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 10:50 am
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.
Danny, thank you for your reply. Some of us (including me) are wary of any documentary about castration. You have made a contribution that we all are looking for with great interest. You have the confidence of some of our more respected members so we are willing to wait to see the results of your work. I hope their trust is justified. --FLO--
I hope somebody can post information how to purchase a DVD copy of this documentary. I know the BBC sells some videos for home use. If the BBC sees a large enough interest they may make it available. I would jump a the chance to buy a copy of this.
micropenis (imported) wrote: Thu Mar 29, 2007 4:18 am
I hope somebody can post information how to purchase a DVD copy of this documentary. I know the BBC sells some videos for home use. If the BBC sees a large enough interest they may make it available. I would jump a the chance to buy a copy of this.
It is unlikely that the BBC will issue a documentary as Channel 4 is independent, but CH4 may issue one.
A-1 (imported) wrote: Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:48 am
Can somebody record this on VHS or prefferably DVD?
Then we can circulate it clandestinely among ourselves.
Why "clandestinely"? Someone could quite legally make a personal copy and show it to friends who were unable to see it at its original air time. Making ten copies to mail out to friends would be illegal, but circulating a single one among a group of friends probably falls on the right side of the law. We could certainly circulate a purchased copy of a Hollywood film quite legally.
A-1 (imported) wrote: Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:48 am
Can somebody record this on VHS or prefferably DVD?
Then we can circulate it clandestinely among ourselves.
One of our junior members PMed me and said he could capture the program and burn it on a DVD and could send it at his cost. Since he PMed me and didn't put that to the group, he may not want to open a factory. I was wondering if there was a news group that would be appropriate to post it to. That would be easier for the one doing all the work and anyone that wanted it could down load it. If I was in the right place at the right time I would do it, but I can't afford the ticket. Then again, is there a legality issue in that?
If you can get it, rip it, and convert it to Divx, along with about 10% Par files, there are plenty of newsgroups that are pretty much inactive on Usenet that you could choose from. Something like a.b.m.divx wouldn't be a good choice, as in that it's so busy you can't even fetch the headers without it taking all night. I'd just sample a group for the last 30 days when you load it, and if not much comes up, post it there.
While I'm sure I could have been filmed anonymously, the rub for me was that I could have been called by any pseudonym but if he film airs in the US and people I know trip across it, I'd be had. Quite frankly I like my life the way it is and having had to deal with the recent North Carolina trial personally, I quite frankly didn't know if I would be prepared to deal with both that and people I know finding out about it at the same time.
As for being commissioned in the UK, that's true, but I was also given assurances by Tanya that it was not going to be distributed in the United States. Since I work in media and know better (it can always be had on the Internet regardless of copyright... someone *will* download and make it available even in violation) it could well end up in the US. Now it's being shopped to US media outlets, hence I found my fears for appearing justified. If I would have felt reasonably sure that it wouldn't appear in the US, I probably would have helped you out. You all seemed to be above board in how you were handling the subject. At least more so than the local media outlets here!
All this is not to say that I'm disappointed in the filming, etc. I just couldn't expose myself to this. I really hope it is a success and is the film we've been looking for. Just a shame you wrapped it so early... the NC trial is finally over and you could have come back and interviewed the gentlemen you met in jail after they were released.
I look forward to seeing the finished product. Leagally.
Form London (imported) wrote: Wed Mar 28, 2007 4:20 pm
(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).
Thanks for your messages. I really hope there will be a better way for you to watch it than ripping, burning etc. I will let you know when it's due to air in the US.
Losethem - thanks for you comments. You may know this already but we did film in N Carolina and did an interview with Master Rick in jail (the whole thing was hilariously ludicrous - in my personal opinion). I've also updated the end to say he's been released.
Hey what, I saw the Fraj on TV last night! Channel 4, a commercial channel
(not connected with the BBC) have started 'trailing' the programme and in
prime evening time.
The channel does have a website so that you can see programmes broadcast over the last month. You have to pay per programme and I think that you need a UK internet address and bank account in order to download the software and programme guide.
Form London, (Danny) thank you for the postings you've written ahead of the broadcast. I'm sure that it will have a large and mainly, interested audience because Channel 4 has made sensitive programmes on specialised subjects quite frequently. I didn't understand one word of Paolo's informed IT speak, but I intend to make a PAL VHS video recording of the programme.
There is important information about the documentary on the site, though some of our UK members might be amused to learn that nearly all eunuchs in the country are heavily into SM! Maybe someone can point out to Channel 4 that this is NOT correct....
Of greatest interest to me was the poll at the end of the "Talking Points" page where visitors were asked, "Should voluntary castration be allowed?" At the time when I read the page, 78% had answered "yes" and only 22% thought the answer should be "no". This before the documentary has been aired.
Make certain that you visit the site AND take the poll.
cool. This should be an interesting film.