Taking Flight

Does targeting queer cinema to a queer audience help or hinder?

by Gary M. Kramer

Actor/producer Matthew Montgomery, who is receiving an artistic achievement award for acting at QFest, and Robert Gaston, locally based writer/director of the closing-night film, Flight of the Cardinal, grapple with these issues in different ways.

As an actor, Montgomery is an established presence in queer cinema. This may be in part because of his penchant for nudity, but more likely it's because he's played gay men who struggle not with their sexuality but in their quests for love and happiness.

Montgomery says he would love mainstream success, but acknowledges that "it's difficult if not impossible to break out in the mainstream market, which is more competitive. What I'm talking about doesn't have to do with if I'm gay — it's more corporate." He compares his situation to actors in horror films who make a name for themselves and develop a following, but do not necessarily have the popular appeal to break out in Hollywood.

Wearing his producer hat, Montgomery explains why his films have been successful on DVD (although he won't divulge receipts). "I think that one of the strongest supports of LGBT cinema is that it has a loyal audience," he says. "People want to support the community, and they follow through on that by buying films. Viewers do not just want to see stories made, but they want to see openly gay actors and filmmakers succeed."

Likewise, he feels investors in independent queer cinema are getting involved — often repeatedly — because "they want to help/give something back to the community. Monetarily, the people who invest in LGBT cinema also know that if they want any chance of a return on investment, they have to work within the realistic confines of how much money they are putting into a film. They know what the cap/profit — or lack thereof — of a direct-to-DVD release will be."

Independent queer cinema budgets are noticeably lower than most American indie films because niche (i.e. queer) market films have a smaller audience. The filmmakers shoot quickly and cheaply on digital as they depend on creating an income stream for investors — which enables them to make the next film. Theatrical play for independent queer films is rare outside festival exposure because of the associated expenses; hence the direct-to-DVD model.

In contrast, when an American independent film — even a microbudget mumble­core movie — gets picked up for theatrical distribution, it might act as a loss leader for the distributor. "I do see a difference — strictly in a fiscal perspective — that there's more support for indie mainstream," says Montgomery. "It's difficult to make a gay film with a multimillion dollar budget, unless it crosses over into mainstream. Brokeback Mountain is an exception to the rule."

Gaston spoke about his projects, which began with the queer Open Cam, continued with the gay and lesbian thriller 2 Minutes Later [full disclosure: This writer worked on — and had a cameo in — that Philly film], and now includes Flight of the Cardinal.

Flight features Grady (Ross Beschler), a gay man finding his place in North Carolina, where he manages an inn. When he hires Beetle (David J. Bonner), a sexy — and possibly sinister — new employee, Grady finds himself fighting for control of his property, his boyfriend (Montgomery) and perhaps even his life.

Gaston is reluctant to label Flight as a "gay" film; the story is more focused on good against evil than sexual identity. Gaston says, "The people who supported Flight with money or time or equipment or talent — only one quarter of them were gay."

He adds that his investors are "most likely 99 percent liberal. But they are not necessarily gay. I don't think sexuality is the only reason for any of my supporters. It's a factor, sure. … You have to be open-minded to support a project with a queer character in the lead."

Gaston is also not anxious to label himself as a queer filmmaker. He insists, "I've worked on so many different kinds of projects over the years. I think of myself as a filmmaker. I think it's important to have positive, realistic representations of queer people whenever possible, and if that makes me a queer filmmaker — or if who I sleep with makes me a queer filmmaker — then I guess I am one. I don't think I am limited by my sexual orientation, or my films are limited to an audience based on their sexuality.

"We don't need a lot more coming-out stories," he says. "We can tell our own stories, and it's as important to insert strong gay characters in projects that are not 100 percent for gay audiences."

As such, Gaston submitted Flight to the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival in hopes of broader distribution. "I'm not sure I'm making a mainstream jump," he demurs. "I just want to keep making films and building an audience, queer or straight."

(editorial@citypaper.net)