By
Justin Trapp
Arizona Daily Wildcat
UA film student's "Desert Hate" to be screened with other progressive short films
A documentary concerning the February stabbing of a gay UA student will be exhibited as part of an upcoming film screening of national and local progressive video makers.
However, the attack is not the focus of the eight-minute "Desert Hate," said filmmaker Robert Luna, a University of Arizona media arts senior.
"The stabbing itself is a metaphor for what's going on," Luna said. "To do something like that is not that typical, but what it represents is extremely typical."
Luna said he wants his audience to come away from the movie with a message of hope - the documentary, Luna said, is an illustration of how the gay community comes together and supports itself, especially at times of crisis.
"Desert Hate" begins with footage of the Feb. 13 march, which was held to protest violence against gays. The march drew over 1,000 participants, and the route included a stop at Rainbow Planet to drop flowers before heading to the UA Mall.
Zach Hansen, a University of Arizona philosophy junior, was stabbed in the back on Feb. 6 outside of Rainbow Planet Coffee House, 606 N. Fourth Ave, by a man, who, after attacking Hansen, was reported to have shouted, "Jesus hates fags."
The attacker, 37-year-old Gary Grayson, was charged with attempted first-degree murder and is currently being evaluated for competency at a state mental hospital before standing trial.
Luna turned to Pan Left Productions - a local film group and one of the sponsors of the event, along with the UA department of lesbian, gay and bisexual studies - to help with the promotion and distribution of "Desert Hate." The title of the film, Luna said, has a double meaning - referring to the meanings of "desert" as in "to abandon," and the crime's Tucson location.
Instrumental to the film was Beverly Seckinger, co-coordinator for the Lesbian Looks Film Series and associate professor of media arts. Seckinger was one of the prime motivating factors behind the creation of his documentary, Luna said.
Seckinger is currently working on a full-length documentary on the slaying of Matthew Shephard, a gay man who was killed in her home town of Laramie, Wyo. in 1998. After Hansen's stabbing, Seckinger explained to Luna how it was his duty to make the documentary, Luna said.
Luna said the intent of "Desert Hate" is to address human rights issues, to show the pride of the gay community, and to demonstrate the animosity that many still feel toward gays and lesbians.
Over the next several years, Luna said he ultimately hopes to see more acceptance of the gay culture.
Luna also said that despite the cruelty of the stabbing, he does not feel any particular animosity towards Hansen's attacker.
"This man is obviously sick," he said.
"Desert Hate" will be shown tomorrow at the Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St., at 7:30 p.m.
Justin Trapp can be reached at catalyst@wildcat.arizona.edu.
