Hits and Misses

Tales of the Night Fairies
India, 2002
Directed by: Shohini Ghosh
Bengali with English subtitles

The first film to see was Tales of the Night Fairies by Shohini Ghosh from India. This documentary took place in Calcutta and focused on sex workers fight for social justice. This was such an interesting piece because our Western point of view on sex workers is usually that they are victims of poverty and sexual abuse. We look at prostitutes as something to criminalize or as a dehumanizing role. However, this documentary shows the cultural divide between our social mores.

The sex workers of Calcutta are shown as strong individual women that work together to invoke their labour rights and legal recognition. Through several interviews of the women in the red light district, Ghosh shows just how unrepressed these women are. The interesting thing about the sex workers revolution is it reflects light on the bigger issue of women’s rights in India. The discussion of how most of the sex workers actually have it better than the average married woman in India, is shocking. One woman points out that there really isn’t much difference between the two roles, except that the sex worker makes a far better living than the wife. This documentary shows their struggle against the law and their mistreatment by police. Ghosh creatively reveals that these are resilient, intelligent women who entirely turned the views of sex workers roles upside down.

- JR

In Good Conscience: Sister Jeannine Gramick’s Journey of Faith
USA, 2004
Directed by: Barbara Rick

In Good Conscienceis a fascinating story about one woman’s quest to change the Catholic Church’s view on homosexuality. The documentary focuses on Sister Jeannine Gramick’s perseverance and dedication to this battle. Even when the Vatican gives her an order to be silenced after her publication of Building Bridges, a book that discusses gay and lesbian rights in the Catholic Church, this nun with a mission cannot be stopped.

Gramick is remarkable. When she comes face to face with homophobic protesters, her kindness and charm are her weapons. She even goes to Rome to give a copy of the book to the Cardinal who silenced her. She continues the dialogue of change to anyone who will listen and faces many struggles on her journey.

While still being completely dedicated to the religious institution that shuns her mission, Gramick articulately displays her devotion and commitment. In the end, the film shows how one person can truly make a difference and Sister Gramick definitely started a ripple effect of social change. She is an inspiration to everyone. Director Barbara Rick, spoke after the film and said that in today’s world it is so easy to hate and it is such a hard thing to change a church from a monarchy to a democracy. She said that Sister Gramick is doing amazing grassroots work here and it’s a feat that she went into the lion’s den, it’s the inquisition.

- JR

Don’t You Worry, It Will Probably Pass
Sweden, 2003
Directed by: Cecilia Neant-Falk
English and Swedish with English subtitles

Set in Sweden, this documentary film looks at the life of three young gay females who respond to an ad posted on the ‘Net. Basically, the ad was a lesbian S.O.S. looking for young girls who could shed light on the ever so confusing question: How do I come out of the Closet!?!

The film actually began with a quick short with the translated title, Unexpected Blow: Relieved about an 11-year-old boy who reveals his homosexuality to his family and his peers, with relatively no negative feedback [Lucky kid!] This was fast paced, had its funny moments and didn’t drag on, which is good, although he was only 11 it would be interesting to catch up with him when he was a young man…

Don’t You Worry, It Will Probably Passbegan by introducing two young lesbian females, My and Joppe (although My was still debating whether she was in fact a homo). Basically, what these subjects did was record their concerns, fantasies, triumphs and heartbreaks on their video cameras over four years. Natalie, the aspiring rockstar was introduced about half-way through.

Generally, the film was interesting (reminiscent of independent Canadian flick “Talk 16” with dykes). By the subjects talking directly into the camera, interviewing their own parents and their surroundings (a small Scandinavian town which by all accounts is homophobic), the audience was treated to some laughs and obviously relatable subject material.

This documentary was not exceptionally profound and occasionally lost momentum with metaphorical stock footage. The transitions between subjects didn’t always flow gracefully. Natalie’s appearances were random, as if her contribution to the film was more like filler.

Don’t You Worry, It Will Probably Passcould have moved a little quicker and made the same point. Although, it did have some very amusing content and definitely had moments where the lesbians in the audience probably thought: “Oh yeah, I remember that… but that didn’t pass… look at me, Ma… I AM A HOMO!!”

- LS

Suhail’s Jihad
Canada, 2003
Directed by: Greg Greene and Joey Gill

This short film takes place in Toronto and follows the discussion of being gay and retaining your faith. The subject is a gay Jordanian man living in Toronto and trying to find a place for him in the Muslim faith. The film explores his personal journey and recognizes the struggle that many people face in our city. However, he finds there are organizations that identify with him and others who are queer and Muslim. Although the film didn’t display the emotion and personal struggle very effectively, it did bring up many subjects that are often overlooked.

- JR

Queer India

The Crooked Line (Tedhi Lakeer)
Directed by: Amrit Sharma, Aparna Sanyal and Arunima Shanker
Hindi with English subtitles

How people identify themselves can be very different even if belonging to the same social location. In The Crooked Line, two gay Indian men tell their stories which inevitable display their differences and manner of openness.

Indian law criminalizes any homosexual act and perhaps because of this we see how each individual reacts to the legal barriers. The younger man is very open about his sexuality, no matter how much backlash he faces, including losing his lover of ten years to an arranged marriage. The middle aged married man, appears to have rendered the perfect arrangement with his wife while masking his gay relationship with his “friend”. While both men identify as gay, they separate when it comes to their ‘outness’. Each man creates his own level of comfort in the conservative India.

This film takes an interesting approach to the struggle of being queer in India and within the queer community. The story of the young man is heartbreaking, you often loose any hope for his wellbeing. Whereas, the older man’s story is filled with easiness and humour, possibly because of him hiding his identity. Nowhere in the film does it touch upon how his wife or his “friend’s” wife feels about their relationship, which would be an interesting area to explore. You couldn’t help but feel like the younger gay man was more courageous than the older one. This movie definitely explored many areas often overlooked when discussing queerness in India and was a very well received film.

- JR

Bombay Longing
Directed by: Shalini Kantayya and Georgina Maddox
English and Hindi with English subtitles

This artful four-minute short had a rather confusing message entangled with questioning female identity and what seemed to be a lot of fruit preparation. It was pretty clear the subject was a butch dyke struggling with how people of India perceive her, often wondering if she is a boy or girl. But then the movie takes us to a party type setting where she is cutting and preparing fruit with the background noise of a woman moaning. If this wasn’t a stereotype, I don’t not what is. People were pretty much embarrassed and laughing at what was supposed to a serious piece. When the film ended my reaction was, huh? There was no discussion about the film afterward and it was pretty much dismissed.

- JR

(A World Without) Pity
Directed by: Sunil Gupta
Hindi with English subtitles

Artist and photographer, Sunil Gupta, explores the issue of HIV/AIDS and queer identity in India. While combing the beautiful landscape of India and the devastating reality of the AIDS crisis, Gupta creates a masterful and artistic film.

Because of the laws in India forbidding any homosexual activity, there is little support from the government in terms of prevention and funding. Medication is scarce and condoms are not distributed in places like prisons because of the homosexual law. The film explores the idea of HIV/AIDS being a ‘gay’ disease and how Western thought is influencing authority figures. With the 3 to 4 million positive cases in India, there is an estimated 8.4 million cases that are undiagnosed. The ‘positive’ people that are left untreated, many condone their suffering as the punishment for over-use of sex acts.

Gupta explains that media often overlooks India’s crisis because no one knows about the situation and even in India, people are choosing to ignore the people sick with AIDS. The film shows how queer activists are becoming more visible and fighting for the rights of people living with this disease. This film was extremely powerful and shocking. Gupta claims that he wasn’t trying to be an activist or create victims from the film’s subject, but that he just allowed his art to explore. Since the film’s been showed in various parts of the world, it inevitably has shed light on this issue, possibly creating change. Gupta’s solemn attitude matched the peacefulness of the film, beautifully dismantling the issue.

- JR