BBC Three - 'The Coming Out Diaries'

Hello,

My name is Adam Townsend, I am a researcher on a new BBC Three documentary called ‘The Coming Out Diaries’, which will follow the lives of LGBT young people.  I’m looking for young people to take part and it would be fantastic to have your help and support with this via Rainbow Forum.  I have attached a flyer/web-post it would be great if this opportunity could be extended to the society members, at meetings or indeed through any mailing lists, websites or facebook pages.  I will happily talk to anyone who would like further information about the programme, be it a young person or anyone with responsibility for the group, as we’re keen to engage everyone within this process.

For your interest I’ve included some more info about the film:

We are making an insightful, sensitive and warm documentary which will take a look at some of the issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people today.  The working title is ‘The Coming Out Diaries’ and the aim is to follow a group of young people as they explore and make decisions about their identity - and navigate telling their friends and/or family about their gender or sexuality.

The film will chart the highs, lows, dilemmas and sometimes life-changing decisions that our LGBT young people go through.  The feel will be fresh, vibrant and youthful and the intention is to bring about a greater understanding of the conflicts and emotional dilemmas faced by LGBT young people.

We’d like this to be a landmark film about LGBT young people.  The style will be straightforward documentary, following key mile-stones and hearing the young people’s views and feelings as we follow their stories.  Examples of issues we’re interested in exploring range from worries about gender or sexuality and how this affects you, making the decision to come out to friends and family, being bullied because of gender or sexuality and deciding whether to live permanently as a boy or as a girl.

The tone of the series will be non-judgemental and would have a similar feel to BBC Three’s Born Survivors series which included Love Me, Love My Face the inspirational story of Jono Lancaster who was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome and Kizzy: Mum at 14, the story of Kizzy Neal who, pregnant at 13, had to cope with being a teenager and a single mum.

‘betty’ is a highly respected production company and responsible for Find Me a Family, a critically acclaimed Channel 4 documentary series about a pioneering project which tries to find homes for the children who no-one else has come forward to adopt; Beauty and the Beast: The Ugly Face of Prejudice, a series for Channel 4 which follows people with facial disfigurement and those with preoccupation about appearance and explores the extremes of discrimination; and the BAFTA nominated Breaking Up With The Joneses for Channel 4, a powerful, sensitive film following one family with two young children over 9 months as they go through divorce.  For a full CV please see www.betty.co.uk

Best wishes,

Adam

Adam Townsend
Researcher
betty
8 Alfred Mews
London

0207 290 0536

0207 290 0660

E: adam.townsend@betty.co.uk