Two films featuring gay male characters are playing this week in Anchorage: An Ordinary Family with two screenings on Wednesday and Thursday, December 7—8 (part of the Anchorage International Film Festival), and Weekend on Monday, December 12.

An Ordinary Family

An Ordinary Family is presented as this year’s “Gay-La” film by the Anchorage International Film Festival, and is sponsored in part by Pride Foundation.

An Ordinary Family is a humorous drama about one family, two brothers and a really big problem. Thomas Biederman is blindsided when his estranged brother, Seth, shows up unannounced to the annual family vacation… with his boyfriend.

Despite a well meaning attempt to surprise everyone, things do not go as planned, throwing Thomas and the family into an awkward weeklong vacation where everyone has problems and no one wants to talk about them.

Wednesday screening

• Date/time: Wednesday, December 7, 8:00 PM
• Location: Bear Tooth Theatre, 1230 West 27th Avenue, Anchorage (see map)
• Special info: The Gay-La screening of “An Ordinary Family” is being sponsored in part by Pride Foundation, and will be followed by a Gay-La After Party at Mad Myrna’s.

Thursday screening

• Date/time: Thursday, December 8, 7:00 PM
• Location: Out North Contemporary Art House, 3800 DeBarr Road, Anchorage (see map)

Learn more about An Ordinary Family at the film’s website — and you can also watch the trailer:

Weekend

The highly acclaimed romantic drama Weekend, from British filmmaker Andrew Haigh, follows Russell (newcomer Tom Cullen), who, after randomly picking up artist Glen (Chris New) at a nightclub on a Friday night, unexpectedly spends most of the next 48 hours with him in bedrooms and bars, telling stories and having sex, while developing a connection that will resonate throughout their lives. This affecting and naturalistic romance is beautifully realized, earning comparisons to Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise in its exploration of how two people can come together only briefly, yet impact each other in a profound way.

Sometimes you don’t want to escape. You want to connect with a movie that’s really about something, to listen to a filmmaker talk things out… one of the truest, most beautiful movies ever made about two strangers.

— Wesley Morris, Boston Globe [Read the full review]

• Date/time: Monday, December 12, 7:45 PM
• Location: Bear Tooth Theatre, 1230 West 27th Avenue, Anchorage (see map)

Learn more about Weekend at the film’s website — and you can also watch the trailer: