MIFF – HATING PETER TATCHELL

Presented by Sir Ian McKellen and co–executive-produced by Elton John, this unflinching portrait reveals a human rights activist at once revered and notorious.

With five decades of activism under his belt – campaigning for gay liberation, the environment and against war, and taking on the likes of Margaret Thatcher and Robert Mugabe – Melbourne-born Peter Tatchell has admirers the world over. But others criticise his incendiary and confrontational methods. Today, he continues his fight for equality, though his commitment to justice has not been without its physical and emotional tolls.

From producers Veronica Fury (Electric Boogaloo, MIFF Premiere Fund 2014) and Lee Matthews (Emo the Musical, MIFF Premiere Fund 2016) and debut feature director Christopher Amos comes this biographical account chronicling Tatchell’s ascension from budding lobbyist to agitator extraordinaire. As sensitive as it is expansive, Hating Peter Tatchell interweaves archival and media footage, newly-shot on-the-ground visuals, and myriad talking heads, from actor Stephen Fry and former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey to members of OutRage! and the Gay Liberation Front. Propelled by forthright, sometimes indicting recollections from Tatchell himself, this MIFF Premiere Fund–supported film shows that change-making is difficult work – and that beneath even the most fearless warrior is a fragile human heart.