Thursday, July 28, 2011

Word is Out Comes to Montreal!

Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives
At Cinéma du Parc
July 31 to August 5

It is fitting that the run of Word Is Out at Cinéma du Parc starts right after Divers/Cité ends – an event concentrated on community development...

Monday, July 25, 2011

The Word is Definitely Out Now

Hi, All,

I saw this film for the first time in Manhattan. I was so moved by the stories and felt so much strength, power and camaraderie that I went back the next day with a friend.

At that point, I was married and living in the South. I couldn't imagine ever talking with anyone in my very conservative family about a quiet thread that had been running through my life for several years. Many of the people featured in the film were my age when I first saw it.

Today, I was so excited to open the new DVD version and revisit this brave, powerful and beautiful film. I'd previously shared a VHS version with my partner, but this time, especially with the follow-ups and extras, it just broadened the experience so much. I found myself in tears at several places, thinking of how grateful I was to the filmmakers and to the people who were interviewed. And how exciting to see the film on the day that gay marriage was legalized in the state of NY.

I was stunned at the impact it had on me, once again. This time, I couldn't help thinking about my gay friends who had lost their lives to AIDS...and with those in this film, it had clearly taken a heavy toll.

My partner and I have been together 21 years. We have 6 grandchildren, we've taught the confirmation class at church. I'm even out now in my Southern family, and we're both welcomed and accepted with open arms. When I was honored in Who's Who in American Women, I listed my partner's name. There are times, when I’ve been at the library, that I’ve pulled that volume down and seen both of our names. It was our small way of going down in history.

I guess I wanted to say thank you to everyone who was part of this experience. You've all done a powerful thing and touched a lot of people, especially me.

Andrea Fine

Monday, July 18, 2011

30th Anniversary question

Good day ~

As you’ve heard so many times, this film was the first gay anything I had ever seen, and what a positive model for this scared 17-year-old. I’m ever grateful for the collective’s courage which saved so many of our lives and psyches.

I was curious about Whitey and Cynthia not wanting to be interviewed in the 30th Anniversary edition. Of course they have a right to their privacy, but I can’t get a resounding “Why?” out of my head. Would appreciate if there is any official reason given.

Blessings,

White Ash

Monday, May 16, 2011

First seen in Chicago...

I remember seeing "Word is Out" when I was in college in the suburbs of Chicago. The film was shown on the PBS station there (WTTW, Channel 11) and I watched it with one of the few gay men I knew at the small Catholic college I attended. When it was rerun, six months later, we celebrated watching it again, reacquainting ourselves with the men and women we thought of as friends.

I fell in love with the people who shared their stories. But much more importantly, when I saw the film, I became real. I became a real person. I knew what I was was real, and that I shared an experience with other people —even in far away, exotic places like San Francisco— and I was a little bit less alone in the world than I had been before I saw the film.

I have thought about the film all my life since I first saw it. I have thought about how daring and powerful the people were who allowed themselves to appear in the film back in 1977. I have wondered if everyone has been able to find satisfaction and a measure of happiness in their lives after the film was made. I have marveled at how both the pessimists and optimists were right about how little and how much we have progressed since the 1970s.

In short, the film was a watershed moment in my life. I only wish I had a more eloquent way of thanking the filmmakers. On a personal level, I thank them for producing the film at just the exact moment when I needed it most, and on a cultural level, I thank them for preserving our history for generations to come.

I send greetings to you, with great affection,


HERBERT J. BRANT, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Spanish

Department of World Languages & Cultures
Indiana University School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Library Journal review!

Library Journal

Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives; 30th-Anniversary Edition. color. 132+ min. Peter Adair, Mariposa Film Group & Milliarium Zero, 800-603-1104; www.wordisoutmovie.com. 2010. DVD ISBN 9781933920184. $29.95; acad. libs. $195. Public performance. GENDER STUDIES

Claiming to be the first feature-length film about gays and lesbians by a gay filmmaker, this 1978 documentary offers interviews with 26 people who talk about their lives. Probably most well known among them is Mattachine Society founder Harry Hay, also the subject of the recent excellent The Temperamentals. It is a tribute to director Adair’s talents that the film’s stark and bare style still mesmerizes as these 26 lives unfold before our eyes. The flawless editing weaves the stories into a single fabric. Younger viewers, especially those who identify as GLBT, may be shocked at the tales of forced marriages, police harassment and beatings, electric shock therapy, and societal exclusion. Older viewers will be reminded of the blatant discrimination of a time not so long ago, some of which still exists. Extras include updates on the participants. A timeless film; highly recommended. [See Video News Briefs, LJ 6/1/10.]—Gerald A. Notaro, Univ. of South Florida Lib., St. Petersburg

Monday, January 10, 2011

2011 Awards for WORD IS OUT!

WORD IS OUT has just won a Film Heritage Award from the National Society of Film Critics:

“Word Is Out” (Restored by Ross Lipman for the UCLA Film & Television Archive and the Outfest Legacy Project and distributed by Milestone.)

AND

The American Library Association award for 2011 Notable Videos for Adults!

Congratulations to all the filmmakers and the participants!