Jack Gudmanson and his sister Carol, tending the fields somewhere in the US, unearth a box, which the young man makes off with. On opening Pandora's Box he finds not only an old flame's collection of homoerotica, but the contents also shed light on a family secret, as well as his own feelings towards other men. He goes after "Blondie", who, year in, year out, goes on a picnic on 4th July near the Gudmansons' field, where he has to confront Jack's grandfather Bill's armed emnity.

• One of the few coming-out films, long or short, capable of giving pleasure to grown-up gays. Reduced from a feature-length screenplay, this film makes us wish other productions had benefitted from a pair of scissors. Director and writer Mark Christopher courageously portrays the clichéed effeminate character of "Blondie" Roger, in other films made to look ridiculous, only to wordlessly breathe life into the supporting role later on.

• Alkali, Iowa played at the 1996 Berlinale Panorama and was joint winner of a Teddy, together with Unbound. That the 17 minute film had been refused entry the previous year proves how mysteriously the "premiere festival" operates. More than ten festivals, including Sundance, Toronto and New York, and four awards later, the organisers could no longer ignore Alkali, Iowa. So the international communities of video fanatics can now look forward to a compilation video, like Christopher's previous The Dead Boys' Club.

Deutsche Version