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A scene from Hellphone, a cheesy French film xD Thanks for the tip Anon!

In 1977, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. His victory was not just a victory for gay… In 1977, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. His victory was not just a victory for gay rights; he forged coalitions across the political spectrum. From senior citizens to union workers, Harvey Milk changed the very nature of what it means to be a fighter for human rights and became, before his untimely death in 1978, a hero for all Americans.

Sean Penn stars as Harvey Milk under the direction of Gus Van Sant (director of Elephant and Paranoid Park) in Milk. Milk charts the last eight years of Harvey Milk’s life. While living in New York City, he turns 40. Looking for more purpose, Milk and his lover Scott Smith relocate to San Francisco, where they found a small business, Castro Camera, in the heart of a working-class neighbourhood. With his beloved Castro neighbourhood and beautiful city empowering him, Milk surprises Scott and himself by becoming an outspoken agent for change. With vitalizing support from Scott and from new friends like young activist Cleve Jones, Milk plunges headfirst into the choppy waters of politics. Bolstering his public profile with humour, Milk’s actions speak even louder than his gift-of-gab words. When Milk is elected supervisor for the newly zoned District 5, he tries to coordinate his efforts with those of another newly elected supervisor, Dan White. But as White and Milk’s political agendas increasingly diverge, their personal destinies tragically converge. Milk’s platform was and is one of hope – a hero’s legacy that resonates in the here and now

2 Oscars for Milk

Stars on their way to the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles had to pass a group of Christian demonstrators outside who protested against gay marriage and attacked the memory of the late Heath Ledger, a favourite target of militant anti-gay protesters since his role in Brokeback Mountain.

Penn won the best actor award for Milk, in which he played politician and gay rights activist Harvey Milk. The actor opened his acceptance speech with the words: "You commie, homo-loving sons of guns," to laughter from the audience. Referring to the protest, he said: "For those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think that it is a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren’s eyes if they continue that way of support. We’ve got to have equal rights for everyone."

Dustin Lance Black, who won best original screenplay for Milk, continued the theme in an emotional speech. Raised in a strict Mormon household, he spoke movingly of the day he read Harvey Milk’s life story. Milk, who was shot dead in 1978, was the first openly gay man elected to public office in California. "It gave me the hope one day I could live my life openly as who I am and then maybe even I could fall in love and one day get married," Black said.

"If Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he would want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are ‘less than’ by their churches, by the government or by their families: that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value. And that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you. And that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights federally across this great nation of ours. Thank you, God, for giving us Harvey Milk."

Sean Penn and gay director Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting) have created a warm-hearted testament to Harvey Milk, the first openly gay individual who was elected to major political office, and was then murdered/martyred. — Fayetteville Free Weekly

WARNING: Spoilers Ahead!
Original Post about this Film

Cutest/Sexiest movie I ever seen! It’s about this 14 (or 13) year old boy named Logan, and he has teh ghey. He’s a loner at school (which is a little hard to buy considering he also has teh sexy) and he only has one friend who is a nerd and is kinda fugly. Anyways he meets this older guy who really reminds me of Jared Leto from My So-Called Life. The two hang out, older guy sort of – kinda develops a crush on Logan, Logan falls head over heals for him. So Logan get his digits and calls him up pretending to be a chick. Logan talks to dirty to him and they both end up wanking it to each other over the phone. More shit happens, Logan goes to a school dance and gets beat up, (I’ll nurse you back to health! :D) Logan’s mom yells at him (btw Logan’s mom is kinda cute, she has this whole "Amelie-If-She-Did-Drugs" thing going on.) Logan puts on make up and calls his fugly bff over and they take pictures, and there is also a whole bundle of "artistic" stock footage of bugs and trees and toilets and other crap that people find "deep" if you edit it in photoshop.

Through out this time Logan and older cutie are still phone sexing it up, eventually Logan says "Ohhh Bab-bay, meet in this cave and will sex it up!" or something along those lines, and dude is all "Yeah. Cool. Whatever" because he’s to cool to care.

So they meet in the caves, (Woo-hoo! Action! *drools*) and dude finds out that hot chick was actually LOGAN! *Le gasp* So he’s all and leaves (If you don’t want that I’ll take it) Logan is also feeling so he goes home feeling disappointed (I know how he feels grumble grumble.) All in all, all three of us did not get the action we expected. So you don’t see ungrateful dude again in the movie. So, more bullying happens to Logan, Logan comes out to mom and mom is totally chill about it (I had a good feeling about her from the start) then he comes out to fugly bff (well sort of, he just questions himself.) and Logan says "If I am gay, do you think your mom will still let me go camping with you guys?" and I was like "AWWWWWW! TOO CUTE! ^_^"

So then more shit happens and Logan is at school and there is a lion at school so everyone is running around looking for a place to hide (why the teachers sent them all outside instead of inside out of the lion and animal controls way I’ll never know. Seriously, it was in the middle of class and the teacher evacuated the school because of the lion. Not an orderly evacuation either. People were running every where) then the lion and Logan come face to face and they make it seem as though he died so I’m sitting there sobbin’ and sobbin’ then they show him with the words "It Didn’t Kill Me" written on his chest and I was like "………oh." 

So that’s pretty much the end of the movie, the only thing I didn’t like was they added gobs and gobs of supposedly artistic crap that got really annoying really fast.

Valentines Special from Bernard Welt @ Dennis Cooper’s Blog

Prayers for Bobby  is a television movie that premiered on the Lifetime network on January 24, 2009. The film is based on the book by the same name by Leroy F. Aarons, which is based on the true story of the life and legacy of Bobby Griffith, a young gay man who killed himself due to his mother’s and community’s religious intolerance.

In Prayers for Bobby, Mary Griffith is a devout Christian who raises her children with the conservative teachings of the Presbyterian Church. However, when her son Bobby confides to his older brother he may be gay, life changes for the entire family after Mary learns about his secret. While Bobby’s father and siblings slowly come to terms with his homosexuality, Mary believes God can cure him of what she considers his "sin" and desperately tries to ‘cure’ him of his homosexuality. She takes him to a psychiatrist and persuades Bobby to pray harder and seek solace in church activities in hopes of changing him. Desperate for his mother’s approval, Bobby does what is asked of him, but through it all, the church’s apparent disapproval of homosexuality causes him to grow increasingly withdrawn and depressed.

Guilty over the pain he is causing his mother, Bobby moves away, yet hopes that some day she will accept him. His subsequent depression and self-loathng intensifies as he blames himself for not being the "perfect" son, and he jumps off a freeway bridge into the path of an oncoming truck, killing him instantly.

Faced with their tragedy, Mary begins to question herself and her church’s interpretation of Scripture. Through her long and emotional journey, Mary slowly reaches out to the gay community and discovers unexpected support from a very unlikely source. She becomes acquainted with a local gay reverend, who convinces her to attend a meeting of PFLAG. It is there that she realizes that she knew Bobby was different from conception, and that God did not heal him because there was nothing wrong with him. She becomes an advocate for gay rights and eventually gives a speech in a town council meeting in support of a local "gay day". She urges people to think before they say amen to ignorance and hate because "a child is listening". The measure is rejected, but she and her family travel to San Francisco with fellow PFLAG members and march in a gay pride parade, during which she sees another young man just like Bobby observing the parade. She walks over and hugs him, finally coming to terms with her son’s death and vowing to work hard for the rights of gay and lesbian individuals.

Official Site | Wikipedia | IMDb |  Review
Sources: Wikipedia & Dennis Cooper

And now for something completely different: It starts all with a chicken and ends with a kiss. In-between we see a cute as hell lead actor, well dressed kids and, well, aliens. Coming of age film for kids? Yes! Unusual horror comedy for adults? Hell yes!

Rated R in the US – The kids dared to say ”Fuck”… We will all die, etc.

Once upon a time, there was a blue planet by the name of Earth. On this planet, some six billion people lived together for better or worse, in war and in love. But there was also life on another planet. The creatures there were not as diverse, for they only knew war, not love. So mankind had something they really wanted…yet as with all good stories, a lot can go wrong…

 
Released in its home country of Denmark as Vikaren, The Substitute takes the old aliens coming to take over the world concept and condenses it into a very small, intimate story. Though far more sci-fi than it is horror, this is what I like to refer to as a “gateway” film — a movie kids will watch that’ll give them a taste of horror, hopefully whetting their appetites for the harder stuff down the road.

When the students of class 6B are told they’ll be getting a new substitute for a short time, visions of goofing off and disobeying left and right cause them to jump for joy. When the sub shows up, however, they take a decidedly different viewpoint. She’s mean, harsh, and has no qualms telling the children how stupid they are. One of the students, Carl, even gets a very real example of the fact that she can read minds, which sets him down a path to figure out just what the hell she really is. What we know and Carl soon finds out is that she’s an alien, sent to Earth from her home planet to try and figure out what love is in order to bring the information back to her race so they can stop killing one another. There’s a very strong, sometimes overstated, theme of mankind being the only species (in this case in the entire universe) with the capacity to love, to feel empathy or compassion.

Don’t go into The Substitute expecting any kind of slimy alien horror story; in fact the moments of actual horror take up maybe a minute or two of the film’s entire runtime, and even that is pushing it. What makes the tale scary is imagining being in these kids’ shoes when all this is happening, which is yet another reason why a strong cast was so important. But what really helps make The Substitute work is its sense of humor. There are some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments that help to both humanize the characters even more and break up some tension that may be building.

Director Ole Bornedal calls young lead actor Jonas Wandschneider "poetic, beautiful and clever," three words that perfectly describe The Substitute. Equal parts sci-fi, fantasy, adventure and lighthearted thriller, this Danish effort is invigorated with deliciously dark humor that’s brought to life by an amazing cast. Add arresting cinematography and production design, and this is a true joy to experience. Cynical and cheerful at the same time, it’s a movie with a message about isolation, loneliness and sorrow — and the battle to break free.

Neulich auf einem nachbarplaneten: krieg und gegenseitiges Auffressen sind an der Tagesordnung. Als die Bewohner von der stärksten Macht im universum erfahren, werden sie auf die Erde aufmerksam, denn hier besitzt die Bevölkerung diese Macht. Es ist… die Liebe. Also entsnden die Außerirdischen Ulla Harms, ein Irrlicht in einer silbernen Kugel. Als diese in die Frau eines Hühnerbauern eindringt und wenig später dier Klassenvertretung der 6b übernimmt – aus welchen gründen auch immer – nimmt das Unheil seinen Lauf: Die neue Paukerin hetzt über die vorstehenden Zähne ihrer Schüler, macht Witze über die frisch verstorbene Mutter eines Jungen, liest Gedanken und posaunt die intimsten Geheimnisse der Pubertierenden vor versammelter Mannschaft aus. Gefühlosigkeit und seltsame Härte verwirren die Kinder. Also machen sich die Schüler auf, herauszufinden, was mit der scheinbar Geistesgestörten los ist…

 
A boy in his early teens develops a crush on a grown woman old enough to be his mother, only to discover she is also attracted to him, in this controversial drama from France. Marion (Emmanuelle Bercot) is a headstrong and free-spirited woman in her early thirties who heads to the seacoast for a short vacation that coincides with the 13th birthday of her godson Benoit (Kevin Goffette). Benoit and his friends are just old enough to be enthralled with any conversation involving sex, and Marion humors them by joining in their talks on the beach about the mysteries of women.

Marion soon gets to know one of Benoit’s friends, Clement (Olivier Gueritee), and the interest between them becomes more than just friendly; some good-natured horseplay stirs a desire between them, and after the two share a kiss on the beach, Clement is obsessed with Marion. While she’s unsure about starting a relationship with a boy less than half her age, Marion can’t deny her feelings for Clement, and before long she and the youngster are lovers. One night, Clement appears at Marion’s doorstep, announcing he’s run away from home and wants to move in with her; Marion isn’t sure what to tell the boy, knowing the foolishness of such a move even though she does love him, and soon Clement is crestfallen, certain that Marion no longer cares for him. Clement was written and directed by Emmanuelle Bercot, who also stars as Marion; the film was shown in the Un Certain Regard series at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, where it received the Young Cinema Award.

Marion ist jung und ungebunden und führt ein sorgloses Leben, ganz so, als sei sie nie wirklich erwachsen geworden. Auf der Geburtstagsfeier ihres Patenkindes lernt sie den Heranwachsenden Clément kennen, der ihr schmeichelt und sie provoziert. Er verliebt sich in sie, sie ist neugierig…

Ein nicht ganz alltägliche Liebesgeschichte von Emmanuelle Bercot, die 2001 bei den 54. Internationalen Filmfestspielen in Cannes mit dem den Prix de la Jeunesse ausgezeichnet wurde. Die Wahl des Themas, die Geschichte und die unverklärte, direkte Art, in der die Liebe zwischen einer Erwachsenen und einem Heranwachsenden gezeichnet ist, sind mutig und provokant. Ohne Scham und mit großem Einfühlungsvermögen in die Psyche ihrer beiden Hauptfiguren beschreibt Bercot die körperliche Annäherung und die daraus wachsende Liebe der beiden Protagonisten. Behutsam steigt die Regisseurin in die Geschichte ein und gibt dadurch dem Zuschauer die nötige Zeit, sich auf das heikle Thema einzulassen. In Deutschland wurde der Film als “Viel zu jung” vom TV-Sender arte gezeigt.

Wikipedia | IMDb
Sources: English Text | German Text | Picture | Video

A teenage skateboarder has a run-in with a security guard that results in the man’s death. Confused, fearful, and evasive, the teen wanders the streets of Portland as his life takes a turn for the worse in director Gus Van Sant’s screen adaptation of author Blake Nelson’s grim coming-of-age tome. Alex is a withdrawn 16-year-old boy who has recently discovered Paranoid Park — a massive skate park in Portland. The Portland skate punks built Paranoid Park so they could have a place to cruise the concrete without being hassled by the cops. One day, after befriending a local skater and anarchist at the park, Alex decides that a little adventure might be just the thing to help him forget about his problems back home. When Alex and his new friend attempt to hop a train and a security guard gives chase, tragedy strikes so quickly that the two teens are barely able to comprehend what has just happened. In the aftermath of the fatal accident, one man is robbed of life and two teens are left to ponder the consequences of their youthful recklessness. Alex doesn’t think that anyone will believe him if he explains how events really unfolded that night, but why would anyone have cause to think he wasn’t telling the truth in the first place? As the police launch an investigation into the death and Alex begins to express himself in a deeply personal diary, the audience is able to experience the pain and confusion of adolescence from the perspective of a young boy who was only seeking to escape from reality when suddenly confronted by the concept of mortality.

A teenage art-flick, Paranoid Park proves the most fluent and coherent of Gus Van Sant’s recent experiments. Part crime mystery, part coming-of-age story, it’s positively overflowing with burnished imagery and adolescent turmoil.

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

Boy meets Boy (소년, 소년을 만나다) is a Korean short film released in November 2008. It’s unique in the sense that there is no dialogue at all involved, and relies on background music and body language to project the characters’ feelings. Produced by Korea Gay Men’s Human Rights Group Chiusai & Blue Films, the film is about Min-Soo (played by Kim Hye Seong) who gets his camera stolen from Suk-Yee (played by Hyun-Jin). They later meet again on a bus, which then sparks their love. the proceedings of the film are donated to the Gay support group “Between Friends”.

You might expect a slow piece of romantic but it’s actually pretty funny. I couldn’t stop laughing when she appeared on the screen xD This gem was posted in the milkboard by Kollio. You should head over there if you want to see the Director’s cut.