A deeply personal film about love in the face of death. Melanie Chait documented the last four years of her life-partner, theatre director Nancy Diuguid's life, as she fought breast cancer. Woven into Nancy's personal story are insights from US scientist and ecologist Rachel Carson, whose seminal book, 'Silent Spring' exposed the health dangers of pesticides as far back 1962. The film pays tribute to Nancy, a visionary director and actor, who used the creative arts and her own lesbian identity as a lifelong campaign for justice and healing.
Director
A deeply personal film about love in the face of death. Melanie Chait documented the last four years of her life-partner, theatre director Nancy Diuguid's life, as she fought breast cancer. Woven into Nancy's personal story are insights from US scientist and ecologist Rachel Carson, whose seminal book, 'Silent Spring' exposed the health dangers of pesticides as far back 1962. The film pays tribute to Nancy, a visionary director and actor, who used the creative arts and her own lesbian identity as a lifelong campaign for justice and healing.
Producer
In a society, which labels lesbians as masculine, man-hating and less than female, how are lesbians who choose to have children treated? This excellent film gives a voice to a variety of women from varying ages, races and class backgrounds. Some of the women were lesbians when they decided to have children; others became lesbians after being involved in heterosexual relationships. As lesbian mothers they all have to learn to cope with living in a hostile society, with the ever-present possibility of losing their children - if they still have them - their lovers, or their work. Breaking the Silence offers an engaging and compelling picture of an area of female existence which, for many, has had to remain hidden for fear of losing their children. From those who have been brave enough to speak out in this film what emerges is a voice of strength and courage in the face of outrageous bigotry.
Director
In a society, which labels lesbians as masculine, man-hating and less than female, how are lesbians who choose to have children treated? This excellent film gives a voice to a variety of women from varying ages, races and class backgrounds. Some of the women were lesbians when they decided to have children; others became lesbians after being involved in heterosexual relationships. As lesbian mothers they all have to learn to cope with living in a hostile society, with the ever-present possibility of losing their children - if they still have them - their lovers, or their work. Breaking the Silence offers an engaging and compelling picture of an area of female existence which, for many, has had to remain hidden for fear of losing their children. From those who have been brave enough to speak out in this film what emerges is a voice of strength and courage in the face of outrageous bigotry.
Director
Made with young lesbians aged between 16 and 23 from Newcastle, Liverpool and London, this warm and engaging film explores the ups and downs of being lesbian in a predominately heterosexual and homophobic society geared to wedding bells and boys. The young women interviewed speak openly about their experiences of coming out to friends and parents and how in many cases they were told it was only a ‘phase’ they would grow out of. ‘If you can go out with boys at 14 and that’s OK, why can’t you go out with someone of your own sex without it being a crush’ asks one of the young women.
