Frameline42 Unveils Roster: Transmilitary, Ideal Home, We the Animals, Studio 54 and more

Frameline42, the San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival, will take place June 14-24 in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland, with an expected attendance of over 60,000. Frameline, the world’s longest-running and largest LGBTQ film festival, showcases lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer cinema from more than 35 countries, including Brazil, Japan, Lebanon, Norway, Paraguay, Kosovo, South Africa, and Malaysia—with 52% of the films directed by women. Frameline42 draws film lovers, media artists, and LGBTQ communities from across the globe to discover the best in queer cinema. In total, 153 films and videos will be showcased including 41 narrative features and 33 feature documentaries.

This year’s festival will open with the doc TRANSMILITARY from Fiona Dawson and Gabriel Silverman. Fresh off its premiere at the SXSW Film Festival where it won the Audience Award—tells the inspiring stories of four transgender troops who are the visible front lines of America’s fight for LGBTQ rights. Supported by the Frameline Completion Fund, TRANSMILITARY is also the first
feature film to receive funding from GLAAD Media Institute.

Matt Tyrnauer’s STUDIO 54 will close the fest (which coincides with SF Pride weekend). Featuring never-before-seen archival footage and photos as well as candid interviews with co-founder Ian Schrager, STUDIO 54, which premiered at Sundance this year, is one of two feature-length documentaries from director Tyrnauer at Frameline42; Toronto International Film Festival favorite SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD will also screen in the Documentary section.

Centerpiece films include WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY from Madeleine Olnek. This film stars Molly Shannon as a woman who embodies poet Emily Dickinson as a driven writer, a target of obsessive envy, an ardent lover, and a woman who suffered no fools. This delightful account of creative passion and longing tells only the truth but tells it with an ingeniously subversive slant. Following its world premiere at SXSW, WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY is the latest from Frameline alum Madeleine Olnek (The Foxy Merkins, Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same), who will also be a part of a special In Conversation With… at Frameline42.

Other highlights include Matt Smith (The Crown, Dr. Who) as Robert Mapplethorpe in Ondi Timoner’s MAPPLETHORPE, Chlöe Grace Moretz in the Sundance winner THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST, Steve Coogan and Paul Rudd in Andrew Fleming’s gay uncles comedy IDEAL HOME, Jeremiah Zagar’s gorgeous and poetic WE THE ANIMALS and Marcelo Martinessi’s Berlinale hit THE HEIRESSES.

One of the best elements of Frameline is how broad-reaching its sections are. Inclusivity is key to this festival with sections devoted to black, Asian, Latinx and women filmmakers that include panels, conversations and world premiere feature films. Not to be sidelined, non-fiction films will be highlighted in the panel ​LIGHTS. CAMERA. TAKE ACTION.: Queer Women Documentarians in the Spotlight, which was being presented thanks to a grant from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, you know them better as the group that puts on the Oscars).

About Frameline42: San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival

Lights. Camera. Take Action. Frameline42, San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival, takes place June 14-24, 2018 in the Bay Area. The 42nd Festival celebrates the spectrum and intersection of identities that make up LGBTQ communities worldwide. Join filmmakers and festivalgoers alike at the largest showcase of queer media on the planet. Info and tickets: www.frameline.org

About Frameline

Frameline’s mission is to change the world through the power of queer cinema. As a media arts nonprofit, Frameline’s programs connect filmmakers and audiences in the San Francisco Bay Area and around the globe. Frameline’s integrated programs provide critical funding for emerging LGBTQ filmmakers, reach hundreds of thousands with a collection of more than 250 films distributed globally, inspire thousands of students through Youth in Motion, which sends free films and curricula to schools across the nation, and create an international stage for the world’s best LGBTQ film through the San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival and additional year-round screenings and cinematic events. Learn more at www.frameline.org