Chair's Screening - The Case Against 8

"Grips from start to finish … a stirring civil rights film that is both cogent and emotionally charged." – Hollywood Reporter

This riveting documentary follows the historic case to overturn California’s ban on same-sex marriage; a journey that took five years of setbacks and victories, ending up at the Supreme Court in Washington.

Told from the perspective of the two couples selected as plaintiffs, and from that of their legal team – the previously combative "Odd Couple" pair of US Solicitor General under George W Bush, Republican Ted Olson, and his opposing counsel in the Supreme Court Bush v. Gore trial, Democrat David Boies – The Case Against 8 won the Best Director, US Documentary prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival for its rare, behind-the-scenes insight into a major legal case, as well as the intense pressure the plaintiffs endured being ‘the face of gay marriage’.

"An emotional tour of history in the making." – Indiewire

Tickets to this event include film, panel discussion and post-screening drinks. Please arrive at 6.45pm for a 7pm start.

Panel Moderator

Colin Batrouney (Victorian AIDS Council)

Director, Health Promotion, Policy and Communications, Victorian AIDS Council/Gay Men's Health Centre (VAC/GMHC). From 2001 until 2013 Colin Batrouney was the Manager of Health Promotion at VAC/GMHC. In 2013 he assumed the position of Director, Health Promotion, Policy and Communications at VAC. He is also an accomplished writer, actor and director.

Panel

Dennis Altman (academic and gay rights activist)

Dennis Altman AM is Professorial Fellow in Human Security at La Trobe University, and has written and advoctade around AIDS since the beginning of the epidemic. He is a former President of the AIDS Society of Asia and the Pacific, and member of the Governing Council of the IAS. His first book, Homosexual: Oppression & Liberation was republished in 2102, followed by his most recent work, The End of the Homosexual? UQP. He has also written eleven other books, including Global Sex and Power & Community.

Anna Brown (Human Rights Law Centre)

Anna Brown is Director of Advocacy & Strategic Litigation at the Human Rights Law Centre and Co-Convener of the Victorian Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby. She works on law reform campaigns and litigation on a LGBTI rights, including representing Australian Marriage Equality in last year's High Court case considering the validity of the ACT Same-Sex Marriage Act 2013, campaigning for federal discrimination protections and expunging historical convictions for gay sex offences. Anna is also national spokesperson for the ground-breaking ‘No To Homophobia' campaign.

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