'MILK" GALA PREMIERE

Fridae & Crocodile present MILK, a biopic about gay rights icon Harvey tonite at Lido shaw, to raise funds for Indignation, Singapore's gay pride season which has been held annually since 2005.

The fundraiser will benefit Indignation – an annual festival consisting of talks, art exhibitions, readings of plays and poetry, together with some social events, to be held in August 2009 – the same month as the country's national day celebrations. Organised jointly by gay advocacy group People Like Us and other community groups and individuals, the festival started in 2005 as a response to the unreasonable ban on parties for gays and lesbians, and heavy censorship of publications serving the community. All Indignation events are open to the public and are traditionally free of charge, in order to be accessible to everyone.

MILK, which opened in the US last month, is a Gus Van Sant-directed drama about Harvey Milk the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California and who was assassinated shortly after being elected to the San Francisco board of supervisors in 1977.

Explaining the relevance of the film to Singapore and Asian viewers, Alex Au of People Like Us said: "As the first openly gay person to stand for election - and win - Harvey Milk represents audacity. He is the success of hope and imagination over caution and fatalism. Many Asian societies today are not that different from Milk's America of the 1970s. The battles he fought and naysayers he faced we recognise instantly today. Right here in Asia.

Dr Stuart Koe, CEO of Fridae agrees that the film will be inspirational to gay audiences no matter where they are and hopes for them to support the fundraiser.

"The gay community's ongoing struggle for equality faces challenges and obstacles today as it did for Harvey Milk, and it deserves every bit of support we can give it," he said.

Using archival news footage alongside dramatic recreations, the film tells the real-life story of Milk – played by Sean Penn, who left New York City with his boyfriend Scott Smith (James Franco) for San Francisco when he decided in his early 40s that a change was due and he wanted to make something more of his life.

The couple opened a camera shop but found themselves shut out for being openly gay. Milk quickly spoke up against discrimination and asked the gay population to frequent only gay-owned or gay-friendly shops and businesses. Realising that he had the power to motivate and effect change, he decided to run for the city's Board of Supervisors. He won on his third try becoming the country's first openly gay elected official.

The belief that being able to be open about one's sexuality is so paramount that before he was slain, Milk, who taped several versions of his political will, said in one: "If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door.

"The Producers Guild of America on Dec 8 announced that MILK is receiving the 2009 Stanley Kramer Award which honours pictures that take on provocative social issues.Academy Award winner Sean Penn (Best Actor, 2003, Mystic River) has been widely slated to be a frontrunner for another Oscar for his role in the film which is also expected to be nominated in the Best Picture and Director categories.