Love In Full Colour (Documentary)

Each year, Melbourne’s ‘Same Sex Formal’ is attended by young people from across the state who have missed out on the one rite-of-passage most teenagers take for granted - either because their school explicitly refused to let them bring a same-sex partner, or because they just didn’t feel safe to do so. With breathtaking insight, honesty and humor, 12 LGBT teens reveal the highs and lows of their experiences with falling in love, coming out at high school and coming of age. This film is a moving and compelling film about queer students surviving high school and discovering the transformative power of community, acceptance and love.

In 2012, director Suzi Taylor came across a small news story about the ‘Same Sex Formal’ – an event held in Melbourne each year for same sex attracted and gender diverse students and their allies. It was an event for the kids who did not feel safe – or in some cases, had been forbidden – from attending their own high school formals and debutante balls. Filmed over three years, they shared their experiences of being bullied, rejected by family, falling in love and coming out. Their disarming honesty, warmth, wit and insightfulness moved audiences around the country – to laughter and to tears. A student recounts how he was bullied for being gay and how the principal was happy was not going to join the formal since he would have brought a male partner with him. Another bisexual teen Stephanie tells us she ended up staying at home with her dad while the friends went out – it was really sad. Stephanie credits the filming of the Love In Full Colour documentary for helping her through the difficult period in her life.

We see 10 other queer students, gay, bi, lesbian, trans, questioning who all share similar experiences of a hard time in school but this same sex formal event bringing them all together. The documentary was done not too long ago. Barely 10 years ago, this was still a big issue and I am sure things would have improved but maybe not to the extent that we would like them to. I have to say that the director of this documentary has indeed come up with a fascinating subject and has kept the run time of the film well under an hour there by keeping it sharp, crisp and to the point. The director Suzi met and interviewed some young organizers of the event when she heard about it, along with others who were attending for the first time. Hearing about their often harrowing experiences at high school, Suzi realized that this film was about much more than a party. "It was about overcoming rejection, discrimination and invisibility, often across many different facets of their lives." These words nicely sum up he heart of this documentary. (5.5/10)

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