Queer Films at DMZ Docs

As I mentioned earlier, I learned about the DMZ Docs festival from the director of The Skin I'm In, who found my blog. There are five other features with queer themes this year at the 4th Annual DMZ Docs Festival. All of these films are either in English or have English subtitles. 
Summer Days in Bloom
 
Du-yeol claimed that his life has ended after being diagnosed HIV/AIDS positive 10 years ago. Gabriel falls in love for the first time in 10 years after is diagnosis. The two start living together at a rooftop house, but sooner or later, Du-yeol leaves, marking the beginning of an endless chain of breakups and getting back together. Although they share similar pains,love seems difficult for them as they have different desires. (I've seen this one before without subtitles and would recommend it. I might have to see it again with subtitles)

Sep 23 20:30 and Sep 26 13:00
Wandering Stars
Teenagers Eun-jung, Seung,-hee and Song-ha are shelter buddies. Eun-jung is fearful of becoming an adult soon, Seung-hee hopes to grow up fast enough to live in a monthly -rented house and own a car or motorcycle while Song-ha spends everything she earns on cosmetics, clothes and changing her hairstyle. They are at the end of their teens when dating and style are their greatest interest, but the life they have to bear on their own is not as easy as they wish. (I saw this one at the LGBTQ film festival... it was kind of hard to identify with the teenagers, but the story was pretty interesting). 

Sep 22 16:00 and Sep 25 17:30

Call Me Kuchu 
In Uganda, a new bill threatens to make homosexuality punishable by death. David Kato - Uganda's first openly gay man - and his fellow activists work against the clock to defeat the legislation while combating vicious persecution in their daily lives. But no one, not even the filmmakers, is prepared for the brutal murder that shakes the movement to its core and sends shock waves around the world. 

Sep 22 15:00 and Sep 25 20:00
El Bella Vista 
'El Bella Vista' is the story of a house started as a football club, becoming a successful transvestite brothel and changes at last to a Catholic Chapel, all in a small conservative village in Uruguay. Two transvestites, one brothel's Madame, a brickmaker, ex football player, and a nun will bring to life this battle for control of a single physical space, home to mutually antagonistic institutions, driven by the same motivation: passion.
http://www.dmzdocs.com/program/mo_view.asp?index=444
Sep 22 L7 20:00
Sep 24 L7 15:00



Love Free or Die
LOVE FREE OR DIE is about a man whose two defining passions are in direct conflict: his love for God and for his partner Mark. Gene Robinson is the first openly gay person to become a bishop in the historic traditions of Christendom. His consecration in 2003, to which he wore a bullet-proof vest, caused an international stir, and he has lived with death threats every day since.


Sep 23 13:00 and Sep 26 20:00

The Skin I'm In
In 2005 a young American filmmaker was found unconscious on the Berlin subway tracks with his head split open and lethal blood alcohol level of 0.47. Strangers pulled him to safety, giving him a second chance at life and propelling him on the epic journey of mind, body, and spirit that has become THE SKIN I’M IN. 

Sep 22 17:30 and Sep 27 13:00

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For more information, you can check out the festival's ticket catalog; while the English website has been a bit iffy, the catalog was put together pretty well. Near the end of the catalog there are maps and directions to the specific theaters. While the festival is in Paju (slightly outside of Seoul) it is close enough that this festival warrants a day trip.