mattachines (Nico Tortorella and Juan Pablo Di Pace) deal with the emotional cost of having their foster child taken back by his birth mother.
Sun., 7:45pm
This article appears in August 18 • 2023.
