This docuseries is a lively and personal look at what it’s like to be queer in New Zealand today. Hosted by the really charming Aniwa Whaiapu Koloamatangi, it feels like you're being invited into all these different parts of the rainbow community that usually don't get much time on TV. The first season is made up of six episodes, each about 30 minutes long, and they all dive into different topics like family, faith, and the specific experience of being Takatāpui, which is the Māori queer identity. It does a really nice job of balancing the tough history of the LGBTQ+ community with a lot of modern-day happiness and pride. The show starts with Aniwa traveling all over the place to meet folks from every walk of life to see how their background and identity mix together. In the first episode, Aniwa actually takes his first HIV test, works through some stuff from his childhood by playing rugby with the NZ Falcons—one of the country’s gay teams—and checks out what Rainbow Youth is d...
Transgendered Julia decides to spill her guts in this friendly made documentary. With her charming personality, Julia talks of everything. She tells us how when she was 8, she was in so called 'relationship' with her grand uncle, which only later she realized was probably child abuse but she didn't know then. She talks about school and bullying in school and how after multiple school transfers, there was no more school left to go. She tells us how her parents meet and how her mother was always supportive and never stopped her form doing whatever she wanted to do. We see how it was easy for Julia to fall in love, we hear stories of how she tried her hand at prostitution since jobs were limited, but it wasn't her cup of tea. She spent a few months in Japan to be closer to her father and did many odd jobs here and there. Most importantly she talks about movies. Films were her love and it was only because of cinema she has been able to survive this far.
Aș a personalty, Julia seems very real, charming and captivating and so, even this this documentary is more like a 80 minute conversation of a single person into camera, you never get bored. In fact her stories are intriguing and interesting and the way she tells them in a simple chat manner keeps the proceedings very humane and genuine. Her stories are a mix of her insecurities, her desire to divulge honestly and still engage her audience. It is definitely one of the most personal confessional stories. I am sure we all know many people in our life whose life stories have been a great mix of ups and downs, so in that sense, one may question the need to make this specific documentary and was the director's intention behind this to humanize his friend or just share the story? It's hard to say, but whatever it was, thanks to a very sombre but captivating Julia Katharine, the film never fails to interest you. (6/10)
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