Confused by the legal and moral dramas whirling around this year's Out Takes film festival? Here's a brief guide to this convoluted and on-going soap opera. Months ago the Out Takes gay and lesbian film festival ("Reel Queer, more inclusive than ever") decided to offer a membership incentive prize of a trip for two to a Fiji resort. An undated letter from Fiji's high Commissioner, printed on the letters page of express, where it languished unread by the organisers and not followed up by express, confirmed what many already knew... that laws mandating prison sentences or flogging for gay sex remain on the Fiji statutes, despite being declared unconstitutional by a Fijian judge. Fiji has made a habit in recent times of jailing tourists and locals alike for homo bonking, and the institutionalised homophobia evident after the slasher murders of gay couple John Scott and Greg Scrivener is still fresh in many minds. At the opening of the Festival a number of audience members complained about the offer of a prize to a country which discriminates against gays and which also doesn't allow HIV positive people to enter at all. The NZ AIDS Foundation and Body Positive Auckland expressed dismay. Out Takes committee members tried to stand their ground, saying that any winner of the prize didn't actually have to go to Fiji, that the law was unconstitutional, that the resort was gay-friendly and that boycotting Fiji was no way to change the law there. All of which fanned the flickering flames of controversy into a nice little bonfire and helped the story spread from GayNZ.com's daily news service to the national, and then international, media. As community pressure mounted Out Takes decided to refer the matter back to the Wellington-based High Commissioner for clarification but, after several weeks, no clarifying word has emerged. But Fiji's hugely influential Methodist Church thunderously repeated its demand that the Fijian government exempt gays from the equal rights protections in the constitution, to ensure that gay sex remains a criminal offense. And the self-interested Fiji Hotel Association rather bizarrely claimed in the Fiji Times that Fiji doesn't actually discriminate against gays. Huh? Sadly, life got even more difficult for Out Takes. Asked why it hadn't spoken about our deadly HIV epidemic at the opening nights of the gay film festival of which it was the major sponsor, the AIDS Foundation attacked Out Takes. Acknowledging that its flash new feel-good cinema commercial had played, the NZAF expressed anger that it had been denied the right to speak about specifics of the epidemic not included in the glossy ‘couples' commercial. Out Takes says the sponsorship contract had never, ever, included an agreement for the NZAF to speak. Despite pressure from the Foundation, which maybe should have made its wishes clear before actually signing the contract, Out Takes remained inflexible on the issue of speaker's rights. Ironically, one of the models for the front page of the Out Takes programme, itself subject to criticism for its suggestively lewd imagery, is... NZAF Chair Jeremy Lambert! The public war of words continues between Out Takes, which clearly wishes the matter had remained a private disagreement between its sponsor and itself, and the NZAF, which has cast doubt on its future support for the Festival. Rainbow Labour has stepped into the Fiji fracas, helping coordinate two petitions, asking the Fiji government to sort out the law regarding gay sex and to allow entry to HIV positive people, and asking the New Zealand government to formally demand of Fiji that these issues be addressed. The NZAF should surely have clearly stipulated its wish for speaker's rights up front, but HIV is undeniably killing more and more of the gay men who turn up to Out Takes festivals. Fijian law is confusing, and Fijian gays still repressed, but we can indeed holiday elsewhere. For now Out Takes is grappling with issues which are moral, rather than legal. To what level should any gay organisation, particularly one which says it specifically aims to be more inclusive this year, be committed to fighting discrimination against gays and HIV positive people? To what level should gay organisations be committed to assisting the fight against the rapidly increasing spread of deadly HIV in our community? Watch this space! Jay Bennie - 16th June 2006