Friday, March 12, 2010 | Richmond, VA’s Webmagazine for GLBTQ

Joe and Dean’s Mission

The Rainbow Minute celebrates this weekend’s Reel Pride Richmond with a series highlighting the history of LGBT film festivals.

In 2004, when gay couple Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer got married, they ran their wedding announcement in Joe’s hometown newspaper in Oil City, Pennsylvania. All hell broke loose.

But the announcement hit home for Kathy Springer, whose gay son was being tormented at his high school. She sent the couple a letter expressing her heartache. Joe and Dean, filmmakers living in D.C., picked up their cameras and traveled to Oil City.

There they filmed their interactions with citizens on the controversy, and crafted the gripping documentary, “Out in the Silence.”

Its subtitle is – “love, hate and a quest for change in small town America.”

The powerful film will be shown in Richmond on Saturday, February 6 at 11am at Firehouse Theater, as part of ROSMY’s Reel Pride Richmond film festival. Admission is free.

“The Rainbow Minute,” a radio show on WRIR, Richmond Independent Radio, is produced by Judd Proctor and Brian Burns and airs on 97.3 FM every Weekday at 9:03am, 12:30pm and 4:30pm.  Listen to the WRIR’s audio stream here.

Reel Pride: Out In Silence

The announcement of filmmaker Joe Wilson’s wedding to another man ignites a firestorm of controversy and a quest for change in the small Pennsylvania hometown he left long ago. Drawn back by a plea for help from the mother of a gay teen being tormented at school, Wilson takes viewers on an exhilarating journey through love, hate and understanding in rural America.

This showing is free and includes a discussion and Q&A with filmmaker Joe Wilson after the movie.

Reel Pride Richmond is Richmond’s First Annual LGBT Film Festival presented by ROSMY.  The festival takes place February 5th & 6th at the Firehouse Theater on 1609 W. Broad St.  For ticket prices and a complete schedule, visit http://reelpriderichmond.org.  GayRVA is a proud sponsor of Reel Pride Richmond.

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