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Site: http://www.sgamovie.
com
Directed/Produced: Daneen Akers & Stephen Eyer

Run Time: 104 Minutes | English | Documentary | 2012 www.sgamovie.com
M4PR Melanie Marquez, Sr. Publicist 11864 Ventura Blvd. #213 Studio City, CA 91604 www.M4PR.com PR@M4PR.com Office: 818-538-M4PR Cell: 626-833-6790 Twitter: @M4PR
Site: http://www.sgamovie.com
SYNOPSIS
Caught in the collision of two worlds, three gay and lesbian Seventh-day Adventists wrestle with how to reconcile their faith, identity, and sexuality. One young man spent five years in "ex-gay" therapy trying to become straight, but now he's falling in love with another man and wondering if that can be okay. Another was an Adventist pastor in Brazil who was fired for being gay. Can he find his calling again? And a lesbian mom from the mid-west wants her daughters to grow up with her faith and beliefs, even though she knows her church might not accept their family. Growing up Adventist means knowing you belong. And being Adventist is about much more than a set of beliefs--it's a close-knit community not easily left. Discovering you are gay in this community often means loss and exile from all that has been home. This feature-length documentary follows their raw and moving journeys as they wrestle with deep questions and struggle to find a place where they can integrate identity, love, and belief.
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Website: http://www.sgamovie.com: press, newsletter, stories from the road, testimonials, etc. Twitter: http://twitter.com/sgamovie Facebook: http://www.fb.com/sgamovie Trailer: http://www.sgamovie.com/trailer
DIRECTORS STATEMENT
This film was born out of our personal frustration with the anti-LGBT religious propaganda we witnessed around Prop 8 (the California proposition that constitutionally banned same-gender marriage) in 2008. At that time, we'd become good friends with several deeply religious Seventh-day Adventists who were also gay and wanted to remain true to themselves while also being part of the church and religious culture they also felt were core to their identity. We were also raised in the Adventist church with family ties that go back several generations, so we understood how strong the pull of that religious community with its deep cultural practices and distinctive beliefs could be. Even for someone with good cause to leave (like most LGBT Adventists), the church is a way of life, a community not easily left. We realized that this intersection of faith, identity and sexuality would make for an interesting film. We started out making an issue film and spent three months on a road trip around the country interviewing theologians and other experts, but somewhere along the way a different film emerged, one that is now entirely character driven. We found ourselves caught up in the depth, authenticity, and raw humanity that emerged as the main subjects of the film wrestle with how to reconcile their faith and their sexual orientation. And weve kept our editorial style extremely restrained in the film in an effort to keep the focus of the film on the stories of the film subjects. These are stories rarely heard either in conservative churches or in the gay community, and they are deeply moving. Our film subjects feel on the margins of all of their communities of belonging because they hold deeply to their faith and their sexual identity. For them, faith and identity are a both/and scenario instead of the either/or choice that has often been seen as the only option in the shallow God vs. Gay rhetoric of the culture wars. The documentary now tells the story of three gay and lesbian Seventh-day Adventists whom we followed for two years. David, a young man from the Midwest who has spent five years in ex-gay therapy and is just starting to explore accepting himself as a gay man; Sherri, a lesbian mother from Ohio who wants to raise her two young girls in the Adventist church with the traditions she grew up with; and, Marcos, a Brazilian who now lives in the Bay Area and is searching for a place to be a pastor again after being fired for being gay. They all desire a way to reconcile their faith and religious identity. Their voices, especially combined with the verit style of filmmaking, add a not-often-heard perspective to the conversation about identity and religion in America. When Prop 8 passed, we were deeply disappointed, not just because wed worked hard to advocate for full inclusivity for LGBT people within faith communities, but also because we were expecting our first child, a daughter who is now four. The enormity of trying to raise her in the world with a loving, inclusive spirituality still boggles us most of the time, and somehow making this film has been part of helping to make our world the sort of place we envision her growing up in. Ultimately this journey has been a hopeful one for us. Even though there is still great injustice done in the name of religion around this topic, weve seen a shift towards reconciliation, even in just the past four years while weve been working on the film. Stories, like the ones in Seventh-Gay Adventists, provide a new lens and frame through which to engage and act.
Seventh-Gay Adventists: A film about faith on the margins.

David loves Jesus, but he might not go to heaven. At least, thats his deepest fear. For the last five years, his ex gay therapist has tried to help David become straight, but his hearts desire is still to be with a man. As a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church with family members in prominent leadership positions, David knows that being gay is not okay. Gays are promiscuous, hedonistic, and decidedly un-Christianor at least thats what hes always believed. Until now. David just decided hes going to try dating guys. He meets Colin, a charming gay Christian Canadian man, and falls head over heels in love. For the first time in his life, hes genuinely happy. But can they build a life together? Will Davids distinctly Adventist family accept him? All of Davids family and extended family are Adventist, and most of them work for the church. His father and two brothers are Adventist ministers who agree with the churchs traditional stance against homosexuality. And can David reconcile his relationship with his Adventist identity? Being a gay Christian isnt e asy, but being a gay Seventh-day Adventist is an especially difficult path because Adventism, to most, is more than a belief system; its also a close-knit community of belonging. It is a way of life, a community not easily left. Adventist culture runs very deep. Most Adventists are vegetarian, attend church schools, go to church hospitals, and often have few friends outside of the church. By definition they attend church on Saturdays instead of Sunday and keep a full, 24-hour Sabbath, a practice which separates them even from other Christians. For someone immersed in the church, the culture of Adventism is almost like an ethnicity. They can no easier stop being Adventist than they can stop being gay. Most LGBT Adventists cant imagine attending another church, even an accepting and affirming one because they believe Adventist doctrines and identity with Adventist culture, especially where belief and culture unite in the powerful, community-wide keeping of Sabbath. Caught in the collision of two worlds, David and Colin are not alone in their struggle to reconcile their faith and sexuality. Marcos, a Brazilian Adventist pastor, is outed and stripped of his credentials, but he still feels called by God to lead a congregation. Sherri and Jill, lesbian parents from Ohio, may not be welcome at their local Adventist church once the new pastor arrives, but they go to great lengths to raise their two daughters as good Adventists. Seventh-Gay Adventists offers a revealing look at the inner spiritual world of three LGBT church members struggling to accept themselves despite their faith. The gut-wrenching decisions the films subjects have to make about how to be true to themselves and their faith sheds an illuminated light about what it means to belong when you find yourself on the margins.
This is How Change Happens --- What a year for the "Seventh-Gay Adventists" film and
movement! We couldn't have imagined what the year ahead would hold. For one thing, we were almost completely out of funds, and we weren't completely done with the final film touches (color and sound---also the most expensive steps!). We didn't know if we'd screen in any film festivals, knowing that this film has always been a bit on the margins, just like our film subjects who feel that their LGBT identity puts them on the margins of their faith even though their profound faith and identity in a church that isn't known for tolerance much less acceptance can also keep them on the margins of the gay community. Happily, this film has found an audience in both of those communities, and we've now had 43 screenings with well over 8,000 audience members. We've gotten used to going from gay/lesbian film festival audiences to church crowds, as both audiences have been appreciative of the film's tone, questions, and the chance to engage in one of the most important issues of our time through this particular lens. Almost every screening has been beyond capacity, and we ended the year with a church screening with over 1,000 people giving the film a standing ovation. Moments like that have kept us going when the travel and logistics of screening trips for a three (now four-year-old) have felt overwhelming! Even the smaller screenings in very conservative parts of the country where it's clear that just coming to a screening for a film that includes the word "gay" in its title is a big deal, we've sensed how the film has given a community permission to engage in a topic that just isn't broached and crack open in the best of ways. We really have seen what an appetite there is to have this conversation about faith, identity and belonging in an authentic way, and the stories in this film provide an excellent lens to enter the conversation. The feedback from a wide range of audience members has been incredibly encouraging and energizing. Just feeling an audience fall in love with the subjects of the film and journey with their deep, moving, and raw emotions as they negotiate how to follow their hearts and their faith is motivation enough to keep going. And then we get emails and Facebook messages from all walks of people affirming how powerful the film has been for their own lives and family relationships. The encouragement and endorsements the film has received from a wide variety of thought leaders, advocates, gay Adventists, and those who just feel inspired by the film to take tangible action in their own circles is encouraging. Check out a selection of endorsements and feedback on our new Endorsements page.
--- Daneen Akers & Stephen Eyer, Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Gratitude
A film like this doesn't happen without a huge grassroots community coming together to make it happen. It would have been impossible to imagine four years ago that not only would this film happen but that so many screenings and transformative discussions would happen as well. Hundreds and hundreds of you who believe in the power of stories have come together to make this happen, and you have our deepest gratitude. You are--we all are--the small group of thoughtful, committed people who will make change happen, and it begins by sharing authentically, listening respectfully, and learning to engage and love despite difference. Thanks for making that ethos what this film and movement is about. Here are a few of our favorite endorsements that have recently come in as the film has reached a wider audience:
"This is a beautiful and compelling film that speaks for many within the Seventh-day Adventist and larger Christian community. It has the potential to do much good, particularly among religious conservatives because of the way it engages with those of devout faith. Although it's set in the context of Seventh-day Adventism, anyone who has felt that their faith and sexuality are in conflict will instantly get this film." - Sharon Groves, director, religion and faith program, Human Rights Campaign "The film is superb--a poignant and profound experience beyond any I've seen on the subject." - Chris Blake, author and professor of English, Union College "Thank you for telling our story! I walked out of the screening feeling respect and love in a way I've never experienced before. The space you nurtured and protect could only be created by allies like you. Please keep up the good work! Your work has the potential to save many lives, families and communities." - Freddy Lee
PRESS QUOTES & ENDORSEMENTS

Icons link to articles
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ So shaken by the inequality in her church, the award -winning filmmaker coproduced and directed Seventh-Gay Adventist , a character-driven documentary that follows the lives of three gay and lesbian Adventists. She screens the film around the country, meeting with Christians and engaging in conversations to help eradicate homophobia from the Christian church. The Advocate, 10 Pro-LGBT Religious Women You Should Know (Daneen Akers) __________________________________________________________________________________________________ [] so they ended up narrowing the focus down to the three featured in the film, and rather than littering the proceedings with social/cultural commentary, they simply allowed their subjects including Columbus resident Sherri, her partner Jill and their two girls to give voice to their own truths. It is potent and powerful stuff with strong hints of other hot button issues (immigration and identity re-education), but made more so because it is unadorned and devoid of an argumentative bent. Audiences can and will come to this film, whether gay or straight, from any religious affiliation or none at all, and, if they are willing to listen, they will learn to see, hear, and possibly walk along the margins in anothers shoes for a short while. Dayton City Paper (Dayton, Ohio) __________________________________________________________________________________________________ And yet the typical Christian lines of condemnation must fall away in the face of such stories. Its difficult to argue that theres some sort of singular, morally depraved gay lifestyle after watching Sherri and her partner, Jill, raise their two daughtershelping with homework, gardening in their yard, sewing patches on Adventurer uniforms. [] The film is gentle; it neither tries to convert anyone to Adventism nor tries to argue point-by-point theology with Adventists who want to condemn same-sex relationships. What it does is open up room for discussion and the opportunity to see the world through someone elses eyes. Q Center, Portlands LGBTQ Community Center __________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________ Seventh-Gay Adventists focuses on a conservative Christian denomination whose holy day is Saturday, and which teaches that homosexuality is a sin. The three subjects in their thoughtful, involving documentary grew up in Adventists communities: they, scrupulous, committed people, are trying to find a way to reconcile their religion and their lives as gay people. []''One of the goals we had was to challenge the assumption a lot of conservative Christians have that a gay person who is in a relationship no longer cares about the voice of God in their life, Akers says. - Australias The AGE Entertainment __________________________________________________________________________________________________ This is an inspirational film, but it also reminds us of how very far we have to go. [LGBT] equality is not simply a legal matter to be hard fought and won on a state by state basis; its also a spiritual concern, and churches have been riven from within over the question of whether to accept or reject gays and their families. Signs of progress are everywhere, though Edge, Fort Lauderdale, Florida __________________________________________________________________________________________________ I would describe the movie as a sweet, gentle nonconfrontational look at the struggles of three individuals and their partners who, from the very earliest moments of life at their very core, are Christian, Adventist, and gay. [] My tears flowed because these three couples were so ordinary, almost boring. They celebrated the Sabbath, birthdays, and Christmas. They sew patches on Adventurer uniforms and help kids with homework. They prepare meals, wash dishes, and look remarkably like the typical heterosexual family. [And yet,] I am not sure there is a place for gays to find love [and] grow closer to Jesus Steve Moran, SPECTRUM Magazine ________________________________________________________________________________________
"This film ishands downthe best bridge-building film in this genre that Ive seen." - Andrew Marin, author of Love is an Orientation. ________________________________________________________________________________________ "This is a really beautiful, gentle, compelling film that I found very hopeful." - Daniel Karslake, director of FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO
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Site: http://www.sgamovie.com ________________________________________________________________________________________

"The film is superb--a poignant and profound experience beyond any I've seen on the subject." - Chris Blake, author and professor of English, Union College
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"Whatever one's position regarding homosexuals and the church may be, this film is worth seeing because it candidly probes issues with real human faces and stories." - Dr. Roy Gane, author and Seventh-day Adventist seminary professor
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"The movie, which simply tells stories rather than taking an advocacy stance, is powerful. It can, I believe, do much to make Adventists more compassionate in this controversial area." - Dr. William Johnsson, retired editor The Adventist Review
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"This is a beautiful and compelling film...Although it's set in the context of Seventh-day Adventism, anyone who has felt that their faith and sexuality are in conflict will instantly get this film." - Sharon Groves, director, religion and faith program, Human Rights Campaign
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"Seventh-Gay Adventists is a film that moves beyond politics and controversies to look at the real lives of SDA Christians and the different ways they've dealt with being gay in a church where that's not always easy. It's rare to find a film that deals with this subject with this much nuance and sensitivity! We enjoyed showing it at our annual conference, and I'm happy to recommend it to others who want an insightful look into the human side of the gay debate in conservative churches." - Justin Lee, Executive Director, The Gay Christian Network
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"SEVENTH-GAY ADVENTISTS is moving and thought-provoking. Finally, a film that recognizes that faith and hope have nothing to do with the church or sex and everything to do with the courage to accept one's self!" - Jennifer Knapp, musician/LGBT advocate
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This film is a ministering film. Having watched it four times now, at four locations, I am deeply impressed each time by how, rather than creating contention, it creates an atmosphere of concern and a spirit of communityIn small and large ways, this film, and the sacred listening spaces that have accompanied its viewing, bear tangible witness to the God of the Outcast. - Jared Wright, pastor, Azure Hills Seventh-day Adventist Church
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Site: http://www.sgamovie.com ________________________________________________________________________________________

"It's a very powerful film. Gentle in its way. Only tree stumps could get through the film without tears or sobs; yet it ends with joy." - Dr. Charles Scriven, President of Kettering College of Medical Arts and chair of the board of Adventist Forum
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"I saw the film in San Francisco with a group of Adventist teachers and pastors from across the country. There was great diversity in the room--I heard not a single note of condemnation from left, right or center following the viewing, despite clear differences about the acceptability of homosexual practices in the Adventist church. My take was that all felt that they must try to understand this phenomenon of people who are both homosexual in their orientations and faithful Adventists in their heads and hearts." - Tim Mitchell, senior pastor Pacific Union College Church
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"a must-see documentary film about the crossroads between faith and sexual identity. Thank you for being gracious and generous and for putting a spotlight on grace." - Ray Dabrowski, General Conference Communication Director, 1994-2010
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"Regardless of theological conviction, Seventh-Gay Adventists is a film that every Adventist should see. I was surprised and incredibly moved by the sincerity of these couples faith journeys to draw clo se to God. What the film makes clear is that these overlooked Adventists have overcome much more than many of us to remain a part of the SDA family. The frank depiction of that struggle on screen should lead us all to question the way the actualization of our theological position has done more harm than good to those some of us would consider to be the 'least' among us." - Jason Hines, lawyer and religious liberty expert
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"There are many blessings to be had from this film; not the least of which is liberation from the ugly, unproductive, endless-loop arguments that any mention of sexual orientation is likely to trigger among Adventists in most forums. It becomes clear after sharing in the experience of this film that the point is not 'who is right and who is wrong?' The film invites us to step back from these kinds of locked-in, well-worn hobby-horses, and instead work towards creating genuinely Christian communities of faith...After seeing the film four times with quite different audiences, it's clear to me that this film is a call to peacemaking that allows viewers on all sides to lay down their swords, learn the difference between argument and conversation, and begin both telling and listening to each others stories." - Dr. Aubyn Fulton, professor of psychology, Pacific Union College
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"What was wonderful about the film was that it did not take place on a mere theological level but on the human level of individuals struggling between the church and ideals they love and their sexual orientation. Therein lies the greatest strength of the film, I think. You brought these individuals close to us, and helped put a human face on what has been otherwise dealt with as a theological problem. Seeing this film will and must have an impact on the way we as a church community have been reading and interpreting scripture." - Dr. Abi Doukhan, SDA lay leader, professor, & President of the society of Seventh-day
Adventist Philosophers
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"[This] is the consummate film to educate Christians about the vexed issue of homosexuality and the church. Rather than an 'issue' film, however, 'Seventh-Gay Adventists' effectively and compassionately tells the story of three 'normal' couples, two gay and one lesbian, and their experiences relating to the Seventh-day Adventist Church in which they grew up. No matter one's views going into the film, one comes out better understanding the human responsibility, let alone the church's responsibility, in dealing with its LGBT children and members. I defy anyone to see this film dry-eyed. It will change you. You'll leave with Christ's words ringing in your ears, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.' (Matt 25:40 NIV)" - Dr. Lawrence T. Geraty, President emeritus, La
Sierra University
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"I have seen almost every film and documentary in this genre and SGA is definitely up there with best alongside For the Bible Tells Me So and Prayers for Bobby. Don't be misled, whilst the participants in this documentary are Adventists, it is intensely relevant to everyone, gay or straight, from Christian backgrounds or not. No matter where you are at on this journey of understanding, I have no doubt that SGA will be of benefit." - Anthony Venn-Brown, founder Ambassadors & Bridge Builders International, Voted twice 25 most influential gay & lesbian Australians
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PHOTOS FOR PRESS USE

2013 Stephen Eyer Productions | All Rights Reserved.
SGA: David and Colin (Pier)
SGA: Marcos and Obed (Praying)
SGA: Sherri and Jill with Family
SGA: Sherri Playing at home with her daughter (Wheelbarrow)

SGA: Directors/Producers Stephen Eyer & Daneen Akers
SGA: Directors/Producers Daneen Akers & Stephen Eyer (with their daughter) 2013 Stephen Eyer Productions | All Rights Reserved.

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Site: http://www.sgamovie.

Directed/Produced: Daneen Akers & Stephen Eyer

Seventh-Gay Adventists: A film about faith on the margins.

PRESS QUOTES & ENDORSEMENTS

Site: http://www.sgamovie.com ________________________________________________________________________________________

Site: http://www.sgamovie.com ________________________________________________________________________________________

PHOTOS FOR PRESS USE

SGA: David and Colin (Pier)

SGA: Marcos and Obed (Praying)

SGA: Sherri and Jill with Family

SGA: Sherri Playing at home with her daughter (Wheelbarrow)

SGA: Directors/Producers Stephen Eyer & Daneen Akers

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