‘Converted’ is a new must-watch documentary on RTÉ Player

Produced and directed by young Irish filmmaker Suzie Keegan, Converted is a new documentary all about gay conversion therapy in Ireland.

Exploring the stories of four different men, the visually creative narrative provides four distinct points of view. Amongst the interviewees are; a man who experienced conversion therapy himself, a man who provides it, a man who believes that it should be an option for those who seek it and a man who worked as an undercover journalist to find out more about it. While LGBTQ+ rights in Ireland have progressed rapidly in recent years - with the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the 1990s, the passing of the same-sex marriage referendum in 2015 and the appointment of an openly gay Taoiseach in 2017, there is still a ways to go in terms of what can be done to combat such practices. Converted, which premiered on RTÉ Player this week, also draws attention to the Prohibition of Conversion Therapies Bill, put forward by Senator Fintan Warfield. The bill, which has already passed its second stage in the Seanad, would make gay conversion practices illegal in Ireland, introducing fines and even prison sentences in extreme cases. Still quite a taboo subject, the documentary acts as a starting point for conversations around the practices, especially within an Irish context. Watch the full video here.  

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