Room to Grow – Outfest

By starrymag | August 13, 2018

By: Taylor Gates

 

 

Q) How did this come together? What was the casting process like? Did the filmmakers approach you individually or was there a sort of casting call?

 

Maia: I know for a few of us [director] Matt [Alber] came to our LGBTQ+ youth choir and we had a performance together. Then this whole thing started to come together, and he asked a few of us if we wanted to be in it.

 

Savannah: I’m actually in Utah. I haven’t met these people until today—great people—and I think one of the only Mormons.

 

Chris: I’m Christian.

 

Keltin: How I met Matt and [co-director] Jon [Garcia] is different because my mom is very good friends with Rylee’s mom and she told them about me and they just came in and we met them and then they filmed me.

 

Chris: I’m in the same choir as Maia, Bridging Voices of Portland, and we performed with Matt, and they approached us with the documentary. We all signed up and volunteered. They talked about our stories and watched our personal growth and focused on particular people and stories they wanted to showcase.

 

Q) A question for the filmmakers—what made you want to tackle these topics, especially with children? I feel like that’s a really unexplored territory.

 

Jon: I’m an ally and I always felt like an outsider as a kid. It was my queer brothers and sisters that really took me in and made me feel like I could be a weirdo, too, and that it was okay. We became really close.

 

Matt: To be honest, I’m a little tired of listening to adults argue about what rights or privileges should and shouldn’t be given out. When I started hanging out with these kids I was like, “Um, can we just let them talk?” That’s really what started it.

 

Chris: We have a lot of opinions. [Laughs]

 

Matt: You have the answers if you ask me. You know how it should be.

 

Chris: Because these things affect us. When things are put into place by adults, a lot of times they won’t see that this impacts us the most. It doesn’t seem fair that we don’t get an opinion or a say.

 

Q) How did you feel about joining this project? Were you more excited? Were you more nervous? What went through your mind?

 

Keltin: When I first heard about this I was like, “Yes! I’m gonna be famous! Oh yeah!”

 

Savannah: It was definitely a really good experience. It was different than other experiences I’ve had with my other documentaries. It’s really nice to see that there are other people out there like you that have these crazy stories that make them all different and show that they’re all people in their own way.

 

Chris: For me, it was important because I didn’t see a lot of media portrayal of the trans community or the Mexican community or any kind of gender exploration that wasn’t typically by an actor that was white or cis. I wanted to bring forth the representation that’s prevalent in my community. In Hillsborough, Oregon, in particular, I wanted to represent that trans population. Trans looks like more than just what you see on TV.

 

Rylee: I’m from a pretty conservative community, so I was pretty scared because I didn’t want people to look at me differently or treat me differently since I do a lot of leadership stuff. I just realized there are probably some more kids in my community that were scared to come out so I had to step up.

 

Chris: After I came out, a lot of people started coming forward and talking about how they were LGBTQ+ or questioning. One person actually came out as trans after I came out. I saw that ripple effect of people getting more accustomed in my community within miles of my home because one person was able to start that dialogue about acceptance.

 

Q) Has this screened anywhere else before?

 

Matt: This is the world premiere.

 

Maia: Although there was a different, shorter version at the Portland Film Festival.

 

Q) What are you guys looking forward to? Are you nervous to see yourself onscreen?

 

Chris: Absolutely.

 

Maia: I went to the Portland Film Festival where we had a version of it, so I’ve kind of already seen a little bit of myself. It was very weird. [Laughs]

 

Chris: I haven’t seen any of mine, so I’m worried to see my eyebrows. [Laughs] They’ve changed. They’ve been through it. My hair was short when it started, then I grew it out to a sort of mohawk and then I sliced it off recently. I’ll look like three different people in one frame.

 

Ayden: I’ve only seen the trailer and I don’t like hearing my voice on tape.

 

Savannah: I’m not nervous to see myself onscreen, but I’m nervous to hear my voice because that changes the most.

 

Chris: I’m not ready for that dysphoria. “Is that me? Is that what I sound like?”

 

Isaac: I was watching the trailer with a friend and I was never prepared when I came onscreen. And when it happened, I did an intense jump.

 

Q) What has the reaction been like to the trailer? Have you heard a response even to that little taste?

 

Maia: I haven’t heard much because I don’t know a lot of people who have actually seen it beside my dad and the people that went to the Portland Film Festival. They all thought it was really great. They loved hearing all the different stories and almost meeting these people who have similar stories to you who you can relate to. Connecting with it.

 

Matt: We went to Comic-Con with one of them and shooting not even three months in, they got stopped and got recognized from just a short trailer. They should get ready because I think they’re about to be very famous.

 

Chris: Even walking into this house I was starstruck seeing all of you.

 

Savannah: After seeing their faces in the trailer and then seeing them in real life, it’s like, “Oh! Those people!”

 

Chris: I know Maia personally. We hang out pretty often and have been in choir together for a couple of years. It was weird seeing parts of her story. I was like, “I knew her before she got here. I helped her get here.” [Laughs]

 

Jon: There was a shortened version that screening at OutWebFest here in LA that was very powerful. Everyone in the audience was really in tears. Tears and cheers—that’s what it does.

 

Q) What message do you hope people take away after seeing this?

 

Savannah: I think what I really want to happen is for parents to see that their LGBTQ+ kids can be happy if they love and accept them for who they are and it’s not wrong to be who you are.

 

Chris: It’s important to know that everybody’s story is different, but there’s one solution that can help everyone out: acceptance. Taking a little time and patience. All our stories are really, really different in terms of gender and sexuality, but I think if a lot of us were given a little more patience and acceptance from parents, school boards, etc., we would have turned out a little differently.

 

Maia: Even though we’re so young, there’s still a story to tell even if there aren’t a whole bunch of years behind that story. It’s still there. It’s continuing and there’s going to be more of it later, but there have already been really important parts so young.

 

Ayden: I think acceptance is a big part of it because it’s who you are. We’re not going to change for anybody because there’s no point in trying to. You’re not going to change in order to make someone else happy, especially when it comes to your own happiness.

 

Chris: We all fought so hard to be so comfortable to be who we are, so it’s not fair to force us back into the closet or change us completely to be the “acceptable social norm.”

 

Keltin: Be yourself and know that younger people don’t have nothing to tell. Their lives matter as much as yours do.

 

Q) Is this your first Outfest or even first time in LA?

 

Savannah: It’s not my first time in LA, but it’s definitely my first time at Outfest.

 

Chris: I was here like fifteen years ago for Disneyland, but I don’t remember anything. [Laughs]

 

Q) What are you most looking forward to?

 

Ayden: I’m looking forward to meeting people I feel like I’ve known longer than I have. Based off just the trailer I was like, “These people are gonna be great.” And they are great!

 

Chris: We all went upstairs and instantly got along. I was like, “Wow—everyone here is super friendly.” Everyone got along really well instantly and connected. It’s a good starting point for all of us.

 

Q) Has this inspired any of you to want to go into filmmaking?

 

Savannah: I’ve always wanted to go into filmmaking. I wanted to be a Disney Animator, so it’s going to be on the drawing sign of filmmaking, but it’s always great to see the other sides of it and it’s always great to have connections.

 

Keltin: I’ve always wanted to make a YouTube channel.

 

Savannah: I’d subscribe to you.

 

Chris: I’ve been wanting to pursue music forever, but meeting Matt and Jon has made me want to do it even more. Even just this weekend, having any kind of platform has given me motivation I didn’t have as much a few years ago. I’ve been trying to pursue music professionally and started recording at home.

 

Ayden: I was really set on being a neurologist before I met Matt, but after I went through this process and went through the interviews I realized I kind of want to be a psychologist for LGBTQ+ youth. I didn’t know where to go and didn’t know who I could talk to and I feel like if there was a place you could go, it would be so helpful and there would be so many more kids feeling comfortable in their own skin.

 

Q) Do you have any tips for aspiring filmmakers?

 

Jon: This is my film documentary and this is Matt’s first documentary, too and I think that if you find stuff you really care about and simplify your efforts—one camera, one microphone—all those things should line up. And also, persistence. We’ve been working on this for a year and a half. And here we are. And we were making a lot of guesses along the way and things just happened to line up. We joined with Revry and then Outfest and now we’re sitting here talking to you.

 

Chris: Which is crazy, because for a lot of us this started as an interview in a pastor’s room in Portland.

 

Jon: What did you all think at first when we first started?

 

Chris: I was willing to drop everything to do my part in it.

 

Maia: I didn’t think you guys were gonna want to interview me. [Laughs]

 

Chris: Same. I was like, “I’ll be an intern. I’ll get coffee.”

 

Savannah: They’re doing something right because it was my favorite interview I’ve done so far. It was just a really nice experience and I’m gonna remember it for a long time.

 

Chris: It felt very personal, which I appreciated. It makes us feel like more than just cast members—like you really wanted our genuine voices for all of us.

 

Q) How much stuff did you have to leave out?

 

Jon: We could make three more movies. [Laughs] Our first cut was over two hours. Thankfully, there’s a series component that’ll come later. We did interview five more people and their stories are pretty powerful, too. I don’t think there’s anything we didn’t put in there, though.

 

Matt: For sure. I’m so excited for the series because so many adults have been talking and we really focus on the kids, but there are so many beautiful things that came out of these parents’ mouths that I foresee as bonus material.

 

Savannah: The parents definitely played a big part. When your parents are supportive and there for you and give a cute few words, it definitely means a lot.

 

Matt: [Laughs] “Gave a cute few words.” That’s so good.

 

Q) Does anyone have any final things they want to say about their experience?

 

Chris: I want to say thank you to Matt and Jon for inspiring me to live a more proud life.

 

Matt: When I was fourteen, I wanted to watch this. I was by myself and I went to this crazy church and I couldn’t tell my parents and I really need to see this. All these years later, I feel like I’ve healed from this experience. I’m like, “It’s gonna be fine. All you gotta do is keep doing what you’re doing.”

 

 

 

 

From L to R: Issac, Maia, Savannah, Rylee, Chris, Ayden, Jon

On Floor: Matt & Keltin