While a handful of local news stations may have camera crews filming Pride festivities in Center City next month, one public-television channel will focus an entire month of programming on the local LGBT community.
MiND TV, which strives to promote social awareness and education, will celebrate LGBT Pride Month in June, with a series of on-air programs, as well as community events, to pay tribute to Philadelphia’s LGBT population and progress.
Most of the channel’s programming consists of five-minute pieces, most of which are designed by MiND members themselves and which, this month, will focus on LGBT issues.
Kim Kunda, MiND marketing manager, said the station reformatted its programming earlier this year to focus on a different community or topic each month, such as Earth Day in April and volunteerism this month.
As June is typically considered LGBT Pride Month, Kunda said it seemed natural to highlight the LGBT community, which she added MiND has long supported.
“Being involved with the LGBT community is part of our history and we wanted to take on this new effort to really activate the LGBT community in this new participatory media,” she said.
LGBT community members are encouraged to submit their own five-minute videos — which can be centered on their coming-out stories, LGBT organizations, events or any other topic related to the LGBT community — to be included in a one-hour presentation airing at 8 p.m. June 23 and June 26 on MiND, which is channel 35 in Philadelphia. The shorts will also be aired on the JumboTron at the Piazza at Schmidt’s from 6-7 p.m. June 30.
Already completed are pieces about Giovanni’s Room, Mazzoni Center’s 30th anniversary and the different programs at the William Way LGBT Community Center.
Samantha Frazier, MiND member-relations staffer, said filmmaking experience is not necessary for those who wish to contribute.
“Most people are not professional videographers at all,” Frazier said. “A lot of people start practically with nothing and might just have a camera in their closet that they dust off, and we’ll work with people to teach them how to make their programs and tell their stories.”
Kunda said the format allows for honest depictions of the LGBT community, which she said are few and far between on television.
“As an LGBT person myself, every day we confront a hostile media environment. In the media, our issues are often shown in a bigoted way, our integrity is taken into question and we constantly have to defend ourselves and why we deserve equal rights,” she said. “With MiND, our goal is to take the confrontation out of the equation, to create an environment where we can tell our stories and hopefully change some hearts. It gives people a more realistic impression of who we are individually and as a community.”
Frazier said the programs, which are due May 21, can have positive benefits for both the creators and the audience.
“For people who are telling their stories, it enables them to have a voice. They can actually make a program that’s going to go on television and it might convince people to think differently and expose them to a different point of view,” she said. “And the whole process of creating a video is a great experience for anyone to work on, and it’s just a lot of fun.”
Eric Fiedler, development and outreach manager at MiND, said the organization is happy to work with those who’ve already filmed an LGBT-themed piece but who aren’t sure how to cut it down to five minutes.
“Some people have footage shot already and just haven’t done anything with it, so this would be a great time to put it together and get it on air,” he said. “If you already have videos made, it’s a good idea to just contact us and try to figure out how to get it on and become part of this effort.”
The best submissions will be included in a program from 6:30-8 p.m. June 16 at the William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St., which will be followed by a panel discussion with LGBT community leaders and MiND representatives.
Throughout the month, MiND will also air several LGBT-themed documentaries, including youth-themed programs “It’s Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School” and “It’s Still Elementary,” locally produced “Out in the Silence” and “Just As We Are,” a film about the intersection of the LGBT and Latino communities.
MiND’s LGBT programming is being presented in partnership with William Way, Mazzoni Center and the Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation.
For more information about MiND and the submission program, visit www.mindtv.org or call (215) 483-3900.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].