Making Brisbane better

It’s been one of the most successful global campaigns to raise awareness of the awful effects of homophobia on queer youth; and a group of Brisbane filmakers have taken up the It Gets Better campaign in the Sunshine State.

Film makers Heather Corkhill, Qingwen Huang and Helen Kelly were inspired to take to the streets with their camera gear after seeing the impact the It Gets Better Campaign had in the US.

“We were incredibly inspired by the tidal wave of support that this initiative received in America, and wanted to help people from our own community have the opportunity to contribute,” Helen Kelly told the Star Observer.

“One of our primary motivations in making this clip was to promote Open Doors Youth Service and Kids Helpline as accessible resources for GLBTI young people in our region.”

Kelly said she was pleased to see Open Doors throwing its support behind the project and spreading the message that homophobic bullying is not acceptable.

The Brisbane shoot involved both local artists and the general public and filming was done at the most recent Equal Love marriage equality rally on November 20 to get as many Queenslanders involved as possible.

“We had a great turn out, as did the rally itself, and we were utterly thrilled with the overwhelming enthusiasm people showed not just on camera, but in signing messages of support on the banner which will be displayed at Open Doors Youth Service,” Kelly said.

The three film makers met while studying film and television production at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and are currently working on a documentary called The Cure which shines a light on gay conversion therapies and ex-gay ministries.

info: You can find the video on the It Gets Better Project – Brisbane Facebook page or see the video on YouTube.