JAMESTOWN - "Out in the Silence," a documentary about fairness and equality in rural America, will be shown in the Student Union on Jamestown Community College's Jamestown Campus on Saturday.
The film is free and open to the public. A meet and greet session with Out in the Silence filmmakers Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer begins at 6:30 p.m. The film begins at 7 p.m.
The documentary examines the actions of residents of Oil City, Pa., confronting homophobia and the limitations of religion, tradition and the status quo.
The film, produced in association with the Sundance Institute and Penn State Public Broadcasting, premiered at the 2010 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival in New York and has won praise from critics and film festivals around the world, as well as an Emmy Award for Achievement in Documentary.
Out in the Silence is also part of a campaign to help raise LGBT visibility and promote dialogue and civic engagement, particularly in small towns and rural communities.
"'Out in the Silence' touches on one of the most urgent human and civil rights concerns of our time, as evidenced by inflammatory public debates over military service, marriage equality, employment nondiscrimination and other issues, not to mention the bullying and harassment that has led to the recent rash of suicides by youth who were, or were perceived to be gay," Wilson said. "We're hopeful that events framed around screenings of this film will help people begin to find common ground on these issues that have divided families, friends, and communities for far too long."
The screening is sponsored by JCC's Interweave/Gay-Straight Alliance, campus life program, and college program committee as well as AIDS Community Services of Western New York.
"This film will warm your heart and boil your blood all at the same time," notes Richard Baer, an outreach worker in the Jamestown office of AIDS Community Services of Western New York.
To see a trailer or for more information about the film, visit www.outinthesilence.com.
