MaLGRA - the Manawatu Lesbian and Gay Rights Association - will be celebrating its 30th anniversary on Labour Weekend this year, and to mark the event, a new documentary will explore the colourful history of the organisation. Formed in 1977 as a volunteer organisation to support the needs of gay, and later all LGBT people in the Manawatu region, MaLGRA is now the longest running Gay Rights Association in New Zealand. Today MaLGRA is home to Manawatu Lesbian Support Group, Massey UniQ Palmerston North, mens' social group ‘CoffeeQ' and a youth group called ‘Closet Space'. The organisation also runs Club Q, a dance club and events venue, as a service to its members and the wider community. The research-based project will be completed by Rachel Hoskin, lecturer in visual imaging at Universal College of Learning (UCOL) in Palmerston North, and mentored by Melissa Edmon (also a lecturer in visual imaging at UCOL) who is an award winning documentary filmmaker from New York. “The documentary will focus on how the organisation survived so long and will include founding members right through to current members,” says Hoskin. The documentary will be screened at the 30th celebrations on Labour Weekend, 19th to 21st October. More information and contact details for MaLGRA are available on their official website – link below. Ref: MaLGRA, GayNZ.com (m)