Darling of this year’s queerDOC

The annual queerDOC festival opened last night at Carriageworks. The month-long festival, produced by Queer Screen, will this year give insight into an array of lives that make up the patchwork of the gay and lesbian community.
Julian Shaw is among the directors represented at this year’s festival. His film Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story gives insight into the life of South Africa’s most famous political satirist and female impersonator, Mrs Evita Bezuidenhout.
As well as tackling the very real problem of HIV/AIDS in South Africa, Shaw delivers never-before-seen footage of Uys’s real-life struggle and passions.
I am telling his life story and also putting a spotlight on his mission, which is to help South Africa confront the fear and confusion around HIV/AIDS, Shaw said.
The film also focuses on how he has taught more than one million school children using his free AIDS-awareness performance show.
Shaw, 21, started working on the documentary when he was 15 years of age. Thanks to the help of his high school and the AIDS Trust of Australia, he was able to travel to South Africa several times to continue filming material for the documentary.
It was a little humbling getting money from my school and turning it into something bigger, Shaw said. And the money from the AIDS Trust meant I could make the film on the scale I wanted to.
Darling! will screen at the Dendy in Newtown on Wednesday 19 September.
It’s going to connect with the people and it’s exciting to have it screen at the festival, Shaw said.
There’s nothing funny about HIV/AIDS but, as Uys says, what’s hilarious is the fear people have and it’s about really confronting fear.
For a full rundown of this year’s documentary festival and tickets visit www.queerscreen.com.au.