Pansy

This TV documentary sees director Peter Wells look at his life "through pansy-tinted glasses". Motivated by the anniversary of his brother’s 1989 death from AIDS, Wells' film charts his path to becoming a pioneering gay filmmaker and writer: from growing up fascinated by colour and the glamour of royalty in conservative Port Chevalier in the 1950s, to baking, and deciding to come out when he was drafted to fight in Vietnam. As befits an artist whose credits include Desperate Remedies, the treatment is distinctive: a mixture of documentary, (aptly) flowery home movie, and quiet reflection.

I sometimes think that I became such an outspoken gay man, really because I had such a long experience of the negative aspects of living in the closet. I think I wasted a huge amount of my early life saying ‘no’.

– Peter Wells on his many years of denial that he was gay

Key Cast & Crew

Deb Faith

Camera Operator

Eric De Beus

Editor

Peter Wells

Director, Writer, Camera Operator

Craig Wright

Camera Operator

Garth Maxwell

Camera Operator

Jane Bowron

Interviewer