Reel Asian is co-presenting Margarita, with a Straw and The Blue Hour (Onthakan) at Inside Out LGBT Film Festival!
We are proud to co-present two coming-of-age films: Margarita, with a Straw and The Blue Hour (Onthkan) at the 25th Anniversary edition of Inside Out LGBT Film Festival! Director Shonali Bose’s award-winning Margarita, with a Straw, brings an unusual story of a woman’s self-discovery as a rebellious aspiring writer suffering with cerebral palsy. When Laila leaves India to Manhattan, she meets Khanum, a blind Pakistani woman whose unabashed queerness awakens Sapphic feelings in Laila. In The Blue Hour (Onthakan), directed by Anucha Boonyawatana, a gay romance unravels between two teenage boys after Tam finds escape from abuse and comfort when he meets Phum at the swimming pool for a hookup.
Inside Out LGBT Film Festival runs from May 21 – 31, 2015. More information here.
MARGARITA, WITH A STRAW
“International Showcase” Section
Thursday, May 28, 9:30pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox Cinema 2 (350 King Street, W)
Tickets: $14 general admission | $11 for students and seniors
Buy tickets here.
SYNOPSIS: Laila is a rebellious aspiring writer with cerebral palsy. When she wins a scholarship to NYU she packs her bags and moves to Manhattan. At university she meets Khanum, a blind Pakistani woman whose unabashed queerness awakens Sapphic feelings in Laila. As their love blossoms, Laila struggles with opening up to her mother but, as it turns out, her mother has a secret of her own – one that will lead to a crisis for Laila and Khanum. Whether she is addressing the suppressed history of massacred Sikhs or recognizing unsung heroes of Indian independence, Shonali Bose is no stranger to topics that get audiences talking. Margarita, with a Straw, Bose’s third film, feels like her most personal, its diversity refreshing and groundbreaking. More information.
THE BLUE HOUR (ONTHAKAN)
“In Focus: I See Gay People” Section – North American Premiere
Sunday, May 31, 2:30pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox Cinema 2 (350 King Street, W)
Tickets: $14 general admission | $11 for students and seniors
Buy tickets here.
SYNOPSIS: Two teenage boys find comfort and escape in each other’s company in this visually stunning and suspenseful drama that bears a hint of the supernatural. Tam faces routine abuse from his fellow students as well as from his father, who resents his son’s unspoken sexuality. When Tam arranges an online hookup with Phum at an abandoned swimming pool, both boys are looking only for sex. They quickly form a close bond, however, and roam the streets together. Phum introduces Tam to a world where spirits are active in shaping (and threatening) human lives. Despite – or perhaps because of – feeling safe and loved for the first time, Tam is soon unable to differentiate between reality and fantasy, and finds himself quickly descending into a state of paranoia and violence. More information.