SINGING FROM A DIFFERENT HYMN SHEET
A TOUCHING PORTRAIT OF ONE MAN’S STRUGGLE FOR ACCEPTANCE, BELONGING AND LOVE
WORDS: JOE PASSMORE
FYI
The film premiered in 2016 at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Panorama Audience Award for Best Documentary
FILM OF THE MONTH
WHO’S GONNA LOVE ME NOW?
Saar Maoz
→ In this intimate documentary, we follow Saar, a 40-year-old, ex-Israeli paratrooper who’s been living in London for the past 17 years. We learn that he has made the city his home and has built a new family for himself — mainly through his membership of the London Gay Men’s Chorus, shown in touching scenes that demonstrate how the LGBT+ community can become a person’s support system. But Saar (see interview p29) is also HIV+ and has left a conservative family behind in Israel, as well as all the prejudices that come with that. Sibling directors Barak and Tomer Heymann’s film explores the complexities behind the meaning of family and of being torn between two lives. It never passes judgment, instead showing that acceptance is a winding path while ignorance is not always malicious. That Saar never has a true sense of belonging in London and still longs for approval from his blood family will feel familiar to many gay men. 7 April 4/5