The sleepy coastal village of Hanuabada sits on the north western outskirts of Papua New Guinea's capital, Port Moresby, and is probably best known for producing half of PNG's national cricket team. What it is less known for is being a safe haven for Port Moresby's gay and transgender community. Homosexuality is illegal in Papua New Guinea, punishable by up to 14 years in prison, but actual prosecutions are not common, and the laws are rarely enforced. Instead, it is the hate crimes, violence and discrimination incited by the law that puts gay and transgender Papua New Guineans at risk. Gay men walking the streets of Port Moresby are often targeted by local men, particularly those who hail from PNG's highland provinces, and have been raped, beaten and even murdered. But in Hanuabada, things are different. Documentary filmmaker and photographer Vlad Sokhin noticed this when he stumbled on the village during his travels. As he and his co-producer Roman Kalyakin got to know the gay and transgender people of Hanuabada, he learned that it was a safe space where people live openly, without fear of retaliation from locals. In Papua New Guinea, the Gelegele tend to take traditionally female roles in society. They do the cooking, wash clothes and participate on the women's side in cultural rituals and traditional festivals. One of the Gelegele featured in Vlad's documentary film Guavas and Bananas: Living Gay in PNG, is Haraga, known to locals as 'Speedy'. Speedy has lived in Hanubada village for 22 years, moving there at the age of 15. He says over that time, the village has changed from a place that would broach him with hostility to one where he commands respect. When they grow a bit bigger, 13 or 14, when they are used to us, they respect us, so that's how the village is nowadays. Vlad says some teenage boys come to gay men seeking their first sexual experience because they are too shy to approach girls. Openly gay PNG musician Moses Tau said in the documentary, that in PNG, most gay men go with straight or bisexual men. Speedy talks of his straight lover, who visits him in Hanuabada regularly. Violence and stigma in the capital Some of Port Moresby's nightclubs hold gay nights, attended by both Gelegele, often dressed in women's clothing, and straight or bisexual men from the capital. Speedy says leaving the safety of the village to attend these nights is always a risk. When we're in the club, well, it's a gay club so we have to act like a gay, but when we are outside of the club we have to be a strong guy to protect ourselves. The festival tours around the country, from big cities to tiny villages, screening films addressing human rights issues in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific. Discussion panels are held between screenings, with viewers encouraged to discuss the films. Vlad's documentary has been somewhat controversial, but from what he saw on the festival's social media pages, it seems to be changing some hearts and minds.