A Queer Country

A Queer Country uncovers how liberal attitudes in Israel are often at odds with the country's legal structure. Despite hosting one of the world's largest, most colorful gay pride events each year, Israel's LGBT citizens face an uphill battle to achieve political victories such as the right to marry. Interweaving the personal and political, the film builds an intimate portrait of Israel and its internal struggle, often drowned out by the conflict at its borders. It asks what it means to be a minority in Israel. The very question of Israel being an LGBT "champion" is controversial; some accuse the country of "pinkwashing"--an allegation that promoting LGBT culture is a way of detracting from human rights violations in the Palestinian Territories. (Santa Barbara International Film Festival)