On November 8 we have started the new project of ComingOut - it is called ComingOutCinema and it includes weekly shows of movies, rarely seen seen in Russia and dedicated to various LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) issues with after-movie discussions of topics  последующим обсуждением тем, touched upon in the movies.

on Saturday night on November 8, 2008 we have shown the documentary Anyone and Everyone, by an American director, Susan Polis Schutz. It was first shown in Russia on October 4, 2008 at the closed run of Side by Side International LGBT film festival, where it won the nomination of the Best Documentary.

Despite the relatively unpopular genre of documentary, the movie show was attended by approximately 100 people, the movie hall was full and some actually had to watch the movie on their feet.

The documentary has parents of variety o backgrounds: Americans, Japanese, Bolivian and Indian, and various faiths, including Mormons, Jews, Hindu, Catholics and Baptists tell their personal stories of their children announcing their sexual orientations, discuss their  - feelings and impart the experience of familial love and acceptance.

Judging by the responses, the audience received the film very positively. «It is a very kind movie. Despite all geographical differences between USA and Russia, the life situations portrayed on screen are painfully familiar to everyone of us. “This movie would have been very good for my parents to see, one of the spectators said.

After the show there was a discussion dedicated to the issue of coming out. The discussion moderator was the chairman of the board of ComingOut, Valery Sozaev, and the participants: the ComingOut activist Gulya Sultanova and one of the organizers of Side by Side, Manny de Guerre. They have told the audience of their personal coming out experiences as well as the motivation for such, and how it influenced their subsequent relationships with parents and the outside world in general. During the discussion, they have also touched upon many relevant issues for today’s St. Petersburg LGBT community – beginning with the problem of internal homophobia and ending with the feasibility of holding a gay parade in today’s Russia.

The organizers thank the of Side by Side International movie festival for their support, as well as all who attended the show, and especially those who participated in the discussion following the film. The look through the prism of cinematography is a necessity for LGBT; promoting the self- realization as a full-fledged person and one’s own sexuality as an integrated and harmonious part of it.

We hope that the ComingOutCinema movie shows will become a tradition in St. Petersburg cultural life and allow us to see many interesting movies, yet lesser known in Russia.