For They Know Not What They Do

No description of Daniel Karslake’s powerful documentary can do justice to its sheer emotional intensity.

This incisive and all-too-timely US documentary about four different LGBTIQ+ individuals who experience bruising encounters with organised religion is anything but routine. The film portrays much that might seem familiar, as we get to know the protagonists’ families and how they deal with the church, their children and their gender and sexual identities. But as the film details the actions taken by the far-right in the US, these family stories have a resonance far beyond their country. From conversion therapy, conflict over trans identity and the casual violence that impacts queer young people, what emerges is a ruthless battle for hearts and minds, and the political environment that is shaping the 21st century.

As part of BFI Flare at Home, this film will only be available until Sunday March 29 2020