closeUp ‣ The Gayly Mirror

Son of Saul – a film to watch on Holocaust Memorial Day

27Jan

By rebeccaNo Comments

closeUp, Culture

Son of Saul – a film to watch on Holocaust Memorial Day

Mark Holocaust Remembrance Day by watching Son of Saul, an intense, brutal but enriching film which puts you right in the shoes and soul of a Jewish concentration camp prisoner. This brilliant film from Hungarian director László Nemes won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2016. It follows Saul Ausländer (a magnificent performance from Géza Röhrig), who is in the Sonderkommando, the cadre of Jewish prisoners forced to assist in the machinery of the Nazi camps. During the course of his ‘work’, he finds the corpse of a boy he is sure is his son, and is determined to save the body from the flames and to find a rabbi to recite the mourner’s Kaddish and give the boy a proper burial. While around him there is a plot by some prisoners to rise up against the camp guards, Saul i...

Holocaust Memorial Day: the exercise of Remembering to Honour.

27Jan

By Roberta MooreNo Comments

closeUp, Culture, Society

Holocaust Memorial Day: the exercise of Remembering to Honour.

We remember… We are a people marked by the atrocities the hand of history has so unreluctantly laid bear our suffering. On January 27th, we all grieve together the loss of our loved ones and our people. We grieve those who entire generations have been wiped out and remember their names by lighting a candle, for the Jewish people are and will remain united by blood and by history. My family like so many others found themselves diminished to two or three survivors and those were the lucky ones. My mother’s side were a prosperous Portuguese Jewish family residing in Amsterdam, Holland. They were part of a historical community where tradition was valued, family was loved and religion was observed. The Okker’s came to Amsterdam as they were forced to flee Portugal - they were not strangers ...

Shoah: when remembering gives us hope for a better future.

27Jan

By RaffaNo Comments

closeUp, Culture, Opinion, Politics, Religion, Society

Shoah: when remembering gives us hope for a better future.

For many of us, YomHaShoa - or day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Shoha - is a sad, almost mournful time every year. But then… why is it important to remember if it can hurt so much? As a gay and Jewish person, Remembering (and honouring) the victims of the Shoah is something I do almost every day, it is a good exercise for the memory, but also for my own sense of thankfulness: how lucky are we to be living in so much comfort and peace, in our houses, now? Certainly one could say that we do still have that feeling of “something’s still missing in my life”… but hey! We are here, we are safe, we are alive, and - again - in the full comfort of our own houses. My Grandmother - when still alive - used to remind me of how during deportation she had to flee her city, her parents escaped a...

Eurovision 2022 – Laura Pausini, Alessandro Cattelan and Mika to (almost) officially host the event in Turin.

24Jan

By RaffaNo Comments

closeUp, Eurovision

Eurovision 2022 – Laura Pausini, Alessandro Cattelan and Mika to (almost) officially host the event in Turin.

AdKronos revealed that "well informed sources" announced that the three names of the official hosts of Eurovision Song Contest 2022 will be officially announced during the show of the second nigh to Festival di Sanremo. We couldn't be more thrilled and happy to see Laura Pausini - that brought the beauty of the Italian music around the world, Alessandro Cattelan - one of the most talnted, appreciated and handsome hosts of the Italian TV and Mika, who's been adopted by the Italy and that is so much loved by all Italians, will possibly be hosting Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin. Whilst Mika would still be thinking about signing for the event, Alessandro Cattelan and Laura Pausini are (almost) official names for Eurovision, as published on AdKronos website. We all know who La...

Festival da Canção 2022: All songs and commentary [SEMIFINAL 1]

24Jan

By JorgeNo Comments

closeUp, Eurovision

Festival da Canção 2022: All songs and commentary [SEMIFINAL 1]

Last Friday, the Portuguese broadcaster RTP announced all the artists and songs competing to represent Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. In total, 20 acts were allocated to one of 2 semifinals. The Semifinals of the Festival da Canção 2022 will take place on March 5 and 7 and the final is set for March 12. We'll be commenting each song individually. For now, get to know the 10 songs of the First Semifinal! First Semifinal 1 - Aurea - "Why?" Aurea is, without a doubt, one of the biggest names to step on the Festival stage. "Why" fits perfectly the kind of music she's been marking, offering us a soulful lullaby, with a crescendo that enhances the artist's voice. It will very likely, and not surprisingly, be among the bets with the greatest support from the jury and also...

24Jan

By rebeccaNo Comments

closeUp, Culture

Film recommendation – Steelers

Start your week with a sporting endeavour – which also explores mental health and the importance of community. STEELERS (currently on Amazon Prime) tells the story of the ‘world’s first gay rugby club’, which was set up in 1995 in London’s Kings Cross. There are now 60 such clubs around the world and every two years they gather for the world tournament of gay rugby, the Bingham Cup. The film is made by one of the club’s former players, Australian reporter Eammon Ashton-Atkinson, who decided to document his team’s endeavours after a concussion meant he couldn’t play. He himself found the club when he moved to London from Australia, struggling with depression, and found a team which welcomed him, helped him get fit again and, ultimately, introduced him to his future husband. As well a...

American Song Contest to be premiered next 21st March

20Jan

By JorgeNo Comments

closeUp, Culture, Eurovision

American Song Contest to be premiered next 21st March

NBC - the American broadcaster which will organize the US's version of the Eurovision Song Contest - had delayed the launch of the contest and it shall now premiere on 21st March, after a surge of Covid-19 cases in the country. The Grand Final is scheduled to air on Monday 9th May, one day before the First Semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. The contest will feature original songs and performances representing all 50 states, plus the capital and five US territories, where the winner will get the prize for Best Original Song. 'American Song Contest’ is produced by an incredible team, composed by Audrey Morrissey, Anders Lenhoff, Christer Björkman, Peter Settman, Ola Melzig, and Gregory Lipstone alongside Propagate’s Ben Silverman and Howard T. Owens.

12Jan

By JorgeNo Comments

closeUp, Eurovision

UMK2022: Finalist competitors revealed

Today, YLE, the Finland's national broadcaster, revealed the seven finalists who will compete in Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK) 22 for representing Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. Cyan Kicks – Hurricane BESS – Ram pam pam The Rasmus – Jezebel Younghearted – Sun numero Olivera – Thank God I’m an Atheist Tommi Läntinen – Elämä kantaa mua Isaac Sene – Kuuma jäbä The first song by Cyan Kicks - "Hurricane" is already out and you can listen to it right below. The alternative rock band is comprised of members Susanna Alexandra, Niila Perkkiö, Leevi Erkkilä and Pietari Reijonen and was created back in 2016 and since they they had released two studio albums. "We want to do our part in really keeping rock in the limelight!", the band said. They also got nominate...

Festival di Sanremo selects their first “transvestite” co-host: Drusilla Foer

12Jan

By RaffaNo Comments

closeUp, Entertainment, Eurovision, News, Society

Festival di Sanremo selects their first “transvestite” co-host: Drusilla Foer

After so many years and after great critiques over the too-catholic and family oriented style of Festival di Sanremo, Amadeus (the host) has finally given the LGBT+ people someone they can see themselves in, selecting Drusilla Foer as his co-host for the kermesse. The National Festival of the Italian Song - Festival di Sanremo 2022 - is about to start in less than 3 weeks, and after all the critiques received in the past years, for being “too catholic and/or family oriented”, their main Host - Amadeus - who’s already hosted Sanremo in the past, selected among others, Drusilla Foer to be his co-host during the festival. The choice, of course, comes as a big surprise for the Italian audience, that is used to a very long, too times boring, 5-evenings-event, where the winner also got the cha...

ISRAEL to finally allow surrogacy for same-sex couples!

4Jan

By RaffaNo Comments

closeUp, News, Society

ISRAEL to finally allow surrogacy for same-sex couples!

A historic change in the faith of thousands of same-sex couples in the first Democratic Middle Eastern Country. Tuesday 4th December 2021, was already a big day for Israel when single men are allowed to become parents but now, years and years of peaceful fights, finally made a little dream come true: Nitzan Horowitz - Israeli Health Minister - told a press conference (as reported on Reuters): “It is a historic day for the LGBTQ struggle in Israel". In fact, same sex couples will be allowed to finally have access to surrogacy treatments in Israel with no need to travel abroad to fulfil their dreams. https://twitter.com/NitzanHorowitz/status/1478287973733044224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1478287973733044224%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fattit...