First up was ‘Get Happy,’ an inspirational look at the life of Mark Payne. Hilarious and fascinating, the film featured footage of Mark at the age of 12 years old, impersonating his favourites (and mine): Judy, Liza, Barbra and Diana. By the age of 16, Mark’s Liza was the opening for Milton Berle and Bob Hope. Lovingly supported and raised by his mother and grandmother (she bought his first fabric and taught him to sew his costumes!), Mark turned his passion into a collaboration with Laura Mercier and is now an Emmy-winning makeup artist. Not bad for a skinny little boy from Texas with a love for divas.

That story of incredible passion led into ‘Beyond Gay: The Politics of Pride,’ a documentary by Vancouver-based film-maker Bob Christie as he follows Pride organizers from around the world in their quest for awareness and equal rights. Led by Vancouver Pride Society President Ken Coolen, ‘Beyond Gay’ provides its viewers an honest look at the struggles bravely faced by the LGBT communities in countries where homosexuality either “doesn’t exist” or exists only for those who aren’t afraid of abuse, jail and/or death. Their stories are intense…One Jamaican man talks about what it’s like for gay men in Jamaica, describing the brutal murders of 13 of his friends, including at least one who was provoked and beaten by three police officers only to be handed over to homophobic spectators to finish the job. Jamaica is considered to be the most homophobic country in the world, but with stiff competition for that title.

Christie’s colourful overview is also a harsh and disturbing reminder, however, of ongoing, mind-boggling intolerance in places where homophobia is rampant (Jamaica is the world capital, according to Time). It’s shocking to learn, for instance, that archaic British colonial sodomy laws are still in place in Sri Lanka, where “curative rape” is sanctioned as a “cure” for lesbianism; that homosexuality carries stiff prison terms in some countries; and to witness protesters pelting Pride participants with eggs and tomatoes in Budapest, where gay clubs are firebombed. The most fascinating of the sequences — linked by graphics of a a ‘Freedometer’ charts each location’s tolerance levels — focus on gay rights activists risking their lives for the cause.

Risk-takers include charismatic Sri Lankan Equal Ground organizer Sahran Abeysundara, who peacefully protests his nation’s pride-parade ban by flying kites that feature the movement’s signature rainbow pattern. Another uplifting bit introduces Clare Diminyo, a lesbian teacher from Brighton, England, who persuades British authorities to fly Pride flags at their embassy in Riga, Latvia, a hotbed of homosexual oppression.

We also learn how Warsaw Equality Parade organizer Tomasz Baczkowski successfully forced Polish authorities to finally allow a Pride parade, with protection by 2,000 police officers, by taking his case to the European Union human rights tribunal.

The film’s most tense and gripping sequences, however, observe Russian organizer Nikolai Alekseev and comrades risking arrest and worse by arranging clandestine meetings to stage and as quickly disassemble a compact parade in Moscow, where the mayor has banned the Pride parade for years and rejected 155 applications for permits. This superb documentary, a festival must-see, is more than a call to action for the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) community. It’s as much a plea for for freedom, respect and basic human rights for everyone regardless of sexual orientation.