'Angels in America' to begin USU Gay and Lesbian Film Festival

The critically acclaimed HBO miniseries Angels in America, winner of five Golden Globe Awards including best miniseries, will be screened at the Logan Arts Cinema on Sunday as part of the fifth annual Utah State University Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Pridefest 5.

According to Pridefest spokesperson Cy Martz, festival organizers approached HBO Films, which agreed to allow Angels to be screened in Logan free to the public. The event will get under way the Pridefest 5 film festival, which will screen more than 40 films at the USU Taggart Student Center from Monday through Feb.14.

"Angels in America is one of those rare cinematic events that affects all who watch it," said Martz. "It will be inspiring to see it on the big screen."

The miniseries is a six-hour epic that adapts to film the Tony Award-winning play by Tony Kushner. Angels in America originally had its premier on HBO Dec. 7. The miniseries will be shown in two parts and features Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Jeffery Wright and Mary-Louise Parker, all whom have won Golden Globe Awards for their performances in Angels, and also, Emma Thompson who was nominated for a Golden Globe.

Part I of Angels, titled "Millennium Approaches," will begin at 11 a.m. There will be a one-hour intermission and Part II, "Perestroika," will begin at 3 p.m.

Martz says that people who have enjoyed Angels would enjoy many of the projects screening at Pridefest 5. The theme for the festival is "Something Queer in Everything I See," an idea that Martz says he would like to see reiterated throughout the festival.

"Queer culture has positively influenced our popular media, fashion and the American way of life," Martz said. "The success of Angels helps pave the way for other positive images of homosexuals to be seen on screen, that's what the other projects aim to do."

The festival will include documentaries, feature-length and short features that deal with issues and celebrate accomplishments within the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community. Frank DeCaro, whose Out at the Movies segment on Comedy Central's The Daily Show made him the longest recurring comedian in the network's history, will close the festival with his one-man show, Flaming Screens With Frank DeCaro. DeCaro describes his show as a collection of movie clips and "sit-down" comedy and says that queer culture can be found in any film if you look hard enough.

"There is gay subtext in every movie," DeCaro said. "If there isn't, I'll put it there."

DeCaro will perform at 8: 30 p.m. Feb. 14. More information about Angels in America and other festival information is available at the Pridefest 5 website, www.usu.edu/pride/pridefest5, or by contacting Cy Martz by e-mail cy@brigham.net, or phone 435-730-1178.

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