Born This Way

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Like everywhere else in the world, gays and lesbians in Cameroon also seek refuge in the city. The two young gay men in this film are crazy about Rihanna and Lady Gaga, who has been a gay icon since her hit song ‘Born this way’. But the tolerance Lady Gaga sings about is just a dream for these two young men. In their country, homosexual relations are subject to punishment of up to five years’ imprisonment, andit is almost impossible to come out to your own family. This film describes both what is impossible and what is possible. The filmmakers’ unobtrusive proximity to their protagonists has yielded conversations in which their interlocutors talk about their longing for a love life they are forbidden to have. Alice Nkom is a judge and humanrights activist fighting to protect the rights of gays and lesbians. Thanks to her, there is quiet hope, and little niches can be discerned where there is something like a life thatis not based on self-denial. After class, which documented the situation for homosexuals in Uganda and won a Teddy Award in2012, Born This Way makes it clear that the worldwidestruggle for tolerance and equality still has a long way to go.

details

  • Runtime

    76 min
  • Country

    France, Great Britain
  • Year of Presentation

    2013
  • Year of Production

    2013
  • Director

    Shaun Kadlec, Deb Tullmann
  • Cast

  • Production Company

    Shaun Kadlec Inc.
  • Berlinale Section

    Panorama
  • Berlinale Category

Biography Shaun Kadlec

Born in Los Angeles, California in 1978, he studied musicology, specialising in the history and theory of twentieth-century experimental music. After graduating he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to spend a year in Sri Lanka where he made his first documentary film. After returning to the USA, he directed and produced commercials and short documentaries. BORN THIS WAY is his first feature- length documentary.

Filmography Shaun Kadlec

2009 FIRST AND LOVELISS | 2010 POWER TO HEAL

Biography Deb Tullmann

Born in Hakodate in Japan in 1978, after graduating in English and theatre studies she worked for several years on international development projects in Latin America, Mongolia and Thailand. In 2005 she made her first film and two years later co-founded Candlefoot Productions which chiefly makes documentaries for television. BORN THIS WAY is her first feature-length

Filmography Deb Tullmann

2008 FLOWER POWER: FAIR TRADE ROSES FOR VALENTINE’S DAY | 2009 FIRST AND LOVELISS