Ready for Ransom

About this title

In this short film, the late protagonist Ransom Bradford (1937-2013) talks about the reasons for his decision to undergo shock therapy with the aim of becoming straight. At the same time, the filmmaker takes the filmed interviews, which he had kept in his closet for 17 years, as a starting point to reflect on his friendship with Ransom – as well as on their age difference of 36 years. The film invites the viewer to reflect on the ways social norms and stigmatization relate to emotions and are inscribed into bodies. It addresses love and loss and treasures relationality and gay desire.