Once again, the immediacy of digital video brings the previously unheard stories of non­ Western homosexuals from around the world to the forefront of our vision and perspective. In Tarik El Hob, a young student provides his point of view about the lives of gay men in the Maghreb region (encompassing Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia).

Karim is a sociology student who has decid­ed to make a film about homosexuality in this predominantly Islamic Arab region. He sets out to interview gay men, which is challenging enough in a repressive society. Some men run away, while others suggest seductive intentions upon meeting the handsome Karim. He devel­ ops a friendship with Farid, an openly gay flight attendant who questions Karim's heterosexuality. When Farid gives him a book of Persian love poems, Karim's girlfriend discovers it and subse­quently leaves him — but she also encourages him to further explore his homosexuality. Free to do just that, he and Farid go to Marrakech together and discover a whole new world.

While making his documentary, Karim's research lends to the unearthing of a rich histo­ ry of homosexuality in both Islam and Northern Africa. In learning that some regions not only accepted-but encouraged-gay unions, Karim embraces his homosexuality on his own terms.