Holland is Ready, a group of community leaders working for the safety and rights of LGBT people in the Lakeshore area, will kick off its free 2010-11 film series with a documentary that was a Sundance Film Festival grand jury prize nominee.
"For the Bible Tells Me So" will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1 at the Park Theatre, 248 S. River Ave., in downtown Holland. The documentary, which also won the audience award for best documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival, explores how five very normal, very Christian families handle the realization of having a gay child.
Among the families featured are those of former U.S. House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt, Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson and Mary Lou Wallner, whose 29-year-old lesbian daughter, Anna, committed suicide after becoming estranged from her fundamentalist family and relatives.
"She didn't accept herself because we didn't accept her," Wallner said.
Initially rigidly opposed to homosexuality, Wallner and her husband now travel throughout the country with TEACH-ministries, an acronym for To Educate About the Consequences of Homophobia.
Robinson, who was consecrated as the first openly gay Episcopal bishop in 2003, was a key figure in making and promoting the film.
"It talks about the power of families and the power of love. In a very odd, ironic sense, it's about family values and how love trumps long-held beliefs, when you're confronted by a real person," Robinson said in one interview . "And I mean, none of the five families featured in this film began positive towards the notion of gay and lesbian people.
Other films in the free series are "Big Eden" on Friday, Nov. 5; "8: the Mormon Proposition" on Friday, Dec. 3; "Transamerica" on Friday, Feb. 4; "Seven Passages" on Friday, March 4; and "the Bird Cage" on Friday, April 1. All films start at 7:30 p.m. at the Park Theatre.
Holland is Ready to host film series
Read More
Biden-Harris Campaign Launches LGBTQ+ Voter Initiative at Affirmations — How You Can Get Involved in the 2024 Election
The election season is officially heating up in Michigan, with a special focus on queer voters. On April 10, local and statewide community leaders and elected [...]
Tips on Selecting a Wedding Venue When You’re Stuck on the ‘Where’
One of the most critical decisions engaged couples will make is choosing a ceremony and reception venue. These choices will impact almost every other choice, so [...]
How the Recently Passed Michigan Family Protection Act Will Safeguard LGBTQ+ Parents and Families
Michigan Democrats have held a “trifecta” of power since late 2022 when the party flipped both chambers of the House and won the governorship and [...]
Let's *Not* Say Forever and Other Ways LGBTQ+ Folks Are Queering Their Wedding Vows
My perhaps ill-advised decision to permit connection with my extremely heterosexual and extremely traditional mom on social media has resulted in many [...]
Celebrate Michigan-Founded International Transgender Day of Visibility
As any card-carrying member of the Michigan LGBTQ+ community likely knows, International Transgender Day of Visibility was born right here in the Great Lakes [...]
Ferndale-Based Hate Group Church Militant: Gone For Good?
We fighters for LGBTQ+ rights have to take our victories where we can get them. As state governments continue to try to take our rights away, as right-wing [...]
