Ford Amphitheatre (Hollywood, CA)
Some of the festival's biggest films -- including the closing-night gala screening of the new feature Dare and a sing-along presentation of Funny Girl -- will be shown in the open-air Ford Amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills. An 11-day festival with nearly 200 films and events, Outfest 2009 showcases lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender film images and artistry.
Event summary prepared by the Goldstar Editorial Team.
* Additional fees apply.
LOVED IT!
Funny Girl was great, but I attend this Outfest sing-along event annually. The crowd is what makes it one of the most fun events of the year!
A favorite venue that I like to visit. And Goldstar services were great!
The 1241-seat outdoor Ford Amphitheatre is set against a backdrop of cypresses and chaparral in the Hollywood Hills. It is relatively intimate: no patron is more than 96 feet away from the stage. Music, dance, film, theatre and family events are presented during the summer months. The Ford Amphitheatre Season is a program of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
Website: http://www.outfest.org/fest2009/
Closing Night Gala:
Dare
Directed By: Adam Salky (USA, 2009, 90 mins)
Based on their award-winning short film, writer David Brind and director Adam Salky return to Outfest with Dare, a stunning debut feature that poetically captures the confusion, longing, thrill and lust of teenage life.
The film opens with Alexa (Emmy Rossum), a beautiful, studious, aspiring thespian whose dreams are shattered when acclaimed actor Grant Matson (Alan Cumming) tells her that she has brains but no edge. This devastating blow motivates Alexa to shed her good-girl image. She ditches her best friend Ben (Ashley Springer) - a closeted, melancholy outsider - slips into a hot miniskirt and seduces the gorgeous and popular, but troubled, Johnny Drake (Zach Gilford). No sooner do they become an item than Ben decides he wants a piece of the action and kisses Johnny. Johnny is confused, Ben is ecstatic and Alexa is furious, but in typical teen style, they work it out... and in the process, they discover what it means to become an adult. Stellar performances from the three young leads are bolstered by the comic genius of Ana Gasteyer, Alan Cumming and Sandra Bernhard.
This closing night event will include an after-party (details TBD).
Other Programs:
International Dramatic Feature
The Baby Formula
Directed By: Alison Reid (Canada, 2008, 81 mins)
World Premiere
Athena and Lilith want to have a baby...and they're looking to do it without a man! The ladies employ an experimental procedure that turns stem cells into sperm, allowing them to have a biological child. But when their relatives and a documentary crew find out, the couple's domestic bliss is put to the test. Pregnant with humor and warmth, The Baby Formula is a fresh take on what makes a family.
Special Events
Funny Girl: The Sing-Along
Directed By: William Wyler (USA, 1968, 151 mins)
All hail Babs! Loosen up those vocal chords - it's time to sing along with Funny Girl. As 1930s comedienne Fanny Brice, the lovely Ms. Streisand is at the height of her powers: laughing, crying, roller-skating and belting out showstoppers like nobody's business. William Wyler directs, Omar Sharif charms, Walter Pidgeon smarms, but this one is all about Barbra baby!
International Dramatic Feature
Patrik, Age 1.5
Directed By: Ella Lemhagen (Sweden, 2008, 103 mins)
In Swedish with English subtitles
Gay newlyweds Sven and Goran have it all: great jobs, a new home in the suburbs and the perfect plan to start their own family. The only thing they don't have is an answer to the bureaucratic mix-up that leaves them with a delinquent teenager instead of a newborn. Featuring lush cinematography and a smorgasbord of slick Swedish design, Patrik, Age 1.5 explores the challenges facing same-sex parents with style and humor.