Need to Know: Already Out

Friday, May 16 at 9 p.m.

In October 2008 WXXI partnered with ImageOut and the Gay Alliance of Rochester to launch a nine-month outreach initiative designed to generate community conversations around the issues a family faces when a child is gay. The campaign centers on the PBS documentary Anyone and Everyone, a film about the journey of understanding a gay child. WXXI’s outreach initiative has included several private screenings of the film, which will be broadcast on WXXI-TV in June, and a Need to Know special Already Out, airing Friday, May 16 at 9 p.m. and Sunday, May 18 at 12:30 p.m. on WXXI-TV 21 (cable 11) and on Saturday, May 17 at 6:30 p.m. on AM1370/HD91.5-2.

As part of the outreach initiative, Need to Know will present a 30-minute special that moves beyond the “coming out” stories in the documentary to the “living it” stories of area teenagers who are gay or lesbian. What is it like to be coming of age and homosexual in Rochester? WXXI News follows several teenagers from diverse backgrounds that are part of the Big Gay Prom 2008 planning committee. The special includes interviews with the teens, and their teachers or other mentors, friends, and family members. The program also captures glimpses of these teens preparing for the big night, and ends with footage of the prom.

Anyone and Everyone, airing Tuesday, June 3 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV 21 (cable 11), tells the stories of families from Utah to North Carolina and Wyoming to New York, all connected by a common thread — a gay child. This poignant and often heartbreaking documentary by first-time filmmaker Susan Polis Schutz (also the parent of a gay son) depicts families representing a wide range of religions, nationalities and political leanings. During the film, parents of homosexual teens and young adults eloquently recall their initial reactions to their child's coming-out and their sometimes difficult journeys to acceptance.

National outreach funding is provided by Iron Zeal Films. For more information, visit wxxi.org/ntk and www.anyoneandeveryone.com.

Anyone and Everyone photo/Pictured: Greg Bonetti, a Roman Catholic teen whose parents questioned their congregation’s stance on homosexuality.
Photo Credit: None