Westport film screening to benefit LGBT prom

A documentary film about New Zealand's Topp Sisters -- lesbian singers, comics and political activists -- will be screened Friday evening, March 9, at the Unitarian Church in Westport.

The show is planned at 7:30 p.m., and proceeds will benefit the Rainbow Ball, an alternative high-school prom in June for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender students.

The film, "Topp Twins -- Untouchable Girls," tells the story of twin sisters Jools and Lynda Topp and the international following they have developed.

Born on an isolated dairy farm in 1958, the sisters country-music roots and yodeling are based on listening to recordings on a wind-up gramaphone as girls, according to their website. Their often satirical comedy spans a variety of characters they portray.

Openly lesbian since the late 1970s -- before some New Zealand newspapers would print the word, the website says -- they have been anti-nuclear and anti-apartheid activists and promoted gay rights.

Admission will not be charged, organizers said, but donations will be sought for the second annual Rainbow Ball planned in June at Stamford's Westhill High School.

For more information, call David Vita at the Unitarian Church in Westport, 203-227-7205, Ext. 14, or email him at: david@uuwestport.org.