Steve Farrow watched an impressive number of films at the Out Takes Film Festival in Wellington, and a couple from the Documentary Edge Festival too. He reflects on his film marathon! GLBTI film festivals are, generally, the preserve of the older, the more educated and the richer. That is interesting, as often the films focus on the younger and the disadvantaged. What was refreshing about the Out Takes 2014 Festival in Wellington (29 May-12 June) – both the audiences and the films had a much wider compass. I attended Out Takes Wellington screenings many more times than my bank and my waistline (Paramount’s Kapiti ice cream dipped in chocolate!) say I should have. My take on the festival is biased by gender and the amount of time my butt can sit on a theatre seat in a day and a fortnight. Now that attendees’ voting has ended, this is my view. There were the usual twink offerings: GBF, I’m a Porn Star, Boys. There were the very odd choices: Hawaii (I’m still waiting for the paint to dry and the grass to grow – it was the only film I attended that did not elicit some applause) and the short Daniel (I’m still waiting for the police to arrive, me having likely been photographed entering the theatre). Nonetheless, I give huge plaudits to the selection team and to the volunteers who made Out Takes 2014 possible on the ground. Sibylle Brunner in Rosie The stars of the festival for me were Sibylle Brunner as Rosie in Rosie, Alice Nkom as herself in Born This Way, the whole cast in It Gets Better, Ed Stoppard and Henry Goodman as Alan Turing and Dr Franz Greenbaum in Codebreaker; Alice Walker in Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth. And lots of others. The Way He Looks, Free Fall, Test, In The Name Of, Geography Club, The Last Match were all worth the effort. As always, the miscellanies of shorts were the proverbial curate’s egg. I’m told I missed the best short, Dik, which preceded Matterhorn. Overlapping with Out Takes in Wellington was the Documentary Edge 2014 Festival [Wellington June 5-15 at the Roxy]. Because of Out Takes I only attended two at the latter. Both of those should have been at the former! God Loves Uganda The links between Out Takes and Documentary Edge were very strong. The Rugby Player (Out Takes) and Bridegroom (Documentary Edge) both celebrated the vibrant and significant lives of young gay men who lived their values in the face of social “norms”. Born This Way (Out Takes) and God Loves Uganda (Documentary Edge) both recorded the dangerous lives that our family overseas still suffer. It’s only a year since New Zealanders celebrated Louisa Wall’s successful amendment of New Zealand’s Marriage Act. In that context I loved the drama of The Case Against 8 and was saddened by the realities of Cameroon and Uganda. At both film festivals those on the door and those who walked in gave me some certainty that there are enquiring minds in the generations that follow me. At the bus stop after God Loves Uganda, it was great to eavesdrop on the conversation between young men and women discussing the issues raised by that film. I couldn’t have improved on their analysis. Now back to normal. No films. No ice cream. That solves my First World problems. So unlike our community members elsewhere. Steve Farrow - 2nd July 2014