Like any genre of movies, gay and lesbian cinema has its good years and its bad. Last year's excellent fest was a tough act to follow by any means, but it just goes to show that gay cinema suffered as much as the mainstream in trying to show up 2003's inarguably stellar year of films in general.

Though several of this year's "boy movies" weren't bad, the most memorable flicks of The 9th Annual Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival were anniversary screenings of classic films (The Times of Harvey Milk's 20th anniversary, and Rebel Without a Cause's almost-50th), the unannounced sneak preview (the shocking and sad documentary Tarnation) and that rare creature, a film (and a very good one, at that!) about a transgendered person (Beautiful Boxer). The lesbian movies (that I saw at least) were embarrasing in quality. I'm just hoping that some of the wonderful female short-film artists get some funding soon to save the future lesbian feature films.

Some of the breakout new films that will have a shelf-life beyond the festival circuit include the crowd-pleasing opening night film Eating Out; the moving and entertaining Beautiful Boxer, a true story about Thailand's transgendered kick-boxer Nong Toom; the solid drama Brother to Brother, showcasing the Harlem Rennaissance; and the refreshingly witty closing night movie Dorian Blues that was chock-full of memorable performances.

Special cheers also go to POWER-UP!, a film and arts collective that produced the highly enjoyable girls' shorts Little Black Boot and The Nearly Unadventurous Life of Zoe Cadwaulder. For god's sake, give them more funding!

Here's a list of what Moviepie managed to catch at the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, with a red arrow next to our recommendations:

April's Shower (2/8) (USA) Beautiful Boxer (6/8) (Thailand) Brother to Brother (6/8) (USA) Dorian Blues (6/8) (USA)    Make A Wish (1/8) (USA)

My Mother Likes Women (5/8) (Spain) Rebel Without A Cause (7/8) (USA) Tarnation (7/8) (USA) The Times of Harvey Milk (8/8) (USA)