Features Elton John, Ian McKellen, Stephen Fry & George Carey
Documentary chronicles Peter Tatchell’s 54 years of LGBT+ and other human rights campaigning
London, UK – 25 October 2021
The international cinema premiere of Hating Peter Tatchell is next Sunday 31 October at the May Fair Hotel in London – a Gala Night that is part of the Raindance Film Festival, with guest of honour Stephen Fry, who features in the film.
There will be a Q and A with Peter Tatchell after the screening.
Executive produced by Elton John and David Furnish, and directed by Christopher Amos, this major new documentary is about London-based, activist Peter Tatchell and his 54 years of LGBT+ and other human rights campaigning.
Watch the trailer: www.TatchellMovie.com
To watch the full film for review: contact Tracey Mair for the screener link and password: [email protected]
Media resources: https://www.tatchellmovie.com/mediacentre
For a press pass to attend the 31 October Gala, please contact the Raindance press office: [email protected]
Made by WildBear Entertainment in Australia, Hating Peter Tatchell is the powerful and inspiring true story of the controversial campaigner whose protests rocked the Establishment, revolutionised attitudes and laws on homosexuality, and exposed tyrants and injustices across the world.
It invites audiences to discover how this Australian-born activist went from being the “most hated man in Britain” to a “national treasure.”
Featuring rare archive and an intimate conversation between Peter and celebrated actor Ian McKellen, there are also evocative interviews with his Australian mother, the former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, actor Stephen Fry, the ex-head of the LGBT+ group Stonewall Angela Mason, 1970s pop star Tom Robinson, the world’s first openly gay cabinet minister Chris Smith, and photo journalist Adrian Arbib who reported on some of Peter’s best-known protests.
It follows Peter Tatchell’s childhood life and influences in Melbourne, Australia, including his involvement in the movement against the Vietnam War and the draft in the 1960s.
The film shadows him as he embarks on his bid to protest at the FIFA World Cup in Moscow in 2018, to draw attention to the persecution of LGBT+ people in Russia and Chechnya. We witness his arrest near Red Square and the Kremlin.
Hating Peter Tatchell also includes Peter’s confrontations with Mike Tyson (2002) and Robert Mugabe (1999 and 2001), his Bermondsey by-election bid for parliament in 1983 (the most homophobic election in British history), staging the first LGBT+ protest in a communist country (East Germany 1973), and his Easter Sunday protest in Canterbury Cathedral in 1998 against the anti-gay policies of the then leader of the global Anglican church, Archbishop George Carey.
Peter’s campaign record includes 3,000 non-violent protests, 100 arrests, 300 violent assaults, 50 attacks on his flat, half a dozen plots to kill him and thousands of death threats.
Peter Tatchell said:
“I collaborated with the film because I wanted to show that social change is possible and how to do it. I hope it will inspire a new generation of change-makers. It is a snapshot of my thousands of protests and campaigns over the last five decades, since the late 1960s. I’ve done my bit, as have many others. Together, we’ve changed laws and attitudes on LGBT+ issues.”
Director Christopher Amos added:
“I’ve tried to document how Peter has often spoken out on controversial human rights issues when others have stayed silent. The film reveals him as a shining example of how one person truly can make the world a better place.”
Some of the buzz around the film includes:
Sir Ian McKellen – “I hope it’s obvious how much I admire his tireless work on behalf of us all.”
Elton John & David Furnish – “We were so overwhelmed with emotion. It was fantastic! It’s so compelling – and such a harsh contrast to the disappointing times we are living in. An important cinematic milestone that properly celebrates a true hero.”
Stephen Fry – “It’s magnificent. Truly inspiring. It is one thing to have accumulated so much footage and such fine contributions, but you have put it together with such skill, flair, and brilliance. It tells the story perfectly, without a frame of longueurs or drop in narrative drive.”
Hollywood Insider – “Hating Peter Tatchell’ is an absolutely gripping documentary that had me wrapped into the life of the charismatic Peter Tatchell and his commendable and important cause instantly.”
The film’s producer, Veronica Fury, commented:
“Hating Peter Tatchell has been a terrific team effort and we are thrilled to have had the support of Sir Elton John and David Furnish as part of that team, as well as our partners at Screen Australia, Screen Queensland, the Melbourne International Film Festival and Netflix. We are proud to have produced this very topical and resonant feature doc about a truly inspiring man.”
Hating Peter Tatchell received principal production investment from Screen Australia in association with WildBear Entertainment and was financed with support from the Melbourne International Film Festival Premiere Fund and Screen Queensland.