Black Beulahs (2006)

Beulah: [Gayle -- South African Gay Slang] n. Beautiful man or boy a. Beautiful. Attractive. 'Black Beulahs' is quite simply a documentary film about being black and gay in the South African Township of Soweto. It tells this story through the lives of three completely different men with the common factor that they all have their roots in Soweto - and are also friends. Somizi is a television personality, actor, choreographer and the creator of the drag persona, Madam Gigi. Chix is a body builder that is involved with a woman but still indulges his fantasies with men on a regular basis. DK is a respected middle-aged businessman in the funeral industry and pillar of the community who is also gay. They've defied societal expectations to live their lives as they see fit. The story is narrated by the director, Fanney Tsimong, who also sees this film as a personal journey of his own experiences as a gay man in Meadowlands, Soweto. He knows all of the subjects personally and is thus able to bring a certain amount of personal understanding, but also a certain kind of objectivity to the film that make it so unique. It is a revealing portrait of the three people intersecting with changing sexual values and a community struggling with the reality of homosexuality in its midst. This is an engrossing and remarkable addition to the depiction of gay experiences in South Africa. Black Beulahs has been well received at everywhere it has been screened - these include festivals in the United States, in Europe and in South Africa. Screening venues were filled to capacity when it was shown at the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and at Out In Africa - South Africa's LGBT film festival. And is still being requested by Film Festivals all over the world.