We see establishing shots of the Gay's the Word bookshop on Marchmont Street in Bloomsbury and inside Paula Ahluwalia talks to a group of members of the Gay Black Group. Issues raised include the lack of minority ethnic involvement in the gay scene and the problem of black men being objectified as ‘exotic’ by some members of the gay community.
Paula then talks to group members individually beginning with Ahmed who is from Hydrabad in Southern India. He talks about coming out to his family and explains that there is no word in Urdu that he could use to the family members who do not speak English. Paula then talks to a woman with Nigerian roots about her realisation that she was a lesbian. The next interviewee has Kenyan Hindu heritage and he is followed by a man with Pakistani Muslim background that Paula talks to on the South Bank. He describes his coming out which was aided by the Gay Ice Breakers group. Next we hear from Isaac Julien who is a student at St Martin’s School of Art whose family were originally from St Lucia. We then return to Ahmed who is interviewed at home with his partner Alan about their cultural experiences.
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Written on film leader: Film Editor: Ken Jones. Production number 2379/83.
Isaac Julien was born in 1960 in London. His family came to Britain from Saint Lucia in the 1950s. He graduated from Saint Martin's School of Art in 1985 and co-foundeded Sankofa Film and Video Collective in 1983. His drama-documentary Looking for Langston (1989) was well received as Young Soul Rebels (1991). He is a key element in the history of black British film making.