As a Brit gay man, there is always a sense of disgust and despair when you are once again reminded of all the strife and inhumanity our ancestors caused around by enforcing their own misguided sense of morality.  This new documentary reminds us yet once again that there are some 64 countries where it is still illegal to be gay, and most of them were once part of the British Empire.  It was the Brit rulers who may have taken all their worldly possessions when they eventually departed to return to the Mother Country, but they left behind a whole series of obnoxious laws in place, the worst of which were the so-called anti-buggery ones. 

Filmmakers James Lewis and Lexi Powner have centered their documentary around three activists from different parts of the former British Commonwealth.  There is Rosanna from Sri Lanka, the founder and executive director of EQUAL GROUND (2004-to present), the oldest LGBTIQ advocacy organisation pursuing LGBTIQ rights. She took their fight for equal rights to the United Nations and won, and is now waiting for the Sri Lanka Government to implement the decision. Ravana Gill is a trans activist from Barbados, where the queer community is celebrating the recent court’s ruling that  Barbados’ laws against buggery and “gross indecency” were unconstitutional and struck them from the Sexual Offences Act.

At the centre of all of this is Friedel Dausab, who is standing up for queer rights activism against Namibia’s criminalisation of same-sex love.  This disarmingly charming man strikes one as the most unlikely combatant for this very public battle in the High Court, especially as it puts his own personal safety at risk.  However, you soon realise that if anyone can achieve this, it’s the soft-spoken, very determined Friedel.

Out Laws makes an important contribution to the story of our queer history, and it  perfectly captures the resilience and determination of these three activists, who also remarkably share such an upbeat sense of humor.