"Families are Forever" Shows the Journey of Devout Mormon Parents to Accept Young Gay Son
Family Acceptance Project® Returns to Frameline with Riveting, Powerful Family Support Film TRAILER NOW AVAILABLE AT Family Acceptance Project® Family Videos.
San Francisco, CA – Families are Forever which premieres at Frameline 37: the San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival on Saturday, June 22, 2013 chronicles the journey of a devout Mormon family living in a conservative community who attended Church every Sunday, actively served in their ward, went door-to-door to stop same-sex marriage in support of California’s Prop 8 and whose lives were turned upside down when their 13-year-old son admitted he was gay.
On the cusp of becoming an Eagle Scout, 13-year-old Jordan hid his sexual orientation for fear of rejection by his family and Church like many adolescents from socially and religiously conservative families who are told they’re “confused” or that “It’s just a phase.” Like other LGBT Mormon children and adolescents he daily walked past yellow Prop 8 yard signs and internalized painful messages that reinforced feelings of isolation and despair as he began to realize that his family was rejecting people like him.
Called “riveting” by the Salt Lake Tribune, Families are Forever is a powerhouse addition to the Family Acceptance Project®’s inspiring family education video series that is helping prevent suicide, HIV, homelessness and other serious health risks by increasing family support for LGBT youth – in the context of family, culture and faith backgrounds. This new video adds to critical research-based educational materials the Family Acceptance Project® is producing for families with LGBT children, including the first “Best Practice” resources for suicide prevention for LGBT youth and young adults and the first for LGBT Mormons in the Best Practices Registry for Suicide Prevention.
As with other family education materials and videos from the Family Acceptance Project® – an acclaimed research, education and family intervention initiative at SF State University that helps diverse families to support their LGBT children – Families are Forever is part of a planned series of short documentaries that show the journey of ethnically and religiously diverse families from struggle to support of their LGBT children to give LGBT youth and families hope and to show how diverse families learn to support their LGBT children. A collaboration between Peabody award-winning documentary filmmaker, Vivian Kleiman, and award-winning clinical social worker, Caitlin Ryan, these documentaries are changing lives and building healthy futures for LGBT children and adolescents.
“Many LGBT youth and families have never seen acceptance and support expressed by parents and caregivers for their LGBT children.” said Dr. Caitlin Ryan, Director of the Family Acceptance Project®. “Our videos show individual stories of family acceptance that speak to families from a wide range of backgrounds and help them understand that how they respond to their LGBT children has a powerful impact on their health, mental health and survival.”
Mitch Mayne, an openly gay Mormon religious leader in the San Francisco Bay Ward of the Mormon Church knows this firsthand: “Religiously conservative families have little access to accurate information and many believe they have to choose between their child and their faith. A cornerstone of the Family Acceptance Project®’s work is to integrate research, culture and faith to inspire and educate diverse and very conservative families on how to love their LGBT children. This video will literally save lives.”
Families are Forever screens at the Victoria Theatre in a documentary shorts program at 3:30 pm.
About the Family Acceptance Project®:
The Family Acceptance Project® (FAP) is a research, intervention, education and policy initiative at SF State University that works to decrease risk and to promote well-being for LGBT children and adolescents in the context of families, culture and faith communities. FAP's work has been recognized by major health and mental health professional associations, and its multicultural family education materials were designated as the 1st "Best Practice" resources for suicide prevention for LGBT people by the national Best Practices Registry for Suicide Prevention. These include the only Best Practice resources for suicide prevention for Mormon families. For more information, please visit: Family Acceptance Project® Families are Forever is part of a planned series of short documentaries produced by the Family Acceptance Project® that depict the journey of ethnically and religiously diverse families to support their LGBT children - based on FAP's compelling research.
Media Contact:
Cathy Renna, Renna Communications
(917) 757-6123
cathy@rennacommunications.com