2022 Entry #021 02-01-22 “The Abominable Crime” is a 2013 documentary which was directed by award winning producer Micah Fink. The film explores the impacts of homophobia through the eyes of two Jamaicans who are forced to choose between their homeland and their lives. Simone, a young lesbian mother, survives being shot outside of her home by anti-gay gunmen; her gay brother escaped. She must choose between living in hiding with her daughter in Jamaica or traveling alone to seek safety and asylum abroad. Maurice, Jamaica’s leading gay-rights activist, is outed shortly after filing a lawsuit to overturn Jamaica’s anti-sodomy law.
This was really well done; very impressive work. The film covers several years in the lives of these brave souls who not only make incredibly powerful and brave choices in their lives but also have the courage to allow their story to be told. The piece opens with a stylized prologue telling of the shooting that haunts Simone and drives her to action. We see her and her young daughter Khalya. We meet her brother Albert “Carl” Edwards and hear how their stories interconnect. And it’s all so heartbreaking and eventually inspiring. It wasn’t always easy to watch – I was very concerned about what would happen – and in the end I was happy to have watched this.
Maurice’s story is just another piece of this broken story. Having been outed after fighting for LGBT equality in Jamaica, Maruice and his husband are forced to flee to Canada. And yet Maurice continues to fight for his country and those he left behind by returning and seeking change.
I really liked this and I recommend watching it.