"Out In The Silence" at Facets Cinematheque Sunday, June 5 at 2:30pm — Monday, June 6 at 7:00pm
(Chicago — May 10, 2011) — The 9th Annual Chicago Human Rights Watch Film Festival, which showcases the stories of activists and survivors from all over the world, will feature two screenings of "Out In The Silence," a film by Washington, DC-based directors Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer that looks at an issue of urgent human rights concern: the struggle for full inclusion, justice and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the United States.
The festival, a co-presentation of Human Rights Watch and Facets Cinematheque, is designed as a forum for courageous individuals on both sides of the lens to empower audiences with the knowledge that personal commitment can make a difference.
"Out In The Silence" follows the story of a small American town confronting a firestorm of controversy ignited by a same-sex wedding announcement in the local paper, and the subsequent brutal bullying of a gay teen. At once wrenching, inspiring, and entertaining, the film challenges audiences to rethink their values and consider how they can help close the gaps that have divided families, friends, and communities on these issues for far too long.
"In light of the public debates over issues such as military service and marriage equality, not-to-mention anti-gay bullying, teen suicides, and safe schools, the screening of this film in the Chicago Human Rights Watch Film Festival could not be more timely," said Boris Dittrich, acting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender program director at Human Rights Watch.
Produced in association with the Sundance Institute, "Out in the Silence" premiered at the 2010 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival in New York. It won an Emmy Award for Achievement in Documentary from the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and has received praise from critics and festivals worldwide.
The film's directors say they are most interested in using it as a vehicle for grass-roots outreach, education, and civic engagement, particularly in small towns and rural communities where there often isn't any visible or organized LGBT presence at all. Wilson and Hamer have conducted more than 300 town-hall-style screening events in public libraries and other community venues across the country, reaching nearly every county in Pennsylvania, and doing rural tours in Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, and other states.
"The characters in the film are just ordinary people — a kid and his mom, an Evangelical preacher and his wife, a lesbian couple who start a business — but their stories get at the heart of how anti-LGBT stigma and repression play out and continue to harm individuals in such communities," Wilson said.
"We're hoping that this Chicago screening will help shine new light on these issues in the American heartland, so often marginalized and overlooked in the larger national debate about justice and equality for all," said Hamer.
Wilson and Hamer will be at both screenings at Facets Cinematheque, 1517 W. Fullerton, Ave., Chicago, for a post-screening dialogue with the audience.
Visit www.facets.org/pages/cinematheque/films/may2011/hrw2011.php to buy tickets online or call 773-281-4114.
For a press kit and to see a film trailer: OutintheSilence.com
For information about all films to be screened in the Chicago Human Rights Watch Film Festival see: www.facets.org/pages/cinematheque/films/may2011/hrw2011.php
