PPC and Free Community Church present Free To Be You

Event: PPC and Free Community Church present Free To Be You
Date: 26 June 2010 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Cost per person: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger foods)
RSVP: This event is by invitation only.
As there are LIMITED seats, prior registration is required.
To get an invitation - please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com]
with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests.

-----------
Free To Be You - Free to be a gay Christian youth.

The youths of the Free Community Church will be sharing their experience as gay Christian youths struggling and journeying with God through music, stand up comedy, personal stories and sharing.

If you're a gay Christian youth struggling with your faith and sexuality or if you're simply curious about what it's like, then this event is for you. Come, listen and share with us your problems and experiences.

About the Free Community Church:
http://www.freecomchurch.org/

Missed April's Event? Catch the Snippets Here!

Hi everyone

If you missed April's event with Otto Fong, you can catch a snippet here!

UPDATE! Another snippet here!

See you at PPC soon!

Event - Otto Fong's "Who Is Standing Between Me and My Big Gay Heaven?"

Event - Otto Fong's "Who Is Standing Between Me and My Big Gay Heaven?"

17 of April 2010 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE presents

Otto Fong's "Who Is Standing Between Me and My Big Gay Heaven?"

Details at a Glance
Date: 17 April 2010 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Cost per person: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)

RSVP: This event is by invitation only.
As there are LIMITED seats, prior registration is required.
To get an invitation - please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests.

---

Who Is Standing Between Me and My Big Gay Heaven?

I've been an openly-gay man since September 2007.

I came out because I saw that carrying the closet with me for 30 years did not give me the life I wanted.

I want a career in comic book creation.

I want to live in a country as cool as South Korea or Japan.

I want my family and my partner's family to know each other!

And I want a dog!

But dang! Those homophobes are so in my way!

They stood there like a herd of medieval warriors and said my kind of sex should be illegal!

In the two years that I have been openly-gay, I explored the world outside the closet. Would you like to know what's out there?

Come join us on the 17th of April at PPC!

Event - HIV: A Volunteer's Journey

Event - HIV: A Volunteer's Journey

27 of March 2010 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

"HIV: A Volunteer's Journey"

Details at a Glance
Date: 27 March 2010 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Cost per person: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)

RSVP: This event is by invitation only.
As there are LIMITED seats, prior registration is required.
To get an invitation - please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests.

---

HIV: A Volunteer's Journey

You may know that HIV is now generally considered a chronic disease by the medical establishment. With Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART), having HIV is no longer considered a death sentence. In fact, if you look at the ads for HAART in men's magazines, you would usually see a couple of buffed, good-looking men enjoying life.

Some are saying that these are part of the reason/s more people are not using condoms.

"New infections in Singapore, with a population of 4.6million, rose to 456 in 2008 from 242 in 2003" - Health Ministry statistics.

"The numbers they announced are probably much lower than the numbers they have" - Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine for her discovery of the virus that causes AIDS.

"I have seen too many AIDS patients die. Most die alone. There is no warmth, no care for them. They are not ready to die - you see it in their eyes. I told myself I had to do something worthwhile for myself and for the cause - to clear the path for future patients, so they will not die like that." - Paddy Chew (March 29, 1960 to August 2, 1999), the first Singaporean to come out as having HIV/AIDS.

About the Speaker:

Gwo Yinn trained as a Civil Engineer and now works as a Workplace Safety and Health Officer on construction sites. He has been a volunteer in the community since 2005, amongst which are Assisi Hospice, Action for Aids, Oogachaga and Pelangi Pride Centre.

During the session, he will share with you his journey of volunteering in the field of HIV/AIDS. In the process, he hopes that you will gain a new understanding of what a person with HIV has to deal with everyday in terms of acceptance, disclosure, school and work, health and leisure.

Event - Coming Home: Discussions from Abroad

6 of February 2010 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

"Coming Home: Discussions from Abroad"

Details at a Glance
Date: 6 February 2010 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Cost per person: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)

RSVP: This event is by invitation only.
As there are LIMITED seats, prior registration is required.
To get an invitation - please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests.

---

Coming Home: Discussions from Abroad

To discuss the experiences of people who have gone abroad and come back to Singapore. Unscripted and unrehearsed, come listen and share in the experiences of gay Singaporeans who have seen the other side of the fence and have decided to come home. What are their feelings about coming home?

Where is home? Is it tied to a physical location?

What is home? How do you define it?

Why do you call Singapore home?

Can you be an openly gay person in Singapore?

Who should attend this event?

Those who have always wondered what is it like on the other side of the fence and adjustments, differences and experiences of those who have lived aboard. Those that are in transition, those that have gone abroad and back and those that are still searching for the meaning of home.

Panel Members

Leow Yangfa graduated after 3 years of study at Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom. Since returning to Singapore in 1999, he has been working & volunteering in the social services sector. He is also a proud uncle to 5 princesses who were born in 3 different countries.

Aaron Ho is a PhD candidate and studied under Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick. He taught at Queens College, City University of New York and is published in _Genders_ and _General Themes in Literature_ (forthcoming). He is interested in Darwinism, film studies, Victorian literature, Singapore gay history, queer theories and men.

Nicholas Deroose is currently a Journalism Junior at Temple Univeristy Philadelphia and is about to head off for a semester in Shanghai where he will no doubt have a fabulous time.

Leona Lo
Amazing transgender activist

Event - 11 days North East Thailand with 3 gay men and 2 lesbians

30 of January 2010 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

Pelangi Pride Centre presents - "11 days North East Thailand with 3 gay men and 2 lesbians"

Details at a Glance
Date: 30 January 2010 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Cost per person: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)

RSVP: This event is by invitation only.
As there are LIMITED seats, prior registration is required.
To get an invitation - please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests.

---

11 days North East Thailand with 3 gay men and 2 lesbians

You may think that after seeing Angkor Wat and Borobudur, there are no more ancient cities to top them. Well you are wrong. You need to go to Esaan.

*Descending the 15 naga stairways towards the prang of Phanom Rung
*Finding 500bahts in toilet of a restaurant run by sistas in Phimai
*Noodle soup next to ancient ruins of Lopburi
*Getting lost within a banyan tree in Sai Ngam
*Dancing amongst sunflowers in the plains of Khao Jeen Lae
*Phad thai, pink century eggs, kai yeang and khao niaow on the night train up north.
*The white temple and golden toilets of Chiangrai's Wat Rong Khun
*Checking out a temple of silver in Wualai Road
*Learning how to cook a vegetarian feast from Mai Kaidee
*And singing My Way in a karaoke bear bar in Bangkok


At the end of last year, 5 guys and girls scooted off to Bangkok and spent the next 11 days exploring the North East Thailand, aka Esaan, a land of rich history and human poverty. Yeah, it was rough at times trying to sleep on public buses and trains. Sometimes, you even have to yell at fellow backpackers to "Knock it off!!" In a harsh land of dry infertile soil, people descended
from the Khmers still try to eke a living there; while sending their children overseas for a better life as unskilled migrant workers. And a most heartwarming surprise was discovering how transgender people are so well accepted in the rural society.

Getting out of the 1000baht per night comfort zone meant sleeping in quaint guesthouses, learning to wait for the bus, getting to eat street hawker food in night markets, meeting the friendly locals, contributing to local economy at the most direct level; and looking out for by including each other into your personal space.

Of course, when you put 3 gay men and 2 lesbians together for 11 days & 10 nights, you will get a lot of talk of size, shapes, curves, colour, hair, chubs, monks, sistas, mei nu ........ which will be featured.

Come and see for yourself what a great time we had!

To Live is Better Than to Die

12 of December 2009 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

In Commemoration of World AIDS Day, Pelangi Pride Centre presents - "To Live is Better Than to Die"

Details at a Glance
Date: 12 December 2009 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Cost per person: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)

RSVP: This event is by invitation only.
As there are LIMITED seats, prior registration is required.
To get an invitation - please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests.

---

To Live is Better Than to Die

While the AIDS epidemic began to gradually subside in the West in the 1990s, it tragically exploded in many other parts of the world. At the dawn of the 21st century, the village of Wenlou in Henan province, Central China was especially hard hit, with 60 percent of its people testing positive for the HIV virus, largely due to faulty preventative measures taken during the government-directed blood drives.

Chinese documentary filmmaker, Chen Weijun spent a year living with a family in Wenlou who were struggling with the onslaught of the disease -- only one member of the household has been spared from HIV. To Live is Better Than to Die is a document not only of their battle with AIDS but also their resolve to make the most of their lives.

http://www.allmovie .com/work/ to-live-is- better-than- to-die-280939

There Is No Name for This

18 of July 2009 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

Pelangi Pride Centre presents - "There Is No Name For This"

Details at a Glance
Date: 18 July 2009 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Cost per person: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)

RSVP: This event is by invitation only.
As there are LIMITED seats, prior registration is required.
To get an invitation - please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests.

Note: Thanks to Miak for making this event possible!

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There is no Name for This

There is No Name For This explores the joys and difficulties of coming out across cultural and language barriers among Chinese and Chinese-American lesbians, gays and bisexuals. The first video to examine the lack of vocabulary to explain issues of identity in Chinese languages, There is No Name For This introduces 21 individuals in various stages of coming out and how their family and friends have responded to them.

Dir. Ming-Yuen S. Ma, Cianna P. Stewart and Jessica Yu.
Running time: 49 minutes.
Prod. Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center.

Saturday, 13 June 09: Screening - Coming Out, Coming Home

13 of June 2009 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

Pelangi Pride Centre presents - "Coming Out, Coming Home"

Details at a Glance
Date: 13 June 2009 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Cost per person: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)
RSVP: This event is by invitation only.
As there are LIMITED seats, prior registration is required.
For an invite - please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests.

Note: Thanks to Miak for making this event possible!

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Coming Out, Coming Home

Asian & Pacific Islander Family Stories, a 44-minute color video featuring interviews of one Filipino and three Chinese families and a dialogue among parents of these gay children. Speaking in English, the families talk about shame, grief, love, growth, the importance of family and how they handled their conflicts around homosexuality.

Saturday, 4 April 09: Screening - A Very British Sex Scandal

4 of April 2009 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

Pelangi Pride Centre presents - "A Very British Sex Scandal"

Details at a Glance
Date: 4 April 2009 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Cost per person: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)
RSVP: This event is by invitation only.
As there are LIMITED seats, prior registration is required.
For an invite - please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests.

---

A Very British Sex Scandal
See also: Review in Chinese from Fridae 汇乐

In January 1954, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, a 28-year-old aristocratic socialite, and his friend Peter Wildeblood, the newly-appointed diplomatic correspondent of The Daily Mail, were arrested after a concerted effort by the police to ensnare them for homosexual offences. The subsequent case scandalised high society, electrified the nation and was to change the course of British history.

Mixing drama with documentary testimony, this moving film re-lives the extraordinary events of the trial and paints a vivid picture of what it was like to be gay in 50s Britain. With contributions from 50s figures including Lord Montagu and veteran gay rights campaigners Allan Horsfall and Michael Brown, the film also dramatises the meetings of the Wolfenden Committee whose landmark recommendations led to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Britain - forty years ago.

Homosexuals persecuted

In the 1950s, relaxed wartime attitudes to sex had begun to tighten and homosexual acts, even if conducted in private, could lead to lengthy jail sentences. Men were persecuted by the police, hounded by the press and faced the threat of blackmail by unscrupulous sexual partners. Amid the paranoia of the Cold War, as many as 1,000 gay men were locked up in Britain's prisons every year.

Where some older gay men discovered a vibrant underworld with pubs and clubs, secret codes and language, and plenty of opportunity for sex, others describe experiences of confusion and isolation. The film's contributors also explain how homosexuality was rarely, if ever, mentioned in public and, if it was suspected, they could find themselves at the mercy of well meaning doctors and psychiatrists, prescribing electric shock therapy or oestrogen tablets in an attempt to cure" them of their 'disease.'

Montagu Trial

During the Montagu trial Peter Wildeblood caused a media sensation by publicly admitting his homosexuality in court. The authorities had got their men, but their prosecution provoked a great wave of sympathy from press and public alike. After the trial reached its sensational climax, it became clear that things had to change. The law was out of step with public opinion which expressed widespread sympathy for the convicted men - Wildeblood, Lord Montagu and Michael Pitt Rivers.

Wolfenden Committee

Wildeblood's determination to raise awareness of the plight of homosexuals resulted in him writing a groundbreaking book, Against the Law. But in 1955 he gave what was, for him, his most important contribution to the debate about homosexuality. His appearance before the Wolfenden Committee defended the rights of homosexuals to a selection of public figures, most of whom knew nothing about the subject. In a pivotal moment in gay history, Wildeblood advocated changes which, although conservative by today's standards, were revolutionary for the time.

Saturday, 14 March 2009: An Afternoon with Loretta Chen

14 of March 2009 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

Pelangi Pride Centre presents - an afternoon with Loretta Chen

Details at a Glance
Date: 14 March 2009 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Cost per person: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)
RSVP: This event is by invitation only.
LIMITED to only 30 pax, prior registration is required.
For an invite - please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests, by 13th Mar 2009.

---

No stranger to controversy and known for her out-and-about bravado (having paved the way to the Repeal 377A campaign after her infamous questions to the Minister Mentor), Artistic Director of Zebra Crossing Productions, Loretta Chen, sheds her usual zany, bubbly demeanour and shares with us her close brush with death, suicide and depression in an intimate, no-holds barred session. She will share her journey to recovery after losing her partner to suicide 7 years ago and will share with you her tips for getting better and stronger every day.

From London to Los Angeles, Loretta has counselled youths and worked with adults through their times of crisis and invites you to an afternoon of casual chatter and friendly camaraderie amongst the comfort and security of people like us.

For more information on Loretta Chen, log on to http://www.loretta-chen.com and http://www.zebracrossing.com.sg/

So do make a date with us March 14 ...... For an invite -please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests.

Saturday, 28 February 09: Documentary Screening - The Times of Harvey Milk (Re-screening)

28 of February 2009 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

Pelangi Pride Centre presents - "THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK" (Re-screening)
( this is not the Gus Van Sant 2008 "Milk")

Due to a technical fault at our previous screening, we will be re-screening "The Times of Harvey Milk".
Our apologies to our friends who came last Saturday - this one's on us. :)
(please do RSVP so that we can add you to our invite list)

Details at a Glance
Date: 28 February 2009 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Cost per person: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)
friends who came last Saturday - this one's on us. :)

RSVP: This event is by invitation only.
LIMITED to only 30 pax, prior registration is required.
For an invite - please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests, by 27th Feb 2009.

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The Times of Harvey Milk

The film was produced after Milk's death using original interviews, exclusive documentary footage, news reports, and archival footage, so that Milk is credited as the lead (posthumously). Other politicians including San Francisco mayor George Moscone (who was assassinated with Milk), and Moscone's successor and now United States Senator Dianne Feinstein appear in archival footage. The movie opens with a tearful Feinstein delivering her announcement to the media that Moscone and Milk had been assassinated by Dan White.

Also featured in the film is then-schoolteacher Tom Ammiano, who has been a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors since 1994, and was recently elected to the California State Assembly.

The film was narrated by Harvey Fierstein with an original score by Mark Isham.

The film was directed by Rob Epstein and produced Richard Schmiechen. Richard Schmiechen died from AIDS several years after the completion of the film.

Saturday, 14 February 09: Documentary Screening - The Times of Harvey Milk

14 of February 2009 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

Screening of "THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK"
( this is not the Gus Van Sant 2008 "Milk")

Details at a Glance
Date: 14 February 2009 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Cost per person: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)

RSVP: This event is by invitation only.
LIMITED to only 30 pax, prior registration is required.
For an invite - please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests, by 13th Feb 2009.

---

The Times of Harvey Milk

The film was produced after Milk's death using original interviews, exclusive documentary footage, news reports, and archival footage, so that Milk is credited as the lead (posthumously). Other politicians including San Francisco mayor George Moscone (who was assassinated with Milk), and Moscone's successor and now United States Senator Dianne Feinstein appear in archival footage. The movie opens with a tearful Feinstein delivering her announcement to the media that Moscone and Milk had been assassinated by Dan White.

Also featured in the film is then-schoolteacher Tom Ammiano, who has been a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors since 1994, and was recently elected to the California State Assembly.

The film was narrated by Harvey Fierstein with an original score by Mark Isham.

The film was directed by Rob Epstein and produced Richard Schmiechen. Richard Schmiechen died from AIDS several years after the completion of the film.

Saturday, 10 January 09: Documentary Screening - This Film Is Not Yet Rated

10 of January 2009 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

Screening of "THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED"


Details at a Glance
Date: 10 January 2009 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Cost per person: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)

RSVP: This event is by invitation only.
LIMITED to only 30 pax, prior registration is required.
For an invite - please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com]with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests, by 8th Jan 2009.

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This Film Is Not Yet Rated

This Film Is Not Yet Rated is an independent documentary film about the Motion Picture Association of America's rating system and its effect on American culture, directed by Kirby Dick and produced by Eddie Schmidt. It premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and was released limited on September 1, 2006. The Independent Film Channel, the film's producer, aired the film later that year.

The MPAA gave the original cut of the film an NC-17 rating for "some graphic sexual content" - scenes that illustrated the content a film could include to garner an NC-17 rating. Kirby Dick appealed, and descriptions of the ratings deliberations and appeal were included in the documentary. The new version of the film is not rated.

The film discusses disparities the filmmaker sees in ratings and feedback: between Hollywood and independent films, between homosexual and heterosexual sexual situations, between male and female sexual depictions, and between violence and sexual content.

Themes and discussion
Much of the film's press coverage was devoted to Dick and his crew's use of a private investigator to unmask the identities of the ratings and appeals board members.

Other revelations in the film include: the discovery that many ratings board members either have children 18 and over or have no children at all (typically, the MPAA has suggested it hires only parents with children between the ages of 5 and 17); that the board seems to treat homosexual material much more harshly than heterosexual material (this assertion is supported by an MPAA spokesperson's statement in USA Today that "We don't create standards; we just follow them"); that the board's raters receive no training and are deliberately chosen because of their lack of expertise in media literacy or child development; that senior raters have direct contact in the form of required meetings with studio personnel after movie screenings; and that the MPAA's appeals board is just as secretive as the ratings board, its members being mostly movie theater chain and studio executives. Also included on the appeals board are two members of the clergy (one Catholic and one Episcopalian, who may or may not have voting power).

Prior to Sundance, the film sparked initial press interest when it was handed an NC-17 rating by the MPAA for "some graphic sexual content." When it premiered at Sundance, the film's ratings deliberations, along with Kirby Dick's appeal, were included in the documentary. Since the film had changed dramatically from the time of the NC-17 rating, the film cannot be released with an MPAA rating without the film being resubmitted for review.

The film went on to draw crowds at many other festivals, including South by Southwest and the Seattle International Film Festival, and was slated for theatrical release in fall 2006.

more info at - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Film_Is_Not_Yet_Rated

Saturday, 8 November 08: Documentaries Screening - "The Celluloid Closet" and "Sex Change Soldier"

8 of November 2008 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

Screening of "THE CELLULOID CLOSET" and "SEX CHANGE SOLDIER"

Date: 8 November (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre
Cost: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)

RSVP - This event is by invitation only.
LIMITED to only 30 pax, prior registration is required.
For an invite - please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] with your name (in full), contact number, the name/s of your guests.

1) The Celluloid Closet

The film is based on the 1981 (revised 1987) book of the same name written by Vito Russo, and on previous lecture and film clip presentations given in person by Russo 1972-82. Russo researched the history of how motion pictures, especially Hollywood films, had portrayed gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters. It was given a limited release in select theatres, including the Castro Theatre in San Francisco in April 1996, and then shown on cable channel HBO.

The documentary interviews various men and women connected to the Hollywood industry to comment on various film clips and their own personal experiences with the treatment of LGBT characters in film. From the sissy characters, to the censorship of the Hollywood Production Code, the coded gay characters and cruel stereotypes to the progress made in the early 1990s.

Vito Russo wanted his book to be transformed into a documentary film and helped out on the project until he died in 1990. Some critics of the documentary noted that it was less political than the book and ended on a more positive note. However, Russo had wanted the documentary to be entertaining and to reflect the positive changes that had occurred up to 1990.

Directed by Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Produced by Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Written by Vito Russo, Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, Sharon Wood, Armistead Maupin
Starring Lily Tomlin (narrator)
Music by Carter Burwell
Running time 107 min.
Subtitles - Yes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celluloid_Closet

2) Sex Change Soldier
C4's sex change soldier
By DEREK ROBINS
Published: 06 Mar 2008

THE story of the first ever Para to have a sex change is to be told in a Channel 4 documentary.
Sex Change Soldier tells the story of Parachute Regiment Captain Ian Hamilton, 43, who last year had sex change surgery and is now known as Jan.

Before the op Ian was one of the British Army's most decorated officers following service in Iraq, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland and Bosnia.

A C4 spokesman said: "The documentary is an intimate and raw portrait of a remarkable year as the alpha male Para transforms into an ultra-feminine woman.

"He has a more feminine face thanks to facial feminisation surgery, breasts have replaced his pecs and he's had sexual reassignment surgery to become a complete woman.

"Now Jan has more battles to face - to be accepted by her friends and family and the Army - she was not allowed to take up a posting as an Army Media Liaison Officer in Gibraltar and is now taking the Army to an industrial tribunal."

The programme reveals how Ian fought to suppress his feminine side by joining the Army at 18 doing officer training at Sandhurst.

He took a career break to train as a cameraman working in war zones covering the first Gulf War and the Bosnian conflict.

He then rejoined the Paras as a captain fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article884976.ece
http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/C/cutting_edge/sex_change_soldier/index.html

Saturday, 11 October 2008: I Am - Motivational Talk by Leona Lo

11 of October 2008 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

I Am - Motivational Talk by Leona Lo

Pelangi Pride Centre (PPC) Presents - 

An afternoon with Leona Lo, author of "My Sisters, Their Stories" and "From Leonard to Leona - A Singapore Transsexual's Journey to Womanhood."

More about Leona:

Leona's website - http://www.leonalo.com/

Leona's interview with Fridae - http://www.fridae.com/newsfeatures/article.php?articleid=2235&viewarticle=1

Leona's interview with Reuters - http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSSP3059820070925

Date: 11 October 2008 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre (DYMK Bar & Cafe)
Cost: $6 (cost of 2 drinks & finger food)

As this event is by invitation only, prior registration is required. For an invite, please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] to RSVP with your name (in full), contact number and the name/s of your guests.

For more information:
EMAIL: pelangipridecentre [at] yahoo dot com
or visit
URL: http://www.pelangipridecentre.org/
BLOG: http://pelangipridecentre.blogspot.com/

Saturday, 12 July 08: Documentary Screening - The Celluloid Closet

21 of June 2008 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

Screening of "THE CELLULOID CLOSET"

The film is based on the 1981 (revised 1987) book of the same name written by Vito Russo, and on previous lecture and film clip presentations given in person by Russo 1972-82. Russo researched the history of how motion pictures, especially Hollywood films, had portrayed gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters. It was given a limited release in select theatres, including the Castro Theatre in San Francisco in April 1996, and then shown on cable channel HBO.

The documentary interviews various men and women connected to the Hollywood industry to comment on various film clips and their own personal experiences with the treatment of LGBT characters in film. From the sissy characters, to the censorship of the Hollywood Production Code, the coded gay characters and cruel stereotypes to the progress made in the early 1990s.

Vito Russo wanted his book to be transformed into a documentary film and helped out on the project until he died in 1990. Some critics of the documentary noted that it was less political than the book and ended on a more positive note. However, Russo had wanted the documentary to be entertaining and to reflect the positive changes that had occurred up to 1990.

Directed by Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Produced by Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Written by Vito Russo, Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, Sharon Wood, Armistead Maupin
Starring Lily Tomlin (narrator)
Music by Carter Burwell
Running time 107 min.
Subtitles - Yes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celluloid_Closet

As this event is by invitation only, prior registration is required. To sign up, please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] to RSVP with your name, contact number and the name/s of your guests.

Date: 12 July 2008 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre - 54 Rowell Road (in Little India)
Cost: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)

Directions to the new PPC:

Come into Hindoo Road from Jalan Besar. Look for tall HDB block 639 at the end of the road. Corner terrace house with grapevines growing. Come in from the back door.

Saturday, 21 June 08: SafeHaven + PPC presents - For the Bible tells me so

21 of June 2008 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

Screening of "FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO"

Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm separating gays and lesbians and Christianity too wide to cross? Is the Bible an excuse to hate?

Through the experiences of five very normal, very Christian, very American families -- including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson -- we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child. Informed by such respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard's Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and sexual identity.

There will be a discussion moderated by Miak from The Free Community
Church, following the screening.

As this event is by invitation only, prior registration is required. To sign up, please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] to RSVP with your name, contact number and the name/s of your guests.

Date: 21 June 2008 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre - 54 Rowell Road (in Little India)
Cost: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)

Directions to the new PPC:

Come into Hindoo Road from Jalan Besar. Look for tall HDB block 639 at the end of the road. Corner terrace house with grapevines growing. Come in from the back door.

Saturday, 7 June 08: Documentaries Screening- "Dangerous Living" and "Shalom in the home"

7 of June 2008 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

Documentaries screening
"Dangerous Living" and "Shalom in the home"

1) Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World

Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World, is a feature-length documentary that explores the immense changes that occurred for gays, lesbians and transgender people living in the Global South. In the last decade of the 20th Century, a new heightened visibility began spreading throughout the developing world and the battles between families, fundamentalist religions, and governments around sexual and gender identity had begun. But in the West, few people knew about this historic social upheaval, until 52 men on Cairo's Queen Boat discothèque were arrested for crimes of debauchery. That explosive story focused attention to the lives and trials of gay people coming out in the developing world and the film chronicles those events.

Dangerous Living opens with one of the Cairo 52 defendant's, Ashraf Zanati, who was tortured, humiliated, beaten and forced to spend 13 months in prison. His simple, but powerful statement sets out the basic theme for the film: "My sexuality is my own sexuality. It doesn't belong to anybody. Not to my government, not to my brother, my sister, my family. No."

Directed by John Scagliotti and Produced by Janet Baus and Dan Hunt. Executive Producer is Reid Williams. Major sponsor includes The H. van Ameringen Foundation.

2) Shalom in the home

"Shalom in the home" is a series about a Rabbi counselling couples with problems dealing with family life.

This particular episode features a lesbian couple who are having issues with one of their 2 daughters. One of the two mums, her father is a civil-rights lawyer, but could not accept her daughter is lesbian. In order to prove to people that gay people are capable of being good parents, she ended up pushing her own daughter too hard.

Without letting on too much - basically this episode focuses on the effects that a homophobic society have on gay people such that the downstream effects can hurt our own children at the end of the day. (This was shown on CableTV in March 2007)

As this event is by invitation only, prior registration is required. To sign up, please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] to RSVP with your name, contact number and the name/s of your guests.

Date: 7 June 2008 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre - 54 Rowell Road (in Little India)
Cost: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)

Directions to the new PPC:

Come into Hindoo Road from Jalan Besar. Look for tall HDB block 639 at the end of the road. Corner terrace house with grapevines growing. Come in from the back door.

Saturday, 10 May 08: Documentaries Screening- "Trembling before God" and "Rene's Story"

10 of May 2008 @ PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE

Documentaries screening

"Trembling before God" and "Rene's Story"

1) Trembling before God (84mins)
http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Trembling_ Before_G- d

2) Rene's Story (77mins)
Rene, 31, a female-to-male gender reassignment candidate took hormones for years and "passed" as a man for all of his adult life. Married to his high-school sweetheart, Wona, a heterosexual woman, for 12 years, no one would guess Rene was biologically a woman. Living under a veil of secrecy and lies, Rene and Wona's lives seemed fine until someone "outted" the couple at their beloved church and everything they knew was destroyed. The public revelation of Rene's secret starts to unravel his marriage to Wona. Through all of it, Rene continues to hold on to his lifelong obsession to become a biological male and goes
on a cross-country search to find the best transgender surgeon, only to discover that the current surgery options are flawed. At the last minute, Rene finds a surgeon who has created an experimental procedure, which will be seen in THE OPPOSITE SEX for the first time.

As this event is by invitation only, prior registration is required. To sign up, please email [pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com] to RSVP with your name, contact number and the name/s of your guests.

Date: 10 May 2008 (Sat)
Time: 4pm
Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre - 54 Rowell Road (in Little India)
Cost: $6 (cost of 2 soft drinks and finger food)

Directions to the new PPC:

Come into Hindoo Road from Jalan Besar. Look for tall HDB block 639 at the end of the road. Corner terrace house with grapevines growing. Come in from the back door.