The Year We Thought About Love

The Year We Thought About Love
Directed byEllen Brodsky
Produced byEllen Brodsky
Associate Producer, Pam Chamberlain
Release date
  • January 31, 2015 (2015-01-31) (Santa Barbara Film Festival)
Running time
68 minutes
CountryUnited States

The Year We Thought About Love is a 2015 feature-length documentary film about the LGBTQ theater group, True Colors: OUT Youth Theater, directed by Ellen Brodsky.[1] As of December 2015, the film has been seen in 21 states and 6 countries[2] with a DVD available to community groups, public libraries, community colleges, and colleges and universities.

Synopsis

The film focuses on a Boston-based group of LGBTQ youth of color band together and dare to be 'out' on stage about their lives and their loves. The cast of True Colors: OUT Youth Theater[3] transforms their struggles into performance for social change. The film's cast members include a transgender teenager, Alyssa, who is kicked out of her home; a devout Christian, Chi, who challenges his church's homophobia; and a genderqueer individual, Ayden, who likes to wear masculine clothing, even as they model dresses on the runway. After the Boston Marathon bombs explode yards from their rehearsal space, the troupe becomes even more determined to share their stories of love to help their city heal.[4]

Production notes

The Year We Thought About Love was filmed in Boston and premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on January 31, 2015.

Awards

Awards
Award Date of ceremony Category Recipients and nominees Result
Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Best Documentary Award October 22, 2015 Audience Selection Ellen Brodsky Won
16th Annual Social Justice Award for Documentary Film January 30, 2015 Social Justice Award for Documentary Film[4] Ellen Brodsky Nominated

2016 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award

True Colors: Out Youth Theater was one of the 12 winners of the 2016 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award and the first LGBTQ organization ever to receive this award. The group was invited to the White House on November 15, 2016, to receive the award from Michelle Obama.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ Keough, Peter (February 15, 2015). "Living, loving, celebrating". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  2. ^ Chamberlain, Pat (December 2, 2015). "The Year We Thought About Impact". The Huffington Post, Blog. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  3. ^ Comingore, Aly (January 27, 2015). "45 Films to Find". Santa Barbara Independent. Santa Barbara Independent, Inc.
  4. ^ a b Monroe, Irene (March 22, 2015). "The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name". The Bilerico Project. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  5. ^ Hetrick, Adam (October 2, 2016). "White House Will Honor LGBTQ Youth Drama Group". Playbill. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  6. ^ Curve, Staff (November 13, 2016). "First Lady Michelle Obama To Recognize True Colors: Out Youth Theater". Curve. Retrieved October 2, 2017.