Love in Full Colour

You’re at high school. Your school won’t let you bring your same-sex partner to the senior formal.

Question: What do you do?

A. Stay home
B. Go it alone
C. Organise the party of the year – where everyone’s invited

Each year, Melbourne youth organisation Minus18 runs the ‘Same Sex Formal’. It’s for all the young people who’ve missed out on the one rite-of-passage most teenagers take for granted, either because their schools told them they couldn’t bring a same sex partner, or because they didn’t feel comfortable or safe to be there.

Last year, 600 young people turned up. Teenagers Erin and Steph travelled four hours from their country town on the border of New South Wales and Victoria, to get to the formal in Melbourne. It’s the first time they’ve danced the night away in a space where they’ve felt safe to be themselves. And coming from a place where they’re used to hiding and being bullied, this formal is one transformative night.

Erin, Steph and ten other teens from the same sex formal talk about the highs and lows of falling in love, coming out and coming of age. In stark contrast to the love, acceptance and community they discover at the formal, many also recall the discrimination, rejection and isolation they face in their daily lives.

At a point in time when the equal marriage debate rages around the world, and in a country where LGBT people have the highest rates of suicidality of any other population, this film explores what’s really at stake for our LGBT youth. It also sheds light on the positive people, places and events – like the same sex formal - that are changing lives.

Trailer...

Trailer: Love in full colour from Suzi Taylor on Vimeo.