Here are some independent films to catch in late 2009.  See you at the movies...

Life's a Drag (When You're a Man in a Dress)

This is the story of Electra, a sometimes glamorous drag queen, who had escaped from his former life in Seattle and moved to South Beach where he became a female impersonator. Electra was a big hit on the club circuit as a master female impersonator with a repertoire of stars like Judy Garland, Lucille Ball, Carol Channing, Bette Midler and a dozen more. Electra's dream was to own his own club so Madame's, a café located too far off the beaten path, became Electra's nightmare. The wolves were growling at the door and every creditor in town had Madame's on speed-dial with the landlord threatening to close the place down. Before throwing in the wig, Electra had an incredible idea that would save the day, or so she hoped. Electra would produce an American Idol-type talent show with drag queens as contestants. Knowing that the landlord secretly yearned to perform in drag, Electra hoped the scheme would at least keep Madame's open until the contest's finale. Right in the middle of the craziness enters a 12-year old girl named Mary Jones who announces that she's looking for her father Harry Jones. Electra nearly faints since that's his real name. Turns out that Hester, his ex-wife, never told him that she was pregnant when he decided to run away to South Beach to find him/herself. The arrival of his 12-year old daughter could have been the straw that broke the camel's back; however Mary and Electra...er Harry, bonded. Mary found the father she never had and Electra discovered he wasn't such a bad father after all. Here's where the happy ending should be inserted but enter another villain. The ex-wife Hester, surprised to find that Harry is a drag queen, shows up and threatens to take back her daughter (who has a trust fund) and ruin her ex-husband's life. On Christmas Eve, the finale of the drag-show contest has Madame's overflowing with customers but the real winners that night were not even entered in the contest.

Prep School

Ethan Gates is a new student at the prestigious Hillcrest Preparatory School, one of the top preparatory schools in the nation. As a senior who gained admittance through his intelligence and a scholarship program, Ethan's arrival is anticipated by some students and dreaded by others. He is immediately sought out for non-preferential treatment by Dean Stigden and for friendship by school outcast Collin Craig.

Thrown into a world of privileged kids, Ethan manages to adapt and with the help of his new friend Collin, finds a sense of independence. The dean, wanting to keep a sense of uniformity, immediately takes a disliking to Ethan and Collin's influence over the other students and the threat to his own dwindling authority. Coupled with a deep dark secret that threatens the school and his future, the dean uses extreme measures to keep all the students in line, especially Ethan's new friend Collin. It seems Collin knows the dean's darkest secrets and has used this vital information to stay above the law of the school.

The dean, growing tired of his lack of control over Collin, fears Collin has confided in Ethan, putting Ethan squarely in hostile territory. Unbeknownst to Collin, his unrelenting provocations have put both him and Ethan into a situation with the dean that has but one inevitable outcome.

Weary teachers, stressed and scared boys, secrets, deception, control, suppression, vengeance and an inevitable anarchy all add to an air of uncertainty and danger for the prestigious school.

Silent Shame

Silent Shame - A newly married couple meets the expectations of their conservative families; a twist in fate forces them to confront their true selves. Years later their only son is left to discover the real truth behind the way his mother was infected with HIV.  Written by Dalia Tapia

Silent Shame is a feature film drama which develops over the course of twenty years, beginning in the mid-1980's and ending in the present. Abel Cruz is a product of a traditional conservative Latino suburban household. Attempting to meet his parents' cultural and religious expectations, he marries Virginia. In spite of a difficult relationship, they become parents by having Ulyssis. Four years into the marriage, Virginia learns that she has been infected with the newly discovered HIV virus and develops AIDS. The incident forces Virginia and Abel to confront the unavoidable reality- Abel has been living a secret life. He was meeting everyone's expectations except his own as a homosexual man. Painfully, Virginia dies a year later. Before her death, she takes actions to assure that Abel will never interact with Ulyssis. Eighteen years later, key events from the past are revealed when Ulyssis finds his mother's diaries. The discovery exposes many truths about his mother and prompts him to find out what happened to Abel. To his surprise, Abel is still alive. During confrontational meetings, Abel denies being his father and discloses that he has never been infected with the virus and therefore, could not have infected Virginia. Josefina, Ulyssis' maternal grandmother, assures Ulyssis that Abel is his father and that he is responsible for his mother's extremely painful death. Ulyssis and Abel meet once again. Anxious to make sense of the past, Ulyssis hears Abel's story which ultimately leads him to discover how his mother become infected. Ulyssis acts as the catalyst that enables events from the past to be told from both of his parents' point of views; via flashbacks from his mother's diaries and those described by demanding answers from his still living father. Written by Dalia Tapia

King of Paper Chasin'

Cart Blanche (DL) is a very savvy businessman with his hands in anything that will bring him "paper", legal and otherwise. He is also an accomplished entrepreneur and performer. He owns his own music production company with himself as the main artist. Cart has the hottest mixtape on the street and an incredible buzz in the Hip-Hop community. Cart has become very successful by cutting out the middleman and doing it himself, while never relying on the powers that be. Dell (Jason Rivera) is Cart's right hand man, who takes care of the day-to-day operations and makes sure Cart never has to get his hands dirty. Things take an interesting turn when Cart is pursued by a beautiful and passionate record label exec, Rachel (Lauren Hooper), who makes him ponder his own distrust of the major record labels. Carts girlfriend, Thalia (Piarry Oriol), starts talking to the FBI, who are making a case against him. To add to the matter, an old friend, Uglyman (J Steven Williams) is released from prison and wants Cart to go back to being a street thug. Uglyman's presence creates problems for Dell and starts some very serious infighting within Cart's crew. Cart has to do what ever it takes to stay on top, while his worlds begin to collide.