Browse these captivating programs exploring life and love in the LGBTQ communities of today and generations past.
Directed by Transparent producer Rhys Ernst and adapted by Ariel Schrag from her novel of the same name, Adam drops us down in the hipster lesbian and trans culture of Brooklyn, 2006. It’s essentially a coming-of-age story about a 17-year-old straight, cisgender male who falls in love with a lesbian after she mistakes him for a transgender man. Adam decides to maintain this Shakespearean deception and a satirical and nuanced exploration of identity ensues.
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Stage manager Rachel Gurner still lives in her childhood apartment - along with her off-kilter actress sister, Jackie; eccentric playwright father Mel; and deadpan preteen niece Dodge - above the tiny theatre they own and operate. Level-headed and turtleneck-wearing Rachel is the only thing standing between her family and utter chaos. Then, in the wake of a sudden family tragedy, Rachel and Jackie learn their presumed-deceased mother is actually alive and thriving as a soap-opera star. Now the sisters' already-precarious balance turns upside down, and Rachel must figure out how to liberate herself from this surreal imbroglio. Co-writer/director/star Hannah Pearl Utt is a triple threat with an impeccable sense of timing and a flair for juxtaposing unpredictable elements. Just as pragmatic Rachel and off-the-wall Jackie seem to hail from different planets while inhabiting the same universe, so too do the film's over-the-top moments and characters coexist alongside subtle, grounded ones. Equal parts madcap comedy, adult coming-of-age story, and poignant drama, Before You Know It gleefully defies categorization, and that is its genius.
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A Gay comedian from the Midwest grows up Mormon, gets diagnosed with cancer at age 30, then shortly after converts to Judaism. He goes on a journey to "become a man" and become a Bar Mitzvah boy at age 35. Funny, poignant and resonant for these times, it's a story about identity, belonging and what it means to find out who you really are.
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Army of Lovers is a Swedish pop-dance band that has enjoyed a string of European hits in the 1990s, hits that are based on kitsch lyrics, high camp videos, and a libertine philosophy.This documentary film takes a fun and revealing look at one of Europe's most outrageous acts, the band's enduring popularity in Israel, and the vocalist's surprising decision to move to Israel, a decision that brings about their first-ever concert in the Holy Land.
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A pious Hasidic man (Adam Silver) living a secret double life misplaces his hat one night, which will cause his two separate lives to collide in a way he never imagined.
Read More$100 Members / $125 General Public
The SFJFF39 Marin Pass is valid for all shows at the Christopher B. Smith Rafael film Center in San Rafael.