Homosexuality: A Film For Discussion

Homosexuality: A Film For Discussion (1975) was born of the early heady days of Gay Liberation several years after its first historic meeting in 1971 at the University of Melbourne. The meeting was exciting, inspiring and for many of us, it represented a new beginning. One of our main goals was to shatter the oppressive public silence around homosexuality by coming out in public spaces: marching through the city on Friday nights, spray painting walls, giving media interviews, speaking at secondary schools, writing articles, holding conferences, coming out on television, holding dances, giving talks to medical students at the University, among other activities. During these early informative years, I would faithfully record public events on Super 8 film because I believed it was crucially important to document our history. I have films of our marches, the Gay Liberation picnic, and the Gay Liberation Commune a group of us created (we actually built our own house!) in the Strzelecki mountains near Wonyip, Gippsland. We also organised consciousness-raising groups where we could exchange our personal stories. At the time I was teaching film studies, and Super 8 and 16mm filmmaking at Coburg Teacher’s College. 

During Gay Pride Week in 1973, I decided what we really needed was a film which documented our lives in the present, which we could take with us into schools when we were invited to talk to students. I also believed it was extremely important to document our lives, because if marginalised groups can’t access their own history – if they are without a voice – it makes them feel impotent and invisible. A major aim was to critique the law and public stereotypes of gay people and expose aspects of homophobia. Filled with optimism, I applied to the Experimental Film and Television Fund (managed by the Australian Film Institute) in 1974 for a grant to make a documentary. The judges at the Fund were very positive, awarded the grant, and I began work on the script. 

It is crucial to stress that in the early ’70s – also the period of second-wave feminism, a political movement of which I was also a member – there were many political and social protest groups both in Australia and overseas. We were part of the great intellectual movements of the late 20th century. In Melbourne, these included women’s liberation, the lesbian movement, the peace movement against the Vietnam war, Friends of the Earth, Animal Liberation, the Aboriginal land rights movement and the Tent Embassy, socialist groups such as Socialist Worker’s Action (SWAG), and the green movement. Change was definitely in the air. Anything was possible! There was a wonderful feeling that if people spoke out and demonstrated against injustices of all kinds while supporting each other, that they could accomplish important political, social and cultural change. In the early ’70s Gay Liberation members – lesbians and gay men – always took part in women’s liberation marches. Many gay men felt themselves “sisters” of their feminist friends and wanted to support their cause too. My friends were very excited about the prospect of a film which explored their lives and of which they would be a part. 

I decided to organise the film around the structure of a consciousness-raising group, street interviews – vox pops – with the general public, and more personal interviews with members of Gay Lib and their parents. My friends Martin Bartfeld, Jan van Bommel and Alison Tilson agreed to do the filming while Annette Blonski took on sound. Annette and Martin, who were partners, had 16mm film equipment, had completed several short films together and possessed the professional experience I lacked. I invited four friends – Simeon Kronenberg and Ross Moore, who were in a relationship at the time, and close friends Anne Houlihan and Gael Waldron – to form a consciousness-raising group. They agreed to discuss their lives around important topics such as growing up, family, school, loneliness, public prejudice, relationships, sexuality and coming out. They did this in a very affirmative way, expressing their belief that there was nothing wrong with being gay. If family, school friends or members of the public did not accept them, then the group argued, this was their problem. I also interviewed some of the parents including my mother, Nanette Creed, for the film. They were great but needed a sherry before facing the camera. 

One Saturday morning, we met in Swanston Street with our camera and sound recorder, and I interviewed any member of the public who offered to step in front of the camera. There was no shortage of willing participants, and I ended up with much more film than I could actually use. The responses to my questions varied from support to criticism and deep prejudice. I was surprised to find several interviewees quoting the Bible, particularly the section on Sodom and Gomorrah! I remember another chap saying that we should all be flushed down the toilet. A group of three young boys giggled and tittered away at the very idea of “poofters” without a thought for the people they were harming with their casually cruel comments. One thing which stood out was the number of people who claimed they had never met a homosexual. When I asked how they knew this, they resorted to stereotypes. Lesbians were mannish and gay men were feminine! They didn’t know such people. 

I also filmed a number of lesbians and gay men in tender, sexual embraces which I used in the opening sequence. One question we were frequently asked is: “What do you do – you know, sexually?” I decided to commence the film with intimate scenes to make it clear how important sexuality is in our lives. Editing the final version was very time-consuming. Sections of numbered film hung all around the room waiting to be inserted in the right place.  In the end, I stayed back at work in the evenings, hid in my office until the cleaners had left, and spent several nights at the Steenbeck editing bench without interruption! I originally decided that the film’s structure should revolve around the consciousness-raising group, who sat on couches talking about their lives, intercut with the street interviews designed to understand how the average member of the public viewed homosexuality. Having put the film together, I felt something more was needed. I decided to include two short interviews with parents, as parental acceptance was such an important topic amongst lesbians and gay men. I also added a number of one-to-one interviews at the end of the film so I might ask questions which I felt needed further emphasis. The final film was a product of pre-planning and more spontaneous decision-making. 

The film was well received. It premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) and had a season at the Melbourne Filmmaker’s Co-Op, and The Playbox, a small art house cinema in Russell Street. Reviews were very positive. The reviewer for Campaign wrote that the film “demolishe[d] previous limitations in presenting the realities of homosexual experience , oppression . . . and hope. A film of exceptional sensitivity, not to be missed!”¹ The following year Campaign noted that three gay groups in Adelaide had purchased their own copy for use by any gay group in the State. “That’s exactly what it is – an excellent film for discussion. With sensitive direction and photography it achieves a good balance of humour and seriousness in covering virtually all aspects of gay men’s and women’s lives in a resoundingly positive way.”²

The plan was to screen the film to groups and stop the projector at key points for discussion.  This approach proved very effective. Students in particular were very responsive to the film and keen to discuss topics close to home, such as family and school, from a range of perspectives – gay and straight. I remember a visit to Preshil, a progressive secondary school in Kew, where we met an openly lesbian couple who were very articulate about their lives. 

Due to high use, the Australian Film Institute recommended that the prints – already suffering wear and tear – be sent to the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) for preservation. Various bodies such as the Audio-Visual Education Centre of the Victorian Department of Education purchased a copy, as well as gay groups in various states such as Adelaide University, Gay Men’s Group and Sturt C.A.E Camp Community. Recently, the NFSA, which holds the film in its library, restored the print to pristine condition. MIFF subsequently invited Homosexuality: A Film for Discussion to take part in a screening of films made in Melbourne to celebrate MIFF’s 70th anniversary in 2022. Kate Jinx wrote an excellent chapter on my film for the book that accompanied this celebration: Melbourne On Film––Cinema That Defines Our City (2022). The NFSA continues to release the film to interested groups, educational institutions and for public events. 

It is important to mention the legal and social conditions of the early ’70s because it attests to the bravery of all those who agreed to be part of the film. Sodomy laws were still in operation and not repealed until 1980, when Victoria decrimalised consensual sex between men. In the ’70s and later, lesbians and gay men could be sacked from their jobs, and aversion therapy was still practised by some members of the medical profession. Coming out at work was not easy. Simeon and I had outed ourselves on national television during Gay Pride Week in 1973. All four TV stations requested interviews. It was as if reporters had unexpectedly discovered a rare species of human beings about whom they knew absolutely nothing. I remember one anchor asking me if I was concerned that coming out on television might have repercussions at work. I thought quickly and replied: “No, of course not! All of my work colleagues are far too intelligent to let my sexuality bother them!” I knew this was not true. 

The next morning my friends ran up the stairs to my office to tell me what was being discussed in the staff room over morning tea. Apparently, the staff were divided. Most were supportive but a few were appalled. The College discreetly removed me from visiting primary schools to assess our budding teachers in case of a parent protest (I was told I was over-worked!). When the students discovered this, they marched around the College gardens with placards reading “Return Miss Creed to school assessments!” One older member of staff sent a message, via a friend, to say that she was very sorry, but she was too nervous to talk to me again. Another reported me to the College Principal for making a pass at her in the cafeteria, which of course was not true. My head of department, however, was wonderfully supportive. Gradually the fuss died down. Over the next few months, a number of students asked if they could talk to me confidentially about themselves and their sexuality. This made everything worthwhile. 

Conservative religious groups also saw fit to attack Homosexuality: A Film for Discussion shortly after it was released – along with other gay material. When they learned that we were screening the film at secondary schools, they demanded the Education Minister ban screenings. In 1977 a concerned citizen, George Small, organised a petition opposing homosexual law reform in Victoria. He collected 65,000 signatures. This time his targets were the Melbourne Gay Teachers and Students Group; their booklet, Young, Gay and Proud; and three films, Brad (Phillip Noyce, 1977), Jenny (Jan Sharp, 1977) and Homosexuality: A Film For Discussion. Small requested that my film not be screened. The Minister said that as long as speakers from Gay Liberation were invited by teachers then he could not see any problem! Students were always accepting, asking questions with an often-unexpected frankness. I never expected that, 50 years later, Homosexuality: A Film For Discussion would continue to find new audiences. 

Homosexuality: A Film For Discussion (1975 Australia 43 mins)

Dir, Scr, Ed: Barbara Creed Phot: Martin Bartfeld, Jan van Bommel, Alison Tilson Sound: Annette Blonski

Cast: Simeon Kronenberg, Ross Moore, Anne Houlihan, Gael Waldron, Nanette Creed, Val Moore

Endnotes