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| ‘LA Dolls’ is one of several lesbian short films shown Nov. 13 during Out on Film, which runs Nov. 11-17. |
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GAY AND LESBIAN MOVIE buffs are in for a treat Nov. 11-17 with the 18th annual Out On Film festival, which serves up a buffet of entertaining features, documentaries and shorts.
From the buzz-generating “TransAmerica” to independent gems like “Keep Not Silent,” as well as comedies like “Adam & Steve” and moving love stories like “Sevigne,” this year’s festival has an offering for everyone.
There are a number of remarkable documentaries, along with several intriguing stories about gay men, lesbians and transgendered people of color.
Here’s a rundown of some of the films playing through Nov. 17 and our take on them:
‘TransAmerica,’ 8 p.m. 
The marquee movie on opening night of Out on Film, “TransAmerica” stars Felicity Huffman as Bree, a male-to-female transsexual on the verge of transition surgery. At the behest of a supportive yet demanding therapist, Bree is forced to confront her past before being cleared for her operation. That past comes in the form of an unruly son, Toby (Kevin Zegers), who was conceived during her only heterosexual encounter as a man.
Toby is fresh out of jail and eager to move to Los Angeles to star in gay porn films. Huffman delivers a believable, standout performance, but what ensues is a mediocre road trip movie in which Bree and her son endlessly deceive one another, then inexplicably become a happy family.
‘No Secret Anymore,’ 2 p.m.
An inspiring testimony of love, commitment and determination in the face of generations of oppression, this documentary traces the life and times of veteran lesbian activists and couple Del Martin and Phyliss Lyon. From the founding of the first lesbian rights organization in 1955 — whose name, “Daughters of Bilitis,” was meant to invoke the image of a “Greek poetry club” — to the contentious split between gay men and lesbians fighting for civil rights, Martin and Lyon were stationed on the front lines of battles for gay, lesbian and women’s rights over the past half century.
The Division of Aging Services at the Atlanta Regional Commission hosts the screening.
‘The Aggressives,’ 6 p.m.
The worst aspect of this movie is its too-brief, 75-minute length, which leaves audiences yearning to learn more about the lead characters and their fascinating lives.
Almost a lesbian version of “Paris is Burning” — the ‘80s classic that introduced the world to Harlem drag and “Voguing” and screens as an Out On Film retrospective Nov. 13 at 3:30 p.m. — “Aggressives” documents the lives of six lesbians who compete in drag king balls in New York.
Their sexual orientation, gender identity and social class range from the androgynous “fem aggressive” model Kisha, to an orphaned teen-ager named Tiffany, who initially doesn’t identify as lesbian because she only dates transgendered women.
Viewers also come to know the womanizing Rjai, an Army recruit named Marquise, a poor Chinese immigrant name Flo and a young tomboy named Octavia, who did a stint in jail during filming. All of the women have one thing in common: It is they who wear the pants in relationships.
‘Hard Pill,’ 9:30 p.m.
When Tim (Jonathan Slavin) discovers a drug trial for a pill that promises to make gay men straight, he volunteers in hopes of improving his no-win gay life, much to the chagrin of his friends.
Does the pill take? Can Jonathan find happiness?
Even with moments of humor and brief brushes with true-to-life representations, the film tries too hard to make statements on a smorgasbord of gay issues instead of focusing on the strength of its character portrayals.
‘Keep Not Silent,’ 1:30 p.m.
A superb documentary chronicling the struggle of three lesbians in Israel fighting to live their lives openly in their Orthodox ...
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