QFest, the renamed Gay and Lesbian film festival begins this week, offering shorts, features and documentaries that celebrate queer love and life. Here is a rundown of films playing this weekend:

Autopsy
A slick French made-for-TV policier, Autopsy opens with the investigation of a sex crime. When grizzled police vet Rico (Stéphane Freiss) attends the victim’s autopsy, he uncharacteristically faints. The attending pathologist is Emmanuel (Thierry Neuvic) a hunk he soon, and unexpectedly, desires. Shocking his wife and teenage son, as well as his pahurtner Sarah (Sara Martins), Rico’s slow burn romance keeps Autopsy interesting. So too, does a showy performance by Pascal Reneric as a suspect in the mounting investigation. While there are too many elements going on in the film—a subplot about Rico’s dying surrogate mother seems unnecessary—the possibility of Rico being manipulated by Emmanuel or vice versa will have viewers guessing. Autopsy is a mostly engaging, entertaining thriller even during its goofiest moments—and there are plenty of those. Friday, July 10, 5pm, Ritz East 1; Sunday, July 12, 12:15pm, Ritz East 2

Pornography
Want to go see Pornography tonight? If so, be prepared for this film, dubbed a thriller, to disappoint. For anyone expecting a sex film, it’s neither explicit, nor erotic, although there is some man-on-man sex and some full frontal nudity from the attractive cast. The problem with Pornography is that after an intriguing first half hour, in which a fictional porn star named Mark Anton (Jared Grey) tries to get out of the business—and does so by vanishing—Chestnut Hill native director David Kittredge’s film goes off the rails. The next 90 minutes has the narrative folding in on itself in möbius-strip fashion as Michael (Matthew Montgomery) a writer and Matt (Pete Scherer) a porn star turned director become obsessed with Anton’s story. As the characters reinvent themselves, Pornography gets more confusing, and less creepy. Yet his low budget “thriller” never quite quickens the pulse in its depiction of sex or violence, leaving viewers curiously unsatisfied. While there are some obvious points about how you are what you watch, viewers won’t get off, they just get awful. Friday, July 10, 7pm, Prince; Sunday, July 12, 2pm, Prince

No End
This intimate Italian film concerns two lovers Giulia (Cristina Serafini) and Chiara (Irene Ivaldi) who are looking to have a child together. Because Italian law allows for only heterosexual couples to be artificially inseminated, they have to go to Holland. However, as the day approaches, Chiara discovers that she may have breast cancer. No End beautifully conveys the quiet, personal dramas of these women’s lives in minimalist style. Director Roberto Cuzzillo films his characters in an almost documentary-like fashion. A long shot of the women in a café, and a close-up of Giulia crying are striking, powerful moments. Although the narrative is as slight as the running time (a mere 76 minutes), No End is mostly compelling. This is largely because the two lead actresses are both beautiful and expressive. Each gives an unflinching performance. Even as they complete mundane tasks, like Chiara’s shaving, these actresses are riveting to watch. So too, is the film. Saturday, July 11, 2:30pm, Ritz East 2

Shank
When teenage gang member Cal (Wayne Virgo) hooks up with Scott (Garry Summers) online, and asks him to film their drug-fueled tryst in the woods, it is pretty daring. And when Cal head-butts Scott post-coitus, and later masturbates to the film they made, it is pretty clear that this naughty and compelling British drama has a complex view of sexuality. Alas, Shank, fails to deliver on its initial promise. This story about Cal afraid to acknowledge his homosexuality is amateurishly acted, poorly directed, and full of contrived plotting that is also too pat. The main plot has Cal rescuing Olivier (Marc Laurent) from being gay bashed by his friends Jonno (Tom Bott) and Nessa (Alice Payne). Ostracized by his pals, Cal visits Olivier and begins an intense relationship with him, complete with tender, erotic lovemaking. (To Shank’s credit, few of the actors are shy when it comes to nudity). Yet it is only a matter of time before Jonno and Nessa discover Cal is queer and confront him. Unfortunately, this Big Dramatic Moment, which involves male rape and teary confessions, is clumsily presented. Director Simon Pearce wants Shank to be a socially important film, but it ends up being almost completely irrelevant. Saturday, July 11, 7pm, Ritz East 1; Sunday, July 12, 4:30pm, Prince

Homewrecker
This lightweight comedy concerns a pair of light in the loafers TV producers who are unwittingly sabotaged by an actor hellbent on revenge. Boyd (Dylan Vox) gets out of jail and heads into the home of Derek (Peter Szeliga) and Collin (Bruce L. Hart). He lies and schemes and seduces his way, using their friends and neighbors in a desperate bid to get a gig on the couple’s new TV show. Of course, break-ups, along with reversals of fortune ensue. Broadly presented and played, Homewrecker has all the makings of a camp classic. The stupid situations that unfold make even the lamest TV sitcom look sophisticated. Yet the actors, especially Vox, seem to have fun in their roles, and viewers in the right frame of mind will enjoy Homewrecker for all its cheesy charm. Sunday, July 12, 9:15pm, Prince; Tuesday, July 14, 5pm, Ritz East 1

Rivers Wash Over Me
John G. Young’s earnest, well-intentioned drama has Sequan (Derrick L. Middleton) a gay African American teenager relocating to from New York to the deep South. His difference—he is bookish, not athletic—alienates him right away. It also prompts his basketball star cousin Michael (Cameron Mitchell Mason) to verbally, physically and sexually intimidate and abuse Sequan. Eventually, Lori (Elizabeth Dennis) a privileged, often wasted, white girl, befriends Sequan—perhaps because she sees a parallel between him and her sensitive brother Jake (Aiden Schultz-Meyer). The relationship between these three characters may be the notable facet of this ambitious low-budget drama. However, despite a nice moment when Sequan comes out to Lori, it takes almost an hour for Sequan and Jake to meet. Instead, Young curiously focuses on a less interesting plot that involves a loaded, stolen gun, a missing boy, and other criminal activity that Sheriff King (co-writer Darien Sills-Evans) is investigating. If the storylines eventually come together, Rivers Wash Over Me requires the viewers’ patience—and forgiveness— because much of what happens in this film is preachy. Young haphazardly shoots and stages the action, never creating any atmosphere or true sense of drama or tension. The film may address interesting issues of race, class, and sexuality, but Young fails to develop the points he is trying to raise, such as Michael’s denial of his homosexuality. Likewise, the significant relationship between Sheriff King and Sequan seems underwritten. Rivers Wash Over Me may be asking viewers to fill in the blanks of this slight drama, but one wishes Young had simply created a deeper, better film. Monday July 13, 7:15pm, Ritz East 1; Saturday, July 18, 12:15pm, Prince