DAVID HUNTER, NEW TIMES: "P. David Ebersole's excellent short explores the nexus between tragedy and artistic decadence, as well as the relevance of mythical forces in the modern era. One of those gay-themed works that pisses off narrow-minded Republicans (the film was made at the NEA-supported American Film Institute and partially funded by the LA Cultural Affairs Department), DEATH IN VENICE, CA is both realistic and superbly evocative cinema."

KEVIN THOMAS, LOS ANGELES TIMES: "P. David Ebersole's sensual DEATH IN VENICE, CA is an impeccably acted contemporary variation on the Thomas Mann novella."

R. HUNTER GARCIA, EDGE MAGAZINE: "The perfect short film...DEATH IN VENICE, CA is one of the highest quality, most rewarding gay-themed films I've ever seen...Although it's only a thirty minute film, it has all the depth and richness of a full-length feature."

STEPHEN HOLDEN, NEW YORK TIMES:"Ambitious...Handsomely photographed and well acted...a darkly moody film."

MICHAEL FRYM, LOS ANGELES READER: "PICK OF THE WEEK! Thumbs up! Top drawer performances from Shirley Knight and...brilliantly understated Nick Rafter. Strikingly updates [the] tragic tale of obsession, repression and meeting one's death upon the path to love."

DESIRE

DOUG ELFMAN, CHICAGO SUN TIMES: "DESIRE is (I can't believe I'm saying this) good. Compelling. Stupid. Well-acted. Not terribly written. Funny on purpose. Better than most series on TV....Better than DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES."

HOT CHICKS

DIANNE LAWRENCE, FILM MONTHLY: "Jack T. Chick is an evangelical cartoonist who works very hard to let you know that Christ was nailed on a cross so that you, pathetic sinner, can have a shot at heaven. In this extremely loving and faithful evocation of his stories, 9 sinners got together and directed and produced a favored episode. By the end of the film one is either completely turned off of all things evangelical or heading out the door to the next Church service. But the real fun is in the wonderfully imaginative vision of each of the clever directors. With everything from puppets, to animation and live action each director brings a unique and thoroughly entertaining voice to their story."

STEVEN MIKULAN, LA WEEKLY: "PICK OF THE FEST - a compilation of nine short films based on the tiny comic books of Christian cartoonist Jack T. Chick, whose crudely drawn, malarial cautionary tales about abortion, Halloween, Catholicism and other unholy scourges have made him a pop-cult figure...the episodes dwell mostly on the artist's screeds against homosexuality and rock music; the best are DOOM TOWN directed by P. David Ebersole, and the animated SOMEBODY GOOFED."

HUBBY/WIFEY

KEVIN THOMAS, LOS ANGELES TIMES: "Todd Hughes' take on Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas is exquisitely original."

THE NEW WOMEN

KAREN VOSS, RES MAGAZINE: "Within THE NEW WOMEN's opening minutes, at least 10 ways to love the feature film emerge. You've got a sumptuous, rural noir road trip. You've got femmes-fatale, frisky and fierce. You've got film references that range from '40s noir to '50s sci-fi to '60s chixploitation to '70s apocalypse, and that crackling, smart dialogue we haven't heard for decades. While the film's core is feminine nuance, the film's look is a rhapsody of texture."

ANDRE SALAS, FILMMAKER MAGAZINE: "Smart and acidly funny. One of the best looking DV films yet, THE NEW WOMEN is fresh and exciting."

VILLAGE VOICE: "Witty, trash talking script bursts at the seams with loopy satire and ballsy female characters, led by Mary Woronov and Sandra Kinder, who could bring the house down reading road signs."

KEVIN THOMAS, LA TIMES: "Has the look and scope of vintage black-and-white sci-fi epics, and Woronov is terrific, funny, but also a three-dimensional woman, as are her friends and neighbors."

HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: "Shot digitally and reminiscent of 1950s sci-fi movies, the film is bitingly fleshed out with fully realized small-town characters and bizarre ramifications arising from the premise."

VARIETY: "A wonderful premise...a midnight bill classic."

soy mi madre

MERRILY KERR, FLASH ART: "soy mi madre, a telenovela-style tale of class struggle, steals the show...a tour de force of upper class dysfunction and working class resentment."

MARTIN HERBERT, TIME OUT LONDON: "Filmed with famous Spanish actors and classily lit and art directed, it could almost be a Pedro Almodovar movie...or a Rainer Werner Fassbinder movie, given his elevation of melodrama into an art form."

STRAIGHT RIGHT

STEPHEN FARBER, MOVIELINE MAGAZINE: "STRAIGHT RIGHT is a potent and provocative exploration of the meaning of manhood. Brent Smith conveys extraordinary intensity as the tormented boxer driven to seek salvation through violent acts of vengeance. His performance, like the film that contains it, is thoughtful and beautifully controlled."

KEVIN THOMAS, LOS ANGELES TIMES: "Perfectly cast....taut and compelling."

HOLLY WILLIS, FILMMAKER MAGAZINE: "P. David Ebersole's explosive neo-noir STRAIGHT RIGHT...initiates a chain of events that can either lead to glory or to tragedy, both in and out of the ring. The strength of Ebersole's depiction is in how closely he plays with the line between the two, letting us see just how easily a hero can become a villain."

MICHAEL FARKASH, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER:"Sympathetic, engaging, believable."

STRANGER INSIDE

JOE LEYDON, VARIETY: "Filmmaker Cheryl Dunye makes a smooth, self-assured transition...in the brutal, gritty drama STRANGER INSIDE. A late add to the Premieres sidebar at Sundance, STRANGER should generate interest on fest circuit prior to a spring premiere on HBO. Newcomer Yolonda Ross registers strongly as Treasure, a hard-bitten but emotionally needy young black woman who takes drastic steps to meet a convict she has ID'd as her mother.... [Davenia] McFadden gives a powerful performance, while Rain Phoenix is compelling as a prisoner who rightly views Treasure as a rival."

WICKED WICKED GAMES