About The Show:
Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World is a feature-length documentary that explores the immense changes that occurred for gays, lesbians and transgender people living in the Global South. In the last decade of the 20th Century, a new heightened visibility began spreading throughout the developing world, and the battles between families, fundamentalist religions, and governments around sexual and gender identity had begun. But in the West, few people knew about this historic social upheaval, until 52 men on Cairo's Queen Boat discothèque were arrested for crimes of debauchery. That explosive story focused attention to the lives and trials of gay people coming out in the developing world. This film chronicles those events.

Dangerous Living opens with testimony from one of the "Cairo 52" defendants Ashraf Zanati, who was tortured, humiliated, beaten and forced to spend 13 months in prison. His simple, but powerful statement sets out the basic theme for the film: "My sexuality is my own sexuality. It doesn't belong to anybody - not to my government, not to my brother, my sister, my family. No."

While the "Cairo 52" story is the centerpiece of this documentary, it is just one of many examples of GLBT oppression outside of the western world that this film explores. Dangerous Living, directed by John Scagliotti and produced by Dan Hunt and Janet Baus, is the first documentary to deeply explore the lives of GLBT people in non-western cultures. The crew of Dangerous Living traveled to five continents to tell the heartbreaking and triumphant stories of these incredible individuals on film.

The issues surrounding the GLBT population in Egypt garnered some western press. However, most occurrences of oppression around the world receive no media coverage at all. In Honduras, Dilcia Molina had the courage to participate in her city's pride march without her face covered, and the military police attacked her family:

  • "One of the men grabbed my son and cut his face with a knife. Those men were looking for me. They were going to rape me to take the lesbian out of me."

    • Rodney Lutalo, a gay activist in Kenya, was imprisoned and beaten for his efforts in diversity education. He was one of the lucky individuals able to get out of his country and secure asylum in the West:

  • "We can only go through this world by educating, not by hating. The best will of revenge is forgiveness. For those who hated me, I forgive them."

    • Unfortunately, most experiences from the developing world are stories of oppression. However, in Thailand, a community accepts transgender kick boxer Parinya Jaroenphoen for her lifestyle. She remains a celebrated hero in the Thai kickboxing world. The film reaches a pinnacle at the Sydney Gay Games of 2002 where thousands of GLBT people from all over the globe came together for human rights conferences and sports.

    By sharing the personal stories coming out of developing nations, Dangerous Living sheds light on an emerging global movement striving to end the atrocities against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

    Major Funding for Dangerous Living was provided by the H. van Ameringen Foundation, the Ted Snowdon Foundation, Andrew Tobias and Charles Nolan, Ric Weiland, Steven Fox, the Overbrook Foundation and The H. van Ameringen Foundation.

    Directed by John Scagliotti and Produced by Janet Baus and Dan Hunt. Executive Producer is Reid Williams. Major sponsor includes The H. van Ameringen Foundation.