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For Further Press Information:
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Deborah Fleischman
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EQUALITY FORUM PRESENTS
WORLD PREMIERE OF FILM DOCUMENTARY
JIM IN BOLD ON FRIDAY, MAY 2 AT THE KIMMEL CENTER

Equality Forum presents JIM IN BOLD, the world premiere of a documentary by award-winning filmmaker Glenn Holsten in collaboration with Young Gay America, PBS and MTV at 9:00 PM. The presentation of the 8th annual National Role Model Award follows the premiere on Friday, May 2 at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

Equality Forum, formerly PrideFest America, presents the world's most comprehensive programs about the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community at its annual symposium and festival on April 28-May 4 in Philadelphia. Equality Forum features 76 programs and social events by 95 regional, national and international GLBT organizations.

JIM IN BOLD examines the many complicated issues facing gay and lesbian teens. Titled after a poem of the same name by Jim Wheeler, the young man in whose memory Equality Forum's National Youth Panel is dedicated, JIM IN BOLD explores the profound impact of nationally tolerated homophobia in our culture and public schools on GLBT youth.

"JIM IN BOLD tells the stories of gay youth in this country, from the tragic impact of hatred to the triumphant resilience of youth," said Equality Forum's Executive Director Malcolm Lazin. "This is the second documentary production by Equality Forum, the first being Gay Pioneers which premiered in 2001. We are proud to be adding to the canon of work which records the history of the GLBT civil rights movement."

JIM IN BOLD draws on Jim Wheeler's story as a framework to fuse two very different experiences of youths in America. By reconstructing the emotional journey which led to his unfortunate death, the film reveals the many warning signs that pointed to his suicide, including his writings, paintings, pleas with friends to assist him and threats to his family. In addition, the film explores how a high school system tolerated the kind of bigotry and harassment Jim endured daily as student at Cedar Crest High School in Lebanon, PA.

JIM IN BOLD simultaneously reveals a hopeful aspect of being young and gay in America, by documenting the activities of Young Gay America founders Benjie Nycum and Mike Glatze as they traveled around the United States and interviewed gay youths. Their tour took them from Utah to Jim Wheeler's hometown of Lebanon, PA where Benjie and Mike met and interviewed gay teens to include in their Young Gay America website. The www.younggayamerica.com site allows teens to anonymously come out of the closet, via a virtual community of support. JIM IN BOLD features many resilient gay teens who are creating and promoting a positive self-image of what it is like to by young and gay in America.

Two versions of the film are being produced for national distribution - one for teen audiences which will be aired on MTV, the other for parents and adult audiences, to be aired on PBS. The project is designed to promote awareness and tolerance in schools and at home and to provide connections and resources for those who feel isolated in their experience.

Following the premiere of the documentary, Benjie Nycum and Mike Glatze will receive Equality Forum's National Role Model Award on May 2 for their extraordinary work on JIM IN BOLD and their groundbreaking documentation of the varied experiences of GLBT youth on their Young Gay America website

Glenn Holsten (Director) is a producer and director of documentaries and performance programs for public television. His national PBS production credits include Gay Pioneers, Mothers March, The Sounds of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Diary, The Great Comet Crash and Neptune All Night. He was director of An Angel In The Village (a portrait of Philadelphia-based artist Lily Yeh), which was broadcast on public television in May 1999. He also directed Gay Bingo, MURAL, and Intersections at Third and Indiana, which was produced in collaboration with the MIT Media Lab.

Glenn is a recipient of the 1997 Pew Fellowship in the Arts, a 2000 Independence Foundation Fellowship in the Arts and a 2001 Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship. His works have been featured at the Dance on Camera, Houston, Columbus and New York Film Festivals, and have been awarded silver and gold awards from Corporation for Public Broadcasting for innovative television production. He has been honored with sixteen Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards. A collection of his work was exhibited in the Philadelphia Museum of Art's 20th Century Video Gallery.

Young Gay America, is a long-term research project / road trip adventure dedicated to improving the lives of GLBT youth. Founded by Benjie Nycum and Mike Glatze, YGA's mission is to educate and inform GLBT youth about their importance in society by placing their individual stories in an international forum (via the Internet); to foster and encourage the exchange of ideas by queer youth on issues pertinent to queer youth (to allow their voices to be heard); and to promote positive self-image and sense of belonging.

Since its founding in 1993, Equality Forum has become the world's largest annual gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) symposium and festival. It has expanded from a three-day conference of 15 regional organizations to a full week of events featuring international, national and regional leaders on a broad range of compelling issues. With 76 programs and social events presented by 95 regional, national and international non-profit organizations, Equality Forum is the most in-depth program of the emergence of a vibrant international GLBT community and its civil rights aspirations.

For further information, please call 215-732-3378 or visit Equality Forum's website at www.equalityforum.com.

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