By Henry Perez

	David Gallagher in The Picture of Dorian Gray from director Duncan Roy, which opens the MGLFF on April 27

It all started more than 10 years ago with a flickering light. Not just your average everyday, ordinary, simple, mundane flickering light; this one was unique and special, it was a queer flickering light. Yes, the first Miami film festival showing movies for and about the gay community was actually named Queer Flickering Light and it was the inspiration for what is known today as the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, now celebrating its ninth anniversary.

I was there from the start, amazed at the fact that our community had a voice and a gathering place where gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people could come together and share special movie moments on the big screen, here in our town, in front of everybody. Everyone else had the Miami International Film Festival, but now we had our own 10 days filled with films, friends, parties and unforgettable moments. I have never left, nor would I ever dream of leaving.

	Actor Yuval David sweeps writer and photographer Henry Perez off his feet. The Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival makes the author swoon Photo: Mary Damiano

I remember sitting there, amazed, watching films like trick, Bedrooms and Hallways, Edge of Seventeen, Head On, Amor de Hombre, got 2b there and Everything Will Be Fine, and meeting directors Rose Troche, Jim Fall and Jose Torrealba, as well as the unique and talented Maria Conchita Alonso---and that was just the first year. Of course, I got them all to sign my program book, but you all knew that.

The Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, or MGLFF for short, became my escape week, a time when I could run away from all responsibility and have fun---well, almost all responsibility.  I still had to go to work, though sometimes I would take my vacation to accommodate the many movies, none of which I wanted to miss, and to attend the fabulous parties that followed. One year, I even had my dear friend Phil Koeber from New York plan his vacation around the festival; he came down and we stayed at Island House on South Beach. It was a real blast; we are always talking about doing it again.

	Joseph Zamzow, seated, flanked by Henry Perez and Harvey J. Burstein at the closing night party of the 2006 Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Photo: Mary Damiano

Every year, I would be watching a gay male film, surrounded by a mostly male audience and then the theater would empty to welcome the audience for a lesbian film.  All the guys would leave, but I remained, sitting amongst women who sometimes looked at me and probably wondered, ‘Who is this guy?’ I just didn’t want to miss a thing.  An equal opportunity moviegoer, that’s me.

There I was, laughing or crying or whatever came natural at the time and feeling free to do so, no problems, no hang-ups, no questions, no tissues, just me being me and feeling freer than I’ve ever felt in my entire life.

The MGLFF was fortunate to have Robert Rosenberg as founding director of the festival, as he infused his energy and joy into every screening and paved the way for a successful future. Then came the fab duo, Carol Coombes and Jaie LaPlante, who not only provided the same energy and love of film, but a fashion sense as well. With them, we saw red: Red as in Carol’s hair and Jaie’s pants, red as in their passion and enthusiasm. They became the drivers of this amazing tour bus, taking the audience on a fantastic journey throughout the gay and lesbian world.

	Jaie La Plante, Kevin from HBO and Carol Coombes at the 2006 MGLFF closing night party Photo: Mary Damiano

It’s been so wonderful to see that each year, more and more people would attend the festival; the lines would get longer and the houses would be packed most of the time. Sometimes, popular films would have to be screened consecutively on two separate screens to accommodate the crowds. It was great being a festival member, lining in the purple or red lines to get in first and get the best seats. Saving seats for friends became a routine; friends that you may not have seen since the last festival, but who would be there to share this experience with you all over again.

Year after year, the MGLFF has been getting better and better, the parties hotter and hotter and my life busier and busier as I try to see more and more films. I will never forget Greg Araki’s Mysterious Skin, Tim Kirkman’s Loggerheads, Craig Lucas’ The Dying Gaul, or Daniel MacIvor’s Wilby Wonderful. These beautiful actors being wonderfully directed in such powerful stories that have left a mark in my movie memory bank forever. One such film that I’ll always cherish is AKA: Lies Are Like Wishes, directed by Duncan Roy, whose new film The Picture of Dorian Gray opens this year’s  MGLFF on April 27. I can’t wait!

	Anger Me, a documentary about filmmaker and writer Kenneth Anger is the MGLFF centerpiece film, which will be screened at the Colony Theatre May 2

I’ll never forget my celebrity moments, like chatting with Sharon Gless about her experiences with the cast of “Queer as Folk”, or meeting Divine’s mom at the screening of  The Cockettes, or the time Alexis Arquette bought me a drink at a Crobar after-party, or sitting right across form Colton Ford and Blake Harper during the screening of their film, Naked Fame, or talking to director Craig Lucas at the Bank of America Tower Sky Terrace, where the post-screening gala party for The Dying Gaul took place, and where the opening night gala for this year’s MGLFF will be held. But most especially, meeting, hanging out and becoming friends with Freud Slips and Hitchcocked shorts director David M.Young and actor Yuval David.

One of my most cherished moments during these past festivals was getting to meet Nicole Conn, the director and principal player in the heart-wrenching documentary Little Man during its MGLFF screening. This has been the most memorable, thought-provoking film I’ve ever experienced, because it isn’t just a film you watch, it’s a life changing experience.

Films from all over the world have had their U.S. premiere at the Miami Gay Lesbian Film Festival.  Among my favorites are Lan Yu (Hong Kong), His Secret Life (Italy), Summer Storm (Germany), 20 Centimetros (Spain), and Three Dancing Slaves, Time To Leave and A Love to Hide, all from France. Also, the wonderful British television gems “Metrosexuality”, “Bob & Rose”, “Tipping The Velvet” and “Queer as Folk” made obvious how painfully behind we are here in the States in television programming that deals with our sexuality and lifestyle.

	Henry Perez with a hunky merman, at the opening night party for the 2006 festival Photo: Mary Damiano

And what about them shorts? No, I don’t mean short pants, though there were many. I mean the annual shorts compilations programs “What Guys Want” and “What Girls Like”, which I simply love and look forward to each and every year.

However, the most important component to the MGLFF is people, and throughout these past festivals I’ve come to know many, some of which I now consider my friends. There is Ellen Wedner, Harvey J. Burstein, Joseph Zamzow, Kareem Tabsch, Merle Weiss, Doug Williford, Michael Toomey and Patrick Ward, Marky G, Lisa Palley, Franc Castro, and many more. But there is one special person I met about five or six years ago that remains at the top of my list, and I’ll never forget how we met. During the many screenings, at the Colony Theatre, we were both sitting there, she in the front row and I, just a couple of rows back.  I finally mustered the nerve---I used to be very shy, if you can believe it---to go up to her, introduce myself and say something like, “Since we’re going to be here all the time, we might as well get to know each other.” And the rest is history, still in the making.  That person, that friend, is none other than MiamiARTzine.com editor Mary Damiano, who is probably edited this piece with a big smile on her face.

	A scene from The Chinese Botanist’s Daughter, which closes the MGLFF on May 6

So here I am, nine years after that first queer flickering light, now working as a photographer and writer for this fabulous magazine, ready to attend the festival with a newfound voice. Who knew that my experiences connected to this festival would lead to such opportunities in my life? So, listen.  If you haven’t attended the MGLFF previously, get your membership and tickets now.  What are you waiting for? The opportunities are endless.