Reflecting a social networking-saturated youth culture where YouTube speaks directly to millions of kids, OMG/Hahaha offers a deeper, digitally filtered view into a seemingly superficial psyches of the MySpace generation. Edgy and intimate in the tradition of cutting edge film making inspired by Gus van Sant and Greg Araki, Morgan Jon Fox’s (Blue Citrus Hearts) film weaves a simple narrative together via part video blog, part improvisational narrative, and part pseudo documentary.  Omg/Hahaha is a pastiche of the lives of a diverse set of gay, straight and trans teens living in Memphis, TN.  One teen’s video blog frames the various stories and troubles from breakups, dying parents, unexpected pregnancy to homophobia.

A unique idea for a movie sucks you in (so to speak) from the very beginning and makes you feel like you’re watching, not a movie but a documentary or a MySpace vlog.  In fact, that was the very idea of director Morgan Jon Fox.  Some was scripted, most was improv, and together it makes for a pretty good film.  I think the younger generation would prefer this more than the ‘older’ folks, and I say ‘older’ with the utmost respect.  OMG/HaHaHa has a lot of internet lingo (like the title) written on screen as a running narrative throughout the picture (there is no narrator, per se, but rather a series of text message-like notes in place of where a narrator should be).  So if you’re not up to snuff with your internet dictionary, you may miss the point of a lot of scenes. What I found most fascinating was how comfortable these gay and transgendered teens were with themselves, and others, and their being out of the closet -- especially in a Southern US city.  As it’s quite apparent that the "actors" are really gay, if they aren’t out yet -- they will be outed by this film, that’s for sure (your gaydar will be going off). Check out the deleted scenes, as well.  Those are pretty good. [Review from azovfilms]

Picture This! Entertainment and its sister label Picture This! Home Video have shuttered, closing its doors on September 29 according to a message posted to its website. Doug Witkins founded film company DW Diversified 25 years ago and entered the distribution market with off-shoot Picture This! thirteen years ago with a gala launch at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. His aim was licensing North American independent LGBT films to distributors and networks around the world. In 1998, the company established its domestic wing, which has released almost 100 features and shorts theatrically via home entertainment and TV in North America.

The labels championed gay genre films as well as “coming-of-age” stories, including “Garcon Stupide,” “Come Undone,” “Clara’s Summer,” and the “Boys Briefs” series. It is unclear as the company navigates bankruptcy court what will be the fate of its library. More about this at IndieWIRE

A beautiful young woman who is a murderous sexual psychopath returns from combat as a mercenary in Iraq and abducts a 14 yr-old boy, holding him prisoner as a bizarre relationship develops. So much for the plot. Sounds good, looks good. Expect a more detailed post once the film is released. Thanks for the heads up about it to Pink Neptune :) An interview with screenwriter Stephen Ryder (who also wrote L.I.E.) can be found over at SkyKid’s.

I know it  doesn’t really fit in here age-wise but it was way too cute to skip it. And it has an important message about gender clichés of course. Try to ignore the horrible subtitles, rather be thankful there are some; Spanish speaking people tend to believe everyone speaks their language conspicuously often ;)

Isao is ten years old. He is gay and fully aware that such sensibility will get him in a lot of trouble with everyone around him. His mother wants him to be an Olympic swimmer, like his father was. Along with the complicity of his childhood best friend, Aleciram, a smart, sassy and faithful cohort, they embark on a journey of self discovery and coming of age in very unusual ways: through a near death experience.

Rich with mystery and steeped in mythical superstition, this Mexican voyage into the world of the non-quite-dead finds new and fascinating ways to address the age old dilemma of being an outcast. Slightly reminiscent of Ma Vie En Rose’s Ludovic, Isao likes to dress up, carry a doll, and dreams of being a famous fashion designer in Paris. Left for dead after an unsavory encounter with a pederast gym teacher, little gay boy Isao wakes up in a bizarrely quiet hospital staffed by a single nurse and an unseen administrator. Suddenly joined by a confused lawyer with a bullet wound to the head, young Isao seeks out answers from the cryptic nurse, from his strange new companion, and from within himself. As their stories unfold in Limbo (the waiting room between heaven and hell), Isao’s best friend holds vigil over his still-breathing body, along with a blind janitor who knows a thing or two about displaced ghosts. In a coming-of-age experience befitting his unique temperament, Isao’s voyage into maturity takes place not in the confines of the physical world, but in the unknowable realm of an out-of-body experience.

Thanks to leetboys for posting about this in the milkboard and to Alejandro Morales for the review.

TV channel Fox started airing Skins on German TV recently. Skins, which was only available as download via BitTorrent or DVD import to Non-UK residents for a good while, became an insiders’ secret for gay teenagers all over the world but  the German perversion of dubbing foreign series turns it into a disaster.

Tony and Maxxie from Skins, season 1 | Photo via The Bats Nest

The BAFTA-winning teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England as they grow up is one of the most popular TV series in the United Kingdom and fans, as well as critics, appreciate its authenticity, humour and the sentimentality of puberty it shows. But the German version cut out too much of that. Not only is it hard to stand the desperate attempt to translate English youth slang into German which is moreover presented by bored, 40 year old voice actors but even the carefully selected original soundtrack of the series was replaced with mainstream soap trash.

Worst of all: In the original version Skins uses a loose but correct way of referring to homosexuality. In the German version ‘tho, the Gay character Maxxie sounds like the worst cliché of a nancy boy; and right in the first scene of the first episode Maxxie’s father is insulting him as a “little faggot” – nothing like that happens in the Original series. German TV has managed to turn a show that has a respectful approach to homosexuality into an amplifier of homophobic language and behaviour.[via queer.de]

Just like the flower in the opening scenes, 12-year-old Maxi is a beautiful accent in the gritty underworld on the outskirts of Manila, where he lives. Living with his outlaw father and two older brothers, Maxi dutifully infuses everything he does for them with love. From cooking and sewing to braiding his brother’s hair, Maxi fulfils the role of dalaga for his family, living as a young lady in the absence of femininity and their deceased mother. We follow Maxi through his glowing and textured world of shopping, reenacting beauty pageants, and hanging out at a local DVD stand that screens movies for abundant audiences of transient children. But Maxi’s emotions blossom late one night when he is rescued from neighbourhood thugs by Victor, a kind rookie cop. Smitten with the handsome policeman, Maxi begins to feel pulled between the petty-thief family that he loves and the law and romance Victor embodies.

Veering from adorable and light to bleak and tragic, Maximo Oliveros is all over the emotional map, but in a realistic way, sort of like life itself. The most interesting part of the movie is Lopez’s Maxi, a kid who should be screwed up but instead is totally comfortable in his own skin. Even when the movie is at its most melodramatic, Lopez keeps his performance in check, making this most unreal kid seem very real indeed.

The Philippines’ submission for the 2006 foreign-language film Oscar, "The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros" is a unique coming-of-age film, for Maxi is such an intriguing mix of the streetwise and the innocent, self-aware yet emotionally vulnerable. Solito’s ability to inspire such a daring, unself-conscious portrayal from Lopez is no less than astonishing.

Preteen sexuality is a sensitive subject, but director Auraeus Solito handles it with dignity, never becoming exploitative. Whatever you do, stick around for the final scene, a heartfelt tribute to Carol Reed’s 1949 masterwork "The Third Man." – New York Post

Wikipedia | IMDb |  Review (English) | Review (Deutsch)

Jannis, a cute gay post-adolescent, and his adorable mute boyfriend, Patrick, infiltrate a circus to shoot an undercover documentary exposing an underground political conspiracy responsible for a recent spate of assassination attempts.  But when Patrick meets Mo, a young woman whose sensitivity to sunlight forces her to live by night, Jannis’ jealousy threatens the entire project.  Only Patrick’s unwavering devotion to the boy he loves will help save the day and reveal the truth of who is behind the conspiracy.

Set in the not so distant future, Whispering Moon is visually stunning like nothing seen before it.  Blending media, narratives and skin to tell an enticing story about storytelling the film uses cutting edge techniques to move the plot along.  As we see the story unfold, Jannis, the storyteller, interacts with the characters and their environments, creating an eye-catching visual landscape that challenges the audience even as it entertains.

Whispering Moon is a quirky film with quirky characters that bring you on a quirky journey. The story is full of weird twists and just when you think the script is going one way, the plot thickens and sends you in another direction.  The whole story surrounds Jannis and his quest to uncover the truth about some mysterious deaths, crooked politicians, and poisonous frogs.  Jannis’ mute friend Patrick (unable to speak since early childhood), is helping out by using his connections within the local television media; Patrick’s mother is an investigative journalist.  Complicating things slightly for young Jannis is his inability to get inside Patrick’s pants.

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