Claims Sydney surf club prevented filming of gay surf movie
THE director of one of the most popular films at Sydney’s Mardi Gras Film Festival this year has alleged he was prevented from filming at a number of the city’s surf lifesaving clubs due to, he suspects, the movie’s gay subject matter.
Drown focuses on the ramifications for an Australian surf lifesaving champion when a new and gay member of the team steals his crown.
The film was sold out last week when shown at the Mardi Gras Film Festival and is having an encore screenings this evening in Sydney’s CBD and over the coming weeks in the city’s eastern and southern suburbs.
It is also part of the line-up for the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, which begins on March 19.
“The great thing about this project was when you tell people what you’re doing so many people got behind us,” Drown’s director Dean Francis told the Star Observer.
“It’s an idealisation of the Australian male who is straight, who is imposing physically and who goes with the pack mentality where there is zero room for sexual or gender diversity.”
However, despite the presence of Lifesavers with Pride at successive Mardi Gras parades, Francis believes surf lifesaving as a whole is yet to be more inclusive to LGBTI people.
“Unfortunately a lot of the surf clubs didn’t [allow filming] because we were actually sticking salt into a wound that they didn’t want to put salt into,” he said.
Francis, who also produced the film, said their first choice for a location was Maroubra Surf Lifesaving Club in Sydney’s east.
However, he said the club refused to allow filming to take place: “Maroubra were totally unsupportive… but in the end we shot there anyway.”
Honorary Secretary of Maroubra surf live saving club Alison Vuletic, told the Star Observer the decision to disallow the filming had been taken by previous management and they had no information for the reasons behind it.
However, Vuletic said: “Our current policy is that our venue is not available for production of films or ads as it is too disruptive to the many lifesaving education and training programs we run… so it would be reasonable to assume that this was the case back then as well.
“Maroubra SLSC has no discriminative policies against gay people and welcome all members of the community to join our club and volunteer their time to protect the public against drowning.”
Maroubra is famous for being the home of notorious surfing gang the Bra Boys.
The 2007 documentary Bra Boys: Blood is Thicker than Water was filmed at the beach.
Francis said the reception was better at other surf lifesaving clubs, in particular Mona Vale’s club on Sydney’s northern beaches.
Nevertheless, the crew continued to face discrimination during filming, according to Francis.
“There was one scene where we had the boys dressed in Speedos — as the boys would — and these two lifesavers go ‘what is this, a fucking gay bar?’,” he said.
“And we were like ‘no dude, this is what you do.’
“It was like holding a mirror up to them.”
Filming for Drown also took place on the gay strip of Oxford St and in and around the Kings Cross neighbourhood.
“In Kings Cross it was incredible, we got bottles thrown at us and water thrown out of windows,” Francis said.
“We got a lot of grief but Oxford St was a lot more chilled out.”
Drown will be screened tonight at 7pm at Event Cinemas George Street: http://tix.queerscreen.org.au/session_mgff.asp?sn=Drown
It will also be screened at Melbourne’s ACMI theatre as part of Melbourne Queer Film Festival on March 21. Details: tix.mqff.com.au/session.asp?sn=Drown
Further screenings in Sydney are also due to be held on Wednesday, March 18 at Event Cinemas Bondi Junction and Monday, March 30 at Event Cinemas Beverly Hills. Details: http://tugg.com.au/drown/
[NOTE: This story was updated on Monday, March 16 with comments from Maroubra Surf Life Saving Club.]
Sad.
I went to the supermarket today and in was literally there for no longer than 5 mins. When I came out there was a cop writing a ticket.
So I went up to him and said ” Come on budy, how about giving a guy a break”.
He ignored me and continued writing the ticket. So I called him a pencil-necked dick headed cop. He glared at me and started writing another ticket for the worn Tyers.
So I then asked him if his psychiatrist makes him lie face down on the couch cause your so ugly.
He finished the second ticket and put in on the windshield with the others. He then started writing a third ticket.
This went on until he placed 5 tickets on the windshield….. The more I insulted him the more tickets he wrote. I didn’t care my car was parked round the corner.
…………..,…………..,………………
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Bummer…
Adam -I went to the premiere. It’s not for the faint hearted – very violent and disturbing, but equally good.
I know honey – hence the link
A very powerful and thought provoking film.
Doug James
Saw the film tonight. It didn’t draw breath or hold back. Not entirely sure how I feel about it, but absolutely worth a look but not for the faint hearted.
I find inexcusable bigotry unjustifiable … yes in case you think I missed it not all so called ‘bigotry’ is wrong it may be well justified and in fact be incorrectly labelled as ‘bigotry’. I also agree that many surf life-club blokes and their ‘role models’ are nauseating, liars and bullies however that said if they don’t want you to film in ‘their’ club well you have no special rights because you are homosexual, and I know some will find that hard to grasp. That’s how it is nevertheless and machinations of politicians and the manipulating of legal situations to keep yourselves looking like poor hardly done by’s doesn’t endear you to people who have already made sure you have equality …irrespective of your claims over marriage and adoption and for very good reasons as stated in other comments I have made. None of you seem to care about what you screw up so long as you get what you want….like glassy eyed clones of Germaine Greer in togas and other idiotic paraphernalia clogging the streets in your ‘mardi gras’ orgy of decadence. You think you are so emergingly special because the likes of Plibersek support you and mock people who disagree …think again we who have given you much support are growing very tired of your screeching.
If i owned it id keep it open because legally u can
Are we surprised? No. As a regular beach user, my observation is that surfies are extremely homophobic, and fairly aggressive about their hate; more so with the pack mentality.
The gay surfies that do exist are extremely closeted and absolutely paranoid about being found out. Rough rule of thumb – cuter they look, the more they hate.
Don’t expect a change in attitude any time soon.
Cameron Martin