GAY-THEMED FILMS AT DIFF 2011

The 32nd Durban International Film Festival will present a number of engaging gay-themed films as part of its feature film selection.

From the powerful Man at Bath, which chronicles a week in the life of two soon-to-be ex-lovers, to Skoonheid, the latest award-winning film from South African prodigy Oliver Hermanus, DIFF 2011 offers a snapshot of life in the various gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities around the world.

Taking place from July 21 to 31, the 32nd Durban International Film Festival is supported by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (principal funder), National Film and Video Foundation, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism and other valued funders and partners.

Oliver Hermanus' astounding Skoonheid won the Queer Palm award at Cannes this year for best gay-themed film. This remarkably sensitive film tells of an older closeted man whose attraction to the son of a young friend threatens to shatter his carefully constructed identity. Hermanus, whose debut Shirley Adams was one of the highlights of DIFF 2009, will be in attendance at screenings of the film.

Man at Bath is a graphic but ultimately moving look at two men's attempts to stop loving each other. Set in Paris and New York, the film chronicles the last week of a relationship, which its protagonists spend in the two different cities. The result is a powerful visual poem to the complexities and richness of urban gay life.

Memories in March, from Indian director Sanjay Nag, is an account of the relationship that comes to exist between a mother and her dead son's gay lover, while Canadian director Xavier Dolan's second film Heartbeats is a beautifully executed account of a sexual triangle between three close friends.

Other films with gay themes include Tom Tywker's Three which chronicles another unusual sexual triangle, Greg Araki's ambisexual Kaboom, Circumstance which explores the forbidden relationship between two Iranian girls, and the Thai film The Terrorists which provides a powerful political message. Then there are the multiple narratives I Am and Dog Sweat, which explore contemporary sexuality in India and Iran respectively.

Festival screenings will take place at Nu Metro Cinecentre Suncoast, Ster Kinekor Musgrave, Cinema Nouveau Gateway, the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, Ekhaya KwaMashu, The Royal Hotel, Luthuli Museum (Groutville) and other venues.

For film synopses, screening schedules and programme details on the 32nd Durban International Film Festival visit www.cca.ukzn.ac.za or click on the button advert for the Centre of Creative Arts at the top of this page.