Must Watch: ILIAS Short Documentary

If you have four and a half minutes, check out the short documentary ILIAS from Swedish filmmaker Joel Hördegård. ILIAS recounts one man's navigation through daily life in Greece where civil unions between gay men are legal, but they still have no protections against discrimination and are often harassed and beaten by others and get zero relief from the police. Worse, sometimes it is the police committing the violence against gays.

This brief documentary is definitely worth a few minutes of  your time. You can check out other work from Joel Hördegård here.

Speak Up Loud: Social Experiment Video Shows Touching Reactions to Homophobia

Spanish based Federación Estatal LGTB just released an exceptionally touching social experiment video in which a young gay American couple, who speak no Spanish, are trying to find help translating directions to a hostel. Seems simple enough. But, the hostel director has added on a personal note on the directions that stops everyone reading it in their tracks.

This is part of their larger #ConLaVozBienAlta campaign (or in English #SpeakUpLoud). The video ends explaining that 38% of Spain's LGBT community has felt discriminated against or victimized for being who they are, but only 10% have reported it to authorities. They are encouraging people, gay and straight, to speak out against discrimination and report all such cases so they never happen again.

Watch the video.  See if you can stop from tearing up a little. We couldn't. For more information, visit their Website, Twitter, and Facebook.

50 Bands & A Cat For Indiana Equality

Wonderful indie record label Joyful Noise, which just happens to be headquartered in Indiana, has put together this exceptionally impressive collection of 51 songs, mostly previously unreleased, by some of the biggest indie rock bands in the business. The list includes Thurston Moore, Lou Barlow of Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr, Sonny and the Sunsets, WHY?,  Of Montreal, Thee Oh Sees, and so many more. You can see the complete line up below. And yes, that is L'il Bub! He has a track on the compilation, too!

For a donation of $25, you get all 51 tracks digitally PLUS a lathe cut, hand numbered, limited edition 7" featuring any song of your choice! The vinyl is limited to exactly the number requested, so you may be one of only 30 people in the world with that exact record!

100% of net profits will be donated to Freedom Indiana, the ACLU of Indiana, and Indy Pride. These organizations are actively fighting for LGBT rights and culture throughout Indiana.

Joyful Noise released the following statement regarding their desire for launching this project:

Lately all eyes have been on our home state of Indiana, and for all the wrong reasons. Our state legislature passed a bill known as Religious Freedom Restoration Act which was then signed into law by Governor Mike Pence. We believe this bill did not reflect the feelings of a vast majority of Hoosiers and we quickly rose up, demanding that the Governor and Legislature repeal the law. While an amended bill has subsequently lessened the harm, the fact remains that our LGBT family still do not have full protection under Indiana law. To keep the drumbeat going, we have put together this compilation to support LGBT groups in Indiana actively continuing the fight to establish protections for all people.

Anyway, go to their order page for more info! They will explain it all in further detail there. The digital release starts getting delivered April 21st. So, be sure to be one of the first to have these exclusive and rare tracks!

Watch: "Spasibo" Short Film - Winner of Amnesty International Film Festival's Special Prize for Human Rights

Written and directed by Anaïs Sartini, the 15 minute short film Spasibo is a parable about censorship in Russia inspired by a real event in her own life. First, here's the official synopsis:

Clément, a French actor, goes to Saint Petersburg to participate in a film festival. When he gets there, he realizes he has disappeared: nobody can hear him and see him. He meets Andrei, a Russian gay who lives the same thing. 

Basically, homosexuals can only see each other. The rest of humanity is completely blind to their plight and ignores them. I am sure that homosexuals around the world understand this feeling all too well.

Sartini explains the real event that lead to this film:

In april 2012, our short-film Between Bodies has been censored by the Parisian Season’s Festival in Saint-Petersbourg, Russia. A law, which came into force the 17 March 2012, prohibits «the propaganda of homosexuality».

In reaction to the censoreship, we came to Saint Petersbourg to make SPASIBO. This short-film denounces the social invisibility who are reduced homosexuals in Russia. The film is marked by urgency and spontaneity in which it was made.

Anaïs Sartini took a huge risk and filmed this short entirely in Russia. The resulting short movie won her the Special Prize for Human Rights at the Amnesty International Film Festival 2012. Take a look!

It's pretty great.

**You can turn on English subtitles by hitting the CC button on the video player!