Friday 17 May 2013

Inside Out Shines International Spotlight on LGBT Rights

… AND THE UNCLAIMED
 Dir: Debalina Majumder (India)
International Premiere                                                     
In a small village in India, two young women, Swapna and Sucheta, fall in love. When faced with the prospect of Sucheta’s marriage to a man who forbids her to see Swapna, the women decide to die in each other’s arms. Director Debalina Majumber makes this heartbreaking event a starting point for her portrait of a diverse group of queer women in India who come from various backgrounds, define their sexuality in distinct ways and have diverse stories, but who share pressures and often outright rejection by their families amid the isolation of being different.



BORN THIS WAY
Dir: Shaun Kadlec and Deb Tullmann (Cameroon/USA)
Canadian Premiere
Meet Gertrude and Cédric, two young people fighting for gay rights in Cameroon where those convicted of same-sex relations face up to five years imprisonment. Fearing rejection from their families and dealing with threats of violence, Cédric and Gertrude nevertheless remain optimistic, believing that through their work they can help build a more accepting and safer Cameroon for LGBT people.




GOD LOVES UGANDA
Dir: Roger Ross Williams (USA/Uganda)
Canadian Premiere
This documentary uncovers the role of the American evangelical movement in Uganda, where American missionaries have been credited with both creating schools and hospitals and promoting dangerous religious bigotry. The film follows evangelical leaders in America and Uganda along with politicians and missionaries as they attempt to eliminate the “sin of homosexuality” through the introduction of the infamous “Kill the Gays” bill and to convert Ugandans to fundamentalist Christianity.



SOONGAVA: DANCE OF THE ORCHIDS
Dir: Subarna Thapa (Nepal/France)
Katmandu-born, France-based writer/director, Subarna Thapa, has made waves with his inaugural feature-length film, SOONGAVA, a tenderly told girl-meets-girl story. Diya (Deeya Maskey) is a teacher and dancer who falls for Kiran (Nisha Adhikari) just when Diya’s family have found her a suitable boy to marry. But when the women’s relationship comes to light, we see how unwilling their tightly knit families—and Nepalese society—are to accept their choice.



TABOO YARDIES
Dir: Selena Blake (USA)
Canadian Premiere
Selena Blake’s TABOO YARDIES is a riveting documentary that smashes the façade of Jamaica’s tourist-attracting One Love sentiment by giving voice to the LGBT community who dare to speak up and speak out against the oppression and violence they face on the island. Profoundly candid, heart-wrenching interviews featuring the legendary poet/activist Stacey Ann Chin, author Thomas Glave, former Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding, and other members of the Jamaican community offer a deeper analysis of how the country’s general ideology against homosexuality developed and is perpetuated.

VALENTINE ROAD
Dir: Marta Cunningham (USA)
 
This powerful, thoughtful and tragic documentary tells the story of the 2008 killing of Lawrence “Larry” King, a diminutive grade eight student who wore makeup and heels to his southern California middle school. After Larry publicly declared a Valentine’s crush on 14-year-old classmate Brandon McInerney, Brandon shot Larry point-blank in the back of the head in the school’s computer lab.



 



May 23 -  June 2, 2013
http://insideout.ca/torontofestival 416.599.TIFF (8433) Toll free: 1.888.599.8433 10am to 7pm daily In Person: 10am to 10pm daily TIFF Bell Lightbox, Reitman Square, 350 King Street West (at John Street)


Source: Touchwood PR, Inside Out LGBT Film Festival

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