NEWS

Add the Words recently screened at the Outfest LGBT film festival in LA. However if you’re elsewhere in the US, you don’t been to be at the fest to watch it, as thanks to a team-up between Outfest and DirectTV as selection of film, including Add The Words is streaming for free.

However if you’re outside the US or in American and want to know whether it’s worth a watch, take a look at the trailer below.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Since 2006 the LGBT community and human rights supporters have asked Idaho lawmakers to add the words sexual orientation and gender identity to the Idaho Human Rights Act. It is still lawful in this state to fire someone or refuse services or housing because of how they identify.

‘For 8 years Nicole LaFavor, Idaho’s first openly Gay Legislator, was told, “we can’t this year because of the political climate. But behave, and we will get to it next year.”

‘Eight years later, supporters of Add The Words are no longer BEHAVING!

‘With their left hands covering their mouths to symbolize how the Idaho legislators have worked to silence them. They have begun an effective civil disobedience campaign.

‘This documentary is their story.’

If you’re in the US, download the app on Google Play or iTunes, or visit OutfestOnline.com to watch Add The Words and the other LGBT-themed films that are streaming. [Read more…]

Greg Louganis is a legend in the US, particularly thanks to his incredible feat of becoming the first man in Olympic history to sweep the diving events in consecutive Olympic Games, winning four golds, along with five World Championship titles.

Since then he’s become a legend in a different way, for being a bit of a trailblazer in the gay rights movement and being one of the most high profile figures living with HIV. The docuemntary, Back On Board: Greg Louganis will take a look at the sportman, and we’ve got a couple of clips you can watch beloe.

Here’s the synopsis: ‘Now 55, Greg Louganis was adopted before his first birthday and grew up in Southern California, taking up diving at age nine. Throughout a difficult childhood, he was forced to deal with depression, bullying and prejudice.

‘Louganis won the silver medal in the 10M Platform event at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal at age 16. In 1978, his diving skills earned him a scholarship to the University of Miami. Three years later, following the United States boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, where Louganis would have been the favorite in two diving events, he returned to Southern California to finish his degree and diving career at the University of California, Irvine.

‘He became a full-fledged international diving star in 1984. At the Summer Games in Los Angeles, Louganis won gold medals in the 10M Platform and 3M Springboard events. Four years later in Seoul, he became the only male diver in history to win those events in back-to-back Olympic Games.

‘In one of the most notable moments of his storied career, Louganis suffered a cut on his head when he hit the diving board during a preliminary round of the Seoul Games, but went on to win his gold medals days later. Though the American public originally lauded Louganis for his competitive spirit, it was not known at the time that he had tested positive for HIV six months earlier. When Louganis later announced that he was HIV-positive, it sparked outrage over his original non-disclosure of the virus and sparked a nationwide conversation about HIV/AIDS and sports.

‘Greg Louganis announced to the world that he was gay in the mid-1990s, but it was a not a well-kept secret in the diving world before that. During his dominance in the 1980s, many sponsors knew of his sexual orientation, which limited his marketability – just one example of the homophobia and hateful rhetoric that followed him long before and after his official announcement that he was gay.

‘Ending a prolonged absence from the diving world, Louganis has returned to mentor the next generation of American divers. BACK ON BOARD: GREG LOUGANIS offers unprecedented access to the Olympian as he struggles with financial security and reunites with the sport that he once dominated, but did not feel accepted in. The film examines the good times and bad times, including the choices, relationships and missed opportunities Louganis has experienced throughout his career as a sports pioneer.’

The film premieres on HBO in the US on August 4th. [Read more…]