Tig Notaro Documentary Will Open Outfest

A documentary on comedian Tig Notaro will open this year’s Outfest.

The prominent LGBT film festival released its schedule of the tentpole screenings for its upcoming event in Los Angeles, which will run July 9 to 19.

The opening gala will feature Tig, a film that chronicles the lesbian comedian’s struggle with cancer and her now-legendary “cancer comedy” act.

The closing night gala screening will be The New Girlfriend, “a gender-bending melodrama” by director François Ozon (Swimming Pool). The film is a Hitchcockian suspense piece about a woman’s romance with a man who secretly wears the clothes of his late wife, who was also the protagonist’s childhood friend and unrequited love.

Other centerpieces include Out to Win, a documentary on LGBT athletes; Nasty Baby, a Teddy Award-winning film on surrogacy starring Kristin Wiig and director Sebastian Silva; Best of Enemies, a documentary on the famous feud between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley; and Eisenstein in Guanajuato, a biopic centering on the gay coming-of-age of Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein (Battleship Potemkin).

Christopher Racster, the interim executive director of Outfest, said this year’s lineup furthers the organization’s mission of highlighting “our struggles and our triumphs” of the LGBT community through film.

"This year’s gala selections underline the fact that our community is empowered openly identifying as LGBT," he said. "The program truly represents Outfest's commitment to use the power of film to reflect our community; highlighting our struggles and our triumphs, and ultimately creating greater understanding and change within society."

The rest of the schedule will be announced June 3. For a full list of gala centerpieces and their descriptions, visit Outfest.org.

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