A new drama film focusing of the experience of a teenager undergoing “gay conversion” therapy was awarded the top prize at the Sundance film festival at the weekend.
Starring actress Chloe Grace Moretz (pictured, right), The Miseducation of Cameron Post looks at the horrific real-life practice of “gay reparative therapy”.
In the film, teenager Cameron from Utah is sent away to an institution to “cure” her sexuality with the harmful therapy after she’s caught in a romantic encounter with the Prom Queen.
Accepting the award, Moretz said the production team of the film wanted to dedicate the award to the real-life survivors of the practice.
“On behalf of the entire Cameron Post team we want to dedicate this to the LGBTQ survivors of sexual conversion therapy,” she said.
“We just wanted to make this movie to shine a light onto the fact that it is only illegal in nine states out of the 50 states in this country to practice sexual conversion therapy.”
Peak counselling and psychotherapy bodies in the UK, US, Australia and other countries have strongly condemned the practices as unethical, unscientific and potentially dangerous.
The film was directed by Deriree Akhavan from a 2012 novel by Emily M Danforth and was making its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
