Austin’s aGLIFF (All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival) has released its official program selections for Prism 34, the 34th iteration of its annual film festival. Running Aug. 26 – Sept. 6, the festival will be in hybrid form, with screenings both in-person and online.
The opening night film is “Blitzed: The 80s Blitz Kids Story,” documents the small London venue called The Blitz out of which came generation of outrageous teenagers, working class and art school kids, who would define the look, the sound, the style and attitude of the ‘80s. The screening is live at the Paramount Theatre on Aug. 26.
The fest’s centerpiece film is “Boulevard! A Hollywood Story” directed by Jeffrey Schwarz (“I Am Divine,” “Tab Hunter Confidential”) a strange but true story of the first musical version of the movie classic “Sunset Boulevard.”
Pulled from the archives, the groundbreaking 1931 German film “Mädchen in Uniform” became the first international hit with a sympathetic portrayal of a lesbian relationship when it debuted. Directed by Leontine Sagan the film was at first banned in the United States and only released in a heavily cut version after Eleanor Roosevelt spoke highly of the film. Sagan and many others associated with the film fled Germany and the Nazis declared the movie ‘decadent’ by the Nazi regime.
PRISM 34’s closing night film “Shit & Champagne” will be screened outside on Sept. 5 at Pioneer Farms. Written and directed by San Francisco drag queen extraordinaire D’Arcy Drollinger the film is a feature adaptation of his stage play, a wacky send-up of ’70s sexploitation flicks. Drollinger stars as Champagne Horowitz Jones Dickerson White, a charismatic stripper who finds herself in danger after her fiancé and half-sister are both murdered.
The full PRISM 34 festival slate of films can be found at agliff.org.
