This time of year brings the cold weather, the gobbling preparations for turkey, and the beginning of the Christmas takeover as people start accosting each other with mistletoe and advertising shouts at you to BUY BUY BUY! This is also the time for Canada's oldest and largest LBGT film fest, image+nation. Last year, films like Yair Hochner's Good Boys and Ash Christian's Fat Girls reigned supreme. This year, the festival is celebrating its twentieth year, and kicks off tonight in Montreal.

It's also doing so with one heck of a lineup of films -- a collection of buzzed-about festival favorites and others that you've probably never heard of. While XXY is surprisingly missing from the line-up, there's lots of other flicks to make up for it. You can check out the full list over at their website, but here's a few that have popped up on Cinematical before:

Itty Bitty Titty Committee -- Ah, the latest comedy from Jamie Babbit, the woman behind the cult favorite But I'm a Cheerleader. This time around, she focuses on an all-American girl who joins a group of radical feminists. Our EIC Erik Davis reviewed the film from Berlin earlier this year, and also sat down for a chat with the women behind the flick, and James Rocchi added a second review from SXSW.

The Picture of Dorian Gray -- Back in 2005, Duncan Roy proclaimed that he put the "gay" back into Dorian Gray, with his Oscar Wilde adaptation, while also boasting about Ryan Phillipe's failed attempt to start up a rival picture. Unfortunately Variety's review says it has "a cavalier disregard for narrative logic, character development, and Wildean wit." Since it's been out for a bit without DVD release, this might be your last chance to see it...if you still want to, of course.

Suffering Man's Charity -- Even though our Scott Weinberg didn't give it a great review, I'm still dying to see Alan Cumming's latest feature, which stars himself, David Boreanaz, and a number of other tasty actors. This screening comes on heals of Cumming winning a Golden Apple at the Big Apple Film Fest, which Erik just blogged about.

Breakfast with Scot -- James Rocchi reviewed Laurie Lynd's film from TIFF this year, and called it a film "as agreeably, tastefully, charmingly slight and lame and trivial as anything the hetero mainstream could make out of the same plotline." It's about an ex-hockey player and his partner, who take in his brother's dead ex-lover's kid.

Black, White & Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe -- Not surprisingly, James Crump's film about Wagstaff, Mapplethorpe, and Patti Smith made the cut, but even if you don't get a chance to see it in Montreal, Fortissimo is lining up to distribute it.

A Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams & the Warhol Factory -- This documentary, made by Williams' niece Esther Robinson, focuses on one of the forgotten members of Warhol's infamous troupe of characters. As I described from Hot Docs this year, it contains some great, exclusive clips of Warhol, Edie, and the rest, as shot by Williams -- a man who had an affair with Warhol, but whose life and death are steeped in mystery.

[via indieWIRE]

Note: The following interview was conducted during the 57th Berlinale, where Itty Bitty Titty Committee had its World Premiere in the fest's Panorama section. This week, during its North American premiere at SXSW, the film took home a Jury Award for narrative feature.

Directed by Jamie Babbit (But I'm a Cheerleader), Itty Bitty Titty Committee is a politically-charged romantic dramedy which focuses on a girl named Hannah (Melanie Diaz) who finds her boring, ordinary life flipped upside down upon meeting Sadie (Nicole Vicious), leader of the CiA (or Clits in Action) -- a group of radical feminists who attempt to spread their message in some unique (and often dangerously illegal) ways.

This is familiar territory for Babbit, who dealt with similar themes in But I'm a Cheerleader -- a film, mind you, that she originally received an NC-17 rating for. With some pretty steamy (yet tame) lesbian sex and characters who attempt to blow up a national monument, Cinematical sat down with Jamie (as well as cast members Nicole Vicious, Daniela Sea, Joel Michaely and producer Lisa Thrasher) to learn more about Itty Bitty Titty Committee and whether Jamie (who appeared in the pic This Film is Not Yet Rated) was worried her latest would face similar ratings problems.

Cinematical: First off, I love the title for this film; I think it's awesome. Where did it come from?

Jamie Babbit: Actually, the title came from Guinevere Turner (who plays Marcy the reporter). It was her idea, and so we incorporated it into the film.

More after the jump ...

It's cold, I'm tired, my body is crashing ... and it's only day three. So far I've seen seven films here at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival, and I'm happy to report that almost all of them are worth the price of an admission ticket. Julie Delpy's 2 Days in Paris (which I saw this morning and will be filing a review of soon) was priceless and, by far, my favorite film from the past three days. However, my festival high came to an end this afternoon when I had to use every ounce of my mind, body and soul to sit through The Last Mimzy. With its boring plot, acting and lame fantasy elements, I have to say I'm glad it's the last Mimzy and not the first.

The streets around Potsdamer Platz and the Grand Hyatt (where, in case you weren't aware, is where all the deals are taking place) were buzzing come mid-afternoon when none other than Robert De Niro and Matt Damon (who are here promoting The Good Shepherd) shuffled into town. You'd think the most important people in the universe were arriving, as the streets were closed, the press area (located on the first floor of the Hyatt) was packed and all I wanted to do was get through a scheduled interview I had with the folks behind Itty Bitty Titty Committee -- which enjoyed its World Premiere in the fest's Panorama section last night -- and has, surprisingly, turned into one of the more buzzed-about films thus far.

Power Up (Professional Organization of Women in Entertainment Reaching Up) is a non-profit group that was created "to promote the visibility and integration of gay women in entertainment, the arts, and all forms of media." Until now, the group's focus has been primarily on film shorts, handing out grants totaling about $1.5 million to filmmakers, and producing and distributing the works. Now, they've announced they're making a foray into the world of features with a little picture called - ready? - The Itty Bitty Titty Committee. It's a "feminist comedy," with lesbians. What's it about? Oh, just a woman "finds her purpose in life after she hooks up with a radical underground feminist group." You know, typical movie stuff.

The movie was written by Tina Mabry and Abigail Shafran and will be directed by Jamie Babbit who, in addition to directing episodes of Nip/Tuck, Malcolm in the Middle, and Gilmore Girls, also helmed But I'm a Cheerleader, a lesbian comedy that actually managed to get distribution. Though the cast is largely unknown, Melonie Diaz, who costarred in the widely-praised Raising Victor Vargas, is set to play the main character. The film starts shooting this week.