Friday, June 28, 2013

Press Release: “SASOD at 10” Documentary Now on YouTube


Celebrating its diamond, 10th anniversary, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) hosted a series of activities at Moray House on Camp and Quamina Streets on Monday, June 24.  A 20-minute documentary titled “SASOD at 10” highlighting SASOD’s work on equality in Guyana over the past decade was launched. The film’s Producer, renowned local journalist, Gordon Moseley, in his remarks, shared insights on making the documentary, and reflected on SASOD’s growth since 2003, encouraging all Guyanese to support indigenous NGOs like SASOD who are working on issues related to human rights and equality in the country.

Ten diamond-shaped plaques were then presented as appreciation awards to organisations and individuals who have supported SASOD’s work on equality for lesbian gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality over the years. Guest speaker, Pandit Deodat Tillack, in his feature remarks, emphasized the need for human beings to live in harmony without prejudice to others, and emphatically thanked the awardees for their support to SASOD, re-affirming his own as well.

Pandit Deodat Tillack delivering his feature remarks.

The 10 appreciation awards were presented by SASOD representatives in these categories:

Media
1.      Print Media: Stabroek News
2.      Broadcast Media: HBTV Channel 9 First Look News
3.      Internet Media: Demerara Waves
4.      Journalist: Johann Earle

Civil Society
5.      Civil Society Group: Red Thread
6.      Civil Society Ally: Ms. Margaret Lawrence

Private Sector
7.      Private Sector Entity: Sidewalk Café & Jazz Club
8.      Private Sector Ally: Mr. Clinton Urling

Specific Sectors
9.      Human Rights Lawyer: Mr. Gino Persaud
10.  Faith Leader: Bishop Francis Alleyne, O.S.B.

SASOD’s 10th anniversary cake was cut by Mr. Frédéric Roberts, Programme Manager for External Relations of the Regional Section at the Delegation of the European Union (EU), and Ms. Zenita Nicholson, Secretary of SASOD’s trusteeship board, whose birthday was that day. The EU is one of SASOD’s principal donors through a partnership with UK-based INGO, Equal Rights Trust, with funding from the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights.

 Mr. Frédéric Roberts and Ms. Zenita Nicholson cutting the 10th anniversary cake.

Ms. Joan McDonald, Administrator of Moray House Trust, cut the ribbon to open the week-long “SASOD at 10” photo-exhibition. SASOD trustee Ms. Ulelli Verbeke - the photographer who captured the images and curated the photo-exhibition - was also at Moray House on Monday.

Ms. Joan Mc Donald cuts ribbon to open SASOD’s photo-exhibition at Moray House.

SASOD’s Advocacy and Communications Officer, Mr. Leon Bacchus, who chaired the day’s activities, commented that “this event showcases the evolution and some of the progress SASOD has made over the years through its work on LGBT human rights in Guyana and I am proud to share these achievements with the public. SASOD will continue to hold public events like these to reach out and further inform and sensitize members of the public about LGBT issues in Guyana.”

SASOD’s 10th anniversary events were supported by British High Commission Georgetown and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, as well as the DC-based Centre for Black Equity.

The “SASOD at 10” documentary can be viewed on SASOD’s YouTube channel at:


Thursday, June 27, 2013

VACANCIES

Vacancies exist within Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) for the following positions:

Programme Coordinator

The Programme Coordinator will be responsible for:
  • Leading a small team in the implementation of programme activities according to agreed timelines;
  • Building and maintaining networks of Civil Society Organizations, community, religious and political stakeholders;
  • Supporting the execution of workshops and meetings with stakeholders and partner organizations;
  • Overseeing the delivery of advocacy and awareness related initiatives and activities;
  • Mentoring and supervising the work of contractors;
  • Overseeing the functioning of the SASOD programme office;
  • Working with donor partners in developing content for effective programmes and activities;
  •  Recruiting external contractors as necessary;
  • Reporting to donors and partners on project deliverables;
  • Identifying and mobilizing funding opportunities for SASOD, including writing proposals;
  • Working with SASOD to identify and develop initiatives to promote equality, human rights and access to justice for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) citizens.
 Qualifications and Experience:
  • At least a Bachelor’s Degree in Management, Social Sciences, Communication, English or other relevant discipline;
  • A minimum of 3 years’ experience in a similar or relevant field;
  • Experience working with and/or demonstrated commitment to marginalized groups, including LGBT communities.
Administrative Assistant

The Administrative Assistant will provide the following services
  • Providing clerical and general office services including filing documents and other materials
  • Taking minutes at meetings
  • Supporting procurement functions of the Finance Assistant and other contractors;
  • Assisting the Advocacy and Communications Officer in media monitoring and other duties;
  • Organising meetings and other events;
  • Providing logistical support to events, meetings, workshops and conferences;
  • Participating in the planning of activities and events;
  • Sharing information and promoting activities utilizing social media and other forms of ICT
  • Delivering and uplifting correspondences and packages as needed
  • Any other administrative duties assigned accordingly.
Qualifications and Experience
  • Minimum of 5 CXC subjects which must include English and Mathematics
  • Relevant tertiary education or training.
  • Experience in a similar post.

Additional Requirements
The Administrative Assistant must have or cover his/her own means of transportation to provide the required services. The monthly contract fee is inclusive of transportation allowance.

How to Apply:
All applications must include: Letter of Interest, Resume and a statement of 150 words on LGBT rights in Guyana for submission via email to sasod_guyana@yahoo.com.

Emails must be titled as follows: 
1. Vacancy: Programme Coordinator 
2. Vacancy: Administrative Assistant 

DEADLINE: 17:00 hrs on Monday, July 1, 2013 via email to sasod_guyana @yahoo.com  

To request Terms of Reference, send email to: sasod_guyana@yahoo.com 



Friday, June 14, 2013

Painting the Spectrum 9: SASOD's LGBT Film Festival 2013


Painting the Spectrum 9:
SASOD's LGBT Film Festival 2013

Come out, join us as we journey together through this and other documentaries and films in celebration of our diversity for the next month.

Date:  June 2nd, 2013 - June 25th, 2013
Every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
From: 7pm each night 
Venue: Side Walk Café, Middle Street, Georgetown

Admission: FREE 

All films are intended for mature audiences, persons must be 18yrs and older. 

 See you there! 

MOVIE SCHEDULE


Sunday, June 2nd


The SKINNY
Origin: U.S.A
Language: English
Duration:100 Minutes

The SKINNY is a 2012 American romantic comedy drama film from the creator of the LOGO television series, Noah's Arc. It is a sharply scripted comedy about a group of four young black gay men and their lesbian best friend. They arrange to meet up in New York City one year after their graduation from Brown University. Their plans for a weekend of fun start off well, relaxed in each other’s company as only old friends can be. But old tensions quickly resurface. Drinking, drugs, hidden desires and the demands of promiscuity put friendship, trust and even lives at risk



Monday, June 3rd
A New Flavor - Short Film
Origin: U.S.A
Language: English
Duration: 9 Minutes

After a series of failure in relationship, a young woman decides to give up on men and forget about love... until a best friend suggests a new quest to find love, only this time it'd be with women.

THEN

My Normal
Origin: U.S.A
Language: English
Duration: 77 Minutes

Story of Natalie, a young lesbian from the Lower East Side, who's struggling to find a balance between her dreams of becoming a film maker and her lifestyle as a dominatrix. Her exotic looks and unconventional techniques make her one of the most desirable mistresses in the NYC underground. After befriending her weed dealer and igniting a steamy love affair with her new girl, Natalie gets an internship on a real movie set. But if everything she ever wanted is becoming a reality, why is her life falling apart? When it seems that all is lost, Natalie realizes that the only way to turn her dreams into reality is to use her unique talents as a dominatrix to get exactly what she wants. 



Tuesday, June 4th

Born This Way
Documentary
Origin: Cameroon
Language: French with English subtitles
Duration: 85 Minutes

“Born This Way” is a portrait of the underground gay and lesbian community in Cameroon. It follows Cedric and Gertrude, two young Cameroonians, as they move between a secret supportive LGBT community and an outside culture that, though intensely homophobic, is in transition toward greater acceptance.



Sunday, June 9th


My Wardrobe, My Right- Documentary

Origin: Guyana
Language: English
Duration:
20 Minutes


“My Wardrobe, My Right” explores the issues related to the criminalization of cross-dressing in Guyana. It captures the stories of Peaches and Gulliver, two  transgender Guyanese who were arrested in the February 2009 crackdowns for cross dressing.  Hear the views of Gino Persaud, representing the litigants in the constitutional suit against Guyana’s laws which penalise cross-dressing. The film's  producer is Neil Marks.

THEN

You Are Not Alone - The Documentary
Origin: U.S.A
Language: English
Duration: 65 Minutes


“You Are Not Alone” produced by NYABJ Award winner and Guyanese, Antoine B Craigwell is a little more than a run-of-the-mill film. While containing the basic elements of its genre – interviews with subjects    telling their stories and mental health professionals placing these experiences and anecdotes in perspective, and at the same time presenting relevant statistics to support their respective positions; it nudges the envelope of  understanding and acceptance a little further along. While the film maintains the hard hitting edge of a documentary, it gently blurs the line between what is and what could be, moving into the realm of a docu-drama,and illuminating through examples, many of the underlying issues Black gay men are dealing with, but never talked about.



Monday, June 10th

Eyes Wide Open
Origin: Israel
Language: Hebrew with English subtitle
Duration: 90 Minutes

A man who acknowledges a side of himself he's kept hidden for decades must decide between love, loyalty, and faith in this drama from filmmaker Haim Tabakman set in Jerusalem. Aaron (Zohar Strauss) is an     orthodox Jew in his mid-thirties who helps run a kosher butcher shop opened by his father. Aaron is married to Rivka (Ravit "Tinkerbell"     Rozen) and they have four sons, but he often feels something is missing from his life. One day, a 19-year-old yeshiva student, Ezri (Ran Danker), stops by the; when Aaron learns Ezri is homeless, he   offers to make the youngster his apprentice and gives him a room. Aaron and Ezri strike up a fast friendship, but in time their feelings become deeper, and during a communal bath they act on the desires that have been growing between them. Aaron finds himself torn between his  loyalty to his family and his growing love for Ezri, and his dilemma becomes even more pointed when Rabbi Vaisben (Tzahi Grad) asks him to join him in his "Purity Police" group, who pay threatening visits to people in the community who are falling short in the eyes of the congregation. Einaym Pkuhot (aka Eyes Wide Open) was an official   selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where it was screened as part of the "Un Certain Regard" program. 


Tuesday, June 11th

Facing Mirrors
Origin: Iran/
Language: Persian with English subtitles
Duration: 102 Minutes

Directed by Negar Azarbaijani, Mirrorstogether the lives of two women with different social and cultural backgrounds.

The film won the prize at the 2nd edition of Iranian Film Festival   Australia held in five cities of Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney on October, 2012. One of the Australian festival directors, Anne Démy-Geroe, dedicated the award during a ceremony recently held in Tehran.

The movie won the Best Feature-length movie Award at the 2012 San      Francisco International LGBT Film Festival as well as the Best Narrative Feature Award at the 2012 International Three Dollar Bill Cinema in Seattle




Sunday, June 16th, Father's Day Feature: 

Gun Hill Road
Origin: U.S.A
Language: English
Duration: 86 Minutes



After three years in prison, Enrique returns home to the Bronx to find the world he knew has changed. His wife, Angela struggles to hide an emotional affair, and his teenage son, Michael explores a sexual transformation well beyond Enrique's grasp and understanding. Unable to accept his child, Enrique clings to his masculine ideals while Angela attempts to hold the family together by protecting Michael. Still under the watchful eye of his parole officer, Enrique must become the father he needs to be or, once again, risk losing his family and freedom. 



Monday, June 17th

Elena Undone 
Origin: U.S.A
Language: English
Duration: 111 Minutes



Elena Undone (2010) Poster
A wife and mother finds true love in an unexpected place in this independent romantic drama from filmmaker Nicole Conn. Elena (Necar Zadegan) is the wife of Barry (Gary Weeks) and the mother of a teenage son, Nash (Connor Kramme). Barry is a pastor who has been active in a local campaign to prevent the legalization of same-sex marriage; while Barry speaks with vigor against gays, he's prompted more by the whims of well-to-do members of the congregation than his own feelings, and Elena is quietly appalled by his actions. Barry is also eager to have another child while Elena is not, adding to the emotional gulf between them. While seeing a relationship therapist, Elena meets Peyton (Traci Dinwiddie), a successful writer whose work deals with her struggle to overcome agoraphobia. Elena is an accomplished photographer, and when Peyton asks if she'd like to contribute pictures to an upcoming project, she immediately agrees. As Elena spends more time with Peyton, she becomes aware that her new friend is a lesbian, and their mutual admiration gives way to deeper feelings. Elena realizes she's fallen in love with Peyton, and must decide if she should end her loveless marriage to pursue a relationship that is entirely new to her; Peyton, meanwhile, has fallen for Elena, but has just gotten out of a failing relationship and isn't sure she can start a new romance so soon.

Tuesday, June 18th

Fagbug - Documnetary
Origin: U.S.A
Language: English
Duration: 83 Minutes


On the 11th Annual National Day of Silence, Erin Davies was victim to a hate crime in Albany, New York. Because of sporting a rainbow sticker on her VW Beetle, Erin's car was vandalized, left with the words "fag" and "u r gay" placed on the driver's side window and hood of her car. Despite initial shock and embarrassment, Erin decided to embrace what happened by leaving the graffiti on her car. She took her car, now known worldwide as the "fagbug," on a 58-day trip around the United States and Canada. Along the way, Erin discovered other, more serious hate crimes, had people attempt to remove the graffiti, and experimented with having a male drive her car. After driving the fagbug for one year, Erin decided to give her car a makeover.



Sunday, June 23rd

Last Chance
Origin: Canada
Language: English
Duration:
85 Minutes

Last Chanceis a 2012 documentary by-Émile d'Entremont is about  five LGBT people seeking the right of asylum in Canada in order to escape        persecution or violence in their homelands. Subjects in the film     include a transgender woman who was institutionalized by her family in Lebanon, an LGBT person jailed in Egypt, as well as Trudi, a Jamaican lesbian who was "correctively raped" at gunpoint. Further it reveals the hurdles they face integrating into Canada- fear of  deportation as they anxiously await a decision that will change their lives forever.

The film premiered at the 2012 Atlantic Film FestivalIt was also streamed free of charge at NFB.ca from December 7 to 9, 2012, to mark Human Rights Day.Awards for the film include the La Vague/Léonard Forest award for best medium- or feature-length Acadian film at the Festival international du cinéma francophone en Acadie in Moncton, New Brunswick.




Monday, June 24

Amar Ki Etoi Bhinno (Are We So Different)
Origin: India
Language: Hindi with English subtitles
Duration: 36 Minutes

This film talks about a range of masculinities. Different people have unique experiences of coping and surviving in Bangladesh, a country often ruled by strict masculine and patriarchal ideals. This is arguably the first documentary film set in Bangladesh where interviewees spoke openly about themselves and their relationships, bringing up issues of sexuality and masculinity—the love for it or lack of it! 
THEN 
Out Late - Documentary
Origin: U.S.A
Language: English
Duration: 62 Minutes

Out Late” is an inspirational and moving documentary about five individuals who made the courageous and life altering decision to “come out” as senior citizens. Their stories are nothing less than extraordinary: many lived straight lives complete with marriage and children, and now face the challenge of beginning again late in life. Why did they wait until their 50’s, 60’s, or 70’s to come out? And what was the turning point that caused each of them to openly declare their sexuality? From Canada to Florida, to Kansas, we explore what ultimately led these dynamic individuals to make the liberating choice to live openly and honestly amongst their family, friends and community...perhaps for the first time in their lives.



Tuesday, June 25th

Leave It On The Floor
Origin: U.S.A
Language: English
Duration: 102 Minutes

Thrown out of his home by his dysfunctional mother, Brad (rising Broadway starSykes) steals her car and travels into Los Angeles where, through a chance encounter, he stumbles into a noisy raucous, chaotic event and meets the ragtag members of the struggling House of Eminence. Initially only looking for a place to sleep (and perhaps someone to sleep with), Brad ends up engaging with the colorful members of the house led by the indomitable house mother Queef Latina (Barbie-Q), herself an aging ball-legend and the fierce protectrice of her family. Laughter, tears, sex sirens, and butch queens up in pumps ensue and remarkably, Brad ends up finding an extraordinary home and loving, caring family in this, the strangest of places.




The festival concludes with...



PAINTING OF THE SPECTRUM

Remember…
Date:  June 2nd, 2013 - June 25th, 2013
Every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
From: 7pm each night 
Venue: Side Walk Café, Middle Street, Georgetown

Admission: FREE 

All films are intended for mature audiences, persons must be 18yrs and older. 



 See you there! 

Special Thanks To…

Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice
Faith & Alison Bisram
Deon Small
Gavin Sharma
Antonine Craigwell, DBGM
Totaram Greg Jagroo
Khemraj Persaud
Chuvika Harilall
Erin Davies, FagBug
Beatrice Alda, Forever Films Inc
The Human Rights Law Centre at the University of Nottingham
Canadian High Commission,Georgetown, Guyana 
Ulelli Verbeke
Alistair Sonaram
Joel Simpson
Zenita Nicholson
& our anonymous donors