The Pittsburgh International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival

The 22nd annual Pittsburgh International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival continues through Tue., Oct. 30. Here is the screening schedule for the remainder of the festival:

---

Films and videos screen at the Harris Theater, Downtown and the SouthSide Works, South Side. Tickets are $8.50 for single admissions, $6 for under 25. Discount passes are available, including: the Cheap Thrills packet ($45 for six admissions); the Scream Queen Pass ($75 for 10 admissions); and the Diva Pass ($125 for admission to all festival events and parties). See www.pilgff.org for more information.

---

Wed., Oct. 24

7 p.m. ALEXIS ARQUETTE: SHE'S MY BROTHER. Matthew Barbato's cameras follow Alexis Arquette -- of the Hollywood acting clan -- as she prepares for male-to-female gender-reassignment surgery. It's an intriguing journey handled sensitively by the filmmakers, and often cavalierly by its subject. The admittedly self-interested Arquette makes an unreliable and frustrating narrator; likewise the few la vie Arquette bystanders who keen for camera time. What's missing is any clue as to what really motivates Arquette: gender-identity crisis, quest for the spotlight beyond the D-list or a mercurial, shape-shifting personality perpetually in flux? The filmmakers are ultimately stymied by Arquette, but they might have stretched the net wider for a more complete picture. To be preceded by the short "Trannymals Go to Court." SouthSide Works (Al Hoff)

9:30 p.m. LAUGHING MATTERS ... THE MEN. This documentary from Andrea Meyerson shines the spotlight on male gay comedians, including Oscar-telecast scribe Bruce Vilanch, to illustrate how they mine humor from the joys and trials from their lives (and the lives of hapless celebrities) -- for our chuckling benefit. SouthSide Works

Thu., Oct. 25

7 p.m. VIVERE. Today's German cinema is defined by young filmmakers who deliver sophisticated stories that transcend borders to reflect the challenge of identity in the globalized European Union. Writer/director Angelina Maccarone's latest film is less challenging than her excellent Unveiled, a drama about a lesbian Iranian hiding in Germany (which screened at PILGFF in 2005). In Vivere, two Italian-German sisters try to escape their drab existence. The pair ends up in Rotterdam, where a mysterious older woman joins their search for meaning. The plot is nonlinear, but the film's real draw is its gorgeous, moody camera work and fine acting. In German, Italian and Dutch, with subtitles. SouthSide Works (Heather Mull)

9:15 p.m. SPIDER LILIES. Jade, a childlike 18-year-old who lives with her granny and earns cash shimmying for her Webcam, wants a tattoo -- and she wants it from Takeko, the young woman who years earlier was Jade's first crush. Director Zero Chou's lyrical, dreamlike (and occasionally nightmarish) romance, set in Taiwan, explores memory, love and inked flesh, with subplots involving an undercover cyber-cop and Takeko's younger brother, traumatized as a child by an earthquake's aftermath. While there's little here that's terribly fresh, Spider Lilies is a poignant study of how the search for the ideal obscures what's real, and how memory can warp perception. In Mandarin, Taiwanese and Japanese, with subtitles. SouthSide Works (Bill O'Driscoll)

Fri., Oct. 26

7 p.m. YOU BELONG TO ME. Sam Zultsky's psycho-sexual crime thriller is a throwback to the genre's heyday, when fabulous property was a key plot component. Nice guy Jeffrey (an architect, natch) trails a Euro-hottie hook-up to a small apartment building. There, he takes a shine to a "great space" and motherly landlady Gladys (Patti D'Arbanville). He also moves in to stalk his former lover -- but discovers too late that he may also be the prey. Typical for the genre, the set-up is more intriguing than the last reel, which is perfunctory and borrows heavily from its antecedents. To be preceded by two locally produced shorts, David Brunner's "The Addiction," and "Double Bind," from Justin Crimone. SouthSide Works (AH)

9:45 p.m. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. The original 1992 film will replace the previously scheduled Buffy Sing-a-Long TV episode. Regardless, Buffy, portrayed here by Kristy Swanson, still kicks undead ass. Frank Rubel Kuzui directs this horror comedy. Arriving in Buffy-inspired costumes is encouraged; there will be a contest before the screening. SouthSide Works

Sat., Oct. 27

4:45 YOUTH SHORTS. A program of short films, from the U.S, Spain and Brazil, that depict the experiences of gay youth. To be screened via video projection. Free for under 25. SouthSide Works

6:45 p.m. NINA'S HEAVENLY DELIGHTS. Nina, a Glaswegian of Indian descent, returns to Scotland after her father's death, and decides to enter the family restaurant in the big annual curry cook-off. She finds help from the usual sources -- her extended family and Bollywood-queen pal Mohan -- but also from old school chum Lisa, whose longing glances extend over the chicken korma right to Nina's carefully closeted heart. The story is predictable -- right down to Nina's ghost dad lending a hand -- but the energetic and handsome cast creates a warm, fun vibe. SouthSide Works (AH)

9 p.m. 2 MINUTES LATER. An insurance adjuster teams up with a lesbian private dick to search for answers -- and maybe some fresh kicks -- after his photog brother goes missing in Philly's swingin' art scene. Robert Gaston directs this campy thriller. SouthSide Works

11 p.m. DEAD BOYZ DON'T SCREAM. During a Western-themed photo shoot, a posse of top male models turn up naked and dead. A pair of lesbian detectives get on the case in this flesh-peddling crime spoof from Marc Saltarelli. Actor Logan Hilyard will attend the screening. SouthSide Works

Sun., Oct. 28

2 p.m. THE SOUND OF MUSIC SING-A-LONG. Yes, the South Hills will be alive with the sound of music. Or near enough -- either geographically or artistically. What may be sacrificed in tune, key and correct lyrics is compensated by the sheer fun of lustily singing along to Robert Wise's beloved 1965 musical starring Julie Andrews. Wearing lederhosen, dirndl skirts and nun habits is not required, but why not? And bring the whole family, Trapp-style. Free. SouthSide Works

5:15 p.m. SHELTER. In the second of the festival's coming-out-while-surfing films, Zach, a bright, sensitive artist from a grubby Southern California port town, finds his destiny under the gentle tutelage -- and attractively bronzed arm -- of his best bud's older gay brother. Johan Markowitz's dramedy is a sweet film, with likable leads, whose worries are tough, but wholly relatable. Toward the end, it seems like Zach is mulling over his all-too-obvious decisions in real time. But the pretty seaside scenery, the broody indie soundtrack and a couple of leads who look yummy just being indecisive helps slide the film from third base into home. SouthSide Works (AH)

7:30 p.m. ITTY BITTY TITTY COMMITTEE. When recently heartbroken baby dyke Anna spies blonde nymph Sadie vandalizing the plastic-surgery clinic where she works, her first instinct is to call the cops. Her second, and ultimately more powerful, is to follow charismatic Sadie into her underground feminist action cell. The women of the C(i)A -- Clits in Action -- fuck, fight and artfully undermine the patriarchy against a backdrop of gritty Los Angeles and a soundtrack featuring riot-grrl stalwarts Le Tigre and Bikini Kill. Relationship conflicts almost blow the group apart, but they rally around a grander explosion in the end, castrating an American icon on live TV. Jamie Babbit (But I'm a Cheerleader) directs. $15 ticket includes after party. SouthSide Works (Melissa Meinzer)

Tue., Oct. 30

8 p.m. THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT. Join Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce as the three men don high heels and feather boas for a journey across the Australian outback in a rickety old bus (the titular Priscilla). Their mission: to steer their drag cabaret act to Alice Springs, while also test-driving some new life paths. Stamp is marvelous in this heartwarming 1994 dramedy, whose bittersweet edges are glitzed up with musical numbers. To be screened in conjunction with The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's Australia Festival. Free. Harris (AH)