- Young James struggles as the outsider kid at his school. His teacher, Mr. Sutherland, the only person he feels he can connect with. When James finally puts a voice to his feelings, Mr. Sutherland's response isn't what James had hoped for.
- James has learnt to be withdrawn and secretive in a family with long buried secrets. Lonely and confused, he is drawn to one of his schoolteachers, Mr Sutherland, focusing on him as the one person who might understand his inner turmoil. When an older man approaches him in a public toilet, James panics and calls his mother, but refuses to tell her what happened. Late that night, James listens to his parents arguing about him. His fathers offhanded dismissal of his mothers concern results in a vicious row. When a devastated James turns to Mr Sutherland for help, the teachers response leads James to take an irrevocable step.—Anonymous
- The short film, Conor Clements gives us "James," Here we have a shy boy who struggles with inner toil over his burgeoning feelings. James seeks out help, people in his life to get answers to understand his feelings. In a family that is steeped in English tradition where homosexuality is not accepted, James feels unable to approach this parents with his feelings. Instead, he reaches out to a teacher who who is unable to help him due to tensions about homosexual acceptance in today's homophobic world. His decision take him in an unknown path. James speaks of a problem that we have not addressed in our new X-Generation world. On the cusp of this new sexual awakening filled with girls and boys "coming out" in their tween years, many adults feel ill-equipped to handle a world changed before our eyes. James asks us if we are prepared to face our bigotry and hate. Meanwhile these boys and girls step out into a world that still reels in the pain of the Matthew Sheppard killing. So, do we answer their young questions as support their feelings or do we leave these children to the streets and the dark underworld where pedophiles and the sex trade are rife? These are the questions James forces us to answer.
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