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Controversial Film on Gay Rights in Small Town America to Tour Eastern South Dakota |
A Call for Inclusion, Fairness & Equality for GLBT People
Sioux Falls, SD -- Sept. 1, 2010 -- In an effort to raise gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) visibility in South Dakota and awareness about the harassment, violence and discrimination that GLBT people often face on a day-to-day basis, a coalition of organizations is bringing the controversial and Emmy-nominated film, OUT IN THE SILENCE to five cities in Eastern South Dakota, from Sept. 11 - 15.
Organized by the ACLU of South Dakota, the Equality SD Institute, and PFLAG of Sioux Falls and Yankton, the tour will launch with an event at the Capitol Theatre in Aberdeen on Sat., Sept. 11 at 3pm as a part of the SD Film Festival. From there, the tour will continue with showings at the Main Public Library in Downtown Sioux Falls on Sunday, Sept. 12 at 2:30pm; the Dakota Theatre in Yankton on Monday, Sept. 13 at 7pm; SDSU Bio Stress 103 in Brookings on Tuesday, Sept. 14 at 7pm; and USD Farber Hall in Vermillion on Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 7pm.
The screenings will be followed by a Q&A session with filmmakers Joe Wilson & Dean Hamer, aimed at engaging audiences in a conversation about what can be done to strengthen inclusion of GLBT people and intensify the movement for change here and across the country.
"The characters in the film are just ordinary people -- a kid and his mom, two women who start a business, an Evangelical preacher and his wife -- but their stories get at the heart of how anti-GLBT stigma and repression continue to harm individuals and divide our communities," said Wilson. "That's why we're using it as a tool for outreach and activism at the local level, especially in smaller cities and towns and rural communities where there often isn't any visible or organized gay presence at all."
Some of the events, however, have been targeted by opponents for protests and threats, as demonstrated by recent events in rural Pennsylvania, where Tea Party activists and a group of fundamentalist preachers attempted and failed to shut down a series of library screenings. "While it was painful, even frightening, to witness the open hostility and personal attacks launched by the handful of individuals who attempted to stop the meetings," said Wilson, "local people have told us that it was actually useful that it all took place out in the open because it revealed the seriousness of the problems that GLBT people face, often alone and in silence, without any networks of personal or legal support in such an environment. And it gives them an opportunity to find new allies and promote change."
South Dakota organizers are hoping that the OUT IN THE SILENCE tour will offer a similar opportunity here.
All of the events are free and open to the public, except the Aberdeen film showing. More information about the ongoing campaign, as well as a short trailer for the award-winning film, can be found at the website: http://wpsu.org/outinthesilence.
A press kit and more information about OUT IN THE SILENCE and the ongoing community engagement campaign, as well as a short trailer for the film, are available on the website: http://wpsu.org/outinthesilence
Find more information about the event and RSVP (not necessary to attend) on our Facebook page event's tab: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=141275089247182&ref=mf |
