A short film supporting marriage equality has been released in Mudgee just in time for the arrival of the same-sex marriage survey.
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The film simply titled – Chair Guy – was filmed three years ago by residents Sam Paine and Ben Lynch as part of Mudgee Picture Co, but the duo, who directed and produced the clip, were just waiting for the ‘right time to release it’.
“The film began as a sketch with the working title Humpy Chair, which we released to an immediate panning,” Ben said.
“Some folks had thought the sketch was homophobic, which was absolutely not our intent, we wanted to draw attention to the silly, paranoid and superstitious arguments against marriage equality.
“So we remade it, as a sketch within a sketch, loosely based on our experiences. Before long, it morphed into a short film and took on a life of its own.”
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“The organic nature of the project was a delight. It was born of passion, which makes for the best kind of storytelling,” Ben explained.
“The short film was made on the smell of an oily rag, with everyone donating their time and services. We had tremendous support from local businesses in giving us locations.
“Love; not darkness. Light; not hate.”
Australian Bureau of Statistic started sending survey forms to 16 million Australians this week, inviting them to answer a "yes" or "no" question: "Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?"
The ABS released copies of the form on Monday, revealing a clean and simple page alongside instructions it hopes will ensure a smooth voting process. Recipients are advised to return their survey quickly - "today if you can" - using the reply-paid envelope included with the form (it will not cost you anything to vote).
600,000 surveys will be distributed.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull encouraged all Australians to participate in the process - and reinforced his call for people to vote "yes".