Film and book January 2008

Summer Storm Film Tuesday 29 January

Summer Storm is a multi award-winning, German coming-of-age film directed by Marco Kreuzpaintner. Released in 2004, the film stars Robert Stadlober, Kostja Ullmann, Alicja Bachleda-Curuś, and Marlon Kittel. The story is set to the background of a rowing regatta, which climaxes into a Summer Storm.
Teams from all across Germany descend on a quiet camping ground for a week of training leading up to a final rowing competition. The plot follows the members of the RSC rowing club from southern Germany as they train for the regatta.
The boys are excited by the prospects of camping with a female rowing team from Berlin. However, by a stroke of fate, the Berlin girls’ team cancels and is replaced by Queerschlag ("Queerstrokes"), a gay youth rowing team, and these boys are out proud and camp it up to their full potential.
Amidst the sometimes tense interactions between the members of his team and those of Queerschlag, Tobi (Stadlober) is himself forced to confront his long-time feelings for his friend and team-mate Achim (Ullmann), who is already romantically involved with his girlfriend Sandra (Miriam Morgenstern). Spurned by Achim, Tobi is devastated, but is partly consoled by his new friendship with Queerschlag member Leo (Kittel).
The tension between the members of the two teams culminates in a scene set to the backdrop of a summer storm, during which Leo confronts Tobi about his homosexuality in front of his fellow team-mates. Tobi denies being gay, and, in an attempt to defend him, one of his team-mates tells Tobi’s girlfriend Anke (Bachleda-Curuś) to tell the rest of his team-mates so. Anke, the only person to whom Tobi has confided his secret, remains silent.
Ultimately, Tobi comes out to his fellow team-mates, and his rowing team and Queerschlag go

on to compete in the final regatta.

Calendar Girl by Stella Duffy reading group Saturday 26 January

Stand-up comic Maggie has fallen for "the girl with the Kelly McGillis body", a mysterious woman who can't commit herself. Meanwhile South London detective Saz is hot on the trail of a woman known only as "September", who commutes between London and New York in a whirlwind of drug smuggling, gambling, and high-class prostitution. A murder brings Saz and Maggie and their respective mysteries together. Smart and sexy, Calendar Girl is a lesbian thriller high on attitude and eroticism..
Stella Duffy has written ten novels, the latest Mouths of Babes was published in July this year. State of Happiness (2004) was long listed for the 2004 Orange Prize, and is in development with Fiesta Productions. Stella was born in South London and grew up in New Zealand. She has lived inthe UK since 1986.