Nominated for four Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Film and Best Actor (Thure Lindhardt), Keep the Lights On is now available for home viewing on DVD, BluRay, and on VOD/Digital Download. Included on the DVD are never-before-seen deleted scenes, the original audition videos from Thure Lindhardt and Zachary Booth, as well as In Search of Avery Willard, the film-within-the film which has found success on the festival circuit in its own right.

Here’s where you can find Keep the Lights On to view in the comfort of your own home:

Amazon – DVD, BluRay, Amazon Instant Video

Netflix – DVD, BluRay

iTunes – Digital Rental / Purchase

InDemand – Check you local cable provider

YouTube

Google Play

Vudu

Leather Narcissus – One of the more directly pornographic works of Avery’s experimental films, this half-hour journey is inspired by the curse that the mythical Echo placed on Narcissus. A man journeys throughout city streets seeking his reflection in everything, even the leather of a stolen motorcycle.

Reflections – Experimenting with double exposure, a dreamy soundtrack and floating camera movements, Avery created a moving image portrait of the male figure that is far from brash. He created a film that seems to turn pornography from a guilty pleasure into a natural desire, making the close-up seem elegant and humble.

Dream Boy – A man drifts in and out of consciousness and finds himself in different scantily-clad scenarios. In this film Avery plays around with montage and layers reminiscent of Reflections, but ties the dreams together narrative-like shots of the main character’s reality.

Salome - A film made by Avery based on Salome and the Dance of the Seven Veils, a biblical story in which King Herrad asks his stepdaughter Salome to perform a dance on his birthday. In return, she receives the head of the man with whom she is in love, John the Baptist. When Henry Arango saw a performance of Salome, he was inspired to do his own interpretation, which they shot in Avery’s apartment.

Screening Times

January 26 at 22:00
January 27 at 22:15
Lantaren Venster Theatre Two
Otto Reuchlinweg 996
3072 MD Rotterdam, Netherlands
Be sure to grab a copy of In Search of Avery Willard on the Keep the Lights On DVD/BluRay, out now!

Melting together an American sense of comedic timing and a European style of surrealistic family comedy, Buch successfully brings forth a slew of stereotypes (Gay, Jewish, Finnish, French, Etc…) while breaking international comedic boundaries. A film that is sure to leave you with a smile on your face and a possible guilt for avoiding those calls from Mom.

I spoke with Mikael on the film and his views on some of the issues that are facing Queer Europeans today.

Be sure to check out the New York premiere and Q&A with director Mikael Buch on Friday, January 11th (Repeat showing and Q&A Saturday, January 12th) at Quad Cinema.

First off I’d like to say that I loved how you chose to write comedic satire to tackle the issues of social acceptance and family obligation. How did you go about choosing comedy as your genre of choice?

Before ‘Let My People Go!”, I had directed a lot of short films and explored different genres, but comedy has always been the genre that fulfilled me the most. Billy Wilder says: “If you are going to tell the truth, you’d better be funny or they’ll kill you!”. I think comedy is a great way to explore real issues and to talk about the world that surrounds us in a liberated and joyful fashion.

Where did you draw inspiration for such a surreal but wide array of characters and was it difficult to cast?

All the characters are a mixture between childhood memories and pure imagination. I wanted all the characters to have a surreal touch but I also wanted all the relationships to feel real. I have always liked films that are able to express deep feelings creating a magical and “bigger than life” world. The casting process was quite long because it’s not easy to find actors that can be deliriously funny and moving at the same time. Carmen Maura and Nicolas Maury are exactly like that. They can make you laugh and cry in the same scene.

Is this an autobiographical film?

The setting is autobiographical in terms of identity but the characters are mostly fictional. I’m Jewish, I’m gay but I’m not Ruben. Nicolas Maury who plays Ruben has created a character that is halfway between him and me. That’s always what I expect from actors: to be able to make characters their own. I think it’s always great as an artist to use your life as a starting point because it’s always better to talk about what you know better, but once you’ve done that, you have to let your imagination take control.

The relationship between Ruben and his mother is very tumultuous, do you think it relates to being gay and/or jewish? French, Finnish, Jewish and Gay, stereotypes play a big part in this film. 

I’m sure a lot of non-Jewish straight guys have a tumultuous relationship with their mothers! But stereotypes play a big role in how we live our family relationships. A Jewish mother has an image of what a “good” Jewish mother is supposed to be and she will often try to emulate that image. A gay son has also a stereotyped image of the kind of “good son” he is supposed to be. I think we all have to face the difference between who we are and who we are supposed to be. We are all, in one way or the other, influenced by stereotypes.

Do you think this film transcends the cultural line between the European and American film markets?

I definitely think so! I really see myself as a European filmmaker widely influenced by American cinema and I think the film is a good mixture of this two filmic cultures. The film is also full of Jewish and gay humor witch is something that can totally be enjoyed by an American audience. I’ve been in different festivals to present the film and the reaction of the American audience has been one of the most heartwarming!

For you, how important was showing sex and how was that related to the characters’ sexuality?

I often find that sexuality in movies has a moral weight attached to it that I don’t like at all. Most of the time, when I see a character having sex in a film, he looks like he is going to commit suicide in the next scene! I wanted to show sex as a simple and joyful part of life. I don’t think it’s specially related to the characters sexuality but maybe it’s even more important when we deal with gay sex because it has too often been depicted in a gloomy way.

With shifting political tides in France and gay marriage within reach, was this film’s release at all a political statement for you? 

What’s political in my film is to show a gay character that is not only defined by his sexual preferences. I didn’t want to make a “coming out” movie but a film about a gay character that has to face universal issues. Movies have the power of creating empathy between every type of social groups. If a straight person is moved by the story of Ruben, then I’ll think I have done a good job! In France, we are now having the same kind of debates a lot of American states have had and the homophobic reactions of some politicians made me realize how hatred ideas are still here, maybe more than never.

How difficult was it to get an LGBT-themed feature made in Europe?

It wouldn’t be accurate to say it’s difficult to get an LGBT-themed feature made in Europe. A lot of LGBT films are made but most of them show homosexuality as a ‘social’ issue. Those films always show gay people having a hard time being themselves and I think some people are reassured when they see unhappy LGBT people in films because it confirms their vision of homosexuality as a ‘problem’. I belong to a generation that wants to say “We are gay, we are young, we are happy with who we are and we don’t want to be portrayed as victims all the time”. Of course, being gay is not a bed of roses everywhere but we don’t need anyone’s pity. All we need is empathy and understanding.

How was the film received in France vs. other countries?

The film has generally been well received. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to share my film with different audiences around the world and to see that the spirit of the film works everywhere.

What feeling do you hope the audience leaves with?

I really wanted to make a feel good movie that would be liberating for the audience. I hope the film will give to the audience a little bit of courage to be more like the person they really want to be. Cinema has the power of making people braver and more daring and that’s an amazing thing!

What’s next for you as a gay filmmaker?

As a gay filmmaker I am collaborating on a campaign to prevent AIDS and to remind young people to use condoms. I’m also writing my new feature film but I won’t give any details on that because I am little bit superstitious! I’ll keep you posted!

Ira will be present for Q&A at the 7pm Fri, Dec. 21 and Sat., Dec. 22 shows. Tickets are on sale now (additional showtimes will go on sale soon):

TICKETS (Additional showtimes on-sale soon)

Fri., Dec. 21, 7pm – Q&A With Director Ira Sachs

Sat., Dec. 22, 7pm – Q&A With Director Ira Sachs

KTLO was just named one of the top films of the year by both Time Out New York and Time Magazine.  Catch it if you haven’t, and hope you have a great holiday!

Kyle Tidd: Hi Jonathan! Thanks for agreeing to do this interview. This was my side of our imaginary conversation, feel free to respond however you want, it can be totally unrelated, as you please.

Jonathan Caouette: Oh thank you, I am more concerned about passing out at the moment…I’m on pain medication from a fall last week, I’m waiting right now for a lot of test results to come back…I hope it’s nothing too bad…I just turned 40 and had to cancel my celebration plans and have made two doctor’s visits and two trips to the ER just in time for the opening of Walk Away Renee.

KT: Whoa, I hope everything’s ok! I’m only going to ask you a few questions then you should rest. Is there a connection between the title of the new movie and the 1966 song by The Left Banke?

JC: Yes, The Left Banke is one of my favorite bands of all time. My mother turned me on to Walk Away Renee (the song) and Pretty Ballerina when I was a baby. Also, if it weren’t for The Left Banke there would be no Belle and Sebastian…

KT: Would you say Walk Away Renee is to Tarnation kind of like what Amnesiac was to Kid A, i.e. material salvaged from the first work that elaborates further on the relationship set up between you and your mother in Tarnation?

JC: I love that analogy, yes it is! Well, actually in a nutshell—and I’m half joking about this—but for me, in a sense the film essentially feels like it could be an opulent DVD extra, an easter egg, on disc two, for a 20 year DVD (or whatever the format will be in 2024) anniversary of Tarnation…that I somehow traveled forward in time and stole it from myself just before I put it on that disc two DVD and then came back and just, well, presented it now in 2012.

KT: You’ve mentioned H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine before, and I’ve also heard you’re working on a film about time travel.

JC: I kid you not, and I’m not trying to sound like James Franco or anything, but I have seven projects in development, all of which are going to come down the pipeline as it were in beautiful even-keeled paced succession. One of these is in fact a narrative film I’m writing and directing about time travel.

KT: Can you talk a little more about your interest in time travel?

JC: Yes. Long story short, I wish I had a time machine so that I could leave this time and go back to, I don’t know, 1950 and live until 1986. I love the subject and I am really interested in exploring it in a way that I don’t necessarily think has been done before; the idea of completely personalizing that story really excites me.

KT: And the relationship between time travel and cinema?

JC: Well, I feel a bit like John Cusack in High Fidelity. I associate specific memories and directly correlate the memories to music and films that I had seen during particular times in my life.

KT: I realize that Walk Away Renee was made in relation to certain practical considerations (the need to move your mother to New York from Texas), but it my understanding that you have always wanted to make a classic roadtrip film. Would you say a roadtrip is like time travel in some ways? Your mother moved to New York in part because she was receiving inadequate medical care in Texas. There seems to be an undercurrent in your work between cinema, time travel, and story-telling. Could you talk about that?

JC: YES, but if I answer that all the way right now honestly and detailed I would be giving away the plot of the film, which I can’t do right now.

KT: I understand. Apparently there was a segment cut from the film that had to do with a Wilhelm Reich cult group called the Cloudbusters. Are you a Kate Bush fan?

JC: Huge, huge huge fan. She is like my demi-goddess. I grew up listening to the likes of Kate Bush, Lene Lovich, Nina Hagen, Le Rita Mitsouko, etc.

KT: Why were the Cloudbusters cut from the film?

JC: That scene, coupled with a lot of other scenes coupled with a structure that I could not properly and comfortably digest, was screened at Cannes. The Cannes version of Walk Away Renee is an entire book in itself. For me it was the right film but the wrong version at the wrong time at the right festival. I was so unbelievable gobsmacked grateful beyond words to have the opportunity to show the film as the work in progress at Cannes. But that version became re-tooled about three times just after that showing. The new and final version will be present at IFC this Friday, November 30th. My family and I will be at the last showing of the night. I’ll be on crutches!

In other news, KTLO is available to pre-order on DVD and Blu-Ray. The DVD will be released on January 22. Special features include 4 deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes documentary, cast audition videos, and a commentary with Ira.

MIX was founded in 1987 by activist/author Sarah Schulman and filmmaker Jim Hubbard in response to the growing lack of original, limit-pushing films in other LGBTQ festivals. Since then, it has become one of the most anticipated annual events in the New York queer art community.

One of the programs everyone should be sure to check out is the Dirty Looks Selects: The First 25 Years of MIX program, which is guest-curated by Bradford Nordeen, programmer of the monthly queer experimental screening series, Dirty Looks.

Below is a statement from Bradford Nordeen on Dirty Looks and what we can expect from this year’s festival:

“Dirty Looks traces contemporary queer aesthetics through historical works, presenting quintessential GLBTQ film and video alongside up-and-coming artists and filmmakers. We exhibit a lineage of queer tactics and visual styles for younger artists, casual viewers and seasoned avant-garde film-goers, alike. So we’re understandably thrilled to be involved and to celebrate this momentous quarter-centennial! What we’ve done, here at Dirty Looks, is approached the entire back catalogue of the MIX film festival and selected one title per year throughout MIX’s history. In so doing, we tried to highlight works that either had a real significance or bearing over that moment of artistic production – or we selected titles or artists that have exhibited an amazing longevity and growth since their inclusion in the festival. Our “Selects” programs will be a REAL roller coaster, assembling very disparate titles and artists, voices and approaches – much like the festival itself!”     

The festival opens today and runs through Sunday November 18,  and is located at MIX Factory in Brooklyn (339 Butler Street).  Also at MIX NYC will be KTLO’s own In Search of Avery Willard, screening this Saturday the 17th at 8 pm!

Grab your Tickets now!

A lot of our friends, readers, and cast and crew for KEEP THE LIGHTS ON live in Lower Manhattan, so we hope everyone’s safe, and ok.

For those marooned in Brooklyn, we know things are getting a bit nutty, so if you’re in or around Bed-Stuy, check out this dance party tomorrow night for SIGNIFIED, an LGBTQ bilingual multi-media documentary web-series, Friday November 2, at the Freebrook Mansion. Here’s from Anna Barsan, co-creator of SIGNIFIED:

Back in the early days of Keep the Lights On.com (when, like this weekend, we were faced with a hurricane), we shared our love of the The Slope, a web-based comic series by Desiree Akhavan and Ingrid Jungermann about a superficial homophobic lesbian couple in Park Slope:  ”Like Jonathan Lisecki’s Gayby, Akhavan and Jungermann repurpose the style of deadpan comedy seen in shows like The Office, Parks & Recreation andCurbs Your Enthusiasm with their unique strand of queer humor,” Chelsea Lora wrote.

The Slope went on to find a loyal audience, with Akhavan and Jungermann being named in Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film for 2012. Now, co-creator Jungermann is shooting a spin-off, F To 7TH, a comedy follows her character’s descent into middle age as she struggles to find herself in a world where gender and sexuality have left her old fashioned lesbianism behind. The show also features queer cinema alum Ashlie Atkinson (MY BEST DAY), and Gaby Hoffmann (LOUIE).

The team is in the last week of their kickstarter campaign to raise production funds for their shoot next month. As we know, comedies about lesbian, intersex, and trans issues are a rarity,  so if you can, lend them a hand.  Stay dry this weekend!

Keep the Lights On makes its London premiere tonight, October 16th, at the BFI London Film Festival. To celebrate, here’s a short behind-the-scenes documentary, shot by Jean Christophe Husson. There will be more footage on the film’s DVD. Peccadillo Pictures will release the film on November 2 in UK cinemas.

Edited by Alix Diaconis, score by Daniel Quinn.