Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride is a 2009 documentary directed by Bob Christie, where he examines relevance of LGBT pride celebrations internationally, against the backdrop of opposition to such events in a number of countries.[1] The documentary tries to portray pride as more than just a parade, but rather an important step on the road to equality and fight against homophobia and discrimination.[2] It was produced with Transmission in association with Border2Border Entertainment and Nomadic Pictures.
Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride | |
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Directed by | Bob Christie |
Written by | Bob Christie Aerlyn Weissman |
Produced by | Morris Chapdelaine Bob Christie |
Cinematography | Joshua Rainhard |
Edited by | Steve Schmidt |
Music by | Michael Wiskar |
Release date |
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Running time | 85 minutes |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
Over the course of a year, the film follows Vancouver Pride Society president Ken Coolen to various international Pride events, including Poland, Hungary, Russia, Sri Lanka and others where there is great opposition to pride parades.[3] In North America, Pride is complicated by commercialization and a sense that the festivals are turning away from their political roots toward tourism, party promotion and entertainment. Christie documents the ways larger, more mainstream Pride events have supported the global Pride movement and how human rights components are being added to more established events. In the New York sequence, leaders organize an alternative Pride parade, the Drag March, set up to protest the corporatization of New York Pride. A parade in São Paulo, the world's largest Pride festival, itself includes a completely empty float, meant to symbolize all those lost to HIV and to anti-gay violence.[4]
A number of personalities appear in interviews for the documentary including:<
The documentary shows footage of a number of parades including: