Saturday, June 18, 2011

Short Film Feature: Iranian, Gay & Seeking Asylum


June 20 is World Refugee Day
June is Pride Month all over the world. Yesterday, the United Nations (UN) through the UN Human Rights Council, after years and years of disagreement and hesitations, has finally adopted a resolution in Geneva, Switzerland to extend the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the members of the LGBT communities around the world. Thanks to the leadership of Brazil and South Africa along with 39 other co-signatory countries like Argentina, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Spain, Timor-Leste, UK, and USA just to name a few.

In particular, the historic UN Resolution requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights "to prepare a study on violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and call for a panel discussion to be held at the Human Rights Council (in Geneva) to discuss the findings of the study." 
The U.N. Human Rights Council approved, by a vote of 23 to 19 with three abstentions, a South African text expressing grave and immediate concern about abuses and discrimination suffered by people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. 
In light of that, here's the story of two Iranian gay men as they start life anew in the U.K. as refugees after their partners were put to death by the Iranian Government because of their sexuality. In Iran, like more than 70 other countries in the world, homosexuality is still punishable by death.



Nominee, Best Short Documentary at the Phoenix Film Festival
Winner, Best LGBT Short Film at The New York Short Film Festival
Directed, Shot, & Produced by Glen Milner


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