From Sky news I'm Matthew Turk, artistic director of the Little Theater.

Filling in today for Evan Dawson.

And this is connections.

While LGBTQ plus arts and culture have received more mainstream visibility in recent years, the rapidly changing political climate has been showing a lack of support and often outright aggression towards individuals in these communities.

Here in Rochester, Emerge Out is preparing to present its annual First Cut Spring Film Festival from April 24th to 29th.

And like any arts organization at the moment, but specifically an LGBTQ plus at one, there are lots of discussions about programing and mission in response to the current cultural landscape.

How do we showcase films and art in this time?

what sort of themes should we be focusing on, and what do people need to know in terms of balancing both an education for our culture and also some entertainment art?

Joining me to today, are Michelle Thornton, board chair for Image Out.

Thanks for being here.

Hello, Matt.

It's good to be here.

Rick, purely a programing co-chair for Image Out.

Good afternoon.

Matt.

Thanks for having us.

And co-directors Jennifer Tashiro and Guy Mossman of the documentary film Speak on the phone.

Hi.

You two.

Hi.

Thanks for having us.

Absolutely.

I want to start out by kind of talking about, like, the erasure of Lgbtq+ identities at the moment and how that has constantly been coming up, both in the news, both in terms of, like, arts and in terms of just like, stripping away of, like, terminology, from websites, from, arts organizations.

and I think that, like, it's deeply important to still showcase those works by these communities today.

And I think that's one of the great things about what Image Out is doing.

Michelle, can you speak a little bit to that?

Yeah.

Thanks, Matt.

I think this is, it's a really concerning development that that we've seen really accelerated over the last few months.

you can think about it from a variety of ways, whether that is literally, the government directing, medical organizations removing data, anything that has the terminology around LGBTQ plus folks, included in titles.

And then beyond that, defunding those things.

And I think this is where we start to see the impact in arts organizations.

it's not so much that the the DC is directing the Kennedy Center to not have, gay men's Choir perform or have a pride event there.

but it's really coming down to the grassroots level as local theaters that have funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

are being told what they can and they cannot screen or program as part of their events.

And that kind of censorship, I think, is really, you know, it feels it feels very scary, very intentional, very directed image out is fortunate that we don't currently have any federal funding.

So we've been flying under the radar.

But, that gives us, I think, even more of a mandate to continue, to create as much visibility as we can for these stories.

Yeah, absolutely.

Rick, you've been like a volunteer programmer for years.

At this point, I won't say how many.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Matt.

does this at the moment feel like a little bit of a different time, or does it feel like, in this case, like there's a different responsibility?

Yeah.

Yeah.

Very much so.

I mean, it's always important to have these stories and these films and everything that we do around that.

but especially nowadays, like Michelle was saying, you know, with all the removal of, of all of the things that, you know, it's more important now that we continue to do this, that we put it out there, we let people know that we are doing it so they can hopefully find some community from it.

Yeah, absolutely.

And I think community ends up being such an important part of, as we're talking about, like, both marginalized communities who are being oppressed in that case and having community with each other.

But I also think, Michel, to your point about like locally as opposed to like on a national scale, I feel like so much information or so much feeling at the moment ends up coming down to like what can happen locally, what can happen grassroots, what can happen with you and your neighbors.

In that case, to feel like we're building community and building not just a safe space, but also a space where we want to live like in that case.

Yeah.

Matt, I think about this a lot in terms of allies, right?

You know, I think people are looking for what they can do, what they can support, how they can make a difference with within, you know, their immediate space that they have some ability to impact.

so whether that is, you know, showing up for a protest or, coming out to something like the Image Out Film Festival this weekend, I think it's a really good way to show allyship, to learn more about the communities that are, are feeling under attack right now.

but also just to, kind of come and connect and, see yourselves celebrated and on the screen and, and know that while, social media or cable news might have people feeling disconnected or, pushed off to the side or just not seen, that there are spaces here in Rochester where, where those stories are visible and where people can, feel more affirmed and welcomed.

I think that, yeah, that's one of those, great aspects about, you know, film is that, it's a sense of seeing yourself, but it's also a sense of seeing, like people around you.

It's a sense of seeing your neighbors or even, which we'll get into a little bit later.

A sense about maybe communities that you're not as familiar with or don't know as much about.

Jen and Guy, I want to, speak for a second about your film.

Speak.

which is screening, on Saturday, April 26th, at the Dryden Theater.

and it is about the National Speech and Debate Association national tournament.

the film follows five competitors as they struggle through the pressures of competition, with the high expectations from themselves and for each other, with topics ranging from anti LGBTQ plus legislation, school shootings and assisted suicide.

The content is not only deeply personal to the students, but addresses some of today's most pressing societal issues.

So, as the co-directors, what I want to ask you was, was it difficult to make a film about young people in the pressures of today's society?

Yeah.

Great question.

you know, that's that's a funny question because actually it was I think for both guy and myself, it was it was so needed.

I think we were both in places where we were kind of, I mean, just riddled with anxiety.

I think that, you know, there was there's been so much censorship and there's been even within our own communities, and we really found this amazing opportunity in these kids to show, like, what we're capable of as a society and critical thinking and the things that have really been lost, you know, or or challenged right now.

So we really looked at them as like, oh, you know, we're going to be okay.

And what I feel like.

What drew you in this case to make a film about this topic?

Like, did you know someone involved in or how did you get like involved in this topic?

Oh, that's a great question.

I guess I can take this one.

so I learned about in This World, in 2019 and, and when I discovered it, I just couldn't believe what I was hearing and seeing and beholding.

These kids are so self-possessed, and they're just making all of us who are able to be there and, witness what they're doing, just, see the world and and contemplate the world and unpack the world in ways, that I hadn't really done since college, like.

And and I just felt like I've heard these kids are also, they're doing it in a way that is very accessible.

And these are kids who are from all walks of life and, the this is also just to just to draw a distinction.

This is a, this is the world we call speech, where kids are writing ten minute speeches.

and some of the events are interpretive and they're working with, previous works.

But the event we chose was it's called oratory, and it's basically an original piece that is written from the ground up and, and and it's ten minutes long, and they have a whole year to work and rework and craft and, and perform and rehearse this one piece.

So it goes through different iterations and we just felt like, when, when, when we learned about not only this world, but this event we just thought was fascinating to try and watch these kids peel back the layers of the onion and, and call us out on our blind spots.

Yeah.

I've watched a couple, films about spelling bees, and this kind of reminded me in theory of that, but I had never heard personally of this, so I'm super excited to try to catch this film.

Jennifer, I had a question, which is, I think that great documentaries, like, really do a great job of inspiring empathy, for other people, and spurring audiences to want to be allies, both to the people they see onscreen.

But also, I hope that they take that, like, sense and, and broaden it beyond that and again, apply it to like, people in their community or people like anywhere in the world.

can you speak a little bit about the importance of, like, being an ally and how you think that maybe, like, films help inspire that?

Oh my gosh, yeah.

I mean, I don't think we even consider making a film now without thinking about the impact campaign.

and that is making things accessible to others.

I think that, I don't know, one documentarian who doesn't have an extreme sense of empathy or doesn't for the most part, truly.

You know, I think we're more anthropologists than anything else.

And so we want to it's I always go back to this, this one quote that Esther has in the film, and she's like, it's basically in her speech and debate career.

She, you know, and being in a room with hundreds of students, she gets all these opinions from all these different walks of life.

And even though she might not agree with what they're saying, she understands how they get there.

And there's this deep rooted idea of respect and understanding of one another that, frankly, we've just lost.

And that's what we can do with documentary film and what we try to do so many times, you know, we see some ways that we're different and in ways that were similar, and it just brings us together in a way that's like, I just I love the medium, I love the genre.

and so beyond the impact campaigns, I think what you're able to see is, you know, these kids functioning in very similar ways, even though they, you know, they might be, a different from a different ethnicity or, you know, they're queer, all these things, and we can celebrate them in the same way for being phenomenal.

So, so yes, a big resounding yes to your question.

That's the hope.

And that's what we're trying to accomplish in this.

And I think that that's one of the other aspects, again, where, if we talk about like what, what youth are consuming in that case, and we talk about, like, you know, between YouTube and TikTok and everything and like, what kind of media they're exposed to.

And I think that, a lot of people are talking now about how, know, you know, young people won't come to the movies or they won't go to theaters.

In that case, because of the fact that they're like, well, that's not really what they're looking for.

but I think it's been interesting seeing that like, Twitch streaming obviously can go on for years in that case and has various like, long narratives.

And then also while I'm like, kind of begrudging to mention the Minecraft movie at the moment, I feel like also has been so huge in terms of like youth and seeing stories and seeing themselves reflected.

I think that brings me to, Michelle.

That speak is playing as part of Image Out's Next Generation series.

Can you talk a little bit about like that series?

For sure.

One thing I want to say is we were so excited when we, found out about the film speak because we really, liked the fact that there were so many different intersecting identities represented on the screen, and we felt that it was going to be an important kind of cornerstone of our youth outreach work, which is something that I think as a film festival we have struggled with is getting younger people, into theater and excited about the kinds of stories that we're showing.

So this was a huge opportunity for us, what the Next Generation series means.

There's a couple of things.

One, we will, we do have a, free tickets available for anyone that is 25 and under for anything that is named as part of our Next Generation series.

that is through, a gracious donation from the Palmer Foundation that we're able to support that work.

But it's also, a launching pad for something that we're doing new this year, which is a teen LGBTQ plus advisory board.

And so we will be, talking about that before the film on Saturday.

and we've been really doing a ton of work to try and kind of get in front of local high schools, gay straight alliances, different kinds of, you know, community youth organizations to make sure, that folks understand that this, is it would be a fun and exciting film, not just to see, but also to be able to talk about with their friends and just kind of, connect over.

Yeah, absolutely.

speaking of questions, if you have questions for any of our guests, you can call in 844295 talk.

If you're in Rochester, the local number is (585) 263-9994.

You can email the show at connections at WXXI dawg, or you can comment on YouTube.

Guy, I wanted to ask you a little bit about the fact that, you talked about entering into this world and dealing with a lot of, young people in this case.

can you talk about did you get a sense of like, do I mean, obviously broadly, lots of different people, but do they are you feeling specifically scared and isolated, or were these ones more nervous about this particular topic or.

I don't know, I feel like as a media, we're presenting constantly the sense that like, kids today aren't feeling upbeat about the future.

Does that kind of also what you found?

Yeah, I was concerned about, that and wanted to at first, I think I kind of came to the project with that sort of, preconception and, you know, I was we were casting very early, for students that were just, wanted to, you know, were tearing it apart, you know, we're we're willing to tear apart the administration.

We're just, you know, and what we discovered and found is that there's a lot more joy and love, within this community.

and even though it's very diverse there, there they are.

it's a space where they are finding ways and learning how to really listen deeply.

And, and so in that process, they're feeling very connected.

And, yes, there is pain within that that comes out.

It's very therapeutic for many of them.

And you'll see that in the film.

But at the end of the day, they don't really they're not like, they're almost thinking bigger picture.

You know, they're not getting caught up in the weeds.

yes.

Debate will debate policy issues, but they're thinking about, I think, things that are deeper, almost more profound.

and what it means, you know, identity like, as we were talking about these intersection, the intersectionality of different identities and what that means to live in a world of that kind of plurality.

and so and so and, you know, and these are teenagers and they are coming into their own.

So they are also thinking about identity, who they want to be, who they are, what do they, you know, what are the things they want to stand for and when they grow up and, and but it's an uplifting community.

I don't know if you if you found that Gen. Oh, I mean, 100%.

Yeah.

It just had that it just both of us just, you know, we just found it almost to be like, don't you all like, one to just, you know, be more critical of what is happening and, and I think that they, they just, like, why let's talk about what?

How we can fix it.

Yeah.

How we can fix it.

It's refreshing.

Yeah, yeah.

It is.

Well, one of my most favorite antidotes.

My first conversations with Esther.

I mean, a guy sent me Esther's speech when she was a sophomore, and she had won the national championship.

And it was that moment where I was like, I'm in hell.

Yes.

Let's whatever we're going to do, let's do it.

And, one of my first conversations with her, which was just this complete moment, was I asked her how she identified politically, and she looked at me just so defeated, like, you're going to really ask me this.

And she was like, you're not going to like my answer.

I'm a Christian that believes in LGBTQ rights.

It doesn't fit into the box.

It doesn't fit into the box that you all want to put us in.

And because we're fluid, you know, we're fluid with what gender and we're fluid with, you know, our beliefs and we it's it's so much bigger than that.

And it was just this moment of like, wow, we have gotten into this.

You know, there's there's this two party system and everything's just black and white and, and it's not.

And that's what's so incredible.

And that's what I think the guy is trying to express.

But he says it's so much bigger than than where we've been.

Our head space has been for so long.

That's what one of our go ahead.

No, no, please.

No.

One of our characters, Sam, who is the, who is from, just outside Fargo in Moorhead, Minnesota.

And his speech kind of goes to the heart of this, in a way, is like, we need to start and we need and both he's calling out both political rhetoric from both sides of the spectrum.

We need to start thinking about moving forward by celebrating the past and trying to and trying to idealize the past as a place where we're safe, or as a place where we're where economically sound.

We need to be thinking not in terms of nostalgia, but in terms of like looking forward to what we can be.

So his speech really embodies that.

Yeah, I think that that's really, I think an important part about I love like thinking about, like how to actually enact current change and how to actually like, you know, not not fall back and be like, oh, well, it used to be this way.

And so that was great.

Like, but constantly.

And I think that that's, one of the things that's so like fresh and exciting about film festivals.

In that case, again, is like getting a chance to experience, you know, other films.

Rick, I know that you have a huge passion for international film.

I do, I do, I do, yes, I love them.

I think the fact that we're going on our 33rd annual Fall festival kind of, you know, talks about the impact of the stories over the course of time, like the fact that, you know, queer people have always been around and will always be around, the breadth of the history, is just and I fell in love with international films at a pretty young age, actually.

But, but yeah, I think the fact that we continue to have this year after year news stories, the way stories are told, I think that's that's important.

It's an important identifier for people looking for, like I say, community or other people who, hey, these folks might be similar to me, like, so maybe I'll check it out.

Yeah.

And I think that's, again, to like to your point, like, I think queer and trans stories have existed, you know, whether we have documentation of them.

Not since not just since the dawn of time, but worldwide in that case, like, it's literally every culture, everywhere is there.

Do you have anything like a particular favorite of yours from like the international films of this year's lineup of this year?

yes.

There actually is, for this festival, there's a film called Sauna.

it's about a cis man and a trans man who attempt to have a relationship.

And it's fascinating to watch, because you don't get to see that.

Right.

But like you said in the past, these stories have always been around.

They just haven't been on the big screen.

So it's great to get a chance to see those.

I just watched an Irish film that was quite good, potentially for the fall.

I won't give that away, but, but, yeah, there's there's a lot of good stories like that.

We, actually just screened, story about, intersex, sex worker.

for one of the films that that's potential for the fall as well.

not trying to advertise, but, but, yeah, but we're seeing all these stories now, and like you said, internationally, we had a couple films last spring or last fall from the that were set in the Republic of Georgia, which is right next to Russia and has, you know, crazy, terrible anti LGBTQ laws now on their books.

you know, we, you start to see that, but people are still making art, they're still producing stories, they're still bringing that to the world.

And that to me is honestly in some ways is hopeful.

Right.

Like you can know that there are other people, that are like me or similar similar enough who at least think and they're thought process and and want to get their stories out to the world.

Yeah absolutely.

And I think like with that like again not to keep like mentioning the importance of a film festival, but I think because the fact that like image out has, you know, not just documentaries, not just, you know, fictional narrative films and shorts as well, I think that you really are able to capture, again, like such a wide breadth of stories.

In that case, Michelle and Rick, to either of you like, have a sense in that case, like, since you haven't, you know, in the last couple years, we've added a lot, added a slightly different structure to the programing team.

I think that has really, really helped in terms of like, again, providing a wider canvas.

This is not a great question that I need to give to you, but maybe can you speak a little bit to that in terms of like how that works?

Sure.

it's interesting because I think we came to this decision out of necessity, not necessarily with all that much intentionality behind it.

I think that the job of programing a film festival is, is a big year round commitment.

And, it's tough to do on a volunteer basis.

Right?

An image out.

Really.

that's the way that we operate for the most part.

I would say that, our new model kind of brings multiple people to the table working collectively.

And it's absolutely showcase, been able to showcase and have more eyes on different types of stories and be able to scout things much more broadly.

Yeah.

we're going to take a short break.

but when we come back, we will have more about, Lgbtq+ representation in film and the image that Spring Film Festival.

so coming up, we'll see you right back.

Here I'm Megan Mac, coming up in our second hour, the film dropped from Universal Pictures, is in theaters across the country, but there's a local connection on intended.

The screenwriters of the thriller called Pittsford Home guest host Matt De Turk talks with the husband wife team of Chris Roach and Gillian Jacobs about drop, about working in Hollywood and about what drew them to Rochester.

That's next.

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This is connections.

I'm Matt Turk sitting in for Evan Dawson.

We are talking about LGBTQ plus representation.

in both arts and in culture and in our current climate.

joining me today are Michelle Thornton, board chair for image Out, Rick Pauly, a programing co-chair for Image out, and co-directors Jennifer to Sherry and Guy Mossman of the documentary film speak.

That will be at this year's image out Spring Film Festival.

before the break, we talked a little bit about, festivals and kind of film festivals specifically and about their kind of importance, in a film's ecosystem is where I want to kind of move into now.

Jen, can you speak a little bit about to, like, have film festivals impacted, the journey of your of your filmmaking?

so far?

absolutely.

I mean, our, our industry right now is changing so rapidly.

And so we're trying to kind of keep up.

you know, it's it's a tough market right now.

but, you know, I would attribute a lot of my career growth to some of the festivals, Tribeca in particular.

but it's really like, you know, we work really closely with the festivals when it comes to outreach and impact and, and grassroots, screenings and getting our films out there.

They're definitely, a necessity for us, especially when we have social impact documentaries.

And, I can remember a film that I made, called P.S.

burn this letter, please.

and, you know, we played in, I want to say 40 plus Lgbtiq, Q festivals around, around the world.

And it was there was, you know, festivals that I didn't even know existed in countries that I didn't know had that sort of, you know, the the film would have never reached those audience without those festivals.

So we are and, you know, eternally grateful for for those like, very specific festivals in particular.

Yeah.

I think that film festivals give audiences a chance to see something they may not get to see.

because unfortunately, as someone who works at an independent movie theater, we have not yet figured out how to bypass time and space to showcase every possible film.

That's right.

We would like to.

There's just there's so many coming out that look so cool.

So, I, I particularly love, in this case that like, a film festival like image out gets a chance to actually, like, bring something to town and highlight it in that way.

we, we talked a little bit about though, like, also like that sense of like talking about films.

Michelle, can you like, talk a little bit maybe about, like, some of these other aspects?

I know there's spilling the tea sort of things like that.

Yeah.

Thanks.

It was it's really important to me as I think about leading the festival is not, I, I'm a movie buff like everybody, and I love to be in the theater and, you know, enjoying the popcorn.

but I know that stuff really sticks with me.

And to have opportunities to kind of chat or connect or see what my friends thought about it, or just digest and process what I saw on screen in a different way.

it's really important to me to weave in those opportunities throughout the festival.

so we're doing it in two interesting ways.

One, is with dedicated events, like you mentioned, spilling the tea is now something that we do halfway through every festival that we share.

it's a way to get together without a movie.

just have, in this case, tea, coffee, some snacks, and to kind of dish about what we've seen and talk a little bit about what's coming up on the festival.

but we're also experimenting with a new model this year where we've got, kind of a mash up of a party and a film all happening in the same location.

I love her, Rick, to talk a little bit about, what we're doing on Friday night.

yes.

We are doing something different for us.

we will be at the Fabulous Artisan Works, and we will be, having a dinner and a movie event.

and we will be having dinner first and then the movie, and, and the vertical heights, part of the, the facility.

but, it's kind of fun to have that planned.

And the film is, an Italian film, mascarpone two.

It's, it's.

You need not have seen the first.

That was my question.

Not at all.

It's a continuation three years later.

but it's Italian bakers.

there's not a lot better than that food wise.

So the the dinner and all of that is kind of planned in that direction around that.

So it's kind of fun to to come up with that, to pick a film that we can, you know, work with in that way, to find that.

So it's, it's it's our Friday night.

It's our first time we're doing it.

we're pretty excited about it.

So artisan work then.

You know, everybody in this community is a great partner in terms of.

Yeah, sure, we'll do that.

Like, okay, we don't know what that means, but we'll figure it out.

We'll give it a try.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So I think again like that that sense of like film, film festivals, in general, finding a balance between like what we're doing to like, educate, but also what we're doing to entertain, I think is really, really important.

In that case, I as someone who has also not tried to make a feature film in that case, guy, I wanted to ask, did you feel in the making of speak that there was a challenge trying to balance something that, like both broadens people's horizons but also entertained them?

Or was it just everyone was so dynamic in this that it was easy to make something entertaining and.

that's a really good question, because it is hard to make a compelling film, that takes place, you know, that much of it takes place inside a classroom.

but but in spite of that, I mean, there were a couple of things that Jen and I did, I think, which will make it make it feel more like you're having a cinematic experience, and we wanted that as well.

We wanted it to feel, like like you were in a world apart, with these characters.

Because, yes, they are so compelling.

And we found them, you know, we were so in love with them and still are.

And we want audiences to be fully immersed.

and so we thought about how we were going to shoot it, the sorts of lenses we would use and, you know, ways to, to kind of bring it to life in a film, in a film sort of way.

you know, so in a cinematic way and, and I hope that I think that makes it feel more entertaining.

the kids are great to hang with, but they're also, you know, they they like to talk, obviously.

And, and so what we found is, you know, audiences, they also want to see and they want to feel and they don't want to be told what to think.

So we spent a lot of time with them at home.

we unlike most competition films and documentaries, we probably spend 80% of our time at home with them and 20% in the competition.

Oh, wow.

And in the classrooms and on stage.

And there was a reason for that because we felt like, yes, because they're so interesting.

but we have to, but we have to, we have to spend some time with them.

we can't just show up for a day and get what we need, get some B-roll and, you know, cut it together in a fancy way.

We really felt like we wanted to get to a real, an authentic place with them.

And so, the only way to do that is to spend time.

And so we spent, and I think the film reflects this a lot of, a lot of time, just hanging out with them and, and then filming with them and situations and doing things in life that are not necessarily, competition related, but are reflected in the speech that they're writing.

And that was really important to us that that we were trying to capture elements of their life and how it reflected their story.

That's in their film.

I mean, excuse me, that's in their speech.

Yeah, absolutely.

No.

sorry.

No, please.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, that's pretty much it.

and it, it hopefully we hopefully we were able to bring their speech to life on screen in a way.

No, that's I think that that's again that element of being like, I feel like when we, we end up asking adults like, like, oh, what do you do.

Like ends up being all about, like, what is your job in that case?

And not just about, like, who you are as a person or, you know, elements that like make you you we actually have a quick clip from speak in that case, I would love to run.

Being in a room with hundreds of students over my speech debate career has allowed me to have an ear to listen.

I don't always agree with everyone speeches, but I can see their perspective and how they get their.

Maybe Jack Nicholson is right.

We can't handle the truth.

But there will be a point in each of our lives when we can't choose blissful ignorance.

At the end of the day, we're all human, and being able to see someone on a human level and how their experience is shaped, how they view the world.

And I think that's super important.

I, I think that again, as we we keep saying like representation is important and hearing how someone sees the world is important.

speaking of, films that again, like, kind of help expand viewpoints.

Michelle, I want to take a moment and talk about, heightened scrutiny.

which is a film that is screening at the little.

Yeah.

Thanks, Matt.

heightened scrutiny is our second documentary.

in the festival.

like speak also premiered at Sundance earlier this year.

heightened scrutiny really is, a film that I think gets at exactly what you were talking about in the beginning of the show around visibility.

This is specifically around the trans community.

it follows, a case that the ACLU is arguing in front of the Supreme Court.

one of the exciting things about this case is that it's the first ever, out trans attorney to argue in front of the Supreme Court.

His name is Chase Strangio.

and the case is U.S v scr medi.

And really, it centers around, fighting against, a ban in Tennessee around gender affirming care for trans youth.

so this is, without a doubt controversial.

The the case came up in December.

and then, you know, they were still editing the film and were able to screen it a few weeks later at Sundance.

So it's very timely.

and, and the outcome of the case hasn't even been announced yet.

It will be announced at the very beginning of May, just after, image out ends.

Wow.

Yeah, it's definitely something that we are keeping a close eye on.

and I think this is, the stories that are told, the families that are depicted in this film that have been impacted by this law in Tennessee, it gets really at the the personal impacts of the the children, the parents, their friends and family, in a way that, is really easy to resonate with, even if you don't personally know anyone who's trans, anyone who's seeking this kind of care.

and so for us, this was a really important story to showcase this year.

At this time, I again, I don't want to make this like, as a, as a cis white man, don't want to make this a personal thing, but I, I think that this is, again, a situation where, a lot of my initial as a, a lot of my initial exposure to trans narratives and trans stories, came from image out as, a young queer person, you know, growing up in Rochester and attending the festival even before I was out.

In that case, I feel like, again, like, is so important in that case, not I don't think every single film can possibly, you know, represent every single person or tell every single story.

But I feel like the more that you're able to watch and consume and like, in that case, digest, have conversations about, really, really helps in that case to like, broaden your own understanding and knowledge again of something that may be outside of your worldview.

Yeah.

We wanted to create a lot of space for this one for people, both, you know, like long time image out goers as well as allies that may come, this may be their first image out festival or the first time they've seen a movie, that centers trans folks and their stories.

so we are, doing a panel discussion after the film, that really brings this home to Rochester.

So the discussion, is moderated by Doctor Kai Lynch, who is a professor at the U of R. I'm in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, but we also have some local advocates, local health care providers, representation from Trillium on the panel, as well as advocates for gender affirming care more broadly.

But all people that are working here in our community, and that really, I think, is important for folks to understand what their neighbors are grappling with, what patients that are trying to seek care in our, health care facilities are running into.

And even though New York state laws are nothing like what's happening in Tennessee, there are still challenges and barriers that are happening here on the ground.

And so, I think we all, owe it to the people in our community to be aware of what's happening.

and I think the Supreme Court decision is going to be really impactful, not just for Tennessee, but even potentially here in in New York as well.

Does how much of this does it go into, like dealing with, like, is there any element of this that goes into like dealing with like parents and kids and different like sensibilities between the two of them?

In that case, I wouldn't say that that's actually, a big focus of this, really.

What you see is parents that are very deeply affirming of their children and in many cases, their biggest advocates, and are the ones that are really struggling with the fact that they are being told by their state government in this case that they can't give what they believe is the most appropriate care to their children.

Jen, I want to kick it back to you for a second to talk a little bit about, like, parents in that case, since, again, you're following, a bunch of teenagers, in the course of this film, did you have any either hesitation or resistance from their parents about what?

their kids were saying?

no, not about what they were saying.

I think, you know, I well, actually, I take that back.

I think there was a deep, you know, teenagers will be teenagers.

And so, you know, I think there are some times in the film where it's like, well, do other parents come to watch you speak and, you know, and they're like, not really, you know, so, you know, parents come in, but they don't come to all the events.

They're doing events every weekend.

I think there was, a deep craving to understand, you know, to see the speeches and understand the speeches.

But for the most part, I think the parents were really, really impressed with with what their kids were saying.

I think I think that's that's great.

And I think that's, again, when we're talking about like support.

I think in that case and like wanting to like continue to push narratives further.

I think in this country, I think that, oh, I'm sorry, but one thing I wanted to quickly add is what I loved about it was that the support wasn't unconditional.

It wasn't just like, oh, you're brilliant, you're my kid.

You're brilliant.

It was like, oh wow, I like I have so much to learn from you.

And I think that that's a larger message of the film.

What's so exciting?

We have so much to learn from them, you know, not just them from us.

Yeah.

And I think that again, comes down to like, again, the importance of like education and again, you know, using like terminology and not being afraid to like speak up.

In that case I think again, pun intended.

but I think that I think that's, that's really important in that case for society to continue to grow and continue.

So, absolutely.

Can I, can I, just echo something there?

So, I mean, please, two of our, two of our characters, were writing very deeply personal, speeches that in some ways challenged, societal norms or what we typically think.

And one was Sam and one was, Noah.

no, in the case of, assisted dying or assisted suicide, he he lost his mom during Covid, and and a tragic death.

And, and Sam, who tells the story of his feeling left out and discriminated against at a young age at a at a church event.

that his father had organized.

And I think that, it was it was not easy for the parents to, to hear that, to hear some of these, these, these parts of the speech where they're, and to, you know, advocating at first, at the beginning of the year for the right to, to take one's own life and to stop stigmatizing, assisted dying and suicide, more broadly, and then really thinking about it being challenged by his father very gently.

over the course of the year and by his teachers to kind of think about, why this may be happening and how to prevent it, rather than saying, let's, you know, so he had an arc in his the writing of his speech, but came about because I think those around him felt like they needed.

Yeah, we're challenging him and in a very gentle, kind way, and trying to help him think about sort of why one would get to that place in their life and, and, and how to, how to help them before they get there.

so each involved in that way.

Yeah.

In a very healthy way.

In a very healthy way, which is way in a very healthy way.

Yeah.

And I think that that again, that sense of like, you know, pushing ourselves.

But then also you mentioned like being gentle and having support.

I think that that's, that's also an important facet of this is, that, it's, it's we're learning, we're growing.

But then also again, coming back to like, community.

Sometimes we just need to let go a little bit.

Sometimes we need to have a little bit of release.

Rick, are there any comedies here's festive.

Funny you should ask.

yeah, there are two.

We are opening and closing with comedies, bookending the festival that way.

and an attempt to remind people that it is okay to find some joy, to find some laughter in these current times.

you know, we're opening, with sisters on opening night and closing with, who wants to marry an astronaut?

Spanish film.

Very delightful rom com.

and, you know, sisters is the story.

You know, it's basically about family, chosen family and your biological family, and how those can conflict.

So it's a really.

It's a really fun story.

Yeah.

It's, we kind of did that on purpose to, like I say, to remind folks that it's okay.

It's, to find a, yeah, we we've enjoyed we enjoyed watching them.

I've seen astronaut twice, actually.

And, the first time it was very funny.

The second time it's very sweet.

it that's a definite right.

You could see that probably on the Hallmark Channel or, whatever version of that is around nowadays.

I suppose.

but yeah, they're, they're good stories and, I, we were looking for comedies, and we don't always find good comedies, right?

You know, you there's we watch a lot of films, honestly, and, you know, from programing a little bit, we you just see a lot.

And these are, these are good, and these are the audience is going to like them.

and we're glad that we can we can share them and kind of lighten the mood a little bit.

Yeah.

Do you, do you find that, like, I mean, I know you're early in the programing cycle this year, you know, moving towards like other festivals or moving towards the fall festival currently in the spring Festival.

But do you are you already finding like that there's more submissions that are more downtrodden or are you finding it's still there's a little bit of joy to be found.

There are.

Yeah, there are definitely a bits of joy to be found.

There's not usually like a ton of comedies.

there are lighthearted films.

certainly.

And they're drama.

They're dramedies to some extent, sometimes more one than the other.

But, but I feel like worldwide, there's there are definitely those pockets, like, we are finding a lot and we are trying to watch all of them, as much as we can.

So, like I say, we, you know, the festival kind of presents itself at some point, and we're just there to help it along, you know, as to as to what we show, but, yeah, we're definitely keeping an eye out for, for later stuff.

but yeah, I mean, like I say it, it all comes together.

It always.

It always comes together.

And we, you know, we, we're just in service of it at some points, you know, Michelle, in terms of, like, in this case, you're the board chair in terms of, like, keeping the organization, like, like how do you keep it the team motivated.

And in that case, like between everything going on outside in the world, but then also like wanting to present both ends of this.

Yeah.

That's that's a great question that I think about a lot, actually.

we have a, not just a large board, right, with different opinions that are all personally impacted by everything that's going on.

but also then they each all have committees where they need to be doing that same motivation for their groups of people to come out.

And, and really, I mean, there's nearly 100 people that that ultimately come together in one form or fashion to contribute and make image out happen.

so the idea of sort of taking responsibility for keeping all of them motivated and excited can be challenging.

I think there's a couple of approaches that I take.

One is, to really give everybody the opportunity to be heard and creative and have their own outlet in this space.

If they have new ideas, things they want to try play with, you know, to support that and, and kind of give, the opportunity for those new ideas to kind of come to life.

I think that's one way that we can motivate folks.

But I think in general, the image out crew feels to some degree that this spirit of volunteerism that they're able to, get from connecting with the image out, is sort of an antidote to everything that else is happening in the world.

while things are being taken away, while things are being defunded or removed, we can create and we can build something.

And that is very empowering for people that are, feeling, I think, down or could be depressed by what's happening in the external world.

we can kind of really come in and combat that.

And I think that that's very engaging and empowering.

Absolutely.

so if people would like to come watch some of these films, or experience some of the events, how can they find out more details?

Yes.

We have a lovely website.

it's image out.org.

there's all the information you'll need to get tickets.

as Michelle mentioned, for the next gen series tickets, and just general information, there's a lot more on the website.

It's been really tended to in the last few years.

So it's really coming along well in that way.

but yeah, there's all kinds of information there.

You can always reach out to our office, to our to our managing director as well.

there's a lot of, you know, ways to figure that out, so.

And, Michelle, one more time, what are the dates for this festival coming up?

Yeah.

No, it's a six day festival kicks off this Thursday, April 24th, and goes through next Tuesday, the 29th.

And we're going to be all over town.

In addition to being on the website, you can buy tickets in person at any of the events as well.

That's awesome.

are there any other final thoughts?

Final films we didn't mention?

Not a film, but if I was going to kind of weave a thread through everything we've talked about today, whether it's the films speak the, the other documentaries, some of the events that we have, it's it's really about giving a platform and a voice to people that do not have that opportunity otherwise.

And there is no sort of like more tangible way that we're doing that than testing out another new event, which is an open mic, which you don't normally think of.

I think in terms of a film festival per se, but Monday night we will be doing that, as just a way, not specifically to talk about films, but if people want to get up and share their poetry, their art, their music, their speech, we will have a stage for them to do that.

And so we're really excited to kind of, you know, put our money where your mouth is about that and let people really share their stories in a real local, close way.

and have some fun doing it too.

That'll be at Skylark.

And it should be a great night.

I love that speak has become like a through line through this entire night.

Yeah, yeah, they inspired us.

Those kids are, you know, they're they're definitely powerful.

well, I want to thank so much, Michelle Thornton, board chair for image out for being here today.

Rick, purely a programing co-chair for image out.

and, Jennifer Tashiro and Guy Mossman of the documentary film speak co-directors.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Really appreciate it.

Having you, please, everybody go check out the image out spring Film Festival this year.

and thanks for listening.

Thank.

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