Austin's Gay Film Festival Drops the 'Gay'
One of the longest running LGBT film festivals has changed names for its 31st birthday. The Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival, happening September 6-9, is now officially the “All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival”.
In addition to screenings and panel discussions, aGLIFF has added legacy awards to its programming this year. The legacy awards aim to celebrate filmmakers and artists who have made significant achievements in queer cinema that have profoundly impacted the LGBT community. The first honorees include Austin filmmaker Yen Tan ... Jake Graf is also honored as 'Breakthrough Filmmaker' ...
“Call Her Ganda” directed by local Austin filmmaker PJ Raval, is part of aGLIFF’s opening night selection. The documentary, fresh from winning the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Toronto’s Inside Out film festival, investigates the story of Jennifer Laude (above), a Filipina trans woman who was brutally murdered by a U.S. Marine.
Meanwhile, “Mapplethorpe”, directed by award-winning filmmaker Ondi Timonoer, will close the festival. The film stars Matt Smith as the complicated gay artist and looks at his rise to fame in the ‘70s through his untimely death in 1989 to AIDS complications.
https://www.advocate.com/film/2018/7/21/austins-gay-film-festival-drops-gay