Outfest West Hollywood Series: L WORD MISSISIPPI: HATE THE SIN
original report: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/713071
WED | AUG 6 | 7:30 PM
West Hollywood City Council Chambers at West Hollywood Library
IN PERSON GUEST: Ilene Chaiken (The L Word, The Real L Word)
SHOWTIME will give viewers a look inside the daily struggles of a group of
Southern lesbians in L WORD MISSISSIPPI: HATE THE SIN, which will premiere
on the network on Friday, August 8th at 9 PM ET/PT. The 90-minute documentary,
executive produced by filmmaker Ilene Chaiken (The L Word, The Real L Word)
and the award-winning Magical Elves directing and production team of Dan
Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz (Top Chef, Katy Perry: Part of Me), spotlights the
unique challenges of being lesbians in between the coasts in the religious,
conservative deep South. Directed by Oscar and Emmy nominee Lauren Lazin
(Tupac: Resurrection).
What is life like for lesbians living outside more progressive metropolitan
areas in America today where gay women endure hardships, bigotry, bullying,
sexism and racism while trying to live among their predominantly straight
neighbors? Chaiken and the Elves journey deep into Bible Belt towns like
Laurel, Gulfport and Hattiesburg to tell the stories of a dozen such women,
including a newly out-and-proud former pastor banished from her church, but
who later regains her self-esteem by launching a program to support her local
LGBTQ community. A white mother would accept her daughter's black lover, if
only she were a man. A couple grapples with both infertility and female-to-male
gender transitioning. And a former life-long lesbian struggles to "pray the gay
away," and hopes to do the same for her openly gay son.
L WORD MISSISSIPPI: HATE THE SIN is a continuation of Chaiken's exploration of
modern-day lesbian life. Her groundbreaking SHOWTIME drama series The L Word
ran for six seasons on the network and followed a group of Los Angeles-based
friends as they navigated careers, families, friendships, inner-struggles and
romantic entanglements. The series generated a large and loyal audience, as
well as critical praise for its provocative storylines. It was followed by
three seasons of The Real L Word, an unscripted series produced by Chaiken,
Cutforth and Lipsitz that followed a similar group of lesbians at work and at
play in LA and NY. They are now re-teaming to turn their lens on those who live
in areas where being out and proud is largely discouraged and sometimes
dangerous. Against the backdrop of the burgeoning gender and marriage equality
debate, L WORD MISSISSIPPI: HATE THE SIN spotlights those loving, living,
working, parenting and forcing change from within places where entrenched,
conservative values have resisted the progress the LGBTQ community has worked
hard to achieve elsewhere.