Media Release
For Immediate Release - 7 Sept, 2005.
Sensory Image and Frontier Films presents
LIBERTY IN RESTRAINT
behind the eyes of a fetish photographer
A feature documentary directed by Michael Ney.
"eye popping, jaw dropping and mind bending"
Andrew L. Urban - Urban Cinefile
The Australian premiere of this controversial film (rated R 18+ High level sexual themes, activity, references) will screen at the Chauvel Cinema on Friday, September 23 at 8.30pm. This begins a brief season. After this, the film will begin a tour of major cities in Australia. The film has an original music soundtrack composed by Barton Staggs, who was also co-editor.
Three years in the making, 'Liberty In Restraint' is an innovative look "deep behind enemy lines" exposing the life and work of fetish photographer, Noel Graydon. We see the creation of striking fetish portraits, and also explore "Suffer the Little Children" - a complex sacrilegious tableau protesting priest paedophilia, highlighting "the antics of Dr George Pell and Dr Peter Hollingsworth".
Starting as an apprentice photographer in Brisbane, Noel's desire to delve into bondage/discipline and sado-masochism quickly led him to Sydney and he leaves his photography far behind in order to become "an insider looking out" and experience all that the fetish world has to offer. Noel transformed into Master Venom and worked for four years as a 'BDSM Master' (male sex worker). He then met key personalities in this clandestine world, whom he eventually brings to light via his photographs. He was also living perilously close to the edge with drug addiction, but ultimately survived to regain his photographic prowess.
'Liberty In Restraint' picks up the story there to reveal the passion for his art and its themes. We meet Noel's friends and mentors, bondage performance artists, and many others from the community he moves within, and even enter deeply private dungeon moments to investigate their controversial, transgressive activities.
Now, fully recovered from addiction, with wife Annette and two children, Noel is gaining recognition for his unusual fine art photography. After several exhibits here, his work was recently accepted into the Seattle Erotic Art Festival, April 15-17, 2005.
'Liberty in Restraint' has been invited to the Atlantic Film Festival, the third largest mainstream film festival in Canada, screening on September 18. It will also screen in Texas at the Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival on September 30, as well as the CineKink Film Festival in New York on October 21. Last year a 35 minute work-in-progress version of 'Liberty in Restraint' won Best Short Documentary at this same festival. An early edit also previewed to well attended audiences at the Queerscreen Festivals in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
After a long and varied career in theatre, photography, multimedia and video production, this is the first documentary feature for director, Michael Ney. Over the last five years, Michael has been the video archivist for Popcorn Taxi, and over the last two years he has also been an active committee member of OZDOX - The Australian Documentary Forum.
After the success of the shorter version of 'Liberty in Restraint' in New York, further screenings in San Francisco were met with enthusiastic response and bookings for the feature in USA and Europe for the future have been encouraging for such a controversial project.
Interviews with director, Michael Ney, and also others in the film, can be scheduled up to September 21. For further information on the documentary, including photos, crew bios, interviews, reviews and previous versions' screening news, please go to:
http://www.libertyinrestraint.com
Review copies of the 'Liberty in Restraint' DVD and presskits are available on request.
For all media enquires please contact:
Producer, Frank Shields - 0407 350 842 - frontier@oceanguard.com
Producer/Director, Michael Ney - 0418 965 517 - info@sensoryimage.net
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