OVERLOOKED: When You're Gay And Palestinian, Everyday Is A Risk

The Frameline film festival just wrapped up in San Francisco this last weekend. And although the celebrity documentaries about Lance Bass (Mississippi: I Am) and Chris Crocker (Me @ the Zoo) received lots of press, the winner for Outstanding Documentary caught our eye most.

Yariv Mozer’s The Invisible Men examines the lives of several gay Palestinian men who have run away from their families to illegally hide in Tel Aviv. While they wait for a chance for asylum outside of Israel and Palestine, they risk being discovered, deported and killed by the family and neighbors that rejected them.

Mozer’s beautiful film reveals a world where mere public acts of affection, rumors about boyfriends and even suspicions of homosexuality can result in torturous arrests, familial rejection and even murder on the streets.

While it sounds grim, there's something defiantly hopeful about seeing young gay trying to survive in spite of a hateful society. There's also something touching and familiar about seeing young men try to understand a place that hates them just for who they love.

LGBT folks in America still get harassed, imprisoned, disowned and killed just for being different every day. So while these "invisible men" live many miles away, their conflicts hit surprisingly close to home, making them not-too-distant relatives of our beleaguered gay family.