Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Chilean Ambassador to Open SASOD’s 12th Film Festival this Thursday


“Painting the Spectrum 12,” SASOD’s twelfth annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) film festival 2016 opens this Thursday, June 2, for nine ‘edutaining’ evenings of thought-provoking films and post-screening discussions at the Dutch Bottle Café located at 10 North Road, Bourda.


From June 2 to 30, patrons are invited to enjoy screenings every Tuesday and Thursday evenings. The dates to remember are June 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23 and 25. Showtime is 6 pm every evening.

This year’s festival is set to be opened with a “Chilean Night” hosted by Ambassador H.E. Claudio Rojas Rachel, Chile’s Ambassador to Guyana. The evening’s treat will feature tasty empanadas and wine from Chile. The featured film for the evening is a Chilean movie donated by the Embassy titled “My Last Round.” The movie chronicles the intense romantic relationship between Hugo and middle-aged local boxing champion, Octavio. Unfazed by the attention he receives from women, Hugo searches for something meaningful to break up the monotony of his life. He becomes captivated with Octavio who must maintain a hard and gruff image for his fans and fellow fighters. They enter into an intense romance that would never be accepted in their small town in southern Chile. This feature tells a heartfelt story with an assured hand, eliciting complex and naturalistic performances that capture the passionate rise and tragic fall of a couple's relationship.

“Painting the Spectrum 12” will take viewers on an exciting journey into the lives of sexual and gender minorities around the world by illustrating stories of love, acceptance, struggles, human rights and the impact of socio-cultural influences. This year’s selections come from the United Kingdom, France, Cameroon, Sweden, Guyana, Canada, Chile and the United States of America. SASOD is particularly grateful to the Embassy of Chile and the High Commission of Canada to Guyana and for their support in providing films from their countries for this year’s film festival.

The film festival’s goal is edutainment: educating while entertaining viewing audiences and the wider public, by stimulating discussion and debate about LGBT issues in Guyana.

“Spectrum Night”, a special evening featuring splendid performances through poetry, dance, song, music and other forms of performance art is billed for the penultimate night on Tuesday, June 28.

The customary ‘painting the spectrum’ – which encourages participants to leave their marks of support, messages of hope and inspiration for a society which is more accepting and respectful of sexual and gender diversity - will celebrate the closing of the festival on Thursday, June 30.

Drinks and snacks will be on sale throughout the film festival. All proceeds will go to SASOD’s LGBT Community Centre and Shelter Fund.

There is no charge for admission at SASOD’s film festival. All films are intended for mature audiences. Person must be 18 years and over to attend. SASOD retains the right to refuse admission to persons without a form of identification to verify that they are adults.

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