V –0 08 - Rehoboth Beach Film Society

When her two moms uproot her from the comfortable trappings
of a San Francisco upbringing for a generic Southern California
suburb, high school sophomore Tru despairs. Surrounded by
homophobic football players, Paris and Nicole wannabes and a
doting but closeted English teacher, Tru escapes into fantasy:
she daydreams of living in a 1950s black-and-white Leave It to
Beaver-like household (with two moms and two dads, no less)
and imagines herself as a benevolent Maria in a Jets-versus-
Sharks dance sequence. Astonished to win the attention of
the town’s star quarterback, Tru soon realizes that her new
“boyfriend” is simply another closet case. While protecting her
appearance-wary friend by putting on a public front, Tru finds
an outlet for her frustrations with her homogeneous high school
peers by co-founding a chapter of the Gay-Straight Alliance.
In the summer of 2006, Lebanon was relentlessly bombed for
34 days in a row. Bold and riveting, under the Bombs is Philippe
Aractingi’s captivating account of what happens next. Amidst
the smoke and turmoil, the beautiful, wealthy zeina returns
from abroad in a frivolously bright blue dress that starkly
contrasts with the dark reality she faces. Desperate for a cab,
she meets Tony, an oddly-endearing driver who, because of her
beautiful eyes, risks the perilous drive to the heavily affected
southern region to search for her missing sister and son.
Against a scarred terrain of sun-drenched ruins, bombed-out
roads, and lush lands peppered with live cluster shells, zeina
frantically grasps at strands of information to uncover her
family’s whereabouts. Meanwhile, an unlikely intimacy takes root
between zeina and Tony that eludes romantic clichés to become
another kind of love: the recognition of a shared humanity that
tru loved
Best Feature Audience Award at Santa Cruz Film Festival
Best of Fest Narrative Feature at the Breckinridge Film Festival
FRI NOV 7 12:15 PM-2:00 PM
SAT NOV 8 10:40 AM-12:25 PM
SPONSORED BY: COASTAL FRAMESHOP & GALLERY
But now she must reconcile her very public positions on sexual
orientation with her private “gentleman’s agreement.” Tru
Loved is an examination of one adolescent’s courageous ability
to counter small-town small-mindedness, broaching tough
issues — interracial dating, gay parenting, school-sanctioned
homophobia — that the average after-school special eschews.
And, in the end, Tru actually finds true love. This family-friendly
film features appearances by Bruce Vilanch, Alec Mapa, A
Different World’s Jasmine Guy, Best in Show’s Jane Lynch and
David Kopay — the first openly gay professional athlete!
[Dir. Stewart Wade, 2008, US, video, 99 mins.]
Website: www.stewartwadefilms.com/truloved
under the bombs
Best Film Dubai International Film Festival
Human Rights Film Award at Venice International Film Festival
THuRS NOV 6 3:50 PM-5:35 PM
FRI NOV 7 2:45 PM-4:30 PM
SAT NOV 8 10:15 AM-12:00 PM
SuN NOV 9 10:35 AM-12:20 PM
*This film is part of the War sidebar
renders differences of class, religion, and politics irrelevant.
Shot 10 days into the actual bombings with many non-actors,
Aractingi’s sophisticated film hovers willfully between narrative
and documentary, lending rare authenticity and access to an
emotionally powerful, fast-paced, and haunting story. Nuanced,
complex characters illuminate the personal trauma of war,
effectively leaving behind the reactionary politics of either
warring side, Hezbollah or the Israeli military. Instead, we are
offered the possibility of salvaged hope, new beginnings, and
ultimately, peace--from under the bombs.
[Dir. Philippe Aractingi, 2007, Lebanon, 35mm, 98 mins. in
Arabic with English subtitles]
Website: www.underthebombs.com
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feaTure films