Saturday 28th 8.20pm Mr Gay Syria
Dir: Ayşe Toprak
2017 | 85 mins | 12 Language: Arabic, English subtitles + Post-screening discussion with activist and star of the film, Mahmoud Hassino, Simon Ware from Amnesty’s LGBTI network, Syrian activist and journalist, Razan Ghazzawi and director, Ayşe Toprak (on skype). Chaired by Jose Arroyo from the University of Warwick. Mr. Gay Syria follows two gay Syrian refugees who are trying to rebuild their lives. Husein is a barber in Istanbul living a double life between his conservative family and his gay identity. Mahmoud is the founder of Syria’s LGBTI movement and is a refugee in Berlin. What brings them together is a dream: to participate in an international beauty contest as an escape from their trapped lives and an answer to their invisibility. Will the dream come true or will the refugee crisis and the harsh consequences of being gay in the Muslim world shatter it to pieces? “The pitfalls of staging a Mr. Gay Syria competition provide a revealing insight into the plight of individuals but also some much bigger issues” – Allan Hunter, Screen Daily. “What begins as a documentary about the dangers they face ends as a positive picture of their emotional resilience” – India Stoughton, 1843 Magazine (The Economist).
The film we’ll be preceded by a campaigning activity, led by Amnesty LGBTI network, for LGBTI refugees This will take place at mac at 7pm. Ask at the festival desk for more information