HOLDING THE MAN (FILM TIE IN)

In the mid-seventies at an all-boys Catholic school in Melbourne, Timothy Conigrave fell wildly and sweetly in love with the captain of the football team. So began a relationship that was to last for fifteen years, a love affair that weathered disapproval, separation and, ultimately, death.

With honesty and insight, Conigrave's bestselling memoir explores the highs and lows of any partnership: the intimacy, constraints and temptations. And the strength of heart both men had to find when they tested positive to HIV.

As uplifting as it is moving, Holding the Man is a funny, sad and celebratory account of growing up gay, and a powerful love story.

Now a major feature film directed by Neil Armfield and starring Ryan Corr, Craig Stott, Kerry Fox, Camilla Ah Kin and Sarah Snook with Guy Pearce and Anthony LaPaglia.

Timothy Conigrave was born in Melbourne in 1959 and educated at Xavier College and Monash University. He trained as an actor at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1984. He appeared in such plays as Brighton Beach Memoirs and As Is with The Fabulous Globos. He initiated the project Soft Targets, seen at Griffin Theatre in 1986. His other plays include Blitz Kids and Thieving Boy. Timothy Conigrave died in October 1994, shortly after completing his book Holding the Man.