Sacred Places (Halfway Through) - Stephen Cone for "The Wise Kids"

A bit late to the blog, but, you know, as they say...

I started the Tour without a laptop and spent about half an hour in Atlanta on my first day off changing that. So, here I am, typing this from the Marriott in Chattanooga (on my very first Apple product), where we're screening tonight at the Loose Cannon Gallery. The Chattanooga Film Society has impressed me in a big way with how they've prepped for and promoted the event over the past month or two (I did a radio interview for them 2 weeks prior to the Tour, and another this morning). I'm excited for the screening tonight.

There are a thousand ways I could go with this blog, but I'll just touch on two things:

Up to the tour we'd screened mostly at really wonderful and well-known gay & lesbian film festivals, winning several awards and playing to packed houses. It's been really great, as THE WISE KIDS deals with the private pain and joy that comes with grappling with and accepting one's own sexuality. What you get at themed festivals like those, though, is a very specific (and necessary) type of audience. And for a film that deals not only with sexuality but with faithand doubt and family and identity and growing up, there are more audiences to reach; audiences of a different sort. So, what I've looked forward to and enjoyed very much is playing to those new audiences on this Southern Circuit Tour, a tour that is bringing all sorts of people - southerners, northerners, gay, straight, young, old, Christian, non-Christian, etc. - to the film. From Unitarians to Catholics-turned-Baptists to young straight men and young gay women, I've had the opportunity to engage with folks who are grappling or have grappled with the same issues Brea, Laura, Tim, Austin and Elizabeth are grappling with in the film. These encounters have been so special to me, including a profoundly meaningful late-night discussion with two community college students in Gadsden, AL. How would they have seen this film otherwise, were it not for South Arts?

Secondly, and lastly (for now), I just want to state how inspiring it's been to venture to the cultural institutions hosting these screenings. The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art in Auburn, the Acadiana Center for the Arts in Lafayette, LA, Wallace Hall in Gadsden, AL, the Clarkston Community Center in Clarkston, GA and three more I'll encounter this week. All of these places provide opportunities for people in the south to encounter the sacred, profound, silly, playful, intellectual, emotional and liberating qualities of art and it's expression. As I've walked onto these "sacred grounds" I've been moved by the architecture, the atmosphere, the cultural possibilities, and by the quiet cultural heroes doing their part to make the world a better, richer place. Fitting that I'm taking with me into these buildings a movie about finding holiness.

Bridging "inside" with "outside" in Gadsden, AL

‘Concrete, Steel & Paint’ is a documentary that explores the value of connecting prisoners with the outside community. Mario Gallardo—Director of the Walnut Street Gallery and a Professor in the Art Department at Gadsden State College, took this message to heart and brought it to life by inviting inmates from the Etowah County Jail in the SCTIF public screening at the Pitman Theatre in downtown Gadsden. We had screened the film in prisons before, and even had the opportunity to coordinate bringing the public to those events, but never has this happened in the reverse.

Close to 20 inmates attended the Saturday night event escorted by Sheriff Entrekin, who was also joined by his wife.

Following the screening, it was a little awkward at first navigating between two sides of the room, but the physical boundary seemed to breakdown as the conversation continued. More and more people chimed in … on “both sides” as we did a round robin to hear first impressions of the film. Words like hope, courage, thought-provoking, real, and inspiring were among some of the descriptives.

One gentleman asked: “Why are there prisoners and crime victims?” His thought was more of question meant to ponder what it is about our society that creates prisoners and crime victims, from a sociological standpoint.

A student, interested in art therapy, was riveted by the film – it gave her inspiration about the healing power of art. She commented on the fine line between prisoners and crime victims, between us and them, when you think about what we are all capable of and what can happen to anybody.

One of the incarcerated men was impressed by the courage of the partners to work together and see the project through.

The Sheriff talked about his restorative program approach, the importance of restitution and their mural painting projects.

The exchange opened up a bit when Bobby Welch, Executive Director of the Mary G. Hardin Center for Cultural Arts, asked the guys from the prison about coming out to visit and see the artwork there. While the questions were typically being addressed to me, Bobby broke the ice with this question. The Sheriff responded with an open invitation. I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that Gadsden has started its own planning for a ‘Healing Walls’ spin-off.

My hope, moving forward, is that we might replicate the audience diversity created in Gadsden, and find more opportunities for bringing the community together with people who are incarcerated.

This was a great start and has set a new precedent for the film’s potential to engage the very principles that it upholds – finding opportunities to bridge “inside” with “outside” and exploring the potential for what can happen in the exchange. Thank you, Mario and to all of the Gadsden partners (Mary G Hardin Center for Cultural Arts, Gadsden State Community College, Wallace Hall Fine Arts Center, Downtown Gadsden Incorporated).

The Historic Pitman Theatre in downtown Gadsden

screens 'Concrete, Steel & Paint'