Positive EyeEmail news, listings and product info to us at eye@positivenation.co.uk Issue: 142  The London Lesbian & Gay Film FestivalIn late March, the BFI in London once again played host to the 23rd London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Between the 25th March and 8th April, dozens of films were screened. We have picked out a few highlights that we think you would love.  Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story Controversial South African political satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys allows writer/director Julian Shaw into his previously off-limits inner world. The result is a startling account of Pieter’s work educating school children about their country’s greatest threat, HIV/AIDS, and an unforgettable portrait of the power of individual will. The Documentary is the winner of The Campaign for Homosexual Equality Derek Oyston film prize, for the film which best reflects CHE’s aims and objectives. Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela also feature in the film that shows how comedy can be used as a political tool. Pedro – The Movie A truly powerful biopic celebrating a remarkable individual. Pedro Zamora was in MTV’s Real World show in 1994 as an HIV positive person. He was born in Cuba and then moved to Miami in the Marielitas exodus in 1980. Diagnosed with HIV at seventeen, he became a peer educator speaking in schools about prevention. Zamora died aged just 22 before The Real World’s final transmission but he had been able to carry out his dream of getting his message across to as many people as possible. Producers including Wash West and Richard Glatzer (The Fluffer, Echo Park, LA), scriptwriter Dustin Lance Black (Milk) and first time director Nick Oceano have combined their talents to make this a very special film. Acting honours to Alex Loynaz as Pedro and his sister Mily played by Justina Machado who you may recognise from Six Feet Under. Out in India: A Family’s Journey A documentary chronicling the experiences of a gay couple who put their affluent life in Los Angeles on hold to go to India for nine months. The film’s primary focus is the run up to a conference organised by David Gere, who wants to bring together Indian community artists who use their work to educate about HIV. While Gere visits artists, discusses their work and hosts a successful conference with a little help from his film star brother, his partner Peter Carley is left alone to look after their young children and never really adjusts to life in India. Ultimately, this is a moving portrait of a couple who survive under difficult circumstances and still manage to support a cause they both feel strongly about. It is also a rare opportunity to see Indian artists and activists talking about the hugely important work that they do, often under impossible conditions. |
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