Born This Way

Like everywhere else in the world, gays and lesbians in Cameroon also seek refuge in the city. The two young gay men in this film are crazy about Rihanna and Lady Gaga, who has been a gay icon since her hit song ‘Born this way’. But the tolerance Lady Gaga sings about is just a dream for these two young men. In their country, homosexual relations are subject to punishment of up to five years’ imprisonment, andit is almost impossible to come out to your own family. This film describes both what is impossible and what is possible. The filmmakers’ unobtrusive proximity to their protagonists has yielded conversations in which their interlocutors talk about their longing for a love life they are forbidden to have. Alice Nkom is a judge and humanrights activist fighting to protect the rights of gays and lesbians. Thanks to her, there is quiet hope, and little niches can be discerned where there is something like a life thatis not based on self-denial. After class, which documented the situation for homosexuals in Uganda and won a Teddy Award in2012, Born This Way makes it clear that the worldwidestruggle for tolerance and equality still has a long way to go.