So So Gay
What would you do to survive if you were old, disabled and ill, afraid of discrimination or abuse?
These are the questions asked of older lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT) in a film being screened on February 27, at The Hive, Shrewsbury.
The documentary, Gen Silent, is being screened as part of LGBT History Month 2012 by Shropshire Rainbow Film Festival in partnership with AgeUK Shropshire Telford and Wrekin.
Two screenings are planned, at 2.30pm and 8.00pm. There will be a Question and Answer (Q&A) session, with a distinguished panel, following the afternoon showing. The panel are: Heather Osborne – CEO Age UK, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin; Debbie Price – Chair, Shropshire Partners in Care; Stephen Chandler – Head of Adult Care and Support, Shropshire Council; Karen Kalinowski, Head of Care and Support, Telford and Wrekin Council; Anthony Smith, Opening Doors LGBT Project, AgeUK.
Free entrance to the afternoon screening is being offered to those who work/are training in Care/HealthcareCare/Healthcare services. All other tickets are £5.00. Everyone is welcome.
Gen Silent is the new LGBT documentary from award-winning Director, Stu Maddux and askes six LGBT seniors if they will hide their lives to survive.
Their surprising decisions are captured through intimate access to their day-to-day lives over the course of a year in Boston, Massachusetts.
As we journey through the challenges they face, we also see reasons for hope as each crosses paths with a small, but growing, group of professionals trying to wake up to the long term care and healthcare services to their situation. Many of them also talk of a life lived prior to changes to the law, societal attitudes and gay liberation.
‘We are pleased to be working again with AgeUK, screening such a poignant, relevant film. We can all learn from the issues raised and be moved by the courage shown by those involved’, said Geoff Hardy, Rainbow Film Festival volunteer organiser.
Heather Osborne, Chief Executive of Age UK Shropshire Telford & Wrekin said ‘over the last few years we have worked with the Rainbow Film Festival and we were delighted to be invited to be part of the UK premier showing of the film Gen Silent. The issues raised in the film throw up many questions about what is life like for older LGBT people in our care and health system. Would they have the same experience as their counterparts in America? Are there people who do not approach agencies and organisations like ours for fear they will be discriminated against? How can we make sure that services are welcoming and inclusive to make sure that this is not the case. I look forward to the debate that I’m sure the film will bring about.’
Tickets for the 2.30pm screening/Q&A, contact: 01743 249888 or email [email protected] for details.
For the 8.00pm screening, contact The Hive: 01743 234970.
