STRANGE DAYS: Showcases Burgeon for Every Taste
by Holly Willis

reprinted from Variety, August 30 - September 5, 1999

HOLLYWOOD Despite an increasing number of festivals dedicated to the form, "independent film" has come to mean a certain kind of audience-pleasing specialty film somewhere between "Trick" and "The Blair Witch Project." What happens to all the films that fall way outside the genre boundaries? Well, there's probably a festival for every film and video ever made.

Some of these fests highlight overlooked groups. The MadCat Women's Intl. Film Festival, for example, was founded three years ago by Ariella Ben-Dov to showcase independent and experimental films by women.

"When I was thinking about starting a festival, I went through the (Assn of Independent Video & Filmmakers) guide and there were only seven women's festivals," Ben Dov explains. "I think it's important to showcase women's work, and not just films about women's issues, but films that really challenge audiences."

While there are many new gay and lesbian festivals, another overlooked group is the transgender community. Tranny Fest was established three years ago to address this oversight and to provide, in co-founder Alison Austin's words, "positive media images of the transgender community."

Transgender-Friendly

Dubbed a "finger-snapping, tear-jerking, heartwarming, gut-busting mix of experimental, documentary, dramatic and pornographic films," the day long festival this year will take place Oct. 30 in San Francisco and will include five programs spanning the gender continuum.

"We are as committed to different genres as we are to different genders," explains Austin, who is an arts and entertainment attorney and founded the festival with Christopher Lee, a female-to-male transsexual well known for an array of films

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