aGLIFF 2011, Dispatch #1: A 'Lulu' of an Opener

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aGLIFF logoIt's a daring choice to open a film festival with a documentary about someone dying with cancer. Tuesday night aGLIFF kicked off its 24th film festival with The Lulu Sessions, an unflinching, intimate documentary about a complex woman and her equally complex friendship that defied definition.

Filmmaker S. Casper Wong was in attendance and talked about the difficulties in making the movie. Wong and Louise "Lulu" Nutter were friends when Nutter was diagnosed with cancer. Wong, who was in film school at the time, documented Nutter's experience in The Lulu Sessions, which explores their relationship over 15 years.

Like any good documentary, the story is never that simple, and through Wong's lens and discussions with Nutter, a complex, challenging, and brilliant woman easy to connect with onscreen. Nutter was a well-known cancer researcher; I had the nagging suspicion I knew something about her as the film progressed. It turns out her work was often referenced in scientific papers I helped edit when I worked at Harvard Medical School a lifetime ago.

If you're near Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar through Sunday, stop by the aGLIFF lounge located outside the theater and check out the sponsors. And if you're daring, check out a film or two.

Wednesday has four films screening at Alamo South Lamar: Riot Acts: Flaunting Gender Deviance in Music Performance, a "Suspense" shorts program, Trigger, a tale of rock-n-roll and addiction, and Kink Crusaders.

And don't forget the Majestic Party is happening immediately following the Centerpiece film on Friday, at the Paramount Theater. You know you want to dance at the Paramount. Everyone's invited.

aGLIFF runs through Sunday, September 11 at various locations in Austin.