Coming Out

New York filmmaker Alden Peters builds this first-person documentary around disclosures to friends and family concerning his sexual orientation. Alongside his own experience, Peters also includes crowd-sourced coming-out stories from other LGBT youth who uploaded their self-recorded videos to YouTube. Peters explains that his family wasn't homophobic, but he pretended to be straight in order to fit in. He starts out by telling his older brother, Julian, who says, "I would have never guessed." His friends ask if he's joking, and one wonders if he might start acting flamboyant, even though that isn't in his nature. They seem more confused than anything else, while his mother, Veda, is immediately accepting, although she asks him a personal question about sex that he refuses to answer. During the holidays, Peters returns home to Seattle to tell his father, Rick, a firefighter. Rick, who lives in a cabin, likes to fix cars, and owns a gun collection, is neither surprised nor disappointed. Peters winds up by telling his younger siblings, Jacquelyn and Callahan, who have a hard time believing him—in part because of stereotypical ideas about how gay people look and act, which don't fit their brother. After “coming out,” Peters isn't sure what to do next, so he speaks to journalist Zach Stafford, author Janet Mock, developmental psychologist Ritch Savin-Williams, and other specialists to see what they recommend. By film's end, he's still trying to figure things out, but seems more hopeful about his future. Offering an intimate, personal look at a situation that many LGBT individuals struggle with, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)