1/3 When the U Film Society began its annual Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans Film Festival in 1989, homosexual themes were rarely explored in movies. Now, post-"Ellen," they're almost commonplace. From homocentric films such as "Jeffrey," "My Own Private Idaho," "Bound," "In & Out," "The Opposite of Sex" and "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" to gay subplots in mainstream films such as "The Full Monty," "Waiting for Guffman," "Wild Things" and "Let's Talk About Sex," there's no shortage of lavender on the silver screen.

Yet there remains a need for the LGBT series, said festival programmer Lucas Hildebrand.

"Although things have improved, there's still a lack of representation," Hildebrand said. "This festival brings in a lot of films that are independently produced and not distributed widely."

The nine-day series, which opens tonight, is a cross section of current gay cinema. As such, it falls a bit short of its title's promise, as films on lesbian and transgender themes were not abundant this year.

"There are fewer lesbian features being made than three years ago," Hildebrand said. "There was a boom at the time of `Go Fish' and `The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love.' Now there's not much happening. That's the way trends run."

On the other hand, "there are a lot more and higher-quality documentaries," he said. Tonight's opening film, "Dear Jesse," mixes personal and political issues in a dual portrait of filmmaker Tim Kirkman and his nemesis, the senior senator from Kirkman's home state of North Carolina, Jesse Helms. Although they are polar opposites in most regards, Kirkman finds some significant similarities. They were born a few miles apart, are alumni of the same small college, worked in journalism early in their careers and are members...