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Gay Chorus Deep South

Country: USA, Language: English, 100 mins

Gay | Documentary | 2019

Director: David Charles
Writer: David Charles; Jeff Seymann Gilbert
Producer: Jesse Moss

CGiii Comment

This is not going to go down well...this much-praised/much-loved/do-not-dare-criticise documentary is an affront. Tim Seelig makes his case early on...why is the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus singing religious music? To win the hearts and change the minds of those hardcore, those unturnable worms, the [un]Christian[-like] fundamentalists. What planet are you on!?! Planet catharsis, it would seem. For Mr Seelig is an expunged Baptist.

Good intentions are not always interpreted in the same way as the 'good intenders' intended them to be! Watching this film is a mixed bag of emotions...there's a strange arrogance to it all, accompanied by great big dollops of disillusionment...and, the [obvious] playing-to-the-camera is an absurdity we can all do without. One disgruntled Southern [gay] chap made no bones about his 'issues' with the Chorus coming [uninvited] to the South...his case is - most definitely - food for [considerable and considered] thought.

On the other hand, as many have said, this is up-lifting, heart-warming stuff. Praise be! But...dancing to 'their' tune did not warm the cockles of this old, cold, cynical heart.

Trailer...

The(ir) Blurb...

To confront a resurgence of faith-based anti-LGBTQ laws brought about in the Trump era, Conductor Tim Seelig leads 300 singers of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus on a bus tour of the deep south, showcasing fine music, confronting political and religious intolerance, and challenging his own troubled past with the church. Joined by the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, they bring a message of music, love, and acceptance to communities often on the frontlines against intolerance.

The roadtrip forces Seelig and a handful of other Chorus members who fled the south to confront their own fears, pain, and prejudices on a journey towards reconciliation. In a time of great divide in this country, director David Charles reveals a timely, relevant, and musical exploration of LGBT issues that both challenges and reinforces notions surrounding the South.

—Dan Hunt