Fresno Reel Pride

For the 19^th year running the Fresno Reel Pride film festival has opened eyes and raised awareness for the gay community in Fresno.

The five day festival kicked off on Wednesday September 17^th, showing 68 of the best gay and lesbian films produced this year.

The popular event attracted thousands of people from across the country to its screenings and parties, not only to celebrate great film, but to try and increase acceptance and understanding for the gay community.

One of the founders of Reel Pride, Peter Robertson, 45, said: “Different arts and cultures broaden the base of Fresno and the community. The film festival helps to build acceptance for all diverse cultures in Fresno.”

Located in the Tower Theatre at Fresno, Reel Pride is considered one of the premiere cultural events in central California.

Chris Dodd, 26, a member of the host committee said: “It’s a big success and it grows every year. The festival gets the community together for five days to just forget about everything else and just have a good time.”

Tom Purcell, 37, from Fresno agrees: “It’s a good way for the community to get together and find out who we are. A lot of the films are personal stories. We all see ourselves in the characters on screen.”

But is the festival really helping create a more open minded Fresno? Anna Morilez, from Fresno, thinks it does. She said: “I don’t see a lot of prejudice in Fresno. I’ve been other places like the East Coast and Fresno is a lot more open.”

However Dodd is more hesitant. He said: “It’s slowly changing. For a long time I felt it was like two separate communities. Now people are starting to accept the gay community more, but it’s a slow process.”

Jeremy Hager, 29, employee of Kaiser Permanente, a Reel Pride Sponsor, agrees: “I think it’s still a work in progress. More and more people are open to it but we’re not up to the big city level yet.”

But then New York actor Simon Miller, 29, starring in the movie ‘Between Love and Goodbye’ made a more important point.

He said: “Being accepted isn’t the point. You have to have people do things. You can’t just sit around and wait to be accepted, you stand up and you insist!

“And that’s what this festival does for Fresno.”