William Yang

This is the story behind one of the world’s most loved films; about three unlikely Australian hero-(ine)s daring to step up from the shadows in their shimmering sequined glory and be counted. It’s the story of how a low-budget Australian film about three drag queens changed the course of history and loudly and proudly brought a celebration of gay culture to the world that continues to resonate twenty years on.

Aussie boys of Asian descent candidly discuss their status as a "minority within a minority".

Based on photographer William Yang's one man stage show, "Sadness" chronicles two diverging narratives through the use of slide photography, oral history and stylised recreation. One story follows Yang's pilgrimage into the heart of the North Queensland sugar cane fields as he investigates the murder of his uncle Fang Yuen. The other is a series of moving portraits of the many friends and lovers Yang has lost to AIDS. Director Tony Ayres skillfully weaves these two separate stories together creating a powerful testament to family, friends, love and loss. Cinematography by Tristan Milani. Narrated by William Yang.

Renowned Australian artist William Yang traces the labyrinthine web of his family history in this adaptation of his iconic live performance piece. William was born and raised in North Queensland, his grandparents having migrated from China to the Top End during the 1880s gold rush. Yet it was not until mid-life that he claimed his Chinese heritage, which had hitherto been lost to him by his complete assimilation into the Australian way of life. William's transatlantic exploration of his genealogy unites him with scores of relatives from all walks of life, some rich, but most ordinary folk with menial jobs, and most cannot speak a word of Chinese. A visual feast, Blood Links examines how the Chinese diaspora establish roots in foreign soil, and how over the generations, through intermarriage, blood is mixed; yet the intricate bonds of family remain.

William Yang is a third-generation Australian-Chinese artist, born and raised in Queensland. He is best known for his documentary photographs and his narrative monologues with slide projections. Many of Yang's works examine his Chinese family history, gay identity or themes such as AIDS. This short documentary looks at one aspect of William's work as a photographer - the photos he takes of male nudes. In many ways, this is the most personal and vulnerable of his work because it always involves a negotiation or transaction.

In the ’70s and ’80s, photographer William Yang captured Sydney’s emerging artistic, literary, theatrical and queer circles; as well as his friendships with artists, writers and fashion designers such as Brett Whiteley, Patrick White, Linda Jackson and Jenny Kee. With myriad images and his trademark candid narration, Yang leads us though this beguilingly decadent and creative era.

Photographer William Yang came out in Sydney in the early 70s, a period of great social change. "I never consciously came out as a gay man, I was swept out by events at the time." He has seen the formation of a gay activist culture in the 70s, the commercialization of the gay scene in the 80s, and lived through the devastating effects of AIDS in the early 90s. With myriad images and his trademark candid narration, Yang leads us though this beguiling era of sexual discovery, politics, love and loss.