"Beirut Dreams in Color" Special Fundraising Event + Q&A

We are delighted to welcome local director Michael Collins back to Australia and offer an exclusive screening and charity fundraiser for his latest award-winning documentary, "Beirut Dreams in Color," a powerful piece exploring the suppression of freedom of speech and individuality in the Middle East and celebrating its vibrant LGBTQIA+ community.  Join us for a night of powerful storytelling, conversations with the filmmakers, charity fundraising and celebration of our local community.

All proceeds will go towards Helem, the first LGBTQIA+ rights organization in the Arab world (and featured in the film). It runs various programs and advocacy campaigns and provides a wide range of services to members of the LGBTQIA+ community in Lebanon, including emergency response, legal assistance, family support, and activist  training. It also runs one of the largest queer spaces in the MENA region through its community center and prioritizes decriminalization, labor rights, housing, hate speech, and economic empowerment as advocacy priorities. In addition to ticket sales, we will be accepting donations for Helem through their Go Fund Me site ( https://gofundme.com/f/lgbtqia-community-support-in-beirut-through-helem )

About the Documentary: At a concert in Cairo, one of the biggest bands in the Middle East, Mashrou’ Leila, energizes a crowd of 35,000 people. On stage, the charismatic lead singer, Hamed, the first openly gay rock star in the Arab world, faces a sea of swaying flickering lights.  Among the incandescence, a fan raises a giant rainbow flag, capping off a magical night. Yet, that one simple act of pride and joy would ultimately catapult the band, the fan and others headlong into a tragic series of events.

Award-winning filmmakers Michael Collins, Marty Syjuco, James Costa, Sarah Kaskas & Mathieu Carlot bring us the timely story of a trailblazing rock band, a courageous fan, and a queer activist’s daunting battle against religious extremists for equality in some of the most hardline places in the world. Spanning over a decade of activism, "Beirut Dreams in Color" is, simultaneously, a rare and nuanced look into the LGBTQ politics of the Middle East, and a moving testament to the power of music, and the universal desire for freedom (beirutdreamsincolor.com/team )

About the Charity: Helem's mission to lead the struggle for the liberation of LGBTQIA+ and other people with non-conforming sexualities and/or gender identities in Lebanon and the SWANA region from all sorts of violations of their individual and collective civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. Its goal is to empower young LGBTQIA+ leaders to advocate for their own liberation.

Helem runs programs and advocacy campaigns and provides a wide range of services to members of the LGBTQIA+ community in Lebanon, including emergency response, legal assistance, family support, and activist training. It also runs one of the largest queer spaces in the MENA region through its community center and prioritizes decriminalization, labor rights, housing, hate speech, and economic empowerment as advocacy priorities.

About the Director : Michael Collins, Director/Producer/Editor, is a two-time Emmy and Grierson nominated filmmaker and founder of Thoughtful Robot Productions, committed to sharing stories that inspire, connect, and galvanize change since 2003. In addition to filmmaking, Michael volunteers as a meditation and breathwork instructor working with a wide range of populations including the queer community, veterans and military families suffering from PTSD and moral injury ( https://linkedin.com/company/thoughtful-robot ).

VENUE INFORMATION: Please note the Brunswick Picture House is located in Brunswick Heads NSW, in the Northern Rivers region (not in Brunswick VIC). Please select your tickets carefully as no refund or credit will be granted for errors in identifying the venue location.