Gearing Up for NewFest 2011 (It's All About 'Renee'!)

Well here's some good news. I thought I had missed NewFest while I was in Tulsa -- I could swear it's always around my birthday -- but apparently it has been moved to July! I was just going through the online guide of films -- as always, it's completely overwhelming -- but one I probably won't be seeing is "Wish Me Away," a new documentary about the coming-out of Chely Wright. (Who?)) It sounds all well and good -- any coming-out story has its challenges -- but after having already been duped by publicist Howard "The World Will Be Shocked by One Celebrity's Confession That They Are Gay" Bragman. For starters, I still don't know who she is. Plus, I figure getting my hopes up for a film about something that was overhyped in the first place is a clear cut case of "fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."

The film I'm most excited about is "Renee," Eric Drath's documentary about groundbreaking transsexual tennis player Renee Richards. (I have a long "history" with Renee -- hope she's there!)

Would love to hear from anyone who has any other recommendations. I've already seen "Hit So Hard" about Hole drummer Patty Schemel (just so-so, although perhaps it's been edited down), and I've heard from my pal Matt that "Carol Channing: Larger Than Life" is a hoot (read his review HERE). I've written a little about "eCupid," which looks cute.

Here are a few that caught my eye:

"We Were Here," a documentary that follows the story of five members of the vibrant 1970s gay community in San Francisco who lived to tell

"Rent Boys," a documentary about five hustlers who work near the Berlin zoo rail stop (three of them are impoverished Romanian immigrants, including a Bosnian war refugee)

"I'm From Driftwood Presents," featuring highlights of Nathan Manske trip around the country gathering diverse stories of LGBT and ally individuals

"An Ordinary Couple," about the 33-year relationship of Orin Kennedy and Bernardo Puccio.

"Photos of Angie," about the life and murder of transgender woman Angie Zapata

"The Green," Broadway stars Cheyenne Jackson and Jason Butler Harner as a NYC couple whose plans for a quieter life in Connecticut are upended when one of them is accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student.

What else, guys?!