I remember the first time I met someone from the LGBTQ community. I was probably 7 and on the school bus. I was unaware they were part of the gay community, I just knew they acted different than the others, the mannerisms were not what I expected. It was the ‘70’s and many people that were gay, kept it quiet out of fear. There was no education on same sex available anywhere, so we were oblivious to the social issues surrounding the individual. Society can be vicious, cruel, sometimes heartless and at times, banishing. The cruel fact about the gay student… was that, they were safe on our bus, they were from our town and we were a close bunch – but when they were in school, they were often picked on by the older students. We finally have laws now that prosecute against hate crimes. However, in 78 plus countries around the world, being gay is still illegal and in some places, punishable by death. In this day and age, where acceptance and support for the LGBTQ community is the norm, it’s hard to imagine how queer people are treated in some of those under-developed countries with barbaric laws unchanged for centuries.
If you’re a filmmaker and part of the LGBTQ community, then naturally you want to help bring more attention, acceptance and support to issues that still need addressing. Acceptance is so powerful and when you don’t have it, you can feel like an outsider looking in, holding an invisible shield and standing ready, for hate speech, assaults, the death stares and isolation… and for what? Because you’re different from the majority and somebody decided thousands of years ago, that it is not acceptable. I’m pretty sure, they’d have issues with people that did cosmetic surgery, piercings, dyed their hair, painted their nails, had a tattoo or even danced. Forms of expression have evolved and the laws of attraction and love have too. Nobody has the right to dictate who you should love or be attracted to. I read last week, a woman in the US married a rollercoaster… so it’s safe to say that love has certainly expanded and evolved enough to even accept extreme love/infatuation.
The film, Someone Like Me follows the journey of Drake, a gay asylum seeker from Uganda and a group of strangers from Vancouver’s queer community, that are tasked with supporting his new move to Canada. Together, they embark on a year-long quest for personal freedom, revealing how one’s constant fight for the right to exist makes survival itself – a victory.
As proud members of the LGBTQ+ community, directing duo Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams have created work that shines a spotlight on misunderstandings—queer and otherwise. Someone Like Me, is their first feature-length film. Sean and Steve have directed and produced more than 20 projects together, including the award-winning short, The Day Don Died (Hot Docs 2019) and Brunch Queen (Inside Out 2018). They recently completed a series of shorts for Knowledge Network entitled Dear Reader, and their next feature documentary, Satan Wants You, is currently in development with CBC Documentary Channel.
I had the rare privilege of watching this film before its Hot Docs premiere and it truly provided a window into the life of someone fearing persecution from the very country they were born into (Uganda), for being gay. I always said Canada was the best country in the world and it’s a marvelous site, to see the elation and happiness on someone’s face because they are free to express who they are without fear. Sean and Steve have made a film capable of impacting society around the world. They are amazingly talented filmmakers and they were amazing guests of ours. It was an honour to speak with them both about the film.
HNMAG “Congratulations on this beautiful film. When did you first start production on it?”
SEAN “It started back in 2015, when we first started talking to the National Film Board about it, that’s how long we’ve been working on it; it’s been a while.”
STEVE “We were working with the NFB and they had us doing some research, to see if there might be a film idea. At that time, Trump was coming to power and Facebook seemed to be coming unhinged. We started seeing all this anti-immigration and anti-refugee stuff coming up on Facebook. My uncle had posted a meme that stated, ‘refugees’ coming to Canada make more than an old age pensioners. I knew that wasn’t right. At the same time, there was all of this information on sponsoring queer refugees that was being presented to combat the other messaging that was coming in. We thought that it might be an interesting premise for a film. It’s about 10-11 people that come together; they’re strangers to each other and they raise money to sponsor somebody for a year. We thought it was a really interesting concept, so we began talks with the Rainbow Refugee Organization (facilitators of the program) and from there, we started moving on it.”
SEAN “We started production in July of 2019.”
HNMAG “Is this the first time either of you have been involved in the Rainbow Refugee sponsorship program?”
SEAN “For our research, we actually shadowed 4-5 different circles without filming. We joined groups much like the one in the film, throughout different phases of what we knew would happen in production. It was a really unique process because prior to the cameras rolling, nobody in the group had ever met each other before. That first meeting scene that you see in the film, we were in the background and they’re all walking in for the first time as true strangers… and while there, they’re asked to make a commitment to each other – to get to know each other on camera/to work together on camera. If you’ve ever thought about doing group work with 12 people, you’re going to disagree with somebody (laughing).”
Steve J. Adams, Photo Courtesy of Steve J. Adams.
HNMAG “There is a lot to digest in this film. Initially, it’s about Drake’s sponsorship and the support system and then Emily and Kay’s very personal journey had evolved and became part of the film. Marlo moved to Toronto to live more openly – there’s a lot going on. As a filmmaker, does it seem serendipitous whenever you have more stories evolving from the main story?”
SEAN “Early on, in the scenes you’re mentioning, we started seeing connections between the characters. Once we were into it for 4 – 5 months of filming; for us, it began to feel like a film about freedom and to be yourself without fear of persecution, violence or discrimination. We see these parallel journeys, between Kay seeking freedom in her journey towards identity and Drake is seeking freedom for his sexuality. Marlon had to leave for Toronto to be gay, Drake had to leave Uganda in order to be gay. David was seeking financial freedom and Drake is also, after arriving. Although these people are so different, there are these common experiences and themes in the film.”
STEVE “There was this constant going back and chatting with everyone. Every Monday, we’d go into the production office and see who was available to film with us and see what kind of story elements are happening. We knew that within the context of a year, there were specific events that needed to happen with each sponsorship – such as fund raising, finding a place to live and going to the bank. We knew all these things needed to happen, so we’d call the circle to see who was available to film and by Wed. we’d figure out the shoot plan. By Thursday we’d have the crew booked and then we’d be shooting Saturday and Sunday. We’d put all the gear away and then on Monday, we’d start all over again. We were continuously going out and as we did, we began to find out and learn more about these people, which is where we started seeing the story threads that were weaving together with the other characters.”
SEAN “Then the pandemic happened. We had everything happen in this film (laughing).”
HNMAG “That is quite a lot to deal with. Did you ever come to a point where you thought about giving up on it?”
SEAN and STEVE “(Laughing) YES… unequivocally, yes.”
STEVE “I think this was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.”
SEAN “It was also our first feature documentary, so it was 15 months of continuous filming. There was a lot of stuff we had on camera, but there were also a lot of other moments that were spent with Drake, with Kay and Emily. It’s very difficult to not become friends with them in the time that you’re spending with them. With the onslaught of the pandemic, we all formed a support group and we all made it through the good times and the bad times together… and it’s finished (laughing).”
HNMAG “In the making of this documentary together, which roles did you both play in the creation of it?”
STEVE “We both co-directed the film, Sean and I work in an interesting way, where Sean will conceptualize the story, the writing and developing what that is. He’ll then pass that onto me and I’ll develop what the visuals are going to look like and how that’s going to be represented on film. We’ll then bring those together and make it happen.”
SEAN “When we’re shooting, I know what Steve’s good at and I know what I’m good at when we’re in production, so it’s a matter of giving each other space to be creative and then coming together to see if this is what we’re picturing. Film is collaborative and we’ve been a couple for 11 years.”
HNMAG “Have you worked together before?”
STEVE “Yes we have, we’ve been doing this since we’ve been together. We’ve made almost 20 short films together but this is our first feature film. We have another feature film lined up that we’re hoping to start this fall.”
Sean Horlor, Photo Courtesy of Steve J. Adams.
HNMAG “Where and when can we expect to see the premiere of Someone Like Me?”
SEAN “It will screen at Hot Docs on April 29th and it’s virtual this year but available across Canada for 2 weeks until May 10th. The National Film Board will be submitting it into festivals from there. It plays in Edmonton shortly after that, followed by more festival announcements at a later date. After the entire festival cycle, it will be available at NFB.ca.”
HNMAG “How many hours of footage do you estimate having to sift through in post, in order to create the story you were aiming for?”
STEVE “We calculated it at just over 100 hours. It was like raising a small child (laughing)”
SEAN “Or a plant, I dunno (laughing).”
HNMAG “Has all the cast/everyone in the film been able to see it?”
SEAN “Yes, everyone has seen it as of 2 weeks ago.”
HNMAG “When did you finish the film?”
SEAN “We finished filming in October. We had a bit of a different editing process set up. We started editing in March of 2020, when the pandemic started. We were editing it with our editor, Graham Kew and all virtually… with a system called Evercast.”
STEVE “It was a strange process – we’ve worked together on many films with editors and to not be working in an editing suite with someone that you’re working so closely with for 7 months, it added another layer to the experience (laughing).”
SEAN “We did a March to January edit to completely finish it.”
HNMAG “What are you hoping the audience will walk away with after watching this film?”
STEVE “For us, we entered this process looking at the global refugee crisis and what queer people around the world are experiencing in 78 plus countries where its illegal and in some places, the death penalty for being LBGTQ. When you start a project like this, you get this feeling… as one person, there’s nothing I can do – these issues are far too big for me to make an impact or to do anything about. Our hope is, for the people that watch this, will see what the group does and what other sponsorship groups do across Canada. Whether you’re queer or straight, this is something anyone can do, and 1 person can make a difference on these issues, the refugee crisis, with queer persecution around the world. I really hope this film sets out to do that.”
Steve and Sean both expressed interest in getting this film into schools in the future, in order to share it with teachers and students across Canada. It could really impact a student’s acceptance and greater understanding of the LGBTQ community. Ignorance is lack of knowledge, therefore we all need to educate ourselves to demonstrate more inclusivity, rather than focusing on our differences.