After a world premiere last fall at Atlanta’s Out on Film Festival, “Legalize Gay” returns for Stonewall Month for a screening to benefit three locally based LGBT groups.
The film, which screens June 11 at Midtown Art Cinema, focuses on several diverse individuals, gay and straight, working to advance LGBT equality. Atlanta ties include a profile of Spelman University alumna Jeshawna Wholley, who organized the first Pride event at the historically black college and was later invited to meet President Barack Obama; and the StandUp Foundation, which is based in Atlanta and was created by U.K. rugby star Ben Cohen.
“When we showed the film as a world premiere in October, it was brand spanking new, and since that time has been well received at college campuses and other festivals,” said Jim Farmer, Out on Film festival director.
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“To be able to screen it again as part of Stonewall Month with Atlanta Pride and the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation is a great opportunity and a perfect fit,” he said.
The screening is a collaboration of the StandUp Foundation, Atlanta Pride Committee and Out on Film. It is also a fundraiser for all three groups, with tickets priced at $15.
Cohen, the first straight athlete to focus his philanthropy on LGBT rights, visited Atlanta last year with the gay Atlanta Bucks rugby team. Cohen chose the city as the home for his anti-bullying foundation, and returns for a question-and-answer session following the screening.
Farmer said those who attend the screening would “absolutely” have a chance to meet Cohen.
“He is coming down for the screening and Q-and-A afterwards. We are very excited about his participation,” he said.