Fiji will be the first ever Pacific island nation to host an LGBTI themed short film festival when the inaugural A Night OUT at the Movies screens in Suva tomorrow night
The Pacific islands region will get its first ever LGBTI short film festival A Night OUT at the Movies when it screens on Friday 6 December at the Fiji School of Medicine’s Pasifika Auditorium in Suva, Fiji.
The event has been organized by the Drodrolagi Movement (droMo) with support from the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, at the Fiji National University.
Drodrolagi is the Fijian word for rainbow – an international symbol of LGBTI pride and diversity – and droMo is a community-based organization in Suva, Fiji whose mission is to create and celebrate a culture of equality, respect, dignity and pride for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer community in Fiji.
Short films made by queer Auckland, New Zealand based filmmakers and artists, Tanu Gago, Sangeeta Singh, Leilani Kake and Luisa Tora will be screened at the Pasifika Auditorium from 6-9pm tomorrow.
‘Short films are a wonderful tool to tell our stories and a collection of them will be a great way to document, validate, and celebrate who we are as queer Pacific people,’ said filmmaker Luisa Tora.
‘droMo is really excited to host this event. We hope to do this more in the future – and possibly even make our own queer short films in Fiji,’ said Drodrolagi Movement representative Kris Prasad.
‘The screenings will be followed by a short Q&A with the film makers and we encourage the public to attend this free event.’
Homosexual acts other than paid sex work have been completely decriminalized in Fiji since 2010.
The country became only the second in the world to include anti-discrimination protections around sexual orientations in its constitution in 1997 but that constitution was abolished in 2009.
A new constitution signed into law in September protects people against discrimination on the grounds of ‘sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression.’
A Night OUT at the Movies
Date: Friday 6 December 2013
Time: 6.00pm- 9.00pm
Location: Fiji School of Medicine Pasifika Auditorium,
Extension St, Suva
Entry: FREE
by Andrew Potts
Source – Gay Star News
