Film Screening: Copa 181
Enjoy the screening as part of the 17th Annual Way OUT West Film Fest.
Copa 181, a gay sauna not unlike the legendary Continental Baths, is the meeting place for a ragtag group of strangers looking for anonymous sex and perhaps a friendly smile in this supremely human story. Liberated and free to act as they please, everyone at the bathhouse falls under the dual spells of sex and escape from mundane reality.
On any given day at Copa 181, tucked in a corner of the Copacabana neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, expect to find Taná, a hardware shopkeeper and occasionally his wife Eros, a powerful opera singer struggling to master her performance of a new score. Among the others at the bathhouse is Kika, a trans singer and entertainer who is attempting to escape a violent relationship with a gigolo who also works at the baths. The film slowly chronicles Taná, Kika, and Eros as they attempt to find happiness, underscoring the message that family is where you find it.
See also: Reel World
WOW!
Way OUT West, Albuquerque’s annual gay and lesbian film festival, returns for its 17th annual outing, starting this Friday, Oct. 11. Taking place at Nob Hill’s Guild Cinema (3405 Central Ave. NE) and UNM’s Rodey Theatre (located at the UNM Center for the Arts), the fest is 10 days worth of of features, shorts and documentaries, all focused on LGBTQ subjects. Opening night kicks off with Gay Chorus Deep South (7pm, Guild Cinema), a documentary about the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus embarking on a tour of the American South in the wake of the divisive 2016 presidential election. That’s followed by Copa 181 (9:30pm, Guild Cinema), a Brazilian drama about a diverse group of strangers looking for love and sex at a legendary gay sauna in Rio de Janeiro. Be sure to look up the full schedule online (wayoutwestfilmfest.com), because there are 24 more features and a whole mess of short films continuing through Oct. 20. This year’s special guest of honor is comedian Kathy Griffin, who will be here for a screening of her documentary/concert film Kathy Griffin: A Hell of a Story on Oct. 19. (Pick up next week’s Alibi for more info and an interview with the controversy-courting funnywoman.) Individual tickets are $11 general admission. Four-movie punch cards cost $40. Eight-movie punchcards cost $75. A full-festival pass will set you back $125.
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