Justin
UK/2011/30mins
Direction and editing by Ian McDonald
Camera by James Marcus Tucker and Ian McDonald
Produced by Geetha J. for Interventions
Synopsis
Justin Fashanu, the only openly gay professional footballer, committed suicide in 1998. A decade after his suicide, Justin – a troubling figure to the gay community, an embarrassing figure to the black community, a ridiculed figure in the soccer community – is a man best forgotten. But seemingly out of the blue, on May 2nd 2008, ten years after Justin’s death, a campaign is launched: the Justin Campaign. Justin is the story of this campaign. The documentary is interspersed with the moving memories of Justin from people who knew him best: his family, friends, fans and the coach who discovered him. Their accounts, in some cases being told on camera for the first time, create a poignant portrait of Justin in all his brilliance and beauty as well as his insecurities and indiscretions.
Screenings
June 2014: Campaigning for Change Conference, Newcastle University, UK
May 2014: Canadian Sport Film Festival, Toronto, Canada
September 2013: Pride in Sport, Birmingham, UK
February 2013: University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
November 2012: Southampton Solent University, Southampton, UK.
July 2012: ISSA World Congress of Sociology of Sport, Glasgow, UK.
June 2012: Frameline: International LGBT Film Festival, San Francisco, USA
June 2012: QueerSport.Lab. Zagreb, Croatia.
March 2012: Krasnogorski: International Festival of Sport Movies, Moscow, Russia (Nominated for Best International Film)
March 2012: Conte[s/x]ting Sport: Conference for More Inclusive, Diverse and Sustainable Sport, Split, Croatia
December 2011: Brighton Cine-city Film Festival, Brighton, UK.
August 2011: American Sociological Association, Las Vegas, USA.
July 2011: Understanding the Social World Conference, University of Huddersfield, UK.
