‘Out in the Silence’: Documentary builds bridges on gay issues, teen suicides

HALEIWA—There’s a film out there that touches on one of the most urgent human and civil rights concerns of our time, particularly here in Hawaii, where the whole debate over marriage equality began and continues to this day, and where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth face enormous challenges gaining acceptance in their families, schools, and communities, according to filmmaker Dean Hamer.

Out in the Silence, an Emmy award-winning documentary about religious attitudes toward same-sex unions and the struggles faced by gay teens, will have its Pacific premiere at the Hawaii International Film Festival at the Regal Dole Cannery Stadium Theater on October 23 at 4:00 p.m. North Shore Oahu filmmakers Hamer and Joe Wilson will follow the screening of their documentary with a talk story session aimed at engaging the audience in a conversation about inclusion, fairness, and equality for Hawaii’s LGBT.

“We’re hopeful that the inclusion of the film in the premiere international film event in the Pacific will help open up dialogue and civil engagement on this topic throughout the region,” Hamer said in a statement.

The film, produced in association with the Sundance Institute, premiered in the 2010 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival at New York’s Lincoln Center and has won numerous film festival kudos as well as an Emmy award for outstanding achievement in documentary. But Wilson and Hamer are most interested in using it as part of a grassroots campaign to raise LGBT visibility, build bridges across identity lines and morally charged religious divides, and advocate for safe schools.

Wilson and Hamer have stated that they did not set out to make a documentary about LGBT issues, but after the couple announced their wedding in Wilson’s small Pennsylvania hometown newspaper, there was a firestorm of controversy initiated by the head of the American Family Association of Pa., who happened to live in the town.

“In Pennsylvania just as in Hawaii, there are certain people who try to use religion as a wedge issue to divide communities,” said Wilson. “But as we documented the controversy over three years, it became apparent that many more people wanted to have a civil dialogue and close the gaps that have divided families and neighbors for far to long.”

Two key figures in the documentary are an Evangelical preacher and his wife who start off as vehement opponents of same-sex unions. After getting to know Wilson and Hamer over several years of filming, and meeting other LGBT people in their community, they have a change of heart and become close friends.

“It was a remarkable journey for all of us”, said Hamer. “It just goes to show the type of transformation that is possible when people on opposite sides of an issue lay down their swords and get to know one another.”

The film also documents the harrowing, and ultimately successful, journey of CJ, a gay teen whose mother contacted Wilson after her son was brutally gay bashed at high school. Their efforts to hold the school administrators responsible lead to anti-bullying measures being introduced in the school system.

“The recent rash of teen suicides due to anti-LGBT bigotry, bullying, and harassment is a tragic reminder of how far we have to go to counter the intolerance and homophobia that are claiming young lives,” Wilson said. “We need the sort of courage demonstrated by CJ translated into a national movement for safe schools for all students everywhere.”

The Out in the Silence community engagement campaign has so far conducted more than 200 town-hall-style screenings in public libraries, churches, high schools, colleges, theaters, and community centers across the country, especially in small towns and rural areas.

Wilson and Hamer are hoping that the Hawaii International Film Festival screening will provide a springboard to work with local community, campus, and religious groups on similar events throughout Hawaii, where the recent passage and gubernatorial veto of a civil unions bill has rekindled a fierce debate over LGBT civil rights.

For more information, visit http://wpsu.org/outinthesilence.