The fifth annual Spectrum Film Festival arrives virtually and at the M.V. Film Center on Friday, May 7, through Sunday, May 9. This powerful and inclusive festival provides six LGBTQ films. They range from “The World to Come,” about a 19th century lesbian love affair, to “Transhood,” a documentary exploring the transition experience of four children.
Others include “Strike a Pose,” a documentary about seven dancers who went on tour with Madonna in 1992, and “Wojnarowicz,” in which a gay man describes being AIDS-positive. Two more are “Dimka,” the story of a cross-dresser who makes the transition from male to female; and, finally, “Supernova,” about a gay man facing his partner’s dementia. Four of the films are reviewed here.
‘The World to Come’
“The World to Come” takes the viewer back to 1856 for the story of two women who fall in love and pursue an affair. Abigail (Katherine Waterston) is in a loveless marriage to Tyler (Casey Affleck), and still grieves for her daughter Nellie, who died of diptheria. In her diary, Abigail describes the winter’s ice in her bedroom, a metaphor for the coldness in her marriage.
When Tallie (Vanessa Kirby) and her abusive husband Finney (Christopher Abbott) move into the farm next door, Abigail finds solace with Tallie, developing a warm friendship with her. Friendship becomes passionate, and husbands grow suspicious.
When Tallie shows evidence of her husband’s abuse, Abigail worries but does nothing about it. Then Tallie and Finney disappear, moving nearly 100 miles away. Discovering a bloody cloth left behind, an anxious Abigail travels with her husband Tyler to find Tallie, but discovers she has died under questionable circumstances. Directed by Norwegian Mon Fastvold, “The World to Come” conveys the haunting and evocative reality of 19th century homosexuality, in which prejudice and patriarchy reign.
‘Transhood’
This documentary, directed by Sharon Liese, follows the lives of four children for five years, as they develop into transhood. Set in Kansas City, Mo., a less-than-receptive locale, the four range in age from preschool to adolescence.
Phoenix starts out at 4 and already describes her/himself as a girl/boy, and dresses in girl’s clothes. The film finds Avery at 7, growing into a girl, becoming an activist and appearing on the cover of National Geographic. At 12, Jay transitions to a boy and acquires a girlfriend named Mildred. Leena begins at 15 in the film with long red hair, and she aspires to be a model.
What’s important about “Transhood” is the way it depicts these four as typical children who happen to transition into the opposite sex. In addition, it looks at the parents, who are supportive of their children’s gender goals, while their religious or family backgrounds often present challenges to transitioning. Included with the screenings of “Transhood” is an interview with its director, Sharon Liese, by Richard Paradise.
‘Dimka’
This documentary begins with a Ukrainian man who is happy being a man, but enjoys dressing as a woman. Eventually he decides to transition as a woman, and undergoes sex change surgery. Because of the exhibitionist nature of Dimka, the film is not suitable for children.
Dimka wears a number of different wigs, and is comfortable being a man who dresses as a woman, until she flies to Los Angeles for sex change surgery. (See the cover story for more information on this film.)
‘Supernova’
The viewer meets Sam (bearded Oscar winner Colin Firth) and Tusker (Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci) as they drive in their aging camper through the English countryside. In a film directed by Harry McQueen, they have been together for 20 years, and love each other deeply, although they squabble like any longtime couple. It soon becomes clear that something else, more serious, is going on.
Tusker has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, and Sam is intensely worried about what it will mean for their future together. Tusker is determined to go it alone, but Sam wants to stay with him till the end. Once when he heads out of a rest stop, a panicked Sam discovers a confused Tusker, who has wandered away.
Looking through a telescope becomes a metaphor for the love they once happily shared but which now seems remote. The breathtaking landscapes they drive through and friends and family they visit offer a tribute to the final times they share some form of happiness. In a high note of the film, Sam takes over reading an incapable Tusker’s speech. “I want to be remembered for who I was and not for what I’m about to become,” Tusker says. “You have to let me go,” he adds.
Information and tickets for the Spectrum Film Festival, both virtually and at the Film Center, are available at mvfilmsociety.com.
