QFest - Films

	Wed - Oct 28th - 7:00PM
	Rice Media Center, Houston

OUT IN THE SILENCE
Directed by Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer
(USA, 2009, 56 min, DVCam, Color)

With profound restraint and candor, Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer’s engrossing, award-winning documentary follows the compelling struggle of a mother and her son as they battle homophobia in their small town high school.

Beginning with the incendiary publication of Wilson and Hamer’s wedding announcement in Wilson’s hometown newspaper, the couple receives a pleading letter from Kathy Springer, the mother of C.J., an openly gay high school student under perpetual threat of serious bodily harm. Kathy’s concern for her son’s physical and emotional wellbeing compels the couple to return to Oil City, Pennsylvania to not only document and support C.J. and Kathy’s struggles with the conservative school board, but also to better understand the social and political mindset of this rural community. What unfolds is a surprisingly quixotic journey in which unlikely alliances are formed and a once-stagnating community finds itself galvanized towards positive change.

By refraining from both confrontation and exploitation, Out in the Silence allows for an open, intelligent, and impassioned dialogue, resulting in the inspiring transformations of both subjects and audiences alike.

A panel discussion will immediately follow the screening.

In collaboration with:

Houston GLBT Community Center

Queers & Allies

Hotel Sorello