Logan will begin filming in Romania at the end of March and, although he studied deeply the Romanian sexual minorities and their development, he found out that people are still closeted and negative when it comes to sharing experiences.
He contacted StiriGay.ro to ease the interaction with the Romanian LGBT community. He is interested in finding people that can speak freely on tape in order to make a honest profile of the minorities in Romania. He is seeking people, not only LGBT persons, but friends and family members too or gay friendly people.
StiriGay.ro made an exclusive interview with Logan Mucha.
What made you choose Romania among the other countries for your documentary, East Bloc Love?I really wanted the documentary to explore different sexual identities across the former Soviet Bloc and within countries strongly influenced by the Soviet Occupation. I am very interested in showing different aspects of sexuality from all different perspectives, including how they have evolved since the fall of Communism.
I have chosen Romania as it was one of the last European countries to decriminalise homosexual activity and is still a largely conservative society. In particular, the ongoing struggle between LGBT rights groups and parties such as the Greater Romania Party and Noua Dreaptă is of great interest, as while being homosexual is no longer illegal, the acceptance of LGBT sexual identities is still progressing slowly.
How do you think that the dictatorship and communism influenced our sexuality?With the fall of communism, the Eastern Bloc has been slowly associating western concepts of non-hetero conforming sexuality into clearly defined categories of 'gay' and 'lesbian'. Within Romania, the introduction of NGOs promoting GLBT rights has endorsed such categories, further labelling one's sexual preference as a personal identity.Significant financial assistance for Romanian NGOs, such as ACCEPT, is largely donated from Western authorities. To keep their funding, these organisations are compelled to follow practices common in Western Europe, such as conducting HIV education and prevention programs. While such practices are well-meaning in intention, publically linking the transmission of STDs to the practice of homosexual acts does little to promote a positive LGBT image in a conservative society.
Current dissemination of LGBT identities through NGOs in Romania is rapidly occurring while society remains largely rejecting of such minorities. Right-wing organisations and the Eastern Orthodox Church are readily utilising these newly introduced categorised identities - i.e. 'gay', 'lesbian', 'bisexual', 'transexual' etc. - to discriminate against previously undefined sexual groups.
How do you describe your artwork?As a young filmmaker, I would describe my work in a constant state of change, however I do have a number of filmmakers and styles in which I take influence from, which is reflected in some of my work including German Expressionism and directors such as Lars von Trier.
Overall, I prefer my film making to be less prescriptive in its story telling to the audience, allowing for more freedom of interpretation and a more enjoyable cinematic experience.
Overall, I prefer my film making to be less prescriptive in its story telling to the audience, allowing for more freedom of interpretation and a more enjoyable cinematic experience.
What are your future plans?At present I'm completely focused on East Bloc Love and if successful, I would like to continue exploring sexual minorities in other areas of the world and even in my home country of Australia.
I'm also interested in writing and directing music videos and have a very strong interest in script writing for film and theatre.
Is it better to remain independent (freelancer) or you want to have success in mainstream industry?I'm not averse to becoming part of the more main stream industry, as long as my creative freedom and integrity as a film maker is not compromised in the process. Many of my influences have established themselves as successful members of the film industry, whilst still maintaining their individuality.
Given the choice, I would always choose to work on projects, whether mine or someone else's, that fit my individuality without sacrificing it all for some big budget blockbuster that didn't fit my filmmaking.
Tell us a bit about the man behind the artist.I was born in Canada to English and Canadian parents and moved to Melbourne, Australia when I was about four years old.
I grew up in a particularly conservative area of Melbourne where being openly gay led to verbal abuse and possibly more, so I didn't come out to my family until I was about 20, after I had moved into the city centre.
I grew up in a particularly conservative area of Melbourne where being openly gay led to verbal abuse and possibly more, so I didn't come out to my family until I was about 20, after I had moved into the city centre.
Since I was in my early teens I wanted to make films but pressure from my parents led me down a path of science and mathematics.
After finishing a degree in environmental engineering in 2006, I finally decided to pursue my dream in film and went to film school.
It's all been up from there, including one of my films being accepted to be screened at the Melbourne International Queer Film Festival in 2010 and the ongoing production of East Bloc Love.
After finishing a degree in environmental engineering in 2006, I finally decided to pursue my dream in film and went to film school.
It's all been up from there, including one of my films being accepted to be screened at the Melbourne International Queer Film Festival in 2010 and the ongoing production of East Bloc Love.
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