Catherine: Today Alice’s Garage and Switchboard Victoria launched a beautiful film paying tribute to Richard James. Richard was a wonderful gay man who created The Baroness of Balaclava to challenge the invisibility of older gay men. The Baroness marched in Mardis Gras chanting “We’re gay, we’re grey and we wont go away.” The film was made for Senior’s Festival (funded by Victorian Senior’s Festival and City of Port Phillip) which celebrates the contributions of seniors. We have come such a long way in terms of recognising LGBTI elders historical experiences and service needs – this film now reminds us that LGBTI elders make significant contributions that need to be celebrated. Richard was famous for adding oompfh to Senior’s Festival – with the launch of this film today for Seniors Festival he continues to do so. Thanks to Chris Franklin from Franklin Image for the beautiful film.
