JOY Community Highlights

12 Mar 2014

Melbourne Queer Film Festival 2014: “The Rugby Player”

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Mark Bingham died on September 11, 2001 on United Flight 93. By all accounts, he was one of the passengers who stormed the cockpit averting a possible attack on further key US locations. Whilst this MQFF film is about Mark and his journey from goofy teen to out gay man and tough rugby player, it’s just as much about his charismatic mother Alice Hoagland, a former United Airlines flight attendant who took a brief call from Mark just before his plane crashed.

This discussion is centered around the movie that is a funny, intimate and inspiring portrait of how a son’s heroism can inspire a nation, and how a mother’s love can turn unthinkable loss into an inspirational fight for equal rights. Utilising Mark’s own archival footage, The Rugby Player provides as with fuel for debates on queer rights, marriage equality and the experiences of gay athletes in the sporting community.

This August the Melbourne Chargers will be competing with 14 other rugby teams from around the world for the Bingham Cup to be played in Sydney. (Lisa Daniel)