What if you had to come out smart the way you come out gay?
What if the reactions were just as ludicrous and hurtful?
Would it be a surprise when so many people today think science is suspect — when evolution is a “hoax,” climate change is a “scam,” and universities of higher learning are, in the language of the Right, “indoctrination centers”?
Advocate.com hosts the online premiere of film festival favorite “Out Smart,” a comedy short, on October 10, 2014 — just in time for National Coming Out Day on October 11.
Using humor to talk about coming out
“We used humor to help families and friends talk about coming out, because it can ease tensions on both sides of the conversation,” says director and executive producer Dawn Cobalt, herself an out-and-proud gay woman.
In “Out Smart,” written and co-produced by Andrew Bryan Smith, a teenage boy stands up to his parents’ shock and disappointment when he “comes out.” He’s not gay, though — he’s smart.
“Seeing the all-too-common ‘objections’ to being LGBT in this new context really drives home how silly and indefensible they really are,” says Cobalt, also founder of Future View Entertainment, which produced and is releasing the film.
Grassroots and PFLAG
Grassroots support for “Out Smart” began when nearly 50 chapters of PFLAG (Parents, Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays) across the U.S. asked the filmmakers for DVDs to screen for their members.
The response was overwhelmingly positive — as seen, for example, in this quote from PFLAG Juneau in Alaska:
I watched “Out Smart” as soon as it arrived and absolutely loved it! It is perfect to show our PFLAG chapter — and my “smart” grandson and my bi daughters and everyone else I know. What a great way to laugh!
The filmmakers have screened “Out Smart” at Los-Angeles-area schools and sat down for Q&A’s with students eager to learn about movies. A member of the audience at a film festival asked to screen “Out Smart” to a gathering of 45 churches in the Annual Meeting of the Southwest Conference of the United Church of Christ. A counselor at a Oregon high school, after hearing about “Out Smart” through PFLAG, asked the filmmakers’ permission to screen it in a small-town festival. The film also has been exhibited at events in the Los Angeles LGBT community.
Film festivals and awards
“Out Smart” has been an official selection of nearly a dozen film festivals, including the Sedona Film Festival. The film also has been nominated for practically every aspect of production, including directing, writing, acting, editing, and cinematography, and received a Special Jury Prize from the California Film Awards.
“‘Out Smart’ screened twice at the Sedona Film Festival,” Cobalt says, “and after news got out about the first one, people were swapping tickets to see the second screening.
Audiences of all kinds have responded to our film in amazing ways.”
Watch the short
To publicize the film and tease festival goers, the filmmakers released a 60-second trailer online
Click HERE to Download the Official Press Release for “Out Smart” in PDF Format