I wanted to remind everyone of the UKs Channel 4 documentary about eunuchs, which (if I remember!) will be aired on Channel 4 on the 3rd of April 2007 and 10pm!
I was lucky enough to spend some time with Danny, and be interviewed. From all the people I've spoken to... this documentary sounds like an accurate and fair portrayal of our community. (Though I have not seen it myself just yet!)
I wanted to introduce this thread for feedback and comments - both before and after - the airing of the documentary itself...possibly to hear from other people involved, your ideas or opinions. And I especially wanted to take this opportunity to thank Form Media for their delicacy and handling of the whole affair, and for taking great care of me.
Since the filming, there has been some media interest and Form Media were kind enough to provide a publicist to help deal with further interactions with journalists and reporters.
I'm sorry for not posting as regularly as I used to; lately I've had a really busy schedule with jobs and life seeming to constantly get in the way! But I really hope this documentary will be something that will help leave a positive impression on people. And it's possible that there will be further articles on our community in newspapers and magazines in the coming weeks. I hope each of these articles goes some way to raising awareness and that they all have a positive outcome.
Other than this, I have only prayers. Which - for a relatively unreligious person - is probably a bad sign! LOL
I received an email from Danny Horan (the director of the documentary) this morning. He informed me that negotiations are underway for it to be aired on one of the U.S. networks. He said that he'll let me know when he has more details.
I know that I will be very interested to read reactions from those of you in the U.K. as soon as you've had a chance to see the one-hour documentary on voluntary eunuchs.
Thefraj did not add that he already has two interviews (that I know about) scheduled one with a major women's magazine, the other with a daily newspaper. Voluntary eunuchs should be very much in the news after Tuesday, April 3.
So much for Tanya's/Forum Media's assurances it wouldn't be broadcast in the US.
As nice as Tanya is, I knew there was no way that I could be assured that I would not be seen in the US regarding this piece. That is the reason I didn't contribute beyond providing background information about the community.
That said, I do hope it ends up being different than all the rest.
Uncle Flo (imported) wrote: Wed Mar 28, 2007 5:50 pm
Look on: iddistribution.tv Click on: producers ; Click on: Form media. Then on the right side of the page Click on: Make Me a Eunuch. --FLO--
I went to "www.iddistribution.tv" & it said it was a bad url. Can you double check this please?
What's the name of the actual Documentary? I don't know about other towns, but here in Pittsburgh, Pa. there is at least one BBC cable channel that plays British Television 24 hours a day. I've only watched a Beatles and Rolling Stones documentary on it so far, oh, and a sit down with Elton John, so I don't know what all it does play. But it seems to be a documentary oriented channel from what little I've seen of it. Perhaps it will be shown there?
It's Danny here, the director of the film 'Eunuchs' (its broadcast title here in the UK). I was planning to post something to tell everyone the documentary is on here, but thefraj beat me to it!
Unsurprisingly there's already lots of speculation about the film, both on this site and in the press here in the UK.
I wanted to post primarily to say thank you to everyone who helped us make the film - everyone from IEunuch et al for allowing us to post on this site, Jesus for his remarkable insight into the community and putting us in touch with many people and the Archive members who we were in email/ phone contact and helped us in our research. We absolutely couldn't have done it without everyone's help. But I can't thank the people who took part in the film enough - thefraj, Z, Bill, Shawn and Rick. Without their incredible honesty and trust I couldn't have made what I hope is a truthful portrayal of what life is like for a voluntary eunuch. I also couldn't have made the film without the dedicated team I had - who some of you will have met/ spoken to/ been in contact with - Tanya and Rachel did an incredible job contacting as many people as possible, gaining trust and getting an understanding of voluntary castration.
I'm very pleased with the film we've made about eunuchs and feel it is fair, sensitive and an accurate portrayal of the community, in its current form. I hope you will feel the same, especially those that took part. What I hope sets my film apart from previous ones is more context, more depth and more understanding. I didn't film anyone in the shadows so to speak, everyone speaks incredibly openly and bravely by appearing on-screen (not anonymously by silhouette). I thought the only way to understand people more, and the subject, was to film them this way.
I wanted to respond to some of the posts that have been put up since thefraj posted his. The film is due to be put out in the US - when and on what channel I don't know yet, but will let you know in due course. (Losethem - the film was only commissioned for the UK but has had subsequent interest from distributors for the US. If you had taken part and wouldn't have wanted to have appear onscreen, I would have filmed you anonymously, or indeed taken you out for a US version.) For those who in the US, and beyond, the film may be (though I'm not 100%) on the Channel 4 website - how accessible that is for those outside the UK I'm not sure. Salami - I wasn't aware another film was being made about eunuchs. We did, as you mention, visit the good doctor (he refused to take part for lots of reasons).
I'm sure there will be some criticism (especially here - does eunuch calm really exist? - only joking!), but not much I hope. Of course it's a film made by a man (who's never considered castration) looking in, but I really feel I learnt a lot and understand much more. I feel that knowledge and understanding has translated on film. The documentary has been well received by the channel and journalists but, of course, you're the real test.
I hope you like it. 'Eunuchs' - 10pm Channel 4, Tuesday 3 April 2007.
