40th Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras: TV guide

Drama & documentary titles across the next two weeks will focus on gay & lesbian themes ahead of the 40th Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras.

SBS will screen the Parade on Sunday March 4th, although there is a Live online broadcast at SBS on Demand. ABC’s Riot telemovie is another highlight.

ABC

Against the Law
9pm Thursday February 22
2017 sees the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Sexual Offences Act, which decriminalised homosexual acts in England and Wales between adult males, in private. While it would take several decades before homosexuals would reach anything like full equality in this country, this legislation marks the beginning of this journey.

But the dramatic events that led to this Act took place over ten years before and are at the heart of Against the Law, a powerful factual drama starring Daniel Mays and Mark Gatiss. Mays plays Peter Wildeblood, a thoughtful and private gay journalist whose lover, under pressure from the authorities, turned Queen’s evidence against him in one of the most explosive court cases of the 1950s – the infamous Montagu Trial. Wildeblood, and his friends Lord Montagu and Michael Pitt-Rivers, were found guilty of homosexual offences and jailed. But the public thought the trial unfair and forced a reluctant government to set up a committee to investigate whether homosexuality should be legalised. The committee was led by Sir John Wolfenden. With his career in tatters and his private life painfully exposed, Peter Wildeblood began his sentence a broken man, but he emerged from Wormwood Scrubs a year later determined to do all he could to change the way these draconian laws against homosexuality impacted on the lives of men like him. He was the only openly gay man to testify before the Wolfenden committee about the brutal reality of being gay in this country at that time. In 1957 the committee recommended that the laws be changed. It would take a further ten years before these recommendations would become law.

Woven through this powerful drama is testimony from a chorus of men who lived through those dark days, when homosexuals were routinely imprisoned or forced to undergo chemical aversion therapy in an attempt to cure them of their ‘condition’. There is also testimony from a retired police officer whose job it was to enforce these laws and a former psychiatric nurse who administered the so-called cures. All these accounts amplify the themes of the drama and help to immerse us in the reality of a dark chapter in our recent past, a past still within the reach of living memory.

Riot
8:30pm Sunday February 25
Based on real people and events, RIOT shines a spotlight on Australia’s 1970s Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement and the passionate individuals who, facing ever-present adversity, conceived a celebration of diversity, in what is now a key moment in LGBTQ history. In the early 1970s, the Australian Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement is in its infancy, as women and men face police brutality, legislative persecution and social shunning.

Lance Gowland (Damon Herriman), a devoted and seasoned activist for various civil rights causes joins CAMP – the Campaign Against Moral Persecution — which focuses on law reform, educating the general public, and providing much needed community support. Here he meets fellow activists Marg McMann (Kate Box) and Robyn Plaister (Jess De Gouw), Ron Austin (Josh Quong Tart), Peter De Waal (Eden Falk) and partner Bon (Luke Mullins), Sue Willis (Fern Sutherland) and Gabrielle Antolovich (Hanna Mangan Lawrence). CAMP’s plans for social change involves engaging with the media and a telephone counselling service. But passionate firebrand Lance wants rallies and protests, he sees the loud and belligerent tactics of his union past as the only way to bring change. Marg and Lance clash as well as complement each other; they’re both natural born leaders, and begin to focus the group’s energies on more effective law reform.

During this time, Lance meets Jim Walker (Xavier Samuel), a young, conservative doctor with whom he has little in common, nevertheless they fall in love. While Marg finds herself fighting for custody of her children. University students Peter Murphy (Christian Byers) and Jeremy Fisher (Will McDonald) bring new voices into the activist fray but they all face the continuing threat of job dismissal, violence, and inaction from politicians. Their resolve grows, and by 1978, when the push to decriminalize homosexuality has stalled, they decide to make one final attempt to celebrate who they are.

Securing a permit for a legal protest, on the evening of June 24, in recognition of Gay Solidarity Day, a small but passionate group collect behind a truck driven by Lance, to stage a street party and joyfully declare their pride. The night will be marked by great violence, but the ramifications will path the way for equality, and the establishment of a world-renowned parade that continues to celebrate the spirit of these brave, pioneering men and women.

What It’s Like
Saturday March 3 & 10 at 7.15pm ABC ME  (Available Saturday March 3 on ABC ME app)
Two brand new episodes of this hit kids’ series, exploring themes of sexuality and gender diversity.

I Do – 40 Years of Mardi Gras
Tuesday 6^th March at 10pm on ABC ME (repeated 9^th March at 7.30pm AEDT on ABC News)
An ABC NEWS special that goes behind the scenes with the first couple to get married at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras – as the internationally renowned event celebrates 40 years of protest, partying and social change.

iview

The ABC’s new website abc.net.au/ourfocus/mardigras provides an overview of the content and coverage discussing and celebrating this important milestone.

Love Bites
Sunday 25 February on ABC iview
A series of 10 x 5 min documentary short films made by filmmakers from the LGBTQI community across Australia.  Made with support from Screen Australia.

Trans Black
Sunday 25 February on ABC iview
A series of 4 x 10 min short films that follow the day to day lives of four Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island transgender men and women, and how they changed perceptions of themselves and those closest to them

SBS VICELAND

Dragula
10.25pm Sunday February 18 & 25, MArch 4
The second season of the world’s most shocking queer TV series pits 10 punk drag queens against one another in a series of extreme challenges to decide which one will snatch the crown, the $10,000.00 cash prize and the title of ‘Dragula – The World’s Next Drag Supermonster’.

Mardi Gras Movies Home Grown
8pm Thursday February, 22 & 8:30pm March 1 (also at SBS On Demand)
In the lead up to the 40th anniversary celebration of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival, The Feed’s Pat Abboud will present a series of LGBTQI shorts, created by emerging filmmakers. Each of the shorts celebrates LGBTIQ diversity through a wide scope of themes including LGBTIQ acceptance in multicultural communities, small-town bigotry and a Muslim probationary policewoman amongst others. Before each short, Pat Abboud will go behind the scenes, providing exclusive access and interviews with the filmmakers. The six short films include Concern for Welfare (directed by Fadia Abboud), Black Lips (directed by Adrian Chiarella), Cherry Season (directed by Joshua Longhurst), the bilingual Tomgirl (directed by Vonne Patiag), Joy Boy (directed by Stef Smith) and Disco Dykes (directed by Sara West).

The Feed
7:30pm Monday February 26
Tonight: what’s it like to realise you’re a lesbian, when you’ve got adult children? IsIs there a reason for the growing numbers of older women coming out later in life? (News

7:30pm Tuesday February 27
Tonight: he has millions of fans, has won Grammys, a Golden Globe and an Oscar. So why is he unhappy? Sam Smith talks alcohol, self-doubt & shame spirals with Pat Abboud.

7:30pm Wednesday February 28
Tonight: what’s it like being an Indigenous drag queen in rural Australia? The Feed gets up close and personal with the Dreamtime Divas.

7:30pm Thursday March 1
Tonight: winning The Voice Australia was just the beginning for Alfie Arcuri. The Italian-Australian sits down with Pat Abboud to chat: singing, cooking and coming out.

NITV

Black Divaz
8:30pm Thursday March 1
To coincide with the 40th Anniversary of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, NITV is proud to present, Black Divaz, a one-hour television documentary which shines a light on the Indigenous LGBTQI+ community.

Black Divaz goes beyond the make-up, the glue guns and the glamour of drag to reveal the complexities of a world that is little known or understood. The documentary follows Indigenous Drag Queens from around Australia as they embark on a quest to be crowned the Inaugural Miss First Nations Drag Queen. The pageant, hosted during Darwin Pride Week, showcases not just the incredible talent in the Indigenous drag community but also sheds a light on some of the bigger issues faced by Indigenous men and sistergirls who happen to love drag. We meet the fierce, sassy contestants, Nova Gina, Isla Fuk Yah, Crystal Love, Josie Baker, Jojo and Shaniqua and the pageant’s drag hosts, Miss Ellaneous and Marzi Panne, and hear the stories behind their outrageous Drag personas. Souls will be bared and connections made as one Queen makes history as she is crowned Australia’s Miss First Nation for the first time! Being LGBTQI+ in today’s world differs greatly and for many gay, transgender, sistergirls and gender diverse members of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. The fight for understanding and equality is sometimes just as difficult within their own communities, clan groups and families as it is in the wider Australian community.

NITV Channel Manager, Tanya Orman said: “Black Divaz is an incredibly important documentary for NITV to commission, as it gives our vibrant Indigenous LGBTQI+ community a platform to celebrate and share their stories. “The documentary not only aims to celebrate the fabulous Queens in the film, but to reach those members in our community who are struggling. Hopefully they watch Black Divaz and feel a sense of pride and belonging.” Director of Black Divaz, Adrian Russell Wills said: “My hope is that Black Divaz speaks directly to those kids in remote communities, or those living in small country towns, or even those kids living in big cities who feel isolated, misunderstood or different. I wish for them to see themselves on screen and recognise their hopes and dreams are valid and can come true, that they too can be celebrated. “The Divaz teach us all to live our truth out loud and proud, through their personal stories we see life isn’t always easy walking down a different road but it is a road many who have gone before have paved for them so they can discover their Diva!” The one-off documentary is directed by Adrian Russell Wills (The Warriors, Wentworth) with producers Michaela Perske (After the Apology, Destination Arnold) and Gillian Moody (Family Rules).

SBS

China Queer 
10pm Tuesday February 20  / 12:50am Tuesday February 27 (Wed Feb 28)
LGBT people in the world’s most populous country are learning from gay rights movements abroad to build their own campaigns at an unprecedented pace. These LGBT activists are gradually winning rights for members of their community by producing their own media, challenging homophobic policies through lawsuits, and building groups that challenge homophobic social values. Yet as this movement builds momentum, they increasingly run into conflict with Chinese government authorities. Their fight for acceptance cannot happen in public because they are often silenced, either through surveillance, intimidation, or imprisonment.

Saturday March 3.
A live stream of the parade will be available on SBS On Demand and the SBS Twitter account on Saturday, 3rd March. SBS Radio 3 will join forces with Australia’s premier gay and lesbian community radio station, JOY 94.9 for a Mardi Gras weekend simulcast, which can be accessed via the SBS Radio mobile app, digital radio and around Australia on digital television.

2018 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras
8:30pm Sunday March 4
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is one of the world’s largest and most high profile LGBTIQ+ celebrations. Having started as a civil rights protest in 1978, Mardi Gras has grown into an opportunity to celebrate diversity, equality, inclusion and pride on a global scale.

Following last year’s historic same-sex marriage vote, this year’s Mardi Gras will be a celebration of how far the LGBTIQ+ communities and their allies have come in the last 40 years, as well as a reflection on the community’s hopes for the future.

The television broadcast will feature the best and brightest floats and costumes in the parade, interviews with special guest and celebrities including international music icon Cher, commentary from Magda Szubanski and Joel Creasey, as well as on the ground coverage from Urzila Carlson.

The Feed’s Patrick Abboud will present a series of stories which introduces us to parade participants, the people and special meanings behind the floats, and the stories of Mardi Gras marchers– including the 78’ers who pioneered this global event 40 years ago.

SBS On Demand
SBS On Demand will host a Rainbow Pride Movie collection, with titles such as Brokeback Mountain, Holding the Man, Heartbeats and My Beautiful Laundrette, starring Daniel Day-Lewis. SBS On Demand will also premiere Don’t Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves – a powerful Swedish drama exploring love in the shadow of AIDS.

This post updates.