Love makes a Family – Films and documentaries

International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT)

International Family Equality Day (IFED)

2017

“LOVE MAKES A FAMILY”

 
In 2017, activists are invited to celebrate Families in all their forms.
We are bringing you here a list of films and documentaries in which family relationships are a major component. We hope they can provide amazing contributions to your IDAHOT events.
Do you want to suggest additional items? Write us at contact@dayagainsthomophobia.org

 DOCUMENTARIES

Kids Of Gay Parents Speak Out. UK-based Team Angelica have produced this lovely short film, which features children from a range of family types – be it gay, straight, bi and undefined – talking about their parents and siblings in very endearing ways. It’s a great affirmation of gay parenting.
 

Out and About is a touching and intimate portrait of three families in Russia, Malaysia and Kenya, who face prejudice and challenges because they have gay children. For screening, pls contact Nadia
 

‘TWO: The Story of Roman and Nyro“ is a heartwarming documentary that chronicles the story of two men and their journey to start a family together with a surrogate mother.
 
Right 2 Love, released in 2012, is a documentary, which follows the daily lives and struggles of seven LGBT families in the following seven different European countries: The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Switzerland and in Catalonia: http://www.familieslg.org/familieslgtb/premiere-of-right-2-love/
 
https://youtu.be/Y_838NSym_4
One may think that growing up with same sex parents is very different, but is it? “A ‘Normal’ Life” takes you inside the minds and lives of high school students growing up and living with different parental units proving that the way we are raised is very much the same.
 

“Transgender Parents is about love, life and kids after a gender transition. It shares the struggles and strengths of several trans women and trans men navigating different stages of parenting: from pregnancy, through raising infants, toddlers and teenagers.”: http://www.transgenderparentsdoc.com/
 

Moms of Queer Kids, features three mothers sharing their experience of when their child, all daughters, came out to them as either lesbian or transgender: http://www.advocate.com/momsofqueerkids/2016/10/03/moms-queer-kids-coming-out
 

Out with the family is produced by the organisers of the Alternative Parenting Show, UK. The 40-minute film  includes interviews with a variety of families who tell their stories. Some have become parents through adoption, surrogacy, through a fertility clinic or the less formal DIY approach!
 

Gayby Baby is a unique film / documentary told from the perspective of the kids. Among other things, the kids in the film discuss what it’s like to have same-sex parents: http://thegaybyproject.com/
 

OUTatNight, a national fundraising and awareness campaign launched by the Canadian organization Egale Canada Human Rights Trust to address the epidemic of homelessness among LGBTQ2S youth in Canada. According to the organization, “over 6000 of homeless youth in Canada identify as LGBTQ2S.”: http://outatnight.ca/
 

In my Shoes (2005), initiated by the organization COLAGE, is a youth-produced documentary film by and about children of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parents: http://www.colage.org/resources/in-my-shoes/
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The documentary Fatherhood Dreams invites people into the day-to-day lives of gay dads Scott, Steve, Randy and Drew, who are fathers through adoption, co-parenting and surrogacy. 
 

DADDY & PAPA is a one hour documentary exploring the personal, cultural, and political impact of gay men who are making a decision  to raise children themselves
 
https://youtu.be/t9WxQCb413w
Me and my gay parents is a short documentary following the life of a teenager whose parent has come out as gay later on in their teenage years.
 

The emotional Turkish documentary My Child successfully defends the idea that acceptance in any society begins with acceptance at home. Director Can Candan focuses on the parents of LGBT children, handing them a microphone to tell their stories
 

In the short documentary “It Runs in the Family”, filmmaker Joella Cabalu learnt about how LGBT family dynamics play out amongst her relatives.
 

Anyone and Everyone is a moving and beautiful portrayal of the love between parents and children, and the work some parents are willing to do for the sake of that love. It has a Spanish version

Mama Rainbow is a documentary shot by the LGBT organisation Queer Comrades. For Chinese parents, finding out that their kid is gay usually presents a major tragedy, with the big majority utterly unable to accept the homosexuality of their son or daughter. But this documentary gives voice to some incredibly heart-warming change journeys of parents that are now beautiful role models to listen to.
 

Also by Queer Comrades, Pink Dads brings more stories about moving change journeys, this time from fathers, who in Chinese society often assert their authority to ensure that no harm comes to the family reputation, and have therefore an even harder time coming to terms with their child’s homosexuality

 
 
 
 
MY CHILD is about a very courageous and inspiring group of mothers and fathers in Turkey, who are parents of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-gender individuals.

YOUTUBE CHANNELS

OliviaHas2Moms features Ebony and Denise and their beautiful daughter, Olivia. Ebony and Denis have been married for three years. They started their YouTube channel in 2011
Gay Family Values began in 2006. Jay and Bryan, a gay couple, are the adoptive fathers of Daniel and Selena and are based out of California
JiMONiC19 features Jing and Monica, a lesbian couple, who have vlogged (video blogged) the entire process of making their family which came to be in 2014 when their daughter Estelle was born
Michael and Luigi is a YouTube channel that documents the life of Michael and Luigi, gay fathers to Logan, their son.
 

FICTIONS

Producing Adults is a Finnish film about the desire to have a child and finding the right person to do this with. The film was released in 2004 and was nominated by Finland for an Oscar.
 

The Kids Are All Right is a 2010 American comedy-drama film directed by Lisa Cholodenko. The film was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and Annette Bening was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. The film also received four Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture, at the 83rd Academy Awards.
 
 

Transparent is an American comedy-drama web television series created by Jill Soloway. The story revolves around a Los Angeles family and their lives following the discovery that the person they knew as their father  is transgender
 
Out With Dad is an award-winning Canadian web series featuring a teenage lesbian, Rose, and the process of coming out to her single father: http://www.outwithdad.com/
 

Kate Johnston and Shauna MacDonald’s Tru Love is a beautiful film that explores love, loss and vulnerability through examining the intertwined relationships of a mother, daughter and a friend.
 

The movie Lilting explores the experience of grief and how this can be complicated by not coming out to the family of your loved one. Lilting explores this through the relationship of a Cambodian-Chinese mother, Junn – who is grieving for the death of her son – and her son’s boyfriend, Richard.
 

Transamerica  tells the story of Bree, a transgender woman, who goes on a road trip with her long-lost son Toby. One of the major themes is the personal journey toward self-discovery. The film is marked by an Academy Award–nominated and Golden Globe–winning performance by Huffman
 

Released in 2005 and directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, C.R.A.Z.Y. is a film about a young gay man growing up in Quebec and dealing with homophobia. The film focuses a lot on the relationship between all family members.
 

Cachorro (known as Bear Cub in English-speaking markets) is a 2004 Spanish gay-themed (in particular, the gay bear community) drama film written and directed by Miguel Albaladejo. It is about a bearish gay man who ends up looking after his nephew while his sister goes away to India and in turn makes him develop a fatherly bond with the boy as well as forcing him to alter his lifestyle.
 

Breakfast with Scot  is the story of  a gay retired hockey player turned television sportscaster who lives with his partner Sam, a sports lawyer. When Sam unexpectedly becomes the legal guardian of his brother’s stepson, Scot, their lives are turned upside down as the demands of being a parent — as well as the boy’s preference for clothing and hobbies which suggest that he may also be gay — begin to intrude ever more strongly on Eric’s desire to remain closeted at work. Eric’s unwillingness to accept the situation eventually fades as Scot teaches Eric about loving your true self.
 

Make the Yuletide Gay is a 2009 American Christmas-themed romantic comedy film written and directed by Rob Williams about a gay college student who is out at school, but is afraid to reveal his sexual orientation to his parents
 

Patrik, Age 1.5 (Swedish: Patrik 1,5) is a 2008 Swedish comedy–drama film in which a gay Swedish couple adopt what they at first believe to be a baby, Patrik, only to have him turn out to be a homophobic teenager.
 

Fair Haven by Kerstin Karlhueber is the story of a young gay American torn between his emancipation and his loyalty to his father, who forces him into “reparative therapy”. A beautiful story of how love is the strongest of all family values.
 

Baby Love. Pediatrician Manu yearns for a child of his own, but his partner Philippe will have nothing to do with it, content in his child-free life. Unconcerned about anything but finding a woman to act as a surrogate and provide him with a child, Manu seeks the attention of Fina, an illegal Argentine. This once comedic story turns decidedly dramatic as emotions surge and relationships are tested. (French with English subtitles)
 

Finn’s girl Dr. Finn Jeffries is at loose ends. Her partner Nancy has died, and Finn is left to raise their 11-year-old daughter Zelly, manage Nancy’s abortion clinic, deal with threatening anti-abortionists, and re-enter the dating scene. It’s no wonder Zelly is rebelling by skipping school, shoplifting, and smoking Finn’s pot. Finn is unsure how to reconnect with her daughter, though, and this forms the central theme of Finn’s Girl, by Toronto filmmakers Dominique Cardona and Laurie Colbert.
 

While you weren’t looking. A film by Out In Africa. This trailer is for the original cut.
 

As they say – A father and a son spend the weekend fishing on the banks of a magical lake set against the lush sceneries of the Moroccan Rif. The son is a modern 25 year-old man who hopes to profit from these moments of intimacy and contemplation with his father to tell him his secret. The father, a traditionalist former service man, 60 years-old, has no inkling as to what it is about. The revelation will destroy their relationship.
 

The Salvation Army – Abdellah is a young gay man navigating the sexual, racial and political climate of Morocco. Growing up in a large family in a working-class