Birds of the Borderlands
- Director: Jordan Bryon
- Producer: Jordan Bryon
CGiii Comment
If ever there was a 'film' that will make you scream at the screen...then, this is it...for all the wrong reasons!
Jordan Bryon, a stranger in a strange land, interferes...to such a degree that irresponsibility rings out, loud and clear. Buying hormones for a kid is...most definitely, out of order, if not criminal!
Transference is problematic at the best of times...but, when it occurs across the cultural divide, it becomes dangerous...as is the case here.
Sometimes [read that as: ALL THE TIME], a [credible] filmmaker [has] needs to be aware of their subjects' motivation. Sometimes, they [the subjects] will say what the filmmaker wants them to say. Sometimes, they do what the filmmaker wants them to do. But...when sex is involved [masquerading as love]...that's when the hammer falls...smashing credibility to pieces.
There is no fine line between documentarian and diarist...one takes talent, the other relies on indulgence. Jordan Bryon is a diarist and, as a rule of thumb, diaries should not be shared.
Trailer...
Birds of the Borderlands TRAILER from Jordan Bryon on Vimeo.
The(ir) Blurb...
Genderqueer Australian filmmaker Jordan Bryon’s intense and compelling piece of guerrilla filmmaking powerfully illuminates four queer Arab stories.
Jordanian teenager Hiba is transitioning in secret, fearful of being killed by her Bedouin tribe. Gay Iraqi refugee Youssef fled Baghdad after his boyfriend was murdered and is living in limbo in Bryon’s safe house in Amman. Lesbian feminist Rasha hides her sexuality and her relationship with Bryon from her family while striving for LGBTIQ visibility. Khalaf, a gay Imam turned activist, lives a lonely life in Beirut while waiting for asylum in Canada.
As Bryon becomes more entangled in the struggles of these ‘birds of the borderlands’ - blurring the lines between lover, friend, filmmaker, and activist – tensions explode and a dangerous crisis emerges.