Outfest: WeHo Rolls Out the Rainbow Carpet

It’s that time again. Truly, the best thing about Outfest is that it’s never the same experience twice! Year after year, the best and brightest LGBT filmmakers and their friends converge on Hollywood to show off their creativity and express their unique vision to the masses. This year, one of the biggest headlines of the festival is comedic actress Jane Lynch, who is being honored with the Outfest Achievement Award. Ms. Lynch, who just married her partner in May, has gained acclaim and a huge fan- following since originating the role of hard-assed cheerleading captain Sue Sylvester on the hit Fox show “Glee.” Hopefully, her participating and recognition in Outfest 2010 will draw in mass media enough to take notice of some of the other brilliant, lesser known artists represented in the festival. This year’s offering includes 143 films from 25 countries. For the first time, the country of Nepal has an entry in the festival (a country near and dear to my heart as I just filmed my first documentary in this amazing country). For those who are lucky enough to live in the Los Angeles area or those who are able to travel to the event, it’s an amazing experience. The media professionals who cover Outfest have an important role in that they have the capacity to turn this annual event into a mainstream festival that is more receivable to a mass audience. It’s not enough to show LGBT films solely to the LGBT community. There is a real opportunity here to bring these films into the limelight and the success of films like “Brokeback Mountain,” and shows like “Glee” is proof. These films have the capacity to change hearts and minds and to show that LGBT people are not scary. We’re parents, we’re your neighbors, we’re business owners and may even be your friends or members of your family. A Labor of Love Outfest is near and dear to my heart and it’s a passion that began taking shape a few years ago. After graduating from college, I worked for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). It was through this organization that I learned how impactful words and images can be. I was part of a team that holds the media accountable for what they put on the big screen, small screen, and in the papers and magazines decorating our coffee tables. The organization also famously celebrates the achievements of media that got it right in the form of their annual GLAAD Media Awards. I left the organization after three years in order to become one of the filmmakers creating the culture-changing work that I had spent so much time celebrating. In the few short years since my departure, I’ve had the distinct pleasure of working on not one… not two… but THREE films featuring LGBT content and filmmakers. I am incredibly humbled and honored to be alongside such talented artists and technicians. It’s amazing the bravery and vulnerability they show each day they come to work. This Year’s Crop: Something for Everyone Given the talent involved, I was completely unsurprised when I found out that two of the films I worked on were headliners at this year’s Outfest Film Festival in Los Angeles. A Marine Story is the poignant tale of a military officer that returns home from war, only to find herself in a different battle, involving a teen recruit just beginning boot camp. Elena Undone is an unlikely love story between two women with VERY different lives. One is a lesbian writer and the other is the wife of a pastor. To top off an amazing season, I was completely floored when I was nominated to head up the Outfest Legacy Awards this fall and make an even greater contribution to the LGBT filmmaking world by protecting the images and stories in this canon of film for generations to come. It’s Not Just About the Movies "So why is Outfest important?" Cultural change happens in our living rooms and around the dining room table, not in ballot boxes. The diversity of our complex community and its allies is rarely even touched on in entertainment- so having a bevy of options celebrating that diversity is a rare treat. Some of the most talented filmmakers in the business are members of the LGBT community and they make good movies! Creating a legacy of moving images that tell stories that have the capacity to change hearts and minds is invaluable. "Why am I involved?" As a filmmaker and storyteller, I care how my life and the lives of my friends are portrayed. Film and television can reach beyond borders and walls and this is the way that I choose to create change. The talented pool of individuals that are showcased this year are often under-supported and overlooked in the wider entertainment arena and it is my pleasure to be part of giving them their well-deserved spotlight. "Why should you be involved?" It’s one of the only places that you will get to see many of these films on the big screen. Your financial support in the form of movie tickets will actually go to a cause you can be proud of- encouraging more LGBT filmmakers to keep making incredible movies! - - - by: Janelle Eagle, Guest Blogger