Lawrence you made the papers!

Gay and lesbian film festival greets its 15th year - TV/Movies - NewsObserver.com

Gen Silent director makes radio appearance

Gen Silent Director Stu Maddux will be on NPR's "The State of Things" Tuesday at 12:40 ET/ 9:40 PT: http://wunc.org/programs/tsot/

Providence RI screening will be filled with cast and crew

Gen Silent Director Stu Maddux

This is the first weekend since our recent launch that we will have screenings going on in different cities at the same time.


While I'm in Raleigh/Durham NC at the NCGLFF, much of the cast and crew will be in Providence, RI for our screening at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.
In Providence, look for the Gen Silent's Executive Producer, Barrie Atkin to head up the Q&A along with film subjects Lawrence Johnson and Mel Simms (did I miss anyone?).

Gen Silent Executive Producer Barrie Atkin

Ethos Executive Director Dale Mitchell (who'se innovative programs are in the film) is scheduled to attend as well.
These screenings have really turned into very lively discussions thanks to all of them.

Ethos Executive Director Dale Mitchell

Looking forward to attending NCGLFF

The Carolina Theatre in Durham

It'll be nice to see friends next weekend at the North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Film Festival in Durham, NC.

The community really turns out for the event and filmmakers know it's a good festival to attend because of how organized and friendly the planners are.

The theater for Sunday's screening of Gen Silent seats 900. You'd think that's a wonderful thing but it's nerve wracking thinking about filling those seats. I guess the programmers believe the film is good enough to do respectably. It is pretty good isn't it! ;)

Looking out into all those faces even half full is very rewarding. And if we can just change one person's life then flying out there is worth it.

Documentary about LGBT aging premieres in Durham, NC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 3, 2010

GROUNDBREAKING DOCUMENTARY ABOUT LGBT ELDERS FORCED BACK INTO THE CLOSET PREMIERES IN DURHAM ON AUGUST 14TH.

Those that fought the first battles for equality now face so much fear of discrimination in aging care that they are hiding their lives in record numbers.

Thousands are dying earlier than their straight counterparts, because they are afraid to ask for help.

(DURHAM, NC) Six-time Emmy award-winning director Stu Maddux asks six LGBT elders if they will hide their sexual orientation to avoid being abused or discriminated against by the people and places caring for them. The film features experts who are reaching out to care facilities to educate them about special issues of elderly gay people, such as having no children or being estranged from their families. GEN SILENT has its North Carolina premiere as part of the 15th Annual North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (http://ncglff.org/). Director Maddux will be there for Q&A sessions after each screening.

Here is what people are saying about GEN SILENT:

“The North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival and The Carolina Theatre in Durham are proud to include Gen Silent in its line up” says Chuck Wheeler, NCGLFF Steering Committee co-chair. “It is Maddux’s finest work so far.”

“We are especially excited to be sharing our stories in North Carolina,” added Lawrence Johnson, one of the subjects of the film. “My story is like thousands of others in your community.”

“Director Stu Maddux has created a wonderful and powerful documentary that asks the question, ‘Who will take care of us as we age?’ There is hope for everyone, but these organizations cannot do it alone.” – Bay Windows


TRAILER & FILM INFO: http://gensilent.com/

TIMES & LOCATIONS: Saturday, August 14, 3:15 p.m. – Carolina theatre, Cinema 1
Sunday, August 15, 5:20 p.m. – Carolina theatre, Fletcher Hall
309 W. Morgan St., Downtown Durham

FOR TICKET INFORMATION: Call The Carolina Theatre box office at 919-560-3030 or go to http://ncglff.org

Want to host a screening of GEN SILENT? Visit http://gensilent.com/

Excerpt of my latest doc on PBS stations

I had to leave our screening in Provincetown. MA a day early last month because the producers at AARP's show "Inside E Street" wanted footage of Gen Silent for an episode about LGBT aging. The episode airs this weekend on selected PBS stations but you can see it here:
Inside E Street 1019: Gay and Gray - AARP

They worked hard on the show and anytime a syndicated program mentions your film, you bow your head and say thanks. It was worth scrambling back to the office for.

I think I'm going to put my will online...

This is not my will

I look forward to living another 45 years, and by then another 45 years thanks to medical advances; but even if die tomorrow, I'm not putting anyone through what I've seen in the last four years. This is the third time I am watching a family battling over a person's last wishes- even when the person is still alive!

Haven't you too heard these lines? "I know, this is not what they would have wanted" (spoken to me at an open-casket funeral)
"Yes she CAN to be buried next to her husband..."(overheard during an argument about a parent's religious affiliation)
And here's my favorite, "I don't think we are reading the right will." (Spoken BY me to an executor as we worked together updating a 20-year-old will of a sick friend).

This is not my will

Don't be blaming the lack of communication on your dysfunctional family.

Blame it on keeping a single copy of your out of date will sitting in a safety deposit box that only one or two people have the key too.

Mix it with the lifetime of emotions and fears that families pour out when it gets to the eleventh hour.

Behold your last years NOTHING like you had envisioned.

So here's what I have concluded. If I want to make sure any of my wishes about anything regarding my final days actually happen, I'm putting my will, my healthcare proxy, my power of attorney- all of it...on line. I'm adding it to my Facebook page and my personal website. I'm doing it now at age, 44 and I'm keeping it there forever. Anyone at anytime can know my business and then no-one at crunch time can say they are the only one's who know the real story.

And I've got news for friends and family, it won't be going viral. It's really very boring reading.

This is Alfred Nobel's will