The worst fear of many closeted teens came true for 16-year-old Zach Stark in 2005, when his parents sent him against his will to a camp run by the ex-gay Christian reform group “Love In Action.” Depressed and fearful, Zach began blogging, and from this “modern-day message in a bottle,” news of his plight spread internationally. Featuring interviews with activists, ex-clients, psychologists, the Rev. John Smid (director of Love In Action during Zach’s internment), and, for the first time, Zach himself, this inspirational documentary recounts the events that resulted from a young man’s cry for help. (Description courtesy of the Seattle Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.)

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For the first time ever we are collaborating with MIX NYC to bring the best in queer experimental film to the festival. Founded in 1987 by author Sarah Schulman and filmmaker Jim Hubbard, MIX NYC produces New York’s longest-running lesbian & gay film festival. MIX NYC promotes, produces and preserves experimental media that is rooted in the lives, politics, and experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and otherwise queer-identified people. MIX’S work challenges mainstream notions of gender and sexuality while also upending traditional categories of form and content. (This program was curated by Bug Davidson.)

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A refreshingly realistic take on teenage life, Jitters follows Icelandic teenager Gabriel on a trip to England, where he has a life-changing encounter with the rebellious and freethinking Marcus. As Gabriel reconnects with his tight-knit circle of friends back home, his confusion about his sexual identity is brought to the fore when tragedy befalls the group, forcing them to re-evaluate their fragile relationships to each other and to their families. Jitters has been awarded the Don Quixote Award at the Kristiansand International Children’s Film Festival as well as being selected as the opening film in the youth section.

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