Topp Twins

Listen to the post screening Q&A with the Topp Twins here and it will almost be like you were there!

Cindy Widner from the Austin Chronicle also has written an article based on an interview she did:

It’s possible you think you are not interested in a documentary about yodeling Kiwi lesbian twins. You would, in that case, be very, very wrong. “Sometimes, you’ve got to take a gamble on something,” says Jools Topp on the phone from her ranch on New Zealand’s north island. “If you’ve got ‘lesbian singing duo from New Zealand that’s political,’ you might think, ‘Wow, that’s not something I’d want to see.’ Then again, if you go, you might be pleasantly surprised, and sometimes that’s the best thing.” Read the rest of the article here.

The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls has won the Special Programming Award for Freedom at the Outfest Film Festival in Los Angeles which is sponsored by ONEHOPE Wine.

Thank you LA!

Read the reviews:
L.A.’s Outfest Screens “The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls” | Queer Sighted | Kurt Reighley
Outfest Reviews: Topp Twins | SheWired | Rebekah Allen
Reverend’s Previews: Outfest 2010 celebrates LGBT diversity | Movie Dearest | Rev. Chris Carpenter

The Topp Twins at the Castro | Credit: Steven Underhill

The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls has won the Audience Award for Documentary at the Frameline Film Festival Awards in San Francisco.

The audience in the beautiful Castro Theatre cheered and stomped at the film’s screening which we were told was a good sign…and a good sign it turned out to be! If you weren’t there you can pretend you were in the audience by reliving it through this video of Jools & Lynda singing Untouchable Girls!

Lynda & Jools at Frameline34 | Credit: Frameline Film Festival

Leanne Pooley, Lynda, Jennifer Morris, Jools & Arani Cuthbert | Credit: Ana Grillo

Lynda & Jools on stage at Frameline | Credit: Ana Grillo

The Frameline Audience | Credit: Ana Grillo

Read the reviews from Frameline:

Something for everyone at Frameline34 Film Fest | San Francisco Chronicle | David Wiegand
Love stories, politics, yodeling and more: Frameline34 short takes | San Francisco Bay Guardian | Cheryl Eddy

Pics and videos now in!

The Topp Twins attended the screening at NewFest in New York where they won Best Documentary. TVNZ’s Close Up team were there to catch up with them. Watch the video and see the photos below:

Lynda & Jools Topp at NewFest Film Festival | Credit: NewFest

Lynda & Jools perform at NewFest Film Festival | Credit: NewFest

Lynda & Jools perform at NewFest Film Festival | Credit: NewFest

Lynda & Jools perform at the NewFest Film Festival | Credit: NewFest

Jools performing at NewFest Film Festival | Credit: NewFest

The NewFest crowd up on their feet! | Credit: NewFest

Why does it take really cool things forever to be on U.S. radars? We’ve certainly been missing the boat by not recognizing the amazing comedic and musical genius of lesbian New Zealanders the Topp Twins. Hopefully the release of their new documentary, Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls will remedy that as it tours the states at upcoming festivals including The Newfest in NYC on June 10, the Provincetown Film Festival in Massachusetts on the 17 and 18, and the Frameline San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival on the 20.

Read the full article written by Alley Hector at AfterEllen.com.

On the 5 June 2010 the Topp Twins and Arani Cuthbert attended the GLAAD Awards as The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls was a finalist for Outstanding Documentary. The film did not go onto win (the Award was won by the documentary Ask Not) but the Topp Twins got to meet and pose with Jai Rodriguez of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy fame!

Lynda & Jools Topp at the GLAAD Awards | Credit: Diva Films

Lynda & Jools talk with Jai Rodriguez | Credit: Diva Films

Lynda, Jools and Jai Rodriguez at the GLAAD Awards | Credit: Diva Films

We blogged about screening in Seattle a few weeks ago but the film has just been awarded the Lena Sharpe Award for Persistence of Vision.

Fledgling filmmaker, co-founder of Seattle’s original Festival of Films by Women Directors, and former KCTS staffer Lena Sharpe was working on a film in Washington State when her plane crashed, tragically killing everyone aboard. In tribute to her efforts in bringing the work of women filmmakers to prominence locally, this special award is given to the film by a woman director that receives very high votes from the public in the balloting for the Golden Space Needle Audience Awards.

The film was also the First Runner Up for the Best Documentary Golden Space Needle Award.

The film will screen one more time at the SIFF Best of Fest Weekend:
19 June 2010 | 11.00am | SIFF Cinema

Thank you SIFF!

The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls has won the jury prize for Best Documentary at the Newfest Film Festival in New York. Woohoo!

Fellow New York based Kiwi Gemma Gracewood has written a wonderful account of the Newfest screening on her blog.

“I just bloody love the Topp Twins. I love their honesty, their swift quips and their, well, what’s the opposite of subersive humour? Because their dirtiest secret is that they’re not subversive. They are, and always have been, front and centre in their beliefs, causes and intention.” (Gemma Gracewood, Too Much Personality)