Homophobia (2012)

Interesting facts

Homophobia is a 2012 Austrian short film directed by Gregor Schmidinger and produced by Schmidinger and Julian Wiehl. The film had its premiere in Vienna on 11 May 2012, and was released online on 14 May 2012 as a contribution to the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia on 17 May 2012. The film stars Michael Glantschnig, Josef Mohamed, Günther Sturmlechner and Harald Bodingbauer. Homophobia is set in the 1990s during the winter solstice, and is about a young Austrian soldier, Michael, who attempts suicide using a firearm, because of bullying over his homosexuality, during a watch on the Austrian-Hungarian border on the last night of his seven-week military service.

Background and production

Prior to the release of Homophobia, Schmidinger released the gay-themed short film The Boy Next Door in 2008. One of his inspirations for Homophobia was the suicide of Jamey Rodemeyer in 2011, attributed to bullying due to his homosexuality, and a video Rodemeyer had submitted for the Internet-based 501(c)3 non-profit It Gets Better Project.

For filming, a Canon EOS C300 was chosen for its ability to film low light scenes, and the camera's sharpness. Electric generator trucks were used for some low light sequences. With the local mayor's support, the film was shot at a former tobacco factory in Linz that had been repurposed to host film and other art productions, and the woods surrounding it. Several scenes have the actors' faces very near to the camera.

Homophobia was originally intended to have a happy ending, but it was removed by Schmidinger. In an interview, he confessed, "a cheesy ending was out of the question for me. ... The happy endings of feature movies never really happen in real life.

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