Reel Affirmations: The Nation's LGBT Film Festival 2008

In Anyone and Everyone, parents across the US discuss their reaction to learning that a son or daughter is gay.

After learning that her son Jared was gay, poet Susan Polis Scultz became determined to find a way to help other parents and their children deal with the resulting fear and uncertainty that families often experience.

Research soon turned up these sobering statistics:

Over 25% of children who come out to their parents are forced out of their homes

40% of gay teens attempt suicide, compared to approximately 10 percent of their heterosexual peers

More than 90% of gay teens regularly hear anti-LGBT comments at school; nearly 85% report that faculty or staff never intervene in such instances

In Anyone and Everyone, Shutz interviews parents from all walks of life as they wrestle with questions of faith, reactions of other family members, and the fears of church and community members.

These deeply personal reflections create a thread of acceptance and love that ultimately, many of the families embrace, leading to wider circles of knowledge and understanding.

A must-see film - Anyone and Everyone is both heart-wrenching and heartwarming at the same time.