The SB Film Weekly is sponsored by the County Film Commission and comes out every Thursday. The Local Spotlight tells about producers and their projects, as well as area locations good for filming. If you have news you think would be appropriate for this section, just let me know. We also list mixers, film festivals, seminars, music and theatre events, exhibits, and resources.

Why should you check out the SB Film Weekly? You could find a film festival you didn’t know about that your film would be perfect for. You could find a screening and exhibit opening to attend this weekend. You could find out when somebody like Larry Jordan is coming to town to teach a valuable workshop. Maybe I’ve forgotten something, so see for yourself at http://www.filmsantabarbara.com/filmweekly

If you get on the email list by sending your contact info to Martine (martine@filmsantabarbara.com) at the Film Commission, you will get a link to the weekly version (http://www.filmsantabarbara.com/filmweekly/this_week.htm) sent to your inbox every Thursday. This version contains just the new stuff. Items previously mentioned get moved to the long version and stay there for about a month.

I’m the editor, which means I pour through emails and websites to find material. Then I distill it down so it’s as concise as possible and takes you less time to wade through. Oh, yeah, I also format the HTML and stuff for it as well. 

Hopefully, you will see it in your inbox next Thursday. 

A Latina lesbian accepted by her family is a refreshing change to see in the film world. Young Anna’s (Melonie Diaz) problem is not her sexuality but normal growing pains. She’s figuring out who she is, getting comfortable in her own small-chested body, and dealing with complications in relationships. Her journey starts when she, by chance, meets Sadie (Nicole Vicius) and gets drawn into a radical, micro feminist group called Clits in Action. The silly stunts C(i)A perform are not important to the film because the plot is all about Anna’s coming of age and standing up for herself.

Girls who ‘remember when’ will appreciate the Blondie-esque music, Sadie’s Jennifer Tilly like voice, and the small part by Guinevere Turner (Go Fish). All girls will enjoy the couple of scenes with Daniela Sea whose character Calvin is much like that of Max who she plays on The L Word.

The LGBT Kick Butts programs would probably agree that there’s way too much smoking in this film. And another problem I had was with an answering machine being used as a device for Anna to hear from girls without picking up the phone. She has a cell phone so there’s no reason for her to have her own landline at her parents’ house. The good news is, by the end of the film we know she’ll be moving away from home soon.

It’s not as trippy as you’d think, judging from the subject matter. It’s about a hermaphrodite. In this case, an individual originally thought to be a girl at birth and raised that way until puberty. Eugenides does give us extensive insight into “Cal’s” sexual development, but don’t expect Anias Nin type eroticism. After all, this is Oprah’s summer reading pick for ’07. The part of the plot that relates the tale of the Turkish-Greek, immigrant grandparents is reminiscent of the divergence in another excellent Oprah choice—I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb. Basically, Middlesex is the coming-of-age story of three generations with a recessive gene. I must admit my favorite part of the novel was Cal’s high school crush on a girl referred to only as “the obscure object.”

What is your favorite Oprah book selection?