Bastardy actor blocked

I never got around to seeing Bastardy, the doco on actor Jack Charles. By all accounts it's a brilliant film and Charles is a complicated character whose contributions to Australian theatre have been considerable. His life has been just as dramatic; his hundreds of acting credits are matched by a history of addiction, homelessness, criminal activity and the difficulties of living as both gay and Aboriginal over decades in which both weren't (aren't...) exactly positive calling cards in mainstream Aussie culture. Yesterday I received notice of the following: "LEGENDARY ABORIGINAL ACTOR AND CULTURAL LEADER DENIED ACCESS TO THE UK

Jack was recently invited to speak before a series of screenings of Bastardy at the Sheffield International Documentary Festival- one of the most prestigious documentary festivals in the world.

On the 22nd of October Jack was denied entry to the United Kingdom because of his previous criminal record.

Friends and supporters of Jack are now desperately seeking anyone who can leverage intervention on a federal government level;

Please help give Jack this incredibly important cultural opportunity to speak at this international forum."

The full press release is available here: http://www.sendspace.com/file/lhmtv5

As I say, I haven't seen the film so I can't really comment, but thought the story of interest.