My Own Man

Reporter Clay Pigeon interviews New Yorkers in October, 2008.

Esther Newton was drawn to the drag scene as a student in the 1950s. Identifying as both butch lesbian and between genders, she felt a kinship with the queens; what the feminine clothing society expected her to wear felt like a form of drag. Her 1972 book ‘Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America’ is noted as the first rigorous study of its kind. Now entering her sixth decade writing about queer communities, Newton exudes wisdom and a healthy dose of New York no-nonsense. The film’s amazing archive footage encompasses gay liberation, the feminist sex wars, AIDS activism and life on the safe haven of Fire Island. Her other main passion is dog training, so this illuminating history lesson is peppered with poodles!

Turning Points is a documentary about Presbyterians struggling with the denomination’s previous barriers to ordination for LGBT Presbyterians. It opens with the poignant visit of Susie Smith, now a minister in the United Church of Christ, to her former Presbyterian congregation in South Carolina. Congregation members speak to the camera and to Susie about how their lives were changed by her presence and her departure. The choice between one’s son and one’s church is the focus of the Calhoun family’s story in the second segment. The third story recounts a tragic moment of misunderstanding in the life of a young minister and a daring act of reconciliation twenty years later. The fourth segment considers how a thriving congregation in the Midwest welcomes and includes gay and lesbian members.

Don Hardy's (PICK OF THE LITTER, MFF18) latest goes behind the BAR 5-Day course—the world's premiere educational program on distilled spirits and mixology. Two parts competition, one part the camraderie of teachers and learners served over ice with a dash of spiritous history, this film will whet your interest in and appreciation for what goes into serving a great drink well

Two Mexican officers must survive the final hours of their shift after crossing a ruthless cartel boss.

When his young son vanishes, a widower enlists help from his estranged father, a retired detective who put away the serial killer now linked to the case.

Peter Parker is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the high-stakes of being a super-hero. When he asks for help from Doctor Strange the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

When a mother loses her eyesight and her daughter in a kidnapping, she takes matters into her own hands to hunt down those responsible.

After discovering she has a family and a shipping empire, a woman with amnesia returns to a wealthy and seemingly perfect past to uncover why she left.

A family suddenly sealed inside their home must work together to survive against dwindling resources and the ominous threat keeping them trapped.

After being bitten by a genetically altered spider at Oscorp, nerdy but endearing high school student Peter Parker is endowed with amazing powers to become the superhero known as Spider-Man.

Following the events of Captain America: Civil War, Peter Parker, with the help of his mentor Tony Stark, tries to balance his life as an ordinary high school student in Queens, New York City, with fighting crime as his superhero alter ego Spider-Man as a new threat, the Vulture, emerges.

A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.

In this retelling of a real case, a former escort discovers her wealthy husband's infidelity and struggles to cope as betrayal poisons their marriage.

After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose.

The seemingly invincible Spider-Man goes up against an all-new crop of villains—including the shape-shifting Sandman. While Spider-Man’s superpowers are altered by an alien organism, his alter ego, Peter Parker, deals with nemesis Eddie Brock and also gets caught up in a love triangle.

Lucero’s life appears immaculate: a wealthy household, a devoted husband, and two children who embody the promise of a perfect family. Yet beneath this surface simmers a quiet dissatisfaction. When Matías, a young swimming coach hired by her husband, enters their lives, Lucero finds herself pulled into a risky and consuming relationship. As secrecy, desire, and jealousy tighten their grip, the boundaries within the family begin to collapse, placing mother and daughter in a dangerous emotional triangle that threatens to shatter everything Lucero has built.

In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?

A small woodland creature and a majestic bird, two natural sworn enemies of the Valley, magically trade places and set off on an adventure of a lifetime to switch back. Their journey soon uncovers a greater threat—one that could endanger not only their species, but the entire valley they call home.

A small goat with big dreams gets a once-in-a-lifetime shot to join the pros and play roarball, a high-intensity, co-ed, full-contact sport dominated by the fastest, fiercest animals in the world.

A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

On one last grueling mission during Army Ranger training, a combat engineer must lead his unit in a fight against a giant otherworldly killing machine.

It ain't easy bein' green -- especially if you're a likable (albeit smelly) ogre named Shrek. On a mission to retrieve a gorgeous princess from the clutches of a fire-breathing dragon, Shrek teams up with an unlikely compatriot -- a wisecracking donkey.

In the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass, sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.