Dannii Minogue falls in love with a film by a 17 year old Sydney schoolboy

Dannii Minogue has fallen in love with a short film about falling in love, written and performed by 17 year old Sydney schoolboy Kim Ho.

Over the weekend, Dannii tweeted to her more than 1 million fans on Twitter that The Language of Love, Kim’s film, is ‘#awesome’, ‘#moving’ and a ‘#mustwatch’. Dannii also posted on her Tumblr that the film is ‘incredible’ and that that the film is ‘incredibly moving’.

The Language of Love was developed by Kim (17) under the mentorship of leading gay Australian playwright Tommy (Holding the man) Murphy for the Australian Theatre for Young People in Sydney, and filmed by director Laura Scrivano at Sydney Grammar School in January. It tells the story of a young student who, in the middle of a French exam, realises he is in love with his best friend and has to make up his mind over what to do next.

Since being put online in mid-April, the film has been seen over 200,000 times on YouTube and has been featured on websites around the world, including The Huffington Post and Buzzfeed.

Dan Prichard, producer of the film for atyp’s The Voices Project, says:

‘We are thrilled that Dannii has seen and loves the film. We have a lot of fantastic responses to the film from young people all around the world, and it’s very exciting to know that the film is now also being seen by so many of Dannii’s fans.’

Dannii’s tweet below

#TheLanguageofLove written & performed by Kim Ho #awesome #moving #mustwatch @FreshInkATYP #equalmarriage … http://t.co/ASSyHcOArH

— Dannii Minogue (@DanniiMinogue) July 27, 2013

And her Tumblr post here.

The film can be seen below

Find out more about the making of the film, below.

But more than just the number of times the film has been seen, the response the film is finding amongst its viewers, particularly among gay teenagers, has thrilled its makers.

Hundreds of comments have been made wherever the film has been posted about how accurately and sensitively the film represents and reflects both the universal experience of first love and but also the emotions of a young man coming to terms with his awakening sexuality.

‘As a gay teenager just out of high school, it felt like my experiences externalised, and delivered in such a way as to leave me breathless throughout- I wish I could’ve seen The Language of Love when I felt exactly the same. ‘ (YouTube comment)

I don’t remember ever seeing anything as poignant and beautiful as this. I wish this film had been around when I was in love with my best friend in high school. There is enough depth and truth here to save lives. (YouTube comment)

‘This can easily become an iconic literary work for all teens facing such issues, and heaven knows they need to see they are not alone and that their thoughts are normal and not weird…AND FOLLOW YOUR HEART.’ (YouTube comment)

‘As an educator looking for meaningful films for my students, I thank you! I thank you not only for treating the topic of love with such humanity, honesty and genius, but also for reminding me that it is the voices of the young that are the future for us all. Thank you for the wonderful lesson that is this film is for me as a teacher of young people.’ (YouTube comment)

‘I was afraid to tell my friend but then I heard Kim Ho’s words over and over again, so I wrote “je t’aime” on a piece of paper and gave it to him while holding his other hand’ (YouTube comment

Says Kim Ho, writer and star:

It’s hard for me to believe that The Language of Love has had such a widespread and positive reception I am humbled by the deeply personal responses we have had and immensely proud that the film has been treated with emotional maturity and respect. I’m very excited that Dannii loves it!

Laura Scrivano, director:

‘I’m completed thrilled that The Language of Love has connected with audiences. Reading the online comments has been nothing short of overwhelming. I wanted to direct Kim’s monologue because it both captivated and deeply moved me, and I’m so pleased we’ve been able to bring this story, and Kim’s voice to a wider audience.”

Produced as part of an ongoing online writing program for theatre and film (The Voices Project) from the Australian Theatre for Young People, 2 more versions of the film, with Chinese and Spanish subtitles, have now been launched alongside the original film, to allow a much wider audience to enjoy the film.

MySoCalledGayLife.co.uk says,

Honest, directly from the heart that brings back memories from the teenage years. Explaining his love to his best friend so beautiful and good that you easily can put your self in Kim’s place. If you’re not feeling like you’ve been touch by an love angel, you should watch it one more time and listen carefully! Thank you, Kim!

Photo by The Voices Project

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