Curated by Lisa Ganser and Jake Yuzna

The best of the best (we do not jest) from the Flaming Film Fest (Minneapolis, MN). The festival is dedicated to the underrepresented and alternaqueer flamers around the globe. We’re proving to all that Minnesota is not a fly-over state and that watching movies is not meant to be a passive experience. Be sure to check out a very special treat, that short we promised two years ago that puts the swear word into our title… MEATFUCKER by Chicago’s Shawn Durr, Yummalicious! Sex with BBQ sauce versus lube! Special thanks to Eliza Schrader and Molly Krueger.

BETSY BENSON AND THE BOWTIE BOYS (William Scott Rees, video, 10 min., 20 sec., 2003)
When our heroine finds an old book, Betsy Benson and the Bowtie Boys, she tries hard to recreate the story, despite many missing pages. Which of the two bowtie boys will she choose? Will her three masochistic, mind-controlling chocolate Easter bunnies cause her to drive both gentleman callers away?

No No No (Math Bass, VHS, 3min., 2002)
Emerging artist Bass delivers a performance situation for the camera with fake gun.

PETER PYT (Tara Mateik, VHS, 4 min., 2004)
Suspend your disbelief in Never Never Land and salute the constant state of pre-adolescence that defies the adult dichotomy of male/female gender identities. PETER PYT throws social codes of masculinity and race into crisis through a comparison of the social mobility of black and white boy eternals.

IRAQTION (Piper Vision, MiniDV, 5 min., 2004)
A debunking of the U.S. invasion of Iraq from the perspective of the women and children who have been left more insecure and increasingly battered in the wake of the Bush junta’s continued quest for wealth and power.

THE HARDEST CORE PORN ON THE NET (Fiona Ng, VHS, 1 min., 30 sec., 2003)
A provocative selection of disturbing porn spam sent to director Fiona Ng’s Hotmail account over a ten day period.

LOVERS (Nikolas Allen/ Digital Renegade, Music Video, 6 min., 2004)
This is the latest music video from members of our flaming family, local Trans glam band, All the Pretty Horses. Looking for something more than a simple strip club, a taxi cab driver brings his passenger to Planet Venus where the Horses perform the song “Lovers” before kicking the fare to the curb,

BANANA BOY (Samuel Chow, VHS, 7 min., 2003)
Director Chow follows a young, queer identified, first generation Chinese-Canadian man as he tells his story of immigration and coming out. This film creatively explores notions of home, belonging, love, race, culture, media, gender, sexuality and citizenship in one man’s search for freedom.

BETWEEN THE BOYS (Jake Yuzna, 16mm, 5 min., 2004)
A little family secret slips out in this short by local filmmaker, Jake Yuzna.

VIVA PROGRESS (Lisa Ganser, 16mm with live narration, 5 min., 2004)
Entirely too long 1998 student film gets a Scratch-Punch-Paint Bridget Irish workshop makeover, while several minutes hit the cutting room floor (ribbed for your pleasure).

OPERATION INVERT (Tara Mateik, VHS, 12 min., 2003)
This smart, humorous and informative short exposes societies contradicting treatment of botox-related plastic surgery versus gender reassignment operations, all the while aligning a biological warfare history. A double mastectomy and the war on Iraq occur simultaneously.

FIVE ALARM MUFF (Kirston Fortune and KJ Mohr, DVD, 12 min., 2004)
A hilarious tale of a woman whose latest get-rich-quick scheme is to produce lesbian porn. Failing to find a cast, she plays every part herself.

SORRY, BRENDA (Samara Halperin, VHS, 3 min., 2001)
A look back at the boys of 90210. Could there have been something underlying we all missed the first time around? Well, all Dylan can say is, sorry, Brenda…

MEATFUCKER (Shawn Durr, VHS, 28 min., 1999)
You’ll think twice about cheating on that vegan diet. The title says plenty.

Curator Bio:
Lisa Ganser is an artist, activist, and odd jobber that curates film and video at a kick ass organization called Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis. She has traveled the world over, and you could never find a better queer. Jake Yuzna is a 21-year-old filmmaker, curator, and cutie pie that studies film at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. When not kicking Ganser’s ass, he keeps the festival machine alive. Go Go gadget gay guy.