Television

Gaily Sundancing
The Sundance Channel dons some gay apparel in December
by Blase DiStefano

Conversations in World Cinema: Christine Vachon This conversation with the diva producer premiered last month on Sundance, and if you missed it, you’re being given one chance during December to make up for it.

.Richard Peña of the Film Society of Lincoln Center talks to Vachon about exactly what a producer does, and she does not shy away from the gay angle. Keep in mind that she has been involved with Poison, Swoon, Postcards from America, Go Fish, Safe, Kids, I Shot Andy Warhol, Stonewall, Kiss Me, Guido, Velvet Goldmine, Happiness, and Boys Don’t Cry, among others! Hey, even if you’ve already seen it, it’s worth a repeat viewing at 6 p.m., Saturday, December 29, on the Sundance Channel. For more information on Sundance, check out their website at www.sundancechannel.com.

Happy Together Unhappy Together might be a more apt title to describe the relationship between these two codependent characters (Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Leslie Cheung).

This gay couple keeps starting over, but they continue to find themselves falling into the same destructive routine that threatens to tear them apart for good. With cinematographer Christopher Doyle's visual flair and intense performances from both leads and Chen Chang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), this is a well-produced film. Directed by Kar-wai Wong. (1997, 1:37, letterbox/subtitles) Dec. 6: 10 p.m.; Dec. 11: 1:05 a.m.; Dec. 20: 2:30 a.m

Ruth Ellis @ 100

Feisty, independent, and honest, Ruth Ellis lived a century of history. The life of the oldest African-American lesbian unfolds in this inspiring documentary by award-winning filmmaker Yvonne Welbon. This invaluable look at part of our neglected past won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 1999 San Francisco International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Ellis died after the film’s release, on October 5, 2000. (1999, 0:59) Dec. 1: 8:45 a.m., 2:30 p.m.; 7th: 6:35 a.m., 7 p.m.; 13th: noon, 8 p.m.; 16th: 10:30 a.m.; 25th: 12:30 p.m.; 31st: 2:30 p.m.

Chuck & Buck

Described by one critic as no less than "the Citizen Kane of twisted-geek movies," Miguel Arteta's (Star Maps) creepy comedy follows the bizarre reunion of two junior-high school buddies, Charlie, a California music executive, and Buck, a unsettling case of arrested development who appears never to have matured beyond age 11. A moving film about friendship, unrequited love, and loss. (2000, 1:36, CCAP) Dec. 3: 9:30 a.m., 4:05 p.m.; 6th: noon, 8 p.m.; 15th: 10:05 a.m., 10 p.m.; 25th: 8 p.m.; 26th: 3:15 a.m.; 30th: 7 a.m., 5 p.m.

Mädchen in Uniform

This story about a sensitive new arrival at a strict Prussian boarding school who develops a crush on one of the more compassionate teachers was hailed when it was released during the final years of Germany's permissive Weimar Republic for its moving indictment of regimental authority. In more recent years, its fame rests on its sympathetic subtle allusions to lesbian desire. All-female cast. (1931, 1:26, BW/subtitles) Dec. 5: 7:30 a.m.; 6th: 4:30 a.m.; 8th: 6 a.m., 12:30 p.m.; 11th: 1 p.m.; 23rd: 4 a.m.; 27th: 5:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m.; 31st: 9 a.m.

Dear Jesse

At the beginning of Tim Kirkman's witty documentary, the filmmaker lists all the things he has in common with North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms: Both were born in the same town, raised Southern Baptists, attended the same college, and worked in journalism. And, Kirkman concludes, "You've been obsessed with homosexual men; for most of my adult life, so have I." (1997, 1:23) Dec. 1: 5:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m.; 5th: 6:30 p.m.; 9th: 9:30 a.m.; 10th: 4:15 a.m.; 14th: 6:30 a.m.; 15th: 2:30 a.m.; 18th: 3 p.m.; 24th: 5:30 a.m.

Benjamin Smoke

Dubbed the Southern Oscar Wilde, Benjamin (born Robert Dickerson), Atlanta's underground rock legend who once belted out songs as Miss Opal Foxx, receives a moving posthumous tribute. Ravaged and mortally ill from HIV, hepatitis, and too many cigarettes, Benjamin's humor and lack of self-pity shine in conversations filmed shortly before his death. A legend in the musical world of Southern punk, Benjamin's work served as inspiration for R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and Patti Smith. (2000, 1:13) Dec. 1: 6:30 p.m.; 2nd: 1:45 a.m.; 17th: 4:30 p.m.; 28th: 6:30 p.m.