aGLIFF (All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival) has many films available to view as it takes place through September 6, 2021 via the virtual lineup. Here are two films from the festival featured in the capsule reviews from the festival.
Boulevard! A Hollywood Story
The aGLIFF has varied categories of films, among them the documentaries. Emmy-winning director Jeffrey Schwarz (Tab Hunter Confidential, seen at the SXSW Film Festival a few years back) returns with Boulevard! A Hollywood Story that had its World Premiere here in Austin. Movie star Gloria Swanson had much success with the film Sunset Boulevard, but despite the success of the film, her career was not the same after that as she was in her 50s. In her efforts to regain Hollywood’s attention, she hires two young songwriters and romantic partners to write a musical version of “Sunset Boulevard,” Dickson Hughes and Richard Stapley. This is definitely a film to watch during the rest of the festival and /or when released in the future, to find out more history of the actress from silent films to “talkies” and the lives of the two artists who give so much of themselves to Gloria. Visit agliff.org/schedule
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Firebird
The films based on a true story generally catch my attention and the cold war thriller set in the 1970’s Soviet Air Force is one of the films from the festival that is set to have a release date in the future. I am glad of that as this story of a dangerous love triangle available is one that hopefully many film fans view, now and later. The international cast features Tom Prior (The Theory of Everything, Kingsman: The Secret Service), and leads include Oleg Zagorodnii (The Choice, Dzhamayka) and Diana Pozharskaya (The Unknown Soldier, Hotel Eleon). A troubled soldier forms a forbidden love triangle with a daring fighter pilot and his female comrade amid the dangerous surroundings of a Soviet Air Force Base. They risk their freedom and lives in the face of an escalating KGB investigation and the multiple perils of an all-seeing Soviet regime. Firebird is directed by University of Southern California and Harvard alumni Peeter Rebane (Robbie Williams – Live in Tallinn) and co-written with Tom Prior. Visit agliff.org/schedule.
Source: aGLIFF, The Factory