Spectrum 8’s third week starts with look at father, son relationships

Painting the Spectrum 8, SASOD’s LBGT annual film festival continues in its third week tomorrow at 7 pm at the Sidewalk Cafe in Middle Street, Georgetown with a special Father’s Day tribute.

The film Beginners stars Christopher Plummer in his Academy Award winning role as Hal, a man who comes out as gay to his son Oliver, played by Ewan McGregor. Soon after his father’s death from cancer, Oliver meets Anna and they start a relationship. Both Oliver and Anna have unresolved emotions about their fathers and Oliver reflects on Hal’s life as he seeks to learn about living and loving.

On Monday, SASOD says, Andil Gosine’s short film Someone Like You tells the story of a kitchen worker who finds escape from broken immigrant dreams in the magic of a flower seller using chutney music. SASOD is also pleased to screen Dash Boyz Episode 1 from Jamaica, an animated short created as part of the Grata Foundation’s education about discrimination against gay men. The third film Finding Me continues the exploration of father son relationships. Faybian Allen seems to have it all, but while confronting his father’s homophobia, he searches for his own truth and to find acceptance for who he really is.

On Tuesday, the film festival moves to Iran. In Maryam Keshavarz’s Circumstances, a wealthy Iranian family struggles to contain a teenager’s growing sexual rebellion and her brother’s dangerous obsession. Atafeh and her brother, Mehran, have grown up privileged, in a home filled with music, art, and intellectual curiosity. Atafeh dreams of fame and adventure, and she and her best friend, Shireen, explore Tehran’s underground scene with youthful exuberance and determination to be themselves. Meanwhile, her brother returns home from drug rehab, renounces his former decadent life, and replaces his once obsessive practice of classical music with more destructive pursuits.

SASOD reminds that all films are intended for mature audiences and all screenings start at 7 pm. Admission is free.