Fans of Tipping the Velvet (2002) and Fingersmith (2005) won't want to miss the remarkable new book-to-screen adaptation of acclaimed writer Sarah Waters' latest novel Affinity, set in turn of the century London. The film is scheduled to appear on the silver screen at the beautiful Cinestudio Theater on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford on Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. Proceeds benefit non-profit organizations Out Film CT and Cinestudio.

The screening of the film Affinity is part of the recently announced Out Film CT Series, an initiative to increase the number of LGBT films shown in Connecticut. Out Film CT director Shane Engstrom states, “We’re extremely happy to present Affinity as the first in our new LGBT film series. Hartford audiences have always loved film adaptations of Sarah Waters’ novels, with Tipping the Velvet winning the Audience Award at the 16th Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.”

Film synopsis: Mystic Selina Dawes has landed herself in prison, Millbank prison, Victorian London's grimmest jail. While the circumstances that led to her incarceration can only be described as peculiar, her path soon crosses with Margaret Prior, a young upper class woman who has decided to volunteer her time and "do good" with her Charity work. As a "lady visitor" it is Margaret's job to visit the inmates and set an example for the prisoners. Initially skeptical and cautious of Selina's supernatural mystery powers, a sequence of unusual events suggests to Margaret that Selina is gifted and is in fact innocent of the crimes she is charged with. As the prison visits increase, repressed passions burst to the surface, sending Margaret into a tailspin as she works on a desperate plot to secure their joint freedom.
Dir. Tim Fywell, United Kingdom, 2008, 120 min. [source: www.mglff.com]

Out Film CT is a nonprofit cultural organization dedicated to presenting outstanding LGBT cinema and other theatrical events throughout the year, culminating in the 9-day Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Film Festival held May 22-30, 2009 in Hartford. As Connecticut's longest-running film festival, it has become a distinctive fixture in our state’s cultural landscape, bringing the community together to introduce, celebrate and rediscover the ideas and values that make the LGBT community unique.

Founded by students in 1970, Cinestudio is a single-screen repertory cinema that presents cinema as it should be -- in a classic theater with state of the art technology. Offering both first-run and classic films, as well as foreign films and festivals, non-profit Cinestudio is a Hartford cultural gem.

For more info: www.OutFilmCT.org -- (860) 586-1136 -- glff@yahoo.com