Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride

Gay Pride marches and festivals are happening all over the world sometimes under heavy opposition and violence. Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride is the most comprehensive look at the role of these events ever undertaken. This feature length documentary follows the Vancouver Pride Society’s (VPS) Parade Director Ken Coolen and his VPS colleagues as they travel to places where Pride is still steeped in protest to personally experience the rampant homophobia that still exists. They also travel to Sao Paulo Brazil for the world’s largest gay parade and New York City, the birthplace of the modern gay liberation movement.


　　


　　Increasingly the Pride movement is globalizing. Coolen and many Pride organizers in North America and Europe, where celebration has overtaken political action, strive to remind their communities that Pride is at its heart a global fight for human rights.


　　


　　Despite the hundreds of thousands of people cheering in the streets, Pride is much, much more than a parade and a party. It is a giant step on the road to true equality. The GLBT community during Pride is an entertaining and engaging multi- ethnic group than can bring attention to the issue of human rights with diversity, insight, and of course plenty of fabulousness. Some highlights include:


　　


　　InterPride 2007, Zurich Switzerland: Coolen and co-parade director, Dean Nelson, attend this international conference of Pride organizations. Many human rights activists are interviewed, including American artist and activist Gilbert Baker creator of the first rainbow flag.


　　


　　Sao Paulo Pride Parade, Brazil: This begins a tour Coolen and the crew will never forget. VIP access to the world’s largest Gay Parade where 4 million people take part in their government sponsored Pride: a street party that defies the imagination. Their theme this year: Homophobia Kills! Then, 7days later …


　　


　　Moscow Pride: Coolen and crew are the only foreigners involved in the clandestine preparations for this event. Secret meetings, hidden identities, police harassment, the first successful peaceful Pride March, and a violent counter protest reveal just how passionate people can be about a parade.


　　


　　Pride Colombo, Sri Lanka: Pride events here are only advertised after they take place, in order to protect the identities of those brave enough to attend. Our host, Pride organizer Sahran Abeysundra, later travels to Canada to be a Grand Marshal in Vancouver’s Parade.


　　


　　Vancouver Pride: “Celebrating 30 Years of the Rainbow”: Back in Vancouver, where equal marriage is legal and the parade entertains half a million people, Ken struggles to make the parade have some meaning after all he has seen. Through Ken we discover that despite thousands of people cheering in the streets, Pride is much, much more than a parade and a party. It’s a giant step on the road to true human equality.

7.2/10 作为一部纪实电影，信息量非常之大乃至消化起来略微吃力。而且这部影片，还存在着影片本身不比现实意义更有价值的问题。性少数者的困难不是只能通过这一部才被知晓，性少数者的抗争也不是只能通过这一部才被展现。除了实际展现了部分国家对于问题的现状，着眼于游行的这一出群戏，可谓是既不足够全面又不足够深入。拿来作为学习有关历史及议题的引子足够有资质，向大众科普有关知识也绝对起作用;可作为一部独立的电影，一部纪实的纪录片，仍旧不够好。

同志大游行不仅仅是一场party，那更是一场战争

2012香港同志游行筹委会放映，放完很多筹委都哭了，大概TA们亲身体验过办一次游行的艰难。If a pride is a movement, then we have to move something. 期待国内的首次同志游行，哪怕如莫斯科那样的十分钟快闪也行。

竟然是第一个，想说能办一次gay pride真的是太难了。。