The gay documentary of the era
BEYOND GAY: THE POLITICS OF PRIDE (2009, 90 minutes, presented by Ken Coolen). In this interesting and very cogent documentary, filmmaker Ken Coolen of Vancouver travels the world in search of Gay Pride - or at least to attend Gay Pride marches all over the world. I love the 'co-starring' role of the immortal Gilbert Baker, a Stone Wall Inn veteran and creator of the Rainbow Pride Flag.
But as Coolen says, "A Pride parade isn't the end of our struggle; it's just the beginning."
This is a fun film, neither stodgy nor excessively light - Coolen travels the world and profiles each country with a nifty little screen animation which he calls the "FREEDOMETER": it's a gauge showing the level of gay equality in each place. (America's does not rank as highly as you might think.)
Aside from profiling a few Canadian MPs, Coolen visits Zurich, Switzerland for the 2007 conference that kicked off their Pride parade. He profiles Ms. Clare Dimyon, a British Quaker...
Insight into the Pride Movement
Ken Coolen takes you on a very personal trip to different Pride Events around the globe. From cities with "Happy Prides" to Prides in hostile environments. The film team interview activists and other involved people and show the different levels of sociopolitical acceptance of LGBTI people. A film worth watching.
Great interviewees. Wish the narrator would STFU.
This movie is moving and profound when it lets the interviewees from around the world speak about their experiences. It is extremely annoying when, instead, it focuses on the narrator's POV. This is especially problematic when the narrator does not seem to have any idea what's going on around him, and either can't or does not choose to ask any local around him to explain. 3 stars for every time he stops talking and lets non-North Americans speak for themselves.
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