A fabulous and freaky feast of films has been gathered for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people starving to see their stories on the big screen. The crew from Out Takes: A Reel Queer Film Festival, has released an incredibly diverse and sumptuous line-up for viewers in Wellington and Auckland in late May and early June. For a generation which thrives on shock and awe and allowed the Saw to have countless sequels, the most talked-about film so far seems to be LA Zombie, a sex-filled shocker from Bruce LaBruce which was (many would say) over-zealously banned by Australian censors. Starring porn king Froncois Sagat, the movie follows an alien zombie who roams the streets of Los Angeles in search of dead bodies and sex, an activity that reveals a gift of ''shagging'' the deceased back to life. Out Takes Chief Programmer Simon Fulton says it's definitely for a certain taste: "It's grimy and grubby, some people will love it and some won't. It's a silly sort of zombie horror porn thing, but it's loads of fun to watch." Fulton has followed LaBruce's career and says LA Zombie is probably his best-made film and definitely has most of the Bruce LaBruce hallmarks. "It's mercifully free of the a lot of the political ranting his characters do in some of his films though," he says. He believes the film's use of an alien sexual technique to turn bodies into zombies is what has worried censors in some countries. But Fulton it's not necrophilia, not at all. If an alien zombie sex romp doesn't excite your palate, there are plenty of other films which should prove more mouthwatering. This GayNZ.comwriter can't wait to see a documentaries on the Stonewall Uprising and the arrival and impact of AIDS in San Francisco, along with a Le Tigre tour diary and women's Auckland opening night film A Marine Story. In fact there isn't much on the programme I'm not amped about checking out, which is probably down to the hard work the Out Takes team has put in. The crew was sent hundreds of films to consider for selection and had to whittle them down. "We keep in mind the balance of the programme," Fulton says. "We want to have something to appeal to girls, to guys, we want to have a decent amount of trans stuff. We want to balance the comedy and the drama. It's not always possible. That's the goal. But it just depends what filmmakers are making and what sort of subjects they're covering and what the quality of those things is and how we feel it will appeal to our audiences. Some years we end up with more comedy than drama, some years we have more boys' films than girls' films, but we strive to have a good balance." Running a film festival is a costly process and Fulton says it's vital for Out Takes' survival that people do the obvious and come and see the films. "It's almost becoming a user-pays sort of thing. If people aren't going to come out and open their wallets to buy tickets to see the films then the festival's not going to be able to go on." For those who have the time and money, Out Takes is offering multi-buy bonus cards which offer a discount on a set number of films. They have been popular in Wellington in the past but have not had as much uptake in Auckland. "It's a great programme. I'm sure people will want to see at least five films," he laughs, with a serious undertone. Auckland will also see a new trial in afternoon screening, which Out Takes is experimenting with. 'We just had the posters printed so they should be on the streets soon," Fulton says. "I'm very excited and I'm really hoping that people come out and supports it ... everyone is feeling the pinch," he says. "If the tickets don't sell we won't have the funding to run it again. So hopefully everyone gets out and supports it and enjoys the films." Tickets go on sale on Monday. Check out the Out Takes website for more information. Jacqui Stanford - 1st May 2011