When founder Kathy Wolfe describes the origins of Wolfe Video, she credits an early Frameline screening of the landmark documentary Word Is Out as her catalyst. The message she took out of the theatre that night — about being out and proud and actively working to improve lesbian and gay lives — resulted in the birth of Wolfe Video.

From the beginning twenty-five years ago, Wolfe has evolved into the largest exclusive distributor of gay and lesbian films. The company’s films are now reaching viewers via film festivals, theatrical and non-theatrical releasing, broadcast, DVD, and digital delivery.

Launched in 1985 on the eve of the “Gay New Wave,” which included the theatrical releases of classics like Desert Hearts and Parting Glances, this Northern California company began by producing short lesbian videos. When Maria Lynn, Wolfe’s current President, came aboard, her extraordinary business sense paved the way for the team’s skyrocketing success. They company’s first big break came from the support of Lily Tomlin, who chose Wolfe to distribute her entire catalog of performance works. With Tomlin’s films, Wolfe built a loyal customer base for their mail order distribution business.

Wolfe’s popular library of titles includes award-winning Reel Pride favorites like Big Eden, Claire of the Moon, Loving Annabelle, Were The World Mine, Itty bitty Titty Committee, and Brother To Brother. This tradition of excellence continues this year with the stunning Peruvian feature and Closing Night film titled Undertow (Contracorriente), one of Wolfe’s newest acquisitions among hundreds of other features, documentaries and shorts.

Get your tickets and find complete details for Fresno Reel Pride.

Click thru to listen to: My Lesbian Radio.

And order your DVD of WE HAVE TO STOP NOW: SEASON 1 from WolfeVideo.com today.

Check out the website promoting the current exhibition of photographs following the career of screen legend, Romy Schneider (star of the upcoming Wolfe DVD release, MADCHEN IN UNIFORM). The exhibition documents the eventful career of Romy Schneider, who by the late 1950s no longer wanted to be known as the child star of the Sissi films, and by the 1970s was a celebrated star of French cinema. A large number of unknown photographs of Romy Schneider, her film partners, and family from the 1950s and 1960s will be on display from the collections of the Deutsche Kinemathek. The exhibition will also present loans from private individuals and institutions from France and Austria. An accompanying catalogue under the same title as the exhibition has been published by Henschel Verlag; edited by Daniela Sannwald and Peter Mänz. Focusing on selected exhibits, it traces the various stages of the actress’ career – as a daughter, rebel, international star and a devastated women – while also examining the media’s marketing and legendization of Romy Schneider.

See more at: Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen.

And order your DVD of MADCHEN IN UNIFORM right now from WolfeVideo.com!

“Flooding in Pakistan: Join the Relief, Recovery and Reconstruction Effort

“This flooding has already affected more people than the Indian Ocean tsunami, the Haiti earthquake, and the 2005 Pakistan earthquake combined,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said yesterday during an address to the United Nations.  Over 20 million Pakistanis have been affected during this humanitarian crisis and as the rains relentlessly fall the risk of expanded flooding continues.  Shortages in food, shelter, clean drinking water, and medical supplies face families across the region and as the water continues to rise, it may get worse before it gets better.

That is why the United States Government through the Department of State created the Pakistan Relief Fund for people like you to contribute money to the ongoing relief efforts in Pakistan.  Though Secretary Clinton acknowledged that these are tough economic times and everyone has tight budgets, every dollar makes a difference in providing immediate relief and assistance to support a sustained recovery.  Five dollars can buy 50 high energy bars providing desperately needed nutrition, $10 can provide a blanket for a mother or a child, and about $40 can buy material to shelter a family of four who has lost their home in the floods.

Americans can help the Pakistani people confront this challenge by donating $10 through their mobile phone by texting the word FLOOD to 27722. Your contribution will provide life sustaining items to help people in the flood-affected area.

President Obama is committed to continuing to assist the Government of Pakistan in their immediate response and being a partner in the long term recovery.”

via Flooding in Pakistan: Join the Relief, Recovery and Reconstruction Effort | The White House.

 Bright, effervescent and witty, Fruit Fly gives a musically gay twist to this “Tales of the City”-esque drama with sparkling results. H.P.Mendoza’s (Colma:The Musical ) critically-acclaimed directorial debut follows Bethesda (L.A. Renigen), a young performance artist in search of her career and birth mother in San Francisco. Moving into the city’s vibrant queer neighborhood, and surrounding herself with a loving gay family, she becomes the “fruit fly” of choice for her circle of gay male buddies, while uncovering long-hidden family secrets. Full of quirky, melodic and uplifting musical/dance performances, Fruit Fly is a glittering mash-up that will have you humming for days.

Join the club and bring home the fun with Glee Karaoke and Glee Jukebox— available only on DVD! A talented group of high school misfits transforms into a performing sensation with the help of a dedicated teacher. Through laughter, tears, irreverent humor and unforgettable music, they learn to follow their hearts and chase their dreams.

Includes Volume 1 and 2 of this highly popular TV series starring Jane Lynch!

Bonus Features:

Disc 1: **Pilot – Director’s Cut **Showmance **Acafellas **PreggersDisc 2: **The Rhodes Not Taken **Vitamin-D **Throwdown **Mash-UpDisc 3: **Wheels **Ballad **Hairography Disc 4: **Mattress **Sectionals **Welcome to McKinley! **Glee Music Video **Full Length Audition Pieces **Fox Movie Channel Presents Casting Session **Deconstructing Glee with Ryan Murphy **Dance Boot Camp **Jane Lynch A to Glee **Meet Jane Lynch **5 Things you don’t know about Jayma **7 Things you don’t know about Cory **6 Things you don’t know about Amber **7 Things you don’t know about Chris **Video Diaries Disc 5: **Hell-O **The Power of Madonna **Home **Bad Reputation **Glee Music Juke Box Disc 6: **Laryngitis **Dream On **Theatricality **Glee Music Juke Box Disc 7: **Funk **Journey **Glee Music Juke Box **Glee Sing-Along Karaoke **Staying in Step With Glee **Sue’s Corner **Bite Their Style: Dress Like Your Favorite Gleek **Behind the Scenes of the Madonna Episode **Making of a Showstopper

Season 1 – Volume 2

From Ryan Murphy, the creator of “Nip/Tuck“ comes a musical comedy that follows an optimistic high school teacher as he tries to transform the Glee Club and inspire a group of outcasts to make it to Nationals.

Bonus Features:
Disc 1:
**Hell-O
**The Power of Madonna
**Home
**Bad Reputation
**Glee Music Jukebox

Disc 2:
**Laryngitis
**Dream On
**Theatricality
**Glee Music Jukebox

Disc 3:
**Funk
**Journey
**Glee Music Jukebox
**Glee Sing-Along Karaoke
**Staying in Step With Glee
**Bite Their Style: Dress Like Your Favorite Gleek
**The Power of Madonna
**Making of a Showstopper

Aaron, a butcher and devout family man in Jerusalem’s ultraorthodox Jewish community, has his quiet existence interrupted one day when Erzi, a handsome, young Yeshiva student, happens on his shop. Intrigued by the young man, Aaron offers Erzi a job and over time becomes his friend and mentor.

The two men, working side by side, grow closer, and soon other feelings surface. As their forbidden desire for each other grows, Aaron begins to neglect his business and his family. But guilt, torment and pressure from the community lead him to make a radical decision.

Discover Desi’s fine performance in the wild San Francisco lesbian comedy, SOME PREFER CAKE or find out more about her current film projects on her Facebook Page.

Here’s the synopsis of the new gay drama, that also stars handsome Italian actor Massimo Poggio and the lovely Maria de Medeiros:

While vacationing in an Italian summer home, happily married Matteo (Massimo Poggio) is surprised to find himself attracted to his best friend’s underwear-model son, David (real-life model Thyago Alves). The plot thickens when David appears to share Matteo’s lust. Although she can’t quite put a finger on the problem, Matteo’s wife (Maria de Medeiros) senses something has happened to their relationship.

Look for the U.S. DVD release of DAVID’S BIRTHDAY from Wolfe on November 9th. Reserve your copy now from WolfeVideo.com or ask for it at fine retailers everywhere.

Watch the short video here: Exclusive: Director Katherine Brooks talks about the controversy surrounding “Loving Annabelle” | AfterEllen.com.

With the October 26th U.S. DVD release just announced this week from Wolfe, what better time to share Keough’s bite-size appreciation of the film:

“In this nuanced, Rohmer-like moral tale from Argentine director Marco Berger, Bruno (Manuel Vignau) is jealous of his ex-girlfriend’s new beau, Pablo (Lucas Ferraro). Bruno’s out to thwart the relationship — not by wooing Laura (Mercedes Quinteros) back (he’s already sleeping with her on the side), but by seducing the allegedly bisexual Pablo…. [Director] Berger is a painter, and he has an exquisite eye for color and composition: at times, the camera just settles on the abstract shapes of Buenos Aires buildings against the sky, creating a meditative canvas on which the feelings beneath the characters’ cool surfaces can seethe and curdle.”

Read more at: Review: Plan B – Reviews – Boston Phoenix.

Reserve your copy of PLAN B now from WolfeVideo.com!

“[CherryGrrl:] Are there purchasing trends that you see at Wolfe Video?

KW: What I’m really concerned about are non-purchasing trends. Sharing movies on the internet; even though that’s such a sweet and friendly thing to do, the filmmaker gets nothing. That’s a formula that does a lot of damage. We all need “to pay to play”…. I don’t want people to feel like they’re being bad; no one’s bad – they just aren’t connecting the dots. They need to understand that if everyone was willing to pay $3.99 for the movies they saw, we could sustain our filmmakers in a much stronger way than we currently are.”

Read more of Kathy Wolfe on the State of Lesbian Cinema | Cherry Grrl.

Find out more about Bridget’s fabulous interview show, “In Bed With Bridget” and her new Logo show, “That Time of the Month” at Bridget’s Official Website!

A perennial figure in the LGBT independent film world, Carol Coombes is best known for her many years of work as festival director for the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and most recently as managing director of Philadelphia QFest.

“8: The Mormon Proposition is almost certainly a film that will make you angry. That’s the point — it’s a documentary that unapologetically outlines the Mormon Church’s role in (as the film contends, orchestrating) the Proposition 8 campaign in California in 2008 — the infamous piece of legislation that banned gay marriage in the state. Milk screenwriter (and former Mormon) Dustin Lance Black narrates the story, which mixes the usual “talking heads” interviews with on-the-scene footage from the events at hand, making for an engaging, positively infuriating documentary experience.”

Read more here: Review of “8: The Mormon Proposition.” Prepare to be Angry. | AfterElton.com.

My Trip Down The Pink Carpet is Leslie Jordan’s rollicking, faced-paced collection of sto-ries served up with wit, panache, and plenty of biting asides. Filled with overwrought childhood agonies, offbeat observations, and revealing celebrity encounters – from Boy George to George Clooney – it delivers a fresh, laugh-out-loud take on Hollywood, fame, addic-tion, gay culture, and learning to love oneself.  

Recorded during Leslie’s live one-man-show in Atlanta, My Trip Down The Pink Carpet shows the singular comedian in rare form as takes material from his book of the same name and brings it to life onstage.  With his signature southern drawl and self-deprecating humor, Leslie recounts the trials of being a gay, southern man with aspirations of entering show business.  Above all, his story affirms the importance of defining your own success – even if you’re a man who fell out of the womb and landed smack dab in your mother’s high heels.

In the wake of cultural events like the Velvet Revolution and the fall of the Berlin wall came the rise of a newfound adult film industry in Eastern Europe. Markku Heikkinen’s revelatory documentary All Boys shows us both sides of this nascent industry, which can be interpreted as either a sign of sexual liberation or as the exploitation of disenfranchised young men.

In a hyperconnected world where erotic media is never far out of reach, All Boys is required viewing. Heikkinen uses beautiful cinematography, historical research and devastatingly honest interviews to give us a rare look behind the scenes of the adult film production process. In particular, he follows the rise and fall of actor Aaron Hawke – whose short career serves as a cautionary tale on the fleeting nature of stardom. Behind every seductive image is a story, and All Boys is intent on showing us how the story ends.

“The 17-year-old BOY of the title sets his sights on a slightly older dancer/hustler whom he sees in the local bar/brothel, and a sweet ‘n sexy relationship begins.”

Read more at TrustMovies and get your copy of the film from WolfeVideo.com!

Private investigator Donald Strachey takes on the case of his life and gets caught in a high-stakes whirlwind of deceit and murder when his partner asks him to uncover the source of an anonymous multi-million dollar donation to a youth center. Starring Chad Allen (Hollywood, je t’aime) and Sebastian Spence.

After another man falls victim to a violent gay-bashing incident, the homosexual community of Clapham Junction comes together to bring the assailants to justice. Starring Rachael Blake and Rupert Graves.

Buy Loving Annabelle PLUS the classic film that inspired its creation, Madchen in Uniform!

Loving Annabelle: One Student, One Teacher, One Secret

Rising heart-throb Erin Kelly stars as Annabelle, a precocious Senator’s daughter who falls in love with her teacher Simone (gorgeous Diane Gaidry) at a stodgy Catholic girls boarding school. Inspired by the classic lesbian drama Maedchen in Uniform, out writer-director Katherine Brooks unveils this passionate tale of forbidden love with intelligence, wit and sensitivity.

Inspired by the 1931 German classic, MADCHEN IN UNIFORM, director Katharine Brooks’ LOVING ANNABELLE gives a modern telling of this “forbidden love” story that continues to be controversial to this day. With stunning cinematography by Cynthia Pusheck, LOVING ANNABELLE offers excellent performances from its female leads, Diane Gaidry and Erin Kelly, as well as a featured performance by Academy Award nominee/Golden Globe recipient Kevin McCarthy.

LOVING ANNABELLE explores the complexity and controversy of love and struggle between two women who have every reason to deny their feelings. Blind to the world around them, the two journey into a love affair destined to change their lives forever.

This handsome collector’s edition DVD is jam-packed with extras including alternate endings and deleted scenes.

Madchen in Uniform:

“A lesbian classic.” — AfterEllen.com

German screen legend Romy Schneider stars as spirited teenage orphan, Manuela—who arrives at a strict all-girl boarding school where she falls in love with her teacher, Fraeulein von Bernburg (played by the beautiful young Lilli Palmer) much to the dismay of the school’s authoritarian headmistress.

This 1958 remake of the historic 1931 film improves upon the original considerably—offering up a wonderful, poignant and extremely rare 1950s portrayal of youthful lesbian longing and truly forbidden love (while Manuela is head over heels infatuated with her teacher, the teacher is affectionate but entirely restrained). This gorgeously shot production is based upon the original 1930 play by German lesbian writer Christa Winsloe.

Never before released on video! Includes special bonus featurette: From Manuela To Annabelle (in which director Katherine Brooks discusses how Madchen in Uniform inspired Loving Annabelle).

NOTE: Loving Annabelle is English with closed captions / Madchen is German with subtitles.

Trivia Questions to win great LGBT DVDs?

Or the newest LGBT movies in theaters and on DVD this week?

Subscribe now to the free bi-weekly QMovieBlogNewsletter and you’ll also get: The Website of the Week, the Giving Back Spotlight and still more valuable queer movie news and gossip.

As they say in the commercials: But wait, there’s more! You also get favorite movie selections from celebrities in the VIP Q Movie Pick section, tons of online trailers, events and party info, queer film festival previews and whatever other exciting things we can think of.

The newsletter is produced by Wolfe in association with Wolfe’s QMovieBlog.com. You can expect to get your QMovieBlog Newsletter from us twice-per-month. As an added bonus, by opting in to subscribe now you’ll get an email coupon to save $5 on your first order from WolfeVideo.com AND be automatically entered to win free Wolfe DVDs each and every month in our Customer Love raffle for as long as you stay subscribed.

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Get your hands on Brian’s acclaimed short film DISH today — it’s featured on Wolfe’s latest gay shorts collection, BOYCRAZY.

The outpouring of responses has been incredible — dozens and dozens of people have responded and saved the film to their queues AND have also gone ahead and popped for the $13.46 purchase price to get their hands on their own copy of the DVD from WolfeVideo.com.

We just had to share a couple of links to some of the bloggers who have been helping us spread the message, including Lydia Marcus at her fotonomous blog (Lydia also happens to be the very talented filmmaker who helped create the cool featurette on the MADCHEN DVD called “From Manuela to Annabelle” in which Katherine Brooks talks about the influence of MADCHEN on LOVING ANNABELLE) and we also got a great shout out from legendary lesbian cartoonist, Alison Bechdel on the “Dykes To Watch Out For” Blog!

Here’s the Netflix link, just click and hit SAVE. And here’s the WolfeVideo.com link so you can reserve your copy now (it comes out on September 14th)!

Thanks to all of you for supporting Wolfe—bringing you the best LGBT movies since 1985!