The opening night film is Touch Of Pink (Thursday 2 June) a romantic comedy in which an Islamic Canadian living in London finds his ideal gay life unravelling when his mother turns up to find him a proper Muslim girlfriend.
If you're looking for an award winning, witty and sexy lesbian movie, the festival "centrepiece" is Girl Play (Wednesday 8 June). Based on a true story, this is a romantic tale of two women falling in love, where one of the women has never previously had a relationship last beyond dawn before.
The programmers' pick for "festival favourite", is Summer Storm (5 & 6 June), where the boys and girls of a Bavarian rowing club are striving and stroking for victory at the national summer camp rowing championships. This one's a real crowd-pleaser.
If your tastes run more to the out-of-control edge-of-your-seat thriller, then Ethan Mao (Sunday 12 June) is the film for you, with a gay Chinese-American boy who takes his family hostage at gunpoint.
One of the most cinematic films in the festival is Proteus (Thursday 9 June), the story of an illicit affair between two prisoners, one white the other black, in colonial South Africa. This is one of the most beautiful films you are likely to see all year.
The lesbian New Zealand feature with a World Première in this festival is a glorious summer slice of life, filmed entirely in Wellington, called Sleeping on the Floor (Friday 3 June). The other Kiwi World Première is 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous (Tuesday 7 June) from internationally acclaimed director Stewart Main, filmed in Central Otago and set in the scorching summer of 1975.
And because we know Wellingtonians love their documentaries ... Tying the Knot (Sunday 5 June), will swiftly sort out your opinion on civil unions; That Man (Sunday 5 June) exposes 70s gay icon, Peter Berlin; Hearts Cracked Open (Sunday 5 June) gives a tantalising glimpse into lesbian Tantric sex; The Hidden History of Homosexual Australia (Saturday 11 June) sheds new light on our siblings across the ditch; A Few Good Dykes (Saturday 11 June) contains more than a sprinkle of fantasy and S/M; Gay Republicans (Sunday 12 June) will remind you why there's no "Rainbow National"; and there are plenty more documentaries to choose from!
Full programmes are available online at www.outtakes.org.nz
Out Takes 2005 kicks off in Wellington with the assistance of a performance by the delightfully effervescent Topp Twins on Thursday 2 June and sparkles for ten days to Sunday 12 June at the Paramount on Courtenay Place.
The festival also screens in Auckland and Christchurch.
