In 1961 ONE Magazine received a letter with no explanation. All that was evident was that it had been written by ex-World War II serviceman, Brian Keith to his wartime lover, Dave, and that it had never been sent. When filmmaker Christian Gordine caught sight of the letter he felt compelled to make a short film story of the real-life relationship between a WW2 veteran and his lover whom he met whilst stationed in Algeria.
The poignant and deeply moving wee film that has just been released on Vimeo makes perfect viewing on Valentine Day of all days,
Cordine explained :” I first came across the original letter a few years ago and was greatly moved by how raw it still felt some 50 years later. It was a somewhat painful experience reading the letter, not just because of its candid expression of a stifled romance, victim to historical circumstances, but because it reveals the sheer difficulty for LGBTQI+ people to simply love one another.”
“I decided to make Unsent Letter partly as an emotional release, but primarily because I wanted to bring to life such a beautiful story and I wanted to tell that story from the perspective of an older LGBTQI+ man. I think we too often forget to imagine the lives of our older generations which is why LGBTQI+ History month is such a crucial part of our queer identity. Not only does it remind us of where we have come from, but it shows us the progression we have made as a community – although there are many battles still to be won.”
“I want this film to be viewed as a homage to the people from our community whose lives weren’t as easy as ours are today, but to also remind people of the love letters that they never sent.”
Unsent Letter recently won Best LGBT Short at Edinburgh Independent Film Festival and has been screened most recently at Cardiff International Film Festival, Sydney Short Film Festival where it won Best Short and Best Narrative Short at Latitude Film Festival.
