Indie

In an effort to keep this space just simple and lovely, I thought twice about bringing this up.

But the world isn't always simple and lovely, so here we are.

The unifying story of one gay man, Milk was a beautiful film, a groundbreaking screenplay, and a breathtaking perfomace by the actors involved.

Beautiful films don't always win awards.  This one did.  Yet Sean Penn and Dustin Lance Black's moments to shine were censored...censored because the words "gay" and "lesbian" were far too foul for STAR's pan-Asian Market.

I am not OK with censorship.

Something about this particular story really gets me...because among many other obvious problems, it cuts straight through the spirit of film.  Why?  Becuase Milk was one of those films that said things that sill aren't popular.  It wasn't just a period piece or an expose of one man's struggle.  It was much more...because these things are still happening now.  It was bigger because it is a commentary on our current existence. 

And isn't that what a good film does?  It says things we're afraid to say, it shows us things we don't always want to see.  It goes to the heart of who we really are, past the place of self-censorship.

So it's sad to me.  It tainted a beautiful moment for both Penn and Black, for Harvey Milk, for the GLBT community, for the film community.  For all of us.

Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that last night was Oscar night. 

Here's my personal rundown, although the Playlist also does a fantastic, and probably much more thorough, job as well.

Slumdog swept the night, Kate Winslet finally won her Academy Award, and Penelope Cruz spoke a bit of Spanish at the end of her acceptace speech. 

Heath Ledger expectedly...and abolutely deseverdly...won for his role as the Joker, which his parents and sister accepted on his behalf.  Everyone cried....including my friend who doesn't cry.

Milk and Benjamin Button both took home a few awards as well.  Did anyone else see the way Angelina pretended to laugh while Aniston and Black presented?  Me neither.

I thought Hugh Jackman did a fantastic job as host...but then again I'm a sucker for musical numbers.

So that's it folks.  There's my Oscar rundown.  I hope you enjoyed!

I'm a big fan of this short film from Portable Film Festival. Written and directed by Craig Rosenthal, "The Trainee" is an ironic short filled with dark humor. Sunny Pang and Serena Sim lead the cast. Check out more from Portable Film Festival here.