Triangle Television's popular gay and lesbian film and documentary festival, 'Sproquets', will screen for an eight-week season starting on 7 October. The small-screen celebration of international gay and lesbian film and documentary work begins with a homegrown documentary, The People Next Door. The programme, which provides a window into gay and lesbian life in the 1990s, proved controversial when it was shown in New Zealand in1994. It scored a top five rating in the week it was shown but has not been televised since. The line-up for the festival also includes five contributions from South African film makers: Goniwe's Calling (2004), Apostles of Civilized Vice (1999), Sando to Samantha (1998), Gay Life is Best (1992) and A Normal Daughter (2001). These films span a period from 1992 to 2004 – together they paint an extraordinary picture of gay and lesbian communities during South Africa's dramatic period of political change. A Peruvian contribution by Dante Alencastre, En El Fuego (2007) highlights the suffering of gays and lesbians in Peru who have little legal protection from the church-led homophobia that besieges their communities. And in Security Camera (2007), a 50-second snippet taken from a security camera, Christopher Heller of Germany highlights how the public "looks away" from anti-gay violence on the streets. On a lighter note, Men on Heat by Australian Essan Laurant, has been written specifically for women and takes a sexy and humorous look at women treating men as objects; and Freak of Nature (Don Bapst 2007) shows scenes from Market Days, one of the USA's largest gay and lesbian festivals. Young filmmakers from Auckland's UNITEC will show their skills and talent alongside Sproquets' international offerings with a series of five short films (50 minutes each): Forward, about love being hard when no one answers emails; Walk My Way, about a mysterious stranger challenging an audience; In Search of, which deals with looking for love; Preacher Man, about a preacher who finds friendship in a most unexpected form; and The Boxer, which reasons that some of life's callings are louder than others. Other films in the line-up include contributions from Catalonia, Belgium, the United States, Brazil, Australia and Germany. Triangle Television Chief Executive Officer Jim Blackman says despite the popularity of YouTube and other easy-access internet forums, filmmakers still see television as an important vehicle for their works. However, Blackman does admit that the YouTube generation may have impacted the length of the films submitted this year. All are less than an hour long, many just minutes in length, and the German security camera offering lasts just 50 seconds. This is the fourth year Triangle Television has organised Sproquets, inviting film and documentary makers from around the world to contribute their works. This year, for the first time, as well as screening on Triangle Television Auckland and Triangle Television Wellington, the festival will also reach a national audience when it is screened on Triangle's new subscription-free channel Triangle Stratos, broadcast on the Freeview platform. Sproquets will screen every Sunday from 7 October until 2 December at 9.30pm on Triangle Television Auckland; 9pm on Triangle Television Wellington; and at 8.30pm on Freeview's Triangle Stratos. Schedule at a glance: 7th Oct: The People Next Door/Forward 14th Oct: En El Fuego/Capitulo Primero 21st Oct: Apostles of Civilized Vice 1/Walk my Way 28th Oct: Apostles of Civilized Vice 2/In Search Of 4th Nov: Gay Life is Best/Out Now/You're A Winner/Freak Of Nature 11th Nov: Sando to Samantha/aka The Art of Dikvel/Preacher Man 18th Nov: A Normal Daughter/Security Camera 25th Nov: The Last Visit/The Boxer/Speechless/SIPIS/Men On Heat 2nd Dec: Goniwe's Calling/Jaywalking/Hero Festival
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Saturday, 1st September 2007 - 10:27am