San Francisco, CA - Frameline29, the 29th San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, is scheduled to run June 16-26 at the historic Castro Theatre, Victoria Theatre, and Roxie Cinema in San Francisco, as well as at the Parkway Theater in Oakland (June 20-24).

Frameline29 is exceptionally proud of this year's eight features and almost two-dozen short films that collectively depict diverse experiences within the LGBT black community. Both humorous and dramatic depictions of black queer life will be seen on the big screen throughout the Festival.

Frameline29 special screenings by and/or about black culture include Jade's PASSION OF WORDS TURNING INTO ACTION: A BLACK DEAF FILMMAKER'S JOURNEY, a revolutionary autobiographical documentary. (This film is subtitled and accessible to people of all hearing abilities. American Sign Language interpreters will be present.) Also scheduled is the 15th anniversary return of Jennie Livingston's ever-popular PARIS IS BURNING, which chronicles African American vogue balls in New York City, which premiered at Frameline14 to thunderous applause. (Livingston fans can also get a look at her newest work, a spanking-hot new musical WHO'S THE TOP with appearances by Shelly Mars, Steve Buscemi, Reno, and dozens of Busby Berkeley dancers.)

Insightful Festival29 documentaries with notable black representation include both Daniel Peddle's THE AGGRESSIVES, an engaging coming-of-age documentary about a gender-bending group of butch lesbians and their influence on gender identity in the modern world, and local filmmakers Victor Silverman's and Susan Stryker's SCREEMING QUEENS: THE RIOT AT COMPTION'S CAFETERIA, which brings pre-Stonewall local history to the forefront by revisiting those transgender prostitutes and gay activists in the Tenderloin brave enough to fight back against police harassment. A KNOCKOUT, from directors Tessa Boerman and Samuel Reiziger, captures mixed-race lesbian boxing champ Michele Aboro's courageous fight not to fit in.

Narrative dramatic features include THE RECEPTION, an intriguing and sensitive exploration of the race, power, and sexuality by director John G. Young, whose PARALLEL SONS won the Audience Award for Best Feature at Frameline19. STRANGE FRUIT, by Kyle Schickner, finds a gay, black Manhattan lawyer returning to his rural Louisiana home to investigate the lynching of his childhood friend.

Festival shorts by local filmmakers that capture black culture include NO MATTER WHAT, by Tamara Rahman, REMOVAL, by Jo J. Barker, PLANE GIRLS, by Anne Marie Luger, IN MY SHOES-STORIES OF YOUTH, by Jen Gilomen, JUMPIN' THE BROOM: THE NEW COVENANT, by Debra A. Wilson, and KARMA, by Michael La Rocco.

Other black representative films include Hilary Goldberg's BEYOND LOVELY, starring the hilarious Vaginal Davis (and Festival favorite Guinevere Turner); M.R. Stiff's WALK IN THE LIGHT, about a grassroots church movement that openly accepts homosexuality; Natalie Wood's ENTER HAILEY, which highlights the filmmaker's admiration for his sister's decision not to raise her child in a violently homophobic family environment; Shelley Bally's PANTS? SKIRT? LIPSTICK?, which illustrates how discriminatory immigration laws affect two couples and their friends; and Luther M. Mace's ON THE LOW, which takes an honest look at the double lives many black men uphold to avoid being seen as "a faggot."

Frameline29 also celebrates cultural diversity with humor and lightheartedness, as evidenced by Jen Simmons' INCLINATIONS, a narrative comedy about an aspiring writer who is advised to seek her own erotic exploration, and DID I JUST LOOK AT HER, an urban comedy by Coquie Hughes about a "straight" girl who fantasizes about her experiences with a lesbian.

Once again the Festival reaches out to larger audiences by providing films made by and/or about the black community that insightfully, honestly, and even humorously capture what LBGT community truly means.

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Frameline29 -- the 29th San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival -- is the oldest and largest event of its kind in the world, and will screen June 16-26, 2005. Frameline29 screens in San Francisco at the Castro Theatre (429 Castro St.), the Roxie Cinema (3117 16th St.), the Victoria Theatre (2961 16th St.) and in Oakland at the Parkway Theater (1834 Park Blvd). Festival passes are currently on sale to Frameline members. Tickets go on sale to Frameline members on Friday, May 27, 2005. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, June 3, 2005. For more information, please call 925.866.9559 or visit www.Frameline.org.

Frameline29 is presented by Frameline, a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community and furthering its visibility by supporting and promoting a broad array of cultural representations and artistic expression in film, video, and other media art.