Film seminar: 'Born This Way', in presence of activist Yves Yomb (Cameroon)

The ASC is organizing a screening of the Cameroonian film 'Born This Way' in cooperation with Amnesty International's film initiative Movies that Matter. After the screening, activist Yves Yomb will be interviewed by Henrike Florusbosch (Leiden University), to be followed by a Q&A session.

Film: Born this way (82 min.)
Director: Shaun Kadlec
Country: Cameroon
Activist:  Yves Yomb, director of the centre Alternatives Cameroon
 

Like everywhere else in the world, gays and lesbians in Cameroon seek refuge in the city. The two young gay men in this film are crazy about Rihanna and Lady Gaga, who has been a gay icon since her hit song ‘Born This Way’. But the tolerance Lady Gaga sings about is just a dream for them. In their country, homosexual relations are subject to punishments of up to five years in prison, and it is almost impossible to come out even to your own family. This film describes both the impossible and the possible. The filmmakers’ unobtrusive proximity to their protagonists has yielded conversations in which their interlocutors discuss their longing for a love life that they are forbidden to have. Alice Nkom is a lawyer and human-rights activist fighting to protect the rights of gays and lesbians. Thanks to her, there is quiet hope and small niches can be discerned where there is something akin to a life not based upon self-denial. After 'Call Me Kuchu', which documented the situation of homosexuals in Uganda and won a Teddy Award in 2012, 'Born This Way' makes it clear that the worldwide struggle for tolerance and equality still has a long way to go. 

The film focuses on the first centre for HIV patients in Cameroon, namely the Association Alternatives Cameroun (AAC). Run entirely by the LGBT community, it takes care of HIV patients and raises awareness of LGBT rights. Yves Yomb is the director of the centre and is more or less tolerated by the government. During a candid camera scene, Alice Nkom is seen defending a lesbian couple in the Cameroonian countryside, where their practices are compared to acts of pedophiles and rapists. Alice Nkom then takes these women to the ACC after the court process because they are not safe in their own village.

Please note that the Nuclear Security Summit is being held in The Hague on 24 and 25 March and roads around The Hague (including Leiden) may be blocked off. Trains will be running but we advise you to check your travel plans in advance and allow more time than normal to get to the ASC.