Phoenix | |
---|---|
Directed by | Michael Akers |
Screenplay by | Michael D. Akers Sandon Berg |
Produced by | Sandon Berg (producer) Israel Ehrisman (co-producer) |
Starring | Chad Edward Bartley Gaetano Jones Jeff Castle |
Cinematography | Chris Brown |
Edited by | Michael D. Akers |
Music by | Aram Mandossian |
Distributed by | United Gay Network |
Release date |
|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Phoenix is a 2006 film by American director Michael Akers, his third feature film after Gone, But Not Forgotten (2003) and Matrimonium (2005). The film was produced by Sandon Berg with Israel Ehrisman as co-producer and starred Chad Edward Bartley as Dylan, Gaetano Jones as Kenneth Sparks and Jeff Castle as Demetrius Stone. The film was distributed by United Gay Network. This film was inspired by Michaelangelo Antonioni's film L'Avventura and adds a gay twist. [1]
Phoenix is the story of a suspenseful and mysterious journey of two jilted lovers following the trail of their mutual betrayer. Ken Sparks (played by Gaetano Jones) has had some urgent business matter to attend in Phoenix, Arizona after a land deal has gone sour. In the process, he is also leaving behind his boyfriend Dylan (Chad Edward Bartley), making promises for Dylan's birthday. Despite Dylan having delusions that Ken might be the one for him, Ken on the other hand does not want Dylan to join him in Phoenix.
Betrayed by false promises, Dylan asks about him and discovers not only that Ken has altogether disappeared from the scene, but that he has had a long-term and ongoing relationship with his "husband" Demetrius Stone (Jeff Castle). Now Ken has also dumped Demetrius as well and disappeared.
Seeing the joint predicament both lovers are in because of Ken's betrayal of them both, Dylan and Demetrius feel an affinity building up between them and eventually fall in love together. The film is subtitled as "Every broken heart is a chance for a new beginning..." or as Dylan says to Demetrius: "maybe this is destiny, and maybe this whole thing with Ken was just to bring us together" although they both obviously live in the spell of their common lover. And as they admit, "this is not easily done" and is "an awful lot of trouble to go through" and realizing this new love "cannot replace him [Ken]".
The film was an official selection on many festivals including:
Todd Haynes is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films span four decades with themes examining the personalities of well-known musicians, dysfunctional and dystopian societies, and blurred gender roles.
De-Lovely is a 2004 American musical biopic directed by Irwin Winkler and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The screenplay by Jay Cocks is based on the life and career of Cole Porter, from his first meeting with his wife, Linda Lee Thomas, until his death. It is the second biopic about the composer, following 1946's Night and Day.
Sean Paul Lockhart, known by his stage name Brent Corrigan, is an American film actor and director, known for Milk (2008), Judas Kiss (2011), and Triple Crossed (2013).
Disappear Fear is an American indie pop/indie folk/Americana/world beat band formed in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1987.
Violet Wilson is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera Coronation Street. She was portrayed by Jenny Platt making her first on-screen appearance on 8 October 2004 and remained until 29 February 2008. Platt returned for one episode on 24 April 2011, and returned again on 20 March 2024 for a short stint.
Holger Bernhard Bruno Mischwitzky, known professionally as Rosa von Praunheim, is a German film director, author, producer, professor of directing and one of the most influential and famous queer activists in the German-speaking world. A pioneer of Queer Cinema and gay activist from the very beginning, von Praunheim was a key co-founder of the modern lesbian and gay movement in Germany and Switzerland. He was an early advocate of AIDS awareness and safer sex. His films center on queer-related themes and strong female characters, are characterized by excess and employ a campy style. They have featured such personalities as Keith Haring, Larry Kramer, Diamanda Galás, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Judith Malina, Jeff Stryker, Jayne County, Divine, Charlotte von Mahlsdorf and a row of Warhol superstars. In over 50 years, von Praunheim has made more than 150 films. His works influenced the development of LGBTQ+ movements worldwide.
Edge of Seventeen is a 1998 coming of age romantic comedy-drama film directed by David Moreton, written by Moreton and Todd Stephens, starring Chris Stafford, and co-starring Tina Holmes and Andersen Gabrych.
Gargoyles the Movie: The Heroes Awaken is a 1995 animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. The film is actually the five-episode pilot ("Awakening") of the animated television series Gargoyles edited into one long feature film, being roughly 92 minutes in length. As a result, numerous scenes from the original broadcast episodes were cut due to time constraints. In addition, a number of scenes were also moved around and some dialogue was changed. The episodes were produced and aired in 1994, and the film was released to laserdisc and VHS in February 1995 and featured an interactive VHS/LD board game. The pilot episodes have been released to DVD as part of Gargoyles: Season 1.
A Home at the End of the World is a 2004 American drama film directed by Michael Mayer from a screenplay by Michael Cunningham, based on Cunningham's 1990 novel of the same name. It stars Colin Farrell, Robin Wright, Dallas Roberts, and Sissy Spacek.
The Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival (HRFF) is an LGBT film festival held annually in Honolulu which began in 1989 as the Adam Baran Honolulu Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
The Visitor is a 2002 Australian film directed by Dan Castle starring Barry Otto. This is a short film, lasting 30 minutes.
Gone, But Not Forgotten is a 2003 film directed by Michael D. Akers. The critically acclaimed film showed at more than 30 film festivals. It is among the films featured in Gary Kramer's book, Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews. The cover of the book displays the poster for the film; the director, Michael Akers, and the star, Matthew Montgomery, are both interviewed in Chapter Five.
Michael D. Akers is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. In 2000, he founded "United Gay Network" (UGN) with his longtime partner, Sandon Berg. Most of his films are LGBT-related.
Morgan is a 2012 gay film directed by Michael Akers, produced by Michael D. Akers, Sandon Berg and Israel Ehrisman, and starring Leo Minaya as Morgan Oliver and Jack Kesy as Dean Kagen.
Matrimonium is a 2005 comedy film directed by Michael Akers, his second feature film after the successful Gone, But Not Forgotten. Co-written and co-produced by him and Sandon Berg, the latter appears in a lead role in the film as Spencer who is having a sham same-sex marriage with the straight character Rick Federman in the role of Malcolm to enable the latter to win the 1-million dollar prize on the nationally broadcast reality television show Matrimonium.
Sandon Berg is an American film producer and screenwriter, and actor with past roles in both film and television. He co-founded United Gay Network, a film production company, with his longtime partner, Michael D. Akers.
"Gone Maybe Gone" is the first episode of the sixth and final season of the American teen drama television series Gossip Girl, and the 112th episode overall. Written by series developers Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and directed by Mark Piznarski, the episode originally aired on The CW on October 8, 2012.
When We Rise is an eight-part American docudrama miniseries about the history of LGBT rights advocacy in the United States from the 1970s to the 2010s. It was created by Dustin Lance Black and stars Guy Pearce, Rachel Griffiths, Mary-Louise Parker, Michael Kenneth Williams, Austin P. McKenzie, Emily Skeggs, Jonathan Majors, Fiona Dourif, and Sam Jaeger among 30 others. The miniseries premiered on ABC on February 27, 2017, with the rest of its episodes airing March 1 to 3.
Austin, Texas, has one of the most prominent and active LGBT populations in the United States. Austin was acclaimed by The Advocate in 2012 as part of its Gayest Cities in America, and was recognized by Travel and Leisure as one of America's Best Cities for Gay Travel. Much of Austin's gay nightlife scene is clustered around 4th Street. LGBT activism groups Atticus Circle and Equality Texas are headquartered in Austin.
Dori Friend is an American Internet entrepreneur, digital marketing expert, author, film maker, speaker and LGBTQ+ rights activist. She is the owner of SEONitro, PageOneEngine and Raven Bear Labs.