Event

'The Abominable Crime' Screens at University of Alberta

Maurice Tomlinson (left) and Simone Edwards (right) at Movies that Matter Film Festival. Tomlinson and Edwards are the two main characters in "The Abominable Crime." Image by Micah Fink. The Netherlands. 2015.

Thursday, March 10, 2016 - 05:00pm EST (GMT -0500)

The Abominable Crime screens at the University of Alberta Law Center on Thursday, March 10, 2016. Human rights lawyer Maurice Tomlinson, one of the main characters in the documentary, will be involved in a "talk-back session" as part of the screening.

The film explores the culture of homophobia in Jamaica through the eyes of gay Jamaicans who are forced to choose between their homeland and their lives. More than three years after its release, the film is increasingly having significant impact on discussions of homophobia in Jamaica, helped in part by the strong cultural tailwinds created by the U.S. Supreme Court decision on the legalization of gay marriage. It is also being widely used as a community engagement tool in Jamaica and around the world.

The film has been accepted into 24 film festivals, won five major awards, is translated into three languages and has been broadcast nationally in the United States and in Belize, a country currently struggling to address its legacy of anti-gay laws inherited from its colonial past. The film is able to be downloaded or rented from iTunes, Hulu, Amazon, YouTube and Vudu. In 2014, the film won Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival's inaugural Amnesty International Human Rights Prize for a Caribbean film that best highlights a human rights issue.

This screening was made possible with support from www.moviesthatmatter.nl

Screening at University of Alberta
Thursday, March 10, 2016
5:00 PM
University of Alberta Law Center
Room 197
111 Street & 89 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada