We have recently reviewed an extremely touching and interesting documentary film, Misfits, made by the talented Danish director Jannik Splidsboel.
Misfits debuted at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year and follows three young members of the LGBT community in Tulsa, as they find their paths in a society which is vastly being hostile towards them.
Intrigued by this film, and willing to know more about its director, we managed to interview him, making it possible to really understand the man behind this important project.
– Why did you decide to make this documentary film? What is the purpose behind it?
I suffered from bullying when I was a kid – because of my sexuality – and I think we all can relate to the feeling of self hate and isolation. The idea that I’m the only one in the world feeling this way is still quite common. So I wanted to do a film about kids taking a stand against homophobia and bullying, even though they would suffer consequences.
Then I read an article about a tiny LGBT Youth Center (OpenArms Youth Project) squeezed in between two churches in Tulsa, Oklahoma, also known as The Buckle of the Bible Belt. And it made me curious how kids between 13 and 17 find the power and courage to be themselves in a rigid and conservative environment. OYP in Tulsa seemed a perfect setting for my film.
– What was the most touching moment and what kind of feelings did you experience while filming?
I definitely left a piece of my heart in Tulsa. It was a great experience, full of hope and love, even though some of the stories I heard from the kids were absolutely horrifying. I believe the film has been an eye opener to the characters in the film; it certainly helped for instance Ben and his family to reconcile. Basically I was one way or another reliving my teenage years during the shoot.
– In your opinion, what brings some Christians to such fundamentalist beliefs? And why are these beliefs so strong?
I think people generally are afraid of what they don’t understand and unfortunately the answer is often violent. Religion is an excuse to act in a homophobic way, and as a believer you’re told it’s perfectly OK.
– There is a so-called Bible Belt even in Denmark. What kinds of similarities (and differences) occur between the Danish one and the American one? Do you think it might be easier, for the Danish Lgbt youth, to live in that area (in terms of government support/society’s attitude towards them), in comparison to the American one?
I did think of shooting the film in Denmark, before I found OYP in Tulsa, but the “Bible Belt” in Denmark is very small and quite closed and is definitely a minority, where as the physical and mental presence of religion in Tulsa is massive. Think of more than 2000 churches against 400.000 inhabitants. That’s huge. In Oklahoma you have absolutely no rights as long as you’re under 18 and your parents can send you away to an institution where they bash the homosexuality out of you. And it’s done in God’s name. That would not be permitted in Denmark for instance. Also you don’t learn about sex and different sexualities in public schools in Oklahoma. That’s one of the many things OYP provide: sexual education.
After the film premiered in Denmark, I was contacted by different LGBT people (mostly gay men), who suffered being brought up in extreme religious environments. And all of them had had to break completely with their families in order to live their lives and to be who they are. So intolerance is everywhere.
– Do you think discrimination and homo/transphobia are ever going to stop?
Unfortunately I don’t think it will stop in a near future. Take Russia as an example: being LGBT person there is a daily struggle and they invent the most absurd laws to stress and “punish” homo-and transsexuals. It’s all a power trip. The only thing we can do is to fight back in a peaceful way, and it does work sometimes. When Barilla came up with a homophobic statement, the LGBT community (and not only) stopped buying Barilla products. And the CEO had to withdraw his unfortunate comment. That’s one way we can fight back. By being present: everywhere and always.
– What did you learn, from this experience?
A lot of people are not really homophobic, they simply don’t know what it is to be gay. And hopefully a film like MISFITS can help demystifying that. But we in the LGBT communities also have to be more open, we need to talk, to address parents, families, friends… If we hide, how can we change the way the rest of the world sees us?
– What kind of topics would you like to cover, in your future documentaries?
I somehow always pick subjects about people not fitting in… Maybe my films are about myself in the end… I’m working on a couple of documentary projects and I’m in production with a feature film, where both main characters are gay, but it’s not an issue in the story.
And that’s’ veeeery difficult to explain to a heterosexual distributor/producer: if the main characters don’t have a problem with being gay, then why make them gay?
To write in a LGBT character in a feature film, that person needs to have a personal problem or just being weird. Preferably both.
So we still have a long way.
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Full of hopes, along with a sharp dose of reality, we strongly believe Jannik’s work is necessary in order to shorten that ‘long way’to equality, and that he is absolutely right when he says ‘we can fight back by being present’ (and he surely is).
We need to be present, whether we are members of the LGBT community or not: minorities need support.
Last but not least: If you are interested in Jannik’s films and want to learn more, we advice to take a look at his latest project, which is going to partially take place both in Denmark and Italy!
