Proud alum, indeed

Every time I speak to a class at Wichita State, I say the same thing: I did graduate from this place, and you can look it up. I think I do that because a) it was a long time ago, and b) after all these years, I still can't quite believe it myself.
This morning, I spoke to a journalism class at WSU's Elliott School of Communication (instructor Eric Wilson presented me with this gift). My time as a student reporter at WSU wasn't easy. I was thrown into the fire with some hard-news stories I wasn't expecting as a sports editor. The basketball coach tried to publicly discredit me. You might say the experience sucked the Shocker fan right out of me. But it also gave me a hard shell, and paved the way for me a develop a long-recognized reputation as a impartial journalist, which certainly served me well while making "Out Here In Kansas."
My message to an LGBT Studies class a few days prior was a lot different. After showing them the documentary, I confessed to the crowded classroom, "I was a country kid, and I've probably told more gay jokes than anyone in this room." But they forgave me. I'm an ally now. People do change.

First place at Twister Alley

Now this is kind of of cool: In the first-ever film festival awards ceremony we ever attended, videographer Kenneth Linn and I took home the first-place trophy for Best Documentary Short Film last night at the Twister Alley Film Festival.
The film, of course, was "Out Here In Kansas," which screened right after Kenny and I arrived in Woodward, Okla. Saturday afternoon. We spent the rest of the day watching narrative shorts. (My personal favorite was "Doug and Walter" while Kenny's was "American Paradise," and neither of those trailers really do their movies justice.)
It's just as fun to meet the filmmakers themselves, of course, and we certainly did that - directors, producers and actors from Chicago to Austin to Milwaukee to Los Angeles. The festival, started three years ago by Josh Hope of the Windy City Film Festival, was just named one of the Top 50 Film Festival Worth The Entry Fee by MovieMaker Magazine.

Thanks to JCCC

I failed to do this publicly last night, but I'd like to thank Johnson County Community College for screening "Out Here In Kansas" in Overland Park last night. JCCC's Emily Behrmann made it possible, and the college's contribution of the room, equipment and staff made for a terrific event.
The screening came at the urging of Judy Dutra (pictured in the teal top), who is the mother of the documentary's main subject. She introduced the film, which was surprisingly attended by a couple of people I went to high school with.
Producer Jon Pic (pictured, top left) and I also had a nice visit with the representative of the Kansas City chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Family, Friends of Lesbians and Gays).
Jon even tried to do a Facebook live feed from our Q&A, which you can (hopefully) check out here.

KU to screen documentary May 7

"Out Here In Kansas" will be shown at the University of Kansas next month.
KU Filmworks is hosting a screening of our documentary at 5 p.m. Sunday, May 7 at Oldfather Studios, 1621 W. Ninth St. in Lawrence. Our documentary will be teamed up with Savannah Rodgers' six-minute short "Sketches."
Savannah is a producer for "Out Here In Kansas" and, even though she's still an undergrad at KU, is already an accomplished filmmaker.
You can find more details of the screening on our Facebook event page here.

Our biggest honor yet

This won't be the largest event in which we've been invited, but I speak for our entire team when I tell you what a tremendous privilege it for "Out Here In Kansas" to be a big part of the inaugural Gilbert Baker LGBTQ Film Festival next month.
Our documentary will screen 7:30 p.m. Sat., May 6 at Labette Community College in Parsons.
Baker was a gay rights activist, famous for having created the rainbow flag after meeting Harvey Milk. He grew up in Parsons, where he said he endured a lot of bullying and pain for being gay. Actually, we were just starting to learn about the festival, and Baker, when he unexpectedly died in his sleep a couple of weeks ago.
Major props to producer Jon Pic for putting this festival on our radar, and for producer Savannah Rodgers for taking care of the rest. This is a festival that doesn't even have a website yet, and suffered a major blow when Baker passed away, but I for one would like to do everything I can to support it. (Based on my correspondence with the organizers, they feel the same way about "Out Here In Kansas.")
You can read more about Baker, and the festival, here.

Emotional night at Wichita State

By my count, last night was the 12th public screening we've had for "Out Here In Kansas." It was by far the most emotional, for me at least. Our emcee, Greg "The Hitman" Williams (left) had my eyes swelling with tears before the movie even started with a heart-wrenching story about his gay daughter.
Several of those in attendance were representing WSU's Elliott School of Communication, of which I am a graduate. The entire night I was thinking of Les Anderson, a WSU professor who advised me in college and mentored me for the rest of his life.
To top it off, my friend and WSU schoolmate Jeff Guy asked a question in the Q&A session about whether or not making the movie had helped reaffirm my Christian faith. It was a completely legitimate question, since I've written about my hope to do just that.
Nonetheless, it was the first time anyone has asked that question, and I rambled on with an answer that I hoped I had made a film that Jesus would approve of. I don't even remember exactly what I said. But I do encourage you to read Jeff's account of last night on his own blog, which you can find here. I think it might be my favorite thing I'd read yet about "Out Here In Kansas."

Smiling through the pain at K-State

Our latest screening was Thursday evening in Manhattan. It was a nice event, and I'd like to thank David Jones from ECM and K-State and Holly Nelson from the Kansas State LGBT Resource Center.
That's me in the middle of this picture at the ECM, with my daughter Stellar on the left and my nephew Josh (a proud member of the K-State marching band) on the right.
Side story about this trip ... I woke up with stomach pains on Thursday, and they only intensified that evening in Manhattan. Friday I went to my doctor and - long story short, my appendix was starting to burst and I was sent into surgery to remove it.
So now I'm on the mend, and I do expect to be at our screening Wednesday at Wichita State.