Gay, Lesbian, & Transgender Film at Ames Public Library
Today is 5/24/2012
Milk (DVD DRAMA MIL) 129 min. 2009.
Harvey Milk is a middle-aged New Yorker who, after moving to San Francisco, became a Gay Rights activist and city politician. On his third attempt, he was elected to San Francisco's Board of Supervisors in 1977. His election makes him the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the United States. The following year, both he and the city's mayor, George Moscone, were shot to death by former city supervisor, Dan White, who blamed his former colleagues for denying White's attempt to rescind his resignation from the board. Based on the inspiring true story of Harvey Milk.
Normal (DVD TV NOR) 112 min. 2003.
Roy and Irma are a devoted couple living a normal life in rural Illinois. At a party celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary, Roy inexplicably blacks out. When he awakens, he realizes that his life must change forever. Roy confesses to Irma that he's a woman trapped in a man's body and that he wants a sex change. This surprises his wife and the church-going community. Now Roy must face his friends, co-workers and his own children as he confronts his own transformation.
The Object of My Affection (DVD DRAMA OBJ) 111 min. 1998.
A woman falls in love with her roommate even though he's gay and loves her as a friend. When she becomes pregnant, she realizes she'd rather raise her child with him than with her boyfriend-- a decision that explores the fine line between love, sex and friendship.
Out in the Silence (306.848 DVD OUT) 56 min. 2009.
Filmmaker Joe Wilson’s wedding announcement appears in his hometown newspaper. He receives a plea for help from the mother of a gay teen who is being tormented in school. This film challenges viewer values and closes the gaps that divide communities.
Portrait of a Marriage (DVD TV POR) 219 min. 1990.
This is the true story of Vita Sackville-West's affair with novelist Violet Keppel. Though Vita and her diplomat husband knowingly cheated on each other through their 50-year marriage, it was her liaison with her childhood friend Violet that threatened the marriage.
Salmonberries (DVD DRAMA SAL) 100 min. 1991.
The story takes place in Kotzebue, a town in northwest Alaska. A 20-year old pipeline worker, whose name is also Kotzebue, is in search of parents and self when she meets Roswitha, a German librarian whose husband was killed twenty years ago as they escaped from East Berlin. A friendship develops between Kotz and Roswitha as they search for the truth about their pasts.
Save Me (DVD DRAMA SAV) 96 min. 2007.
Mark is a young gay man who is addicted to sex and drugs. When he hits bottom, his brother checks him into a Christian retreat in New Mexico. Gayle and Ted, the husband and wife team who run the retreat, have made it their mission to cure young men of their 'gay affliction' through spiritual guidance. Mark and Scott become friends and are forced to confront their true selves.
Saving Face (DVD COMEDY SAV) 98 min. 2004.
Wilhelmina is a Chinese-American lesbian and a young surgeon who has hidden her sexual orientation from her conservative Chinese community. When her widowed mother becomes pregnant and is kicked out by her own parents, Wil juggles her mother's secrets with her own.
Suddenly Last Summer (DVD TV SUD) 83 min. 1993.
BBC adaptation of Tenessee Williams' one-act play where a young woman is committed to a mental institution after witnessing the violent death of her cousin. Her rich aunt asks a brilliant young brain surgeon to operate on the girl in hopes of dispelling her 'hallucinations' about the tragedy but the doctor administers a truth serum and learns that her 'hallucinations ' are true.
Tales of the City (DVD TV TAL) 300 min. 1993.
In this 1970s chronicle of San Francisco, carefree chaos revolves around the funky old apartment house at 28 Barbary Lane where landlady Anna Madrigal welcomes tenants by taping homegrown joints to their doors and presides over their lives with maternal affection.
Tipping the Velvet (DVD TV TIP) 178 min. 2002.
This adaptation of Sarah Waters’ book is set in 1890s England. A music hall male impersonator has a love affair with a young woman smitten by music hall life.
Transamerica (DVD COMEDY TRA) 104 min. 2005.
Bree Osborne, a pre-operative transsexual, learns she fathered a child when she was Stanley Osborne. Her son is now a teenager hustling on the New York streets. They begin a cross-country trip that will change both their lives. Felicity Huffman was nominated for an Oscar.
A Village Affair (DVD TV VIL) 100 min. 1995.
Recently returned to England from New York City, vivacious heiress Clodagh Unwin befriends a couple new to her village. The husband is entranced by the young aristocrat, but Clodagh has eyes for someone else: his wife Alice.
The Witnesses (DVD FOREIGN WIT) 112 min. 2008.
In French with English captions. The lives of a writer, her boyfriend, a well-known doctor, and an attractive gay man all intersect when they are faced with the AIDS epidemic during the sexual revolution in the early 1980s.
