Shelter

I attended the Outfest screening for this film last night and was mightily and pleasantly surprised. I'd read the descriptive blurb in the Outfest program and thought "Yeah, whatever...a surfer film." But it was at the John Ford Amphitheatre, my favorite festival venue, which, frankly, was my main reason to go last night. Within the first ten minutes, the venue was quite secondary. I was easily drawn into the story and found myself deeply moved soon in. Having grown up in small town America, the story held a profound resonance for me. Yet, even if that is not your particular experience, this film defies you not to be moved. If you are looking for imperfection here, you will find it. If you allow yourself to be engaged in the story, you won't be disappointed. This one will be with me for a while.

It's not really about rich and poor, it's about honesty and honor, and the lack of it.

The one stand-up guy (Trevor Wright) reminds us that there actually *are* good, selfless people in the world. Zach has to deal with and master an unfair world, and part of that iniquity is himself, because he's gay. Trouble outside, trouble inside.

This is a very kind, wonderfully acted movie. Kudos to all involved.

It's odd that we need straight actors to convince us that gay folk are actually human, but these guys do it without apologies.

We should all be so kind.

What an amazing movie about love, family, and relationships. It was great to watch a film that used characters that stepped outside of the gay stereotypes seen in most films. It was even better to see a movie that focused on the love (rather than the sex) between the two lead characters.

While there are some scenes that scream "low budget," the end product as a whole was very rewarding. The acting, writing, and directing were all solid.

After so many disappointing gay films, I'm thrilled to have a movie like this come along. If this is a sign of things to come in gay cinema, then I am excited about future films. If you haven't seen "Shelter" yet, go give it watch. You'll be glad you did. Enjoy.

I'm previewing a disc version for the Brisbane Queer Film Festival where Shelter screens on Saturday 24th May 2008. Even in this low res screener, Shelter shines as a film with huge heart, and one that's been made with equal care by the actors and all of the film-makers.

It's not at all like the angst-ridden abomination of a gay surf flick "Tan Lines". Surfing is simply a fact of life element in "Shelter" - it's not used or abused as a device.

"Shelter" is a beautifully edited, spectacular looking and luscious sounding film which is definitely character driven. Each of the main characters is carefully developed so that we quite soon decide that we really do care about Zach, his young nephew Cody and Zach's love interest, Shaun. We want things to work out for them.

We understand that Zach is in a bind - he's allowed himself to be the physical and emotional anchor for a progressively more dysfunctional family, but we know that he deserves much better life options. The writers and director of Shelter have done a fantastic job - not a look or word is wasted, and yet the whole pace of the film is very relaxed.

"Shelter" deserves every accolade that any individual or Festival might care to bestow.

Straight audiences must find "Shelter" to be equally rewarding. The film's theme is, after all, about love, honour and commitment. What could be more wholesome than that?

This has got to be the best film I've seen at the San Francisco LGBT film festival in years. The director and cast were in attendance at the world premiere and they were given a worthy standing ovation. Writer/director Jonah Markowitz did a fantastic job of flushing out real characters. Trevor Wright was a real natural and convincing as someone struggling to come out. He really made you feel his pain. The story about his codependent sister is dead-on. Brad Rowe is like a young Greg Kinnear. You can't help liking him. The soundtrack was excellent and I hope to see it released. This is the first film from here! Network and I hope to see more of this quality. Incidentally, I've noticed on the IMDb search that there are two other films being released in 2007 with the title "Shelter" and there a half dozen films in the past with the same title. Also, on the allmovie guide (AMG) site there is an Italian film with the same title. Interesting enough, that film is being shown at the SF LGBT festival and was changed to Shelter Me. Hopefully, the "surfer gay movie" will stand out.