This February we're celebrating LGBT History Month, and here on the Sh! blog we've been exploring everything from lesbian poetry to sexual health. But fabulous (& freezing!) February is nearly over, so we want to drive home exactly why celebrating the lives and experiences of LGBT people is so very important.
Last night one of our very own Team Sh! was at the
Royal Vauxhall Tavern for a special edition of the always-sexy, always fun, super-queer love-fest that is
Bar Wotever. The Wotever Crew were hosting a Mini-Queer Film Festival, showcasing new and original short films from queer-identified filmmakers.
All of the shorts were creative, memorable and thought-provoking, but one collection of films really struck to the very heart of what LGBT History Month is all about. For many LGBTQ people, visibility and accurate, sensitive representation in the media is a huge issue, more often than not our stories simply don't get told.
Enter: The Devotion Project, a series of short films celebrating queer love, from talented filmmaker Antony Osso. The Devotion Project is a collection of documentary-style shorts that tell the stories of real life LGBTQ families and couples in a compelling and honest way.
"I looked for role models on TV, at the movies, in books. I looked for two men in love, engaged in their communities and families and making a go of it, but I came up empty-handed. The gay male characters I found were tragic figures, their stories ending in isolation and brokenness, or in death, from suicide or AIDS. I didn't want that. I wanted love" - Antony Osso
In an attempt to give voice to the love that LGBTQ families have for one another, the struggles they have overcome and the fact that queer people aren't so different afterall, Osso introduces us to six diverse true stories of LGBTQ lives that will warm your heart and show why equal rights & respect for everyone, whomever they love, is a fundamental necessity.
Check out the short that started it all, featuring an intimate look at the 54-year-strong relationship of New Yorkers John & Bill, then go to The Devotion Project's Youtube account to see all of the wonderful films for free.
LGBT History Month is a time to reflect on the experiences of queer people, working together to build a future of love and acceptance for folks of all genders and sexualities. Thanks to endeavours like The Devotion Project, that future is slowly becoming reality. Share this project widely with your family and friends, and join Sh! in celebrating the lives and achievements of LGBTQ people all over the world!
