Chely Wright – Wish Me Away – Film Documentary

2011 Centerpiece Selection
WISH ME AWAY
Sunday, June 26 • 5:00pm

Sponsored by the Kansas City Missouri Human Rights Commission Gay & Lesbian Task Force

“Sometimes living one’s honest life is damn near impossible.” Or so it felt to award-winning country music star Chely Wright for most of her closeted life-first raised in a Christian home in a tiny Bible-Belt town and then as a member of the sexually repressed and homophobic country music industry in Nashville.

Surrounded by a family, community, culture and religion that all believed that being gay is just wrong (and, to many, “of the devil”), Wright prayed regularly for God to rid her of her homosexuality, vowing to give up on love in return. Instead, music became her love, as she scored hits like “Shut Up and Drive” and “Single White Female”. But while her dreams of stardom came true, she remained tormented by her sexuality and paralyzed by the fear of coming out. Would the country music industry tolerate a lesbian in their ranks? Would her fans reject her? She tried dating men (including fellow country star Brad Paisley), poured her energy into philanthropic endeavors, and contemplated suicide before finally acknowledging what she knew she needed to do.

In 2010, she began calculated preparations to release an album and a book (Like Me) that would finally reveal her coming-out story and make country music history.

Through sometimes-tearful interviews and conversations, video diary entries, music videos, and several of her songs, this touching portrait follows Wright up to her full-court media press, from Oprah to People magazine, as she discovers the transformational power of living an authentic life.

Check out “Wish Me Away” on the Kansas City Gay & Lesbian Film + Video Festival website.

Click here to buy your tickets!

We are thrilled to announce that WISH ME AWAY will be the Centerpiece of the FRAMELINE FILM FESTIVAL in San Francisco. Frameline is the oldest and largest LGBT film festival in the country.

The film screens on Wednesday, June 22, at 7:00pm at the historic Castro Theater in San Francisco. Filmmakers Bobbie Birleffi and Beverly Kopf will be there, as will Chely Wright for Q&A following the film, and will be attending the Centerpiece After party as well.

Go to Frameline.org and get your tickets!

Come one — come all!

One year ago this month, Chely Wright became the first Country Music Artist to come out. Being the first takes guts. That’s why we salute CNN anchor, Don Lemon, and Phoenix Suns President, Rick Welts, for their courage in not just coming out to friends and family, but to the world. As Chely knows all too well, in this political climate, their decision will have consequences. And it can get ugly. But if you’re a kid who dreams of a career in professional sports, or as a broadcast journalist, you now have two great role models.

Let’s hope there are other firsts to look forward to because we believe with all our hearts that courage is most definitely contagious.

xo Beverly and Bobbie

Last week, at the invitation of Rev Mark Tidd, Pastor of The Highlands Church in Denver, an evangelical church that not only accepts LGBT folks, it WELCOMES them, it EMBRACES them, it HONORS them, we were invited to screen our film for a small group of congregants and LGBT leaders. It felt historic. We formed an ad hoc coalition that will gather together to support WISH ME AWAY when it opens theatrically in Denver – a prototype of how we will release the film across the country.
Thank you Mark, Joe, Alison, et. al. – we are honored to be working with you.
xoBeverly and Bobbie

We can feel the culture opening up: today, the NY Times reports that after 33 years of debate, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) joins The United Church of Christ, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Episcopal Church to allow openly gay people in same sex relationships to be ordained as clergy! (The Methodists are still debating)… but this is huge when you think how many congregants this represents–millions of people are joining hands with gay people INSIDE the world of the church.
Unthinkable not so many years ago. Beverly and I have sensed the culture opening as we were making WISH ME AWAY. When we began in 2008, none of this was happening.

From the few initial screenings we have had, we can see that a diverse audience (straight and gay) is responding to the film. This is a film you want to bring your family to see if you are gay and if you are straight go with your gay pals!

Bobbie

It’s official.

Wish Me Away will have its World Premiere, in competition, at the Los Angeles Film Festival on Monday, June 20th. Chely Wright and her fiance, Lauren Blitzer, will be there and it promises to be a star-studded red carpet event. Chely has lots of fans in LA so, if you’re planning to attend, buy your tickets early.

We’ll have some more surprises to tell you about very soon.