'Out in the Silence' Builds Bridges on Gay Issues, Bullying and Teen Suicides

Meet the Filmmakers at this exclusive Klamath Falls free screening 11 November.

C.J. Springer: tormented at school because he is gay.

(KLAMATH FALLS) - “Out in the Silence”, a poignant and powerful Emmy® Award winning documentary film directed by Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer, and produced with support from the Sundance Institute, will be screened at the Congregational Church – United Church of Christ for one day only, Thursday, 11 November at Noon.

Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer

Address:  2154 Garden Avenue, Klamath Falls, OR.  Sponsored by:  Rural Organizing Project, the Congregational Church – United Church of Christ, and Klamath Basin Lambdas. Feel free to bring a bag lunch.

In the wake of a string of recent suicides across America by young people mercilessly bullied with gay accusations, harassment and violence, this documentary is highly relevant in addressing the social, emotional and physical effects intolerance and a lack of societal acceptance and understanding has had upon our youth, their families and local communities.

This film not only creates awareness and highlights an extremely important issue facing many young people in our rural communities, but encourages understanding and compassion by documenting how people from different walks of life came together to forge a bond of unity and support for those who had nowhere else to turn.

Synopsis:  Out in the Silence captures the remarkable chain of events that unfold when the announcement of filmmaker Joe Wilson’s wedding to another man ignites a firestorm of controversy in his small Pennsylvania hometown.

Drawn back by a plea for help from the mother of a gay teen being tormented at school, Wilson’s journey dramatically illustrates the universal challenges of being an outsider in a conservative environment and the transformation that is possible when those who have long been constrained by a traditional code of silence summon the courage to break it.

Press coverage of the screening is encouraged.  There will be a discussion session with the filmmakers immediately following the film.

For more information, visit “Out in the Silence” online here:  http://wpsu.org/outinthesilence