Chad Hodge with Anita Bryant

Over here in the UK, Anita Bryant doesn’t quite have the pantomime villain reputation she does in the US. To many in the American gay community, the former model, singer and writer is seen as the virtual antichrist for her vociferous campaigning against any gay rights in the 1970s.

However, now gay filmmaker Chad Hodge is set to make a movie about Bryant for HBO. So why would a gay man want to make a film about a woman who many would like to become a fogotten footnote of a dark past? Hodge recently sat down with AfterElton and told them all about it.

It’s definitely well worth a read, and the films should be worth a watch too.

http://www.afterelton.com/people/2011/11/chad-hodge-interview-anita-bryant-hbo?page=0,0

Actress Nisha Adhikari in Snow Flowers

Nepal isn’t exactly well known for its filmmaking industry, but a few movies do come out of the Himalayan country (and have done for the last six decades), and now it’s getting it’s very first gay themes one. The AFP reports that shooting is complete on Snow Flowers, a lesbian love story that some in the local press have (rather reductively) dubbed ‘Brokeback Everest’.

The movie, directed by Paris-based film-maker Subarna Thapa, stars top Nepalese actresses, Dia Maskey and Nisha Adhikari, in a story of two women who are tormented by their feelings for one another. “It’s two individuals falling in love and facing all the controversy and restrictions, and mental, emotional and physical traumas of being a lesbian in Nepal,” Adhikari says, “It’s a simple love story with a lot of complications.”

The film recently finished shooting and in due out in the spring. Many in Nepal are already wondering how the movie will go down in the country. The largely Hindu society is renowned for being pretty conservative, yet conversely the country has some of the most liberal laws concerning gay rights. Discrimination based on sexual orientation has been outlawed by the Supreme Court and is expected to be enshrined in Nepal’s new constitution. However social attitudes aren’t always as forward thinking, and the film deals with the difficulties many gay people still face in the country.

Gay people have been seen in previous Nepalese movies, but have generally been figures of fun. Adhikari says, “The entire movie is based on the trauma – what it is like not being able to come out and live your life because there are so many restrictions. There is no liberty in not living your life the way you want, irrespective of who you are attracted to sexually. This movie will be an eye-opener for a lot of people who have just viewed these issues very superficially.”

We know it’s short notice, but if you’re in London and have the time, there’s a Special Charity Gala screening of the powerful AIDS documentary, We Were Here, taking place tonight (September 15th) at the Odeon Covent Garden, hosted by Peccadillo Pictures, Terrence Higgins Trust & Attitude magazine with director David Weissman in attendance.

The critically acclaimed film documents the coming of what was called the “Gay Plague” in the early 1980s. It illuminates the profound personal and community issues raised by the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco as well as the broad political and social upheavals it unleashed. Deeply moving and inspirational, David Weissman and Bill Weber’s beautifully made film offers a real insight into how a community rose to the challenge with courage and compassion.

Funds raised by the event will be donated to HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins trust.

Head over to the Odeon Website to book a ticket.

Robert Peston, the BBC’s business editor, has been defended for using the established term “Queer Street” to describe financial dire straits.

Peston posted a link to his BBC blog on Twitter, saying: “Why investors love lending to UK government – & how Debt Management Office kept us out of Queer Street.”

As some Twitter users responded with criticism, Peston responded with a link to the term’s Wikipedia page, which explains its many possible etymological origins.

Read more at: BBC editor defended for use of “Queer Street” term – PinkNews.co.uk.

(SPOILER ALERT) I think it’s safe to say there’s not much chance of full-on man-on-man shagging in Glee, but it appears the show it preparing to broach the subject with an episode where several of the characters lose their virginity, including Kurt and Blaine. Entertainment Weekly reports that the catalyst for Kurt and Blaine’s decision to take things to the next level is the romantic triangle that develops with new gay Warbler, Sebastian (Grant Gustin), who sets his sights on Blaine. It’s a bold step for American network TV, which may have come a long way in depicting gay characters and teen sexuality on screen but still tends to get a bit squeamish about them actually doing anything gay and/or sexual. Things will apparently be handled very delicately, so expect more implication than romping. The episode airs in the UK this Thursday, November 10th, on Sky1.