Pink Flamingos and Prayers for Bobby among of Glasgay! 2010 film highlights

Stonewall Uprising, Assume Nothing and Orlando also screening

Edie and Thea: A Very Long Engagement

The film strand at this year’s Glasgay! features an eye-catching mix of documentary, features and much-loved classics

The Stonewall riots of summer 1969 have been the subject of a feature film and numerous documentaries, but the new historical documentary, Stonewall Uprising, gives more information than any other film to date, telling the birth of Gay Liberation through archive photographs and film as well as the testimonies of a drag queen, a street kid, a Village Voice journalist and the policeman who led the arresting party. Other powerful documentaries to look out for at this year’s Glasgay! include Assume Nothing, which celebrates the lives of five gender-variant New Zealanders through Super8, fun animations, family photos, body parts and gender theory, and City of Borders, a moving insight into Jerusalem’s only gay bar and her patrons. Meanwhile, Edie and Thea: A Very Long Engagement traces the lives of two New York-based lesbians, who are finally getting married after 42 years together.

Elsewhere, the screenwriter of the 1995 feature Stonewall, Rikki Beadle Blair, returns with a new film, Fi, highlighting the challenges faced by a group of teens struggling to come to terms with their sexuality. The film, which tackles issues of bullying and homophobia in schools, is the result of years of in-school presentation across the UK.

Feature films include Prayers for Bobby, based on a true story and starring Sigourney Weaver as a suburban American housewife, whose religious faith and conservative views are challenged when her gay son Bobby commits suicide. On a lighter note, Is It Just Me? is a fruity comedy of errors, in which a young gay man finds his Mr Right in an online chatroom, only to realise he’s been chatting under his roommate’s ID. Strella: A Woman’s Way, meanwhile, is a camp melodrama in the Almodovar vein, about an ex-con who falls in love with a cabaret singing prostitute.

If it’s a good, old-fashioned queer classic you’re after look no further than Orlando, Sally Potter’s imaginative adaptation of Virginia Woolf’s classic novel, starring Tilda Swinton as the eponymous hero/heroine, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I who changes sex and lives for four hundred years. Or why not proceed directly to the Pope of Trash himself, John Waters, and his hilarious, outrageous masterpiece Pink Flamingos, which stars the late lamented Divine as an underground criminal who competes with a sleazy married couple for the title of ‘filthiest person alive’. Worth a watch just for villains Connie and Raymond Marble’s rather fetching brightly coloured dyed pubic hair.

Other Glasgay! 2010 event highlights

Glasgay’s Swinging Sunday Sparkler
A round-up of the best gay and gay-friendly comedy, including Zoë Lyons, Rebecca Donohue, and Stephen Callaghan, presided over by your acid-tongued host for the evening, Bruce Devlin.
The Stand, Sun 17 Oct.

Lock Up Your Daughters
A special Glasgay! edition of the monthly hella gay dance part, in the company of international queer all-stars Scream Club, who will be performing live, while DJ Suezz, Skeleton Boy and Lock Up Your DJs will be manning the decks. The Flying Duck, Fri 22 Oct.

Don’t Stop Believin’
Calling all Gleeks and soon-to-be Gleeks! A night of non-stop, high-energy singing and dancing inspired by everyone’s favourite musical comedy-drama. The show features such musical evergreens as ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ and of course the much-loved title track.
King’s Theatre, Tue 2–Sat 6 Nov.

Rubyfruit
Bonfire night comes and goes with a bang at this alternative queer club night for women. The women-only night features the usual uplifting mix of indie, soul, handbag and disco tunes from the 60s to the present day.
The Winchester Club, Fri 5 Nov.

The Shondes
The Brooklyn band, whose sound has been described as queer Jewish post-punk, blend radical politics and heart-breaking melodies with klezmer influences. For this special concert the band are joined by Glasgow glam punks Miss the Occupier and guests.
The Winchester Club, Sat 6 Nov.

Red Dust Road
Much-loved poet, novelist and short story writer Jackie Kay returns to Glasgay! following last year’s triumph The Maw Broon Monologues, reading from her acclaimed memoir Red Dust Road. With music from Suzanne Bonnar and Alan Brown.
Tron Theatre, Wed 10 Nov.

The Irrepressibles
The unique ten-piece performance orchestra arrive north of the border to showcase their unique fusion of pop, European orchestra and soaring vocals. Their flamboyant, theatrical stage show brings to life songs from their debut album, Mirror Mirror.
The Arches, Thu 11 Nov.

The Big Loud & Proud Ceilidh
Glasgay!’s annual fundraiser for the LGBT community is the ideal opportunity to get suited and booted and enjoy an evening of music and dance courtesy of The Loud and Proud Choir and the Belle Star Band.
St Andrews in the Square, Fri 12 Nov.