november 5.1999 * J m t «aaC y
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Despite community concerns obout anti-gay demonstrators,
all goes pretty well at a recent queer film festival by T .K . M antese
L
aughter and lively talk drown out the
traffic on Portland’s Northwest 21st
Avenue outside Cinema 21, where a
double-wide line of moviegoers winds
around the block.
It’s a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, and the
crowd is relaxed and happy as it waits to see the
Oct. 16 premiere of the documentary Journey to
a Hate Free Millennium.
The night before, the mood was quite tense,
despite the singing of “Jesus Loves Me” by a
large contingent of queer folks and their allies.
According to Debbie Caselton, co-director
of Sensory Perceptions’ annual queer film festi­
val, a small group of “young, not violent—just
loud and obnoxious” proselytizers stood on the
edge of the curb protesting the presentation of
the films My Femme Divine and In the Flesh,
while police kept the sidewalk clear.
Darrell Dubois, standing in line to see the
documentary, was also at Cinema 21 the previ­
ous night.
“The things they said last night were awful—
‘Want a hate free millennium? Get rid of all the
homos!’— that’s a threat of genocide,” he says.
According to Caselton, staff and security are
on hand during the weekend of screenings.
“And I have the pager number of one [Port­
land police] sergeant,” she says at the premiere.
In addition to the police presence, volun­
teers from the Portland Police Bureau’s Sexual
Minority Crisis Response Team patrol the block,
watching for potential trouble.
The team is there in response to
requests from Tom Ranieri, owner of
Cinema 21, and from Sensory Percep­
tions representatives.
“We agreed that we could be on call
for them. They just wanted to know if
someone was available if something hap­
pened,” says Crisis Response Team
leader Pam Monette.
By the time everyone has entered the
theater for the 3 p.m. showing, demon­
strators have yet to be seen or heard
from.
“We were there to keep the energy
down,” Monette says.
“After the movie started,” she con­
tinues, “one protester came.”
She says the sole demonstrator’s audi­
ence consisted of the Crisis Response
Team and people sitting outside the
eatery next door.
“There could have been an incident,” she
says, but after telling the bar patrons, “We need
to not give this guy an audience,” the situation
quieted down.
Thirty minutes later, unbeknownst to those
inside the movie house, Monette receives a call
that there are now four protesters.
Meanwhile, as the audience inside tries to
quell its excitement, Journey to a Hate Free Mil­
lennium directors Brent Scarpo and Martin
Bedogne tell the packed house the purpose of
the film is to “empower society to take action.”
Then they encourage people to
close their eyes “and imagine what it
would be like if you could wake up in
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the new millennium to a world free of hate.”
The film includes an interview with Judy
Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard, a gay
college student killed last year in Wyoming.
“I loved Matt just the way he was,” she says
in the documentary.
And for the next 80 minutes the audience
watches, transfixed by the stories of anguish and
stunned by the savageries humans are capable of
committing.
During the on-screen credits for Journey to a
Hate Free Millennium, the filmmakers receive a
standing ovation.
á
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Continued on Page 8
D ennis S hepard S peaks O ut
by T .K . M antese
up, watching how sensitive he was
and concerned with other people. I
was in the egg, in a shell. When
Matt told me he was gay, I broke
through the shell. I’m just, you
might say, starting to get my wings
now. Matt was the one who really
hatched the egg.
udy Shepard’s father died the morning of this
Oct. 16 interview. Her husband, Dennis,
stepped in to take her place.
He is down-to-earth and easy to talk to. His
manner of speaking is direct and thoughtful,
with a little humor thrown in.
J
Can you talk about your evolution from
being an everyday citizen to a gay rights
activist?
I think it began with watching Matt grow
ociat*
1 just cannot believe that more fathers are
not standing up for their kids. What’s the dif­
ference if they’re gay or straight or half Mar­
tian? Why does it change the way they feel
about a child that they’ve loved since birth?
You have such little time with your chil­
dren. Time is precious. Time is short. And you
need to love them as much as possible. It’s the
parent’s responsibility to love their children,
confront the challenges with unconditional
love.
When did Matt tell you he was
gay?
A couple of years ago he came
out. He said, “Dad, wetiave to talk.”
I asked him if he was having prob­
lems in school. “No." Then he said,
“OK, Dad, I’m gay.” And I asked
him, "What’s the point of this con­
versation?’’ His jaw dropped and he
said, “It’s OK.7" “You’re still my son,”
I said.
Have you encountered or experienced
anything that has come as a surprise to you or
that was unexpected?
What surprises me the most is how eager
everyone was to meet Judy, as if she’s the mom
they never had. She is always ready with a
smile and a hug. And they all seem to need a
hug.
As you’ve gone around the country, what
have you learned that you’d like to pass on to
parents with gay children?
I’ve been following Judy around. I’ve basi­
cally been her bag carrier. Listening to her
speak and meeting all the people and listening
to their hopes and fears—and what has hap­
pened to them since Matt’s death— it made me
realize how rare it is for someone like me, a
straight father, to say he’s proud of his son, and
he’s gay.
When you think of Matthew, what do you
remember?
Smiles. And the way he rolled his eyes
when I would make bad puns. His laugh. The
way he used to harass his mother. He’d tell her
a story and keep expanding on it, and then at
the end, he’d say, “But Mother, this is all a lie.”
Matt, his brother [LoganJ, and my dad and
1 would go hunting. We’d ^tay out all night,
cook outside, sit around and play games. We
liked theater, movies and politics.
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