As I was settling down a few days ago to begin writing my reviews of some of the films from this year's Reel Affirmations GLBT film festival, I suddenly did the math: If Reel Affirmations is celebrating 18 years of showing queer cinema and I have been reviewing those films for Metro Weekly from Reel Affirmations 4 onward, then I have reviewed 15 years worth of gay films.
More math: Every year, I review a ballpark average of 8 to 12 films, so even compensating for a lower annual number in the earlier years of the festival, it probably works out to about 10 film reviews a year for a rough total of 150 reviews. Take it further and count each short film I've thumbed up or down, and I could probably double that.
Like the thousands of books I've read and TV shows I've watched, most of these fade from memory, only to be recalled (if ever) at odd moments where a snippet of dialog or an arresting image snaps into memory due to some trigger. A handful stay more prominently -- I still harbor a crush on "Crush," one of the most deft shorts I've ever reviewed.
My reviews for this year are up at Metro Weekly, along with reviews from all of our writers of every program at the festival. The two standouts for me are Half-Life and Parting Glances. The latter had an edge up with me, given that it had such a huge impact on me as a young closeted gay teen in the '80s, a time when role models were few and far between. And Half-Life is, simply put, an amazing and engrossing experience. Do yourself a favor and get out to see both films -- and as many others as you can. It's a particularly strong year for Reel Affirmations, with quality films abounding.
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