CRUISING for SEX - Documentary about the Israel Scene from porn's Michael Lucas

Not sure what section to put this under, but I chose Europe since we don't have a Middle East section and our Asia section is really about East Asia.

Anyhow, there's a story in the news about Michael Lucas speaking at Columbia College Chicago about his documentary “Undressing Israel: Gay Men in the Promised Land.” Here's an excerpt:

Quote:

The documentary, which includes interviews with gay Israeli men, discusses the evolution of legal rights and focuses on a wide variety of topics regarding the LGBTQ community in Tel Aviv, including the openness of its military, the legalization of same-sex marriage and the city’s thriving LGBTQ culture and nightlife.

“When they go to Israel, people will ask me ‘[Should I] be afraid? Is it dangerous? Why are you there?’ and that’s why I decided to do this film, because people actually don’t know anything about Israel but the conflict with the Palestinians,” he said.

Lucas said he created the documentary out of a passion for the subject and not with the goal of making a profit.

“It is so easy to make an adult movie,” Lucas said. “You put very little money into it, you make it in five days and then you make good money off it. You don’t make a documentary [to] make a profit because you will not be able to return money at all. I’ve never seen a dime from the Israeli documentary—I thought I would return 10 percent—but I went into it knowing this is my gift to Israel.”

You do see a mention about politics and the conflicts with Israel's neighbor's. It isn't the focus of the article nor the documentary but can certainly be acknowledged. We all know what happens in some other parts of the Middle East.

Also note this from Laurie Grauer from a Chicago LBGTQ organization:

Quote:

“There are different pockets within the Jewish people that say, ‘Because of biblical reasons, we can’t have gay people be part of our everyday life’ or ‘Love the sinner but hate the sin’ in some communities still to this day,” Grauer said. “But here, it’s in Israel—the land of our home, the land of our souls, the place that [we face] when we wake up every day and pray. It’s like, ‘This is the city where it’s OK to be gay, get over yourself.’”

The entire article can be read here:
Porn mogul, documentarian tells of Israel's LGBTQ scene - The Columbia Chronicle: Campus

There is also a trailer for the file here:
The Official Trailer For Undressing Israel: Gay Men In The Promised Land