It's more often than not that a documentary will offer a lesson to its viewers.

Such is the case with Jerusalem is Proud to Present, which screened last week as part of the Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF).

The movie, by Israeli director Nitzan Gilady, captures a human rights struggle witnessed around the world ¿ the clash between gays and the religious communities that don't subscribe to their way of life.

In this instance, the conflict arises over a decision to host the World Pride events in Jerusalem, events that would culminate in a gay pride parade.

Ironically, the filmmaker was going through a battle of his own during the two-and-a-half year shoot. At 35, Mr. Gilady had just 'come out' to members of his conservative family, whose beliefs were more aligned with those opposed to the event then taking place.

"It's not a personal story but it was a personal journey for me," recalled the director during an interview in Bermuda last week.

"I was approached by my co-producer to direct the film. I had just come out, I think, actually when I started filming, to my family and they took it really hard. They weren't that open about (the gay community) and so it was interesting because I spent a lot of time debating about what I would do. I'd made other documentaries before, but with this film I knew I would have to deal with everything upfront."

The 2006 events were organised by Jerusalem Open House, an organisation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, supported by other human rights groups, and the city's first gay councillor.

"The planned events stirred turmoil in the politically complex city with Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious leaders banding together in an uncompromising battle against what they said would 'defile the holy city'," reads a BIFF synopsis of the documentary. It was against that setting that Mr. Gilady agreed to direct the film.

"Just the idea of knowing the Open House people were organising the World Pride to happen in Jerusalem, you knew right away that, unfortunately, it would create a conflict.

"And when you make documentaries, when you make any film, that's what you're looking for. So right away I knew this was going to be an interesting project but I never imagined it would go so far in terms of how the religious communities would react to the idea of having the gay march.

"I live in Tel Aviv. Tel Aviv's very open. It's very much like New York. So to be honest, I didn't know that it was still so difficult in Jerusalem. I didn't know that they had to fight so much for human rights over there, that there is a struggle and people are threatening them with phone calls, sending hate letters or trying to fight you because you're gay.

"It was very, very surprising. As much as I knew my family had a hard time with it, I'm sure they would never try to do something to hurt other people."

The idea was always to present a balanced perspective of the situation which was then panning out, said Mr. Gilady. Jerusalem is Proud to Present has been recognised for that objectivity, awarded by Movies that Matter and the International Documentary Film Festival, Amsterdam.

"I knew it shouldn't be just a gay film, it had to be more than that. For me, it had to be a film about human rights," he stated. "And because of that I looked for characters from both sides."

Members of the cast were passionate in their disparate views, but it soon became evident that one side was far less tolerant.

"I found out that the religious people would go as far as they wanted, in the name of religion, to hurt other people," he claimed.

"I have nothing against religion. I respect religion. But I don't respect people using religion to hurt other people or to try to push their opinion and brainwash other people. I don't respect people doing something that for me, is very much against the Bible.

"The Bible calls for the love of humans yet there's so many religious people that find ways to turn it to their benefit, to turn it against people. We're all creatures of God I believe. If you believe in God, you have to believe gay people are a creation of God."

The director admitted he didn't personally see the need for parades prior to the making of the film. On discovering the struggles the gay community faced in Jerusalem however, his opinion was altered.

"I'd always asked myself, 'Why do we have to have a march? Why can't we just come to a point where we don't need to march for human rights? We don't need to say anything.' The march in Jerusalem was very much more political. It (wasn't planned) with all the dancing and music and nakedness and all that ¿ all that is fine, people should do whatever they want, but it (was planned to be) much more respectable in Jerusalem.

"Still, I was not so much for it. But then, slowly, slowly as I worked on the film ¿ we shot it for almost two and a half years ¿ I realised that if you have to do a march somewhere, it should be in Jerusalem because there's still so much work to do. There's a lot of struggle to get the human rights that everyone should have, and especially the gay community."

Several postponements of the march extended the project to more than two years. Along the way, Mr. Gilady gained invaluable understanding of the reasons behind the conflict he was attempting to capture on film.

"We'd done a lot of research but we (found some things) really funny. One of the first scenes in the film is the meeting between all the religious groups ¿ the Muslims and the Christians and the Jewish groups met together to condemn the parade, to try and stop it.

"It's a really funny scene. I remember when I went to shoot it I couldn't hold my camera because it felt like a (religious) drag show. They were all in costumes and were saying all these really funny things: 'Jerusalem is not the homo land, it's the holy land', 'God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve'. To hear such things from religious people, you wonder what's going on? They're (meant to be) informed."

According to the director, because the religious groups never questioned him as to his own sexual preference, such comments were made freely in his presence.

"I never lied to them. I presented myself as a filmmaker who was doing a film about the parade and said I wanted to include characters from both sides. I think they thought it was a great tool for them to actually present their 'interesting' opinions about the gay community.

"In the beginning they actually really liked it. When you watch the film it's obvious the characters loved the camera. But slowly, slowly they started to be a bit suspicious. They would talk in Yiddish and start to question (whether) I was a professional cameraman."

As the events became more heated and the anti-gay sentiment became more violent, being a homosexual in Jerusalem "was really scary", Mr. Gilady said, explaining that all sorts of arguments were made in favour of why homosexuality is wrong.

"The religions say, first of all, that it's written in the Bible. You can't really make any progress with that argument. Other people against it argued that they shouldn't (hold a march) in a holy place. But what does that mean? That the gay people aren't holy, that the gay people can condemn other places? Or people said they were just provoking the other side.

"But if you watch the film you'll see the Open House was always in communication with the religious organisations. They picked a street that doesn't go through the holy places. They were very much trying to work with them. It was, for them, a political statement. It wasn't to provoke anyone at all."

And then came the day he was publicly 'out-ed' by the religious groups he'd filmed.

"At one point they saw me filming the gay community and the light went on. They started shouting, 'You're gay. Now we know you're gay'. I was very, very angry at their reaction. It doesn't matter what I am. So what? They were getting a great opportunity to actually send their message through the film.

"If you see the film it's almost equal, the way the different sides are represented. I didn't do anything to harm the way they wanted to present their opinions because I believe (showing them) is actually a good thing. If the documentary was just going to be about the gay community or just show the gay perspective of (the events), I knew I would lose a lot of people that are against (gays). When I show another opinion it's much easier for (more conservative) people to watch it."

As one example, he said his family refused to attend the film's screening. His father watched it when it later aired on a commercial channel in Israel but took three days to confess having done so.

"He called, we talked about something else, and all of a sudden he said, 'I saw the film. It's a really good film. You're a really good director and I really liked that you showed the other side also'. What he was trying to tell me was that he feels more attached to the rabbis than the gay community."

Neither the religious groups nor the gay activists scored a true victory. However, Mr. Gilady feels that by promoting the events to the wider world, he is helping advance the cause of human rights.

"At the end they actually weren't able to march. Not because the religious people were able to stop it ¿ in Israel we are a democratic country and the court ruled that the march could happen ¿ but as you can see in the film, each time they actually tried to make it, something happened outside of the main struggle between the religious and the gay community.

"It was either the Lebanon war, or the withdrawal from Gaza or at the end, it was a big bombing from Israel on the Palestinians. And as a result of that, the police couldn't secure the march and they decided to hold a parade in a closed stadium.

"The feedback has been great. It's been well received at film festivals and also on TV. There's been wonderful Q. & A. (sessions following the presentations). People don't want to leave the theatres because it creates a great debate.

"So it's doing really well. It got, in Amsterdam, Best Documentary on human rights. It won Best Outstanding Documentary at Outfest, which is the biggest gay film festival in LA. And since then it's been doing everything ¿ the major film festivals, the gay festivals, the Jewish festivals and the human rights also. It talks to so many groups."

Asked why he'd never tackled a film about the gay community before, Mr. Gilady said it was important for him to deal with his own homosexuality first.

"I'd like to think it took me some time to deal with myself. You can't make a film when you're a bit scared still. It's sad. I came out to my friends when I was 21 but to my parents when I was 35, which is kind of late.

"Also I think it has to do with my origins. My family's from Yemen and they come from a culture that is very, very traditional and I have to admit I understand their point of view in terms of the fact that they don't know this world so they were so afraid.

"It was a very difficult struggle back when everybody's telling you that this is a wrong thing, it's a mental disease. Not that I accepted what they said (about the gay community in my presence).

"I always said, 'I have friends like that, don't say things like that'. So as much as I wanted to embrace everything, in order to stand in front of my family I needed to be strong enough to be complete with myself. At the beginning they were extremely against it. Now they don't accept it but they still accept me as their son, they come to visit me every weekend."

His advice to others is to come clean as soon as possible despite his belief there remains a stigma against gays in large portions of the world.

"I think that it's a long process. It's as if you've been carrying a burden (which is) ruining your life. I would (advise someone) if you're gay and you can come out, try to come out as soon as you can because that's who you are.

"You can't change it. You're born like that and that's what it is. As much as people will try to convince you that it's not true, this is what it is. And it's better to live with yourself at peace than to live with fear and self-hatred all your life.

"I think there is a stigma around the world. It's important to always remember that gay communities are not just in big cities or in city centres they're also outside. You go to middle America, and people are being bashed for it sometimes. If you look at the youth, the percentage of them committing suicide is high.

"So there's still so much work to be done. I don't believe in always raising the flag, but I believe in working and trying to educate other people. I believe in trying to send a message of understanding and accepting. And trying to also understand the other side, trying to see how to let them (get closer) to see that it's not something they should be fearful of, it's not something that is contagious."

The filmmaker said he knew nothing of Bermuda's official stance on human rights for gays until he was about to travel to the island. It was then he learned how recently homosexuality had been stricken as an illegal act and of attempts to modernise the law in that regard.

"I thought it was really sad. This is actually proof why people who work so hard for human rights should have to make (films like this) and send it all over the world. It actually made it more special for me to have the screening here. It's a statement. And to understand also, that the festival picked it up is a great deal for me. It says something through that. It sends a message."

Currently travelling the festival circuit with Jerusalem is Proud to Present, Mr. Gilady is already at work on another documentary, after which he embarks on a fictional film.

"Especially with this film, the Q. & A. (sessions) are very important to me, to try and send a message, to create a debate even if people don't agree. For example the religious people made so much noise (in protest), they didn't realise it came (at them) from the back door.

"Because then, in their communities, every little kid started asking what is a gay man? What is a lesbian? Because they talked about it so much, because it was all over the news, people started asking questions. So this is a great tool to create a debate and to give people the opportunity to talk and to ask questions."