News Release

San Francisco — In recognition of National Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender History Month, the San Francisco Public Library, in association with the Bay Area Video Coalition, Frameline and LYRIC, will premiere “Queer Youth Speak: In and Out at the Library” on October 1 at 2 p.m. in the Koret Auditorium at the Main Library. The short video captures thoughts from gay youth on gay issues and reactions to the Out at the Library exhibition, on display at the Main Library and the Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Branch Library through October 16, 2005.

The video is a production of two independent filmmakers, Caroline Le and Jennifer Gilomen, who wanted to provide a forum for gay youth to voice their views on the importance of archiving gay history. A lively panel discussion comprised of Le, Gilomen, Madeleine Lim, founder and director of the Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project, historian Martin Meeker and others will follow the video presentation. Barbara Levine, curator of the Out at the Library exhibition, will moderate the discussion.

“One reason this project is important to LYRIC is because arts and culture are so central to the lives of queer youth, and to queer youth culture,” said Melissa White, development director and interim co-director of the San Francisco-based community center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning youth. “Queer folks have always communicated through art – about ourselves and our experiences and our lives.”

While Lee’s poignant description of the homes in Kai’s poverty-stricken neighborhood recall books like Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes, his evocation of Kai – a boy desperate to know what his friends eat at home, ignorant of the fact that he is almost blind, and certain that he can feel his mother’s presence in the cold foam of the pacific surf – is utterly unique. Lee’s evocation of San Francisco, from the dense shopping districts of Chinatown to the soaring, whitewashed Central YMCA, turns the city into a character in and of itself.

This program is free and open to the public.
For more information, please call 415-557-4277.

Participating Organizations:

• James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center, San Francisco Public Library
  The James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center is the gateway to collections documenting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history and culture, with a special emphasis on the San Francisco Bay Area. www.sfpl.org/librarylocations/main/glc/glc.htm
• Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC)
  BAVC, the largest media arts center in the nation, is a production facility for independent producers, a new media training center for adults and youth, and a leader in the field of digital production and preservation. www.bavc.org
• Lavender Youth Recreation & Information Center (LYRIC)
  LYRIC works to build community and inspire positive social change through education enhancement, career training, health promotion, and leadership development with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning youth, their families, and allies. www.lyric.org
• Frameline
  Frameline’s mission is to strengthen the diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and further its visibility by supporting and promoting a broad array of cultural representations and artistic expression in film, video and other media arts. www.frameline.org