I received the following email today and thought I would share it with you. It is from Common Good Productions, via Kickstarter, a crowd-funding initiative.
I hope this email finds you very well. This autumn has been shaping up to be a very busy time for “The Abominable Crime” – and LGBT issues in Jamaica – and we wanted to give you an update.
First, the film will be screening in NYC, Chicago and St. Louis in the next few weeks – see details below for locations and tickets.
The film has also been getting some press (or not getting press, in one notable instance) back in Jamaica…
A few months back, I was interviewed by a Caribbean program called “18° North,” which is a new Caribbean-based investigative TV show.
They did a segment on the film interweaving footage from the documentary with an interview with the director (me), which was slated to be aired in primetime on TVJ, one of the main Jamaican TV broadcasters, on September 16.
Zahra Burton, the program’s executive producer, emailed me the next day. While the program aired on TVJ, she wrote, the network had cut out the segment on “The Abominable Crime!”
Burton was so outraged that the network had removed eight minutes (and a key segment) from her show – without asking her or informing the Jamaican public about the missing piece – that she asked us to let the world know… and she shared the missing segment with us. You can watch it here.
Clearly, some stories are too sensitive to be told on TVJ. And censorship on LBGT issues is still alive and well in Jamaica!!!
Despite TVJ’s refusal to even mention “The Abominable Crime”, Jamaicans are becoming more aware of the film. The Gleaner, one of Jamaica’s most important papers, ran a short piece about the film on their website in conjunction with our Washington DC screenings.
If you have a strong stomach, you might explore some of the comments that appear in response to the story – many of which are quite revealing – and show that homophobia and hatred are still deeply rooted in the Jamaican psyche…
On other fronts, we are proud to announce that “The Abominable Crime” has three upcoming screenings in November 2013:
Chicago: “The Abominable Crime” will be screened as part of the Reeling LGBT International Film Festival on Saturday, November 9th at 12:15 pm at the Logan Theatre. Tickets and more information here.
New York City: On Friday, November 15th at 4:15 pm, TAC will be screened as part of DOC NYC at the IFC Center. Stick around after the screening for a Q&A! More details here.
St Louis: On Sunday, November 17th at 4:30 pm, there will be a screening as part of the St. Louis International Film Festival. After the film there will be a Q&A with me and Maurice Tomlinson.
After this screening you are invited to join us for another Pulitzer Center supported documentary, “Seeds of Hope,” and a reception that will include Maurice Tomlinson and me! More details about the screenings and reception here. The reception is free to attend, but please RSVP here.
We are also beginning to reach out to educational and community groups for non-festival screenings. If you know of a university or community group that would be interested in hosting a screening and discussion, please get in touch with us. You can order an educational or community screening package at ourwebsite.
I hope to see some of you at the screenings in New York and St. Louis! More soon!
Very best regards,
Micah and the whole TAC team!
Related articles
- Film: “The Abominable Crime,” Documentary about Being Gay in Jamaica debuts in US (repeatingislands.com)
- Jamaican Government Must Urgently Address Homelessness (petchary.wordpress.com)
- Filmmaker seeks backing for documentary, ‘An Abominable Crime: Anti Gay Violence in Jamaica’ (miamiherald.typepad.com)
Reblogged this on Jamaican Journal and commented:
I am reblogging this post today for two reasons: one is that I am acting as a “rapporteur” today for a conference. The second is that it is an important post by fellow blogger Emma Lewis that relates to the news magazine show I am involved with- 18 Degrees North. One of the pieces has apparently been censored by TVJ without the knowledge of the producer, Zahra Burton. This is alarming and I am going to follow up with Zahra and write a more fulsome post shortly. Enjoy your day.
LikeLike
Thanks so much, Kate for the reblog – but more importantly, thanks for the follow-up. It is indeed alarming.
LikeLike
Thanks for the information about the possibility of community screenings – will pass it on.
LikeLike
Thanks so much. Yes, if you get in touch with the producers I am sure they can arrange community screenings.
LikeLike
I did read some of the comments. Wearing out God’s name. Depressing really.
LikeLike
Depressing indeed. Sometimes I just don’t read those comments. I know what to expect and just cannot handle the vitriol. 😦
LikeLike
Congrats Emma, Great work!!! Lloyd (Tony) Chin Twitter: @TonyChin_Lloyd lloydachin@yahoo.com http://www.linkedin.com/in/lloydachin
LikeLike
Thanks so very much, Lloyd! All the best to you…
LikeLike