Film flushes out the legends of the stalls
Brandon Thibodeaux
Photographer
| |
|
Male students may think twice before they use the General Academic Building bathroom facilities after viewing Eli Gemini's documentary Boy Meets Boy.
"It's a narrative documentary on the thoughts and experience of a male NT professor as he is cruised and propositioned for gay male sex," Gemini said.
The project originally began in the summer of 2002 when Gemini first interviewed a former NT student who admits to having propositioned males for sex in the GAB bathrooms.
Although his work received mixed reviews in the Broadcasting News class he was taking that year, Gemini continued to pursue the subject. "It took the class back a bit, especially the female students who saw it as slanderous and offensive," Gemini said.
The latest cut of the film, recently shown during a Wednesday viewing hosted by the Texas Film Corporation, utilizes the story of an NT professor who has been propositioned for sex in the bathrooms on numerous occasions. Gemini discovered this professor's story while filming on campus in 2002. "I met him a time or two on campus, each time he would ask me why I was filming," Gemini said. "So, finally I just let him have it and told him my idea." Gemini admits being a bit surprised when he found out that the teacher had actually been confronted by individuals looking for sex in the restroom.
"The visuals were unique with only one moving and the rest stills," says Texas Film Corporation director David Alvarado. "I was surprised, however, to see so many things I see everyday put into sexual connotation."
The sexually connotated images range from squirrel holes in campus trees, to closely cropped phallic images of campus statues. As these images are revealed across the screen, viewers hear the professor speak of his encounters. The professor spoke of having the feeling of being watched one day, while in a bathroom stall. As he lowered his newspaper he discovered a pair of eyes staring at him through the crack of the stall door. Not knowing what to do he simply raised his newspaper and continued to ignore the person standing outside.
The outsider then, according to the teacher, entered the next stall and propositioned him for sex. Again the professor exercised his right to privacy.
"The documentary is definitely informative," said Texas Film Corporation President Joshua Butler. "I had these same types of experiences in the past while attending the University of Houston, but I wasn't aware of that happening here."
Eli Gemini has a long history in film. Originally the 38-year-old producer left his home in southwest Texas for New York City where he studied acting and theater. A student at NT, Gemini has worked for NTTV and now finds himself filming more than just news. The bilingual director, whose second language is Spanish, looks toward working with companies like Telemundo. He is currently working on two projects covering the life of a friend living with AIDS, and the recent Dallas Halloween parade. For more information about the film Boy Meet Boy contact the Texas Film Corporation at (940) 442-6304.
Spring Break






