Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival 2009

SAME SEX MARRIAGE -- THE FIGHT'S NOT OVER! Like a lot of people, filmmaker Keith Hartman is trying to find a constructive way to channel his outrage over the passage of Prop 8, the ban on same sex marriage.

Emo kids Israel and Louie walk around their East Los Angeles neighborhood dishing and “sexting” about their high school classmates. After listening to Louie boast about his sexual escapades, Israel decides he has some catching up to do.

After being forced by his mother to sell his beloved childhood dolls, Thomas must rescue his treasures from a devilish 10 year old boy. This struggle opens his mother’s eyes to her son’s true nature.

Adela isn’t the girl from a romantic comedy. Hassan isn’t the gallant hero of an adventure film. Sylvia isn’t at all like a Femme Fatale and Sofía isn’t either what we can call an ideal mother. What they are and what they look for... Does it matter?

In this dynamic new film from director Gerry Rogers (“My Left Breast”), the road serves as both the metaphor for the direction of a life, and the literal narrative thread; tracing Ferron’s reunion with her band and their first concert trek together in over a decade.

The national debate over gay marriage is making way for its natural consequence: gay parenting. With a patchwork of laws concerning gay adoption, the states are anything but united in what makes a family. Presenting a comprehensive overview of gay adoption rights state-by-state, Finding Family features social workers from across the country, a researcher with the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, gay adoptive parents, and the grown son of two lesbians. Although a number of organizations gather data on this topic, there is no existing coherent document or profile bringing the story together into a national overview. This documentary short stands as the most up-to-date snapshot of the state of gay adoption in the U.S.

for my wife... is a feature documentary chronicling the making of an activist. After the tragic death of her wife, Charlene Strong was thrust into the national spotlight becoming a powerful voice for the equal rights of same-sex couples and their families. Her activism resulted in the passage of Washington State's historic Domestic Partnership legislation.

EQUALS? (¿IGUALES?) | Javier de la Torre Adela isn’t the girl from a romantic comedy. Hassan isn’t the gallant hero of an adventure film. Sylvia isn’t at all like a Femme Fatale and Sofía isn’t either what we can call an ideal mother. What they are and what they look for... Does it matter? Trophy | Karla DiBenedetto A teenager’s routine visit to her father’s vacation home turns steamy when she finds herself unexpectedly attracted to her father’s fiancée. Dancing to Happiness (Tanz ins Glueck) | Barbara Seiler Anna, a cleaning lady, cleans Helen’s (a stock broker) office every night. The two women live in different worlds. However they happen to have enrolled on the same salsa course. Due to the lack of men, Anna and Helen have to dance together. A lesbian fairytale depicting the possibility of overcoming social borders. Lightswitch | Emma Keltie Danielle is a struggling writer until she meets Shauna and her story begins to write itself. Their instant connection and attraction take them on a challenging journey of self-discovery and inevitable angst as Danielle learns that sometimes a story has to be lived before it can be told. Tremble & Spark | Kelly Burkhardt In a depraved and forgotten pocket of Philadelphia, a ruby-lipped beauty is brutally strangled. But this is just another stiff in a city so deep in dirty deals and sordid crimes. It's up to gutsy dame detective Charlie Forest to unearth the ugly truth.

For this woman some habits are hard to break.