Check Out Fresh News From August 16, 2018.

“Take all the time in the world for yourself, in the world, to figure out who you are,” begins the trailer for this original documentary fittingly titled “Room to Grow.” It first premiered at Outfest in Los Angeles and is co-directed by Jon Garcia, a Latino from South Texas and Matt Alber. The project centers are on the stories and struggles of seven LGBTQ+ youth growing up in the United States.

Among the seven is Chris, a Latino teen who now identifies as Harmony. Harmony, who had not yet come out as trans in order to preserve her relationship with her father, goes by Chris in the documentary. She not only struggles with rejection from the world but her family and community as well. Chris grew up in Hillsboro, Oregon and attended a predominantly Latino high school and evangelical church, neither of which were very accepting of her identity. When she identified as Chris and a gay man, she felt that she had to incorporate a toughness into her identity that stemmed from the machismo of latino culture. The road of discovery has been a long and difficult one for Harmony. Yet she believes her father is slowly warming up to her identity.  

This documentary produced by Revry, the first streaming service of its kind, is queer owned and operated with the intent to showcase stories about and by the LGBTQ+ community. “Room to Grow” will be available to stream later this year on the platform.

NALIP’s #WeAreInclusion campaign is designed not only to advocate for the representation of Latinos but also for other minority groups and LGBTQ+ and non-binary content creators. #WeAreInclusion is the next step forward in pushing for inclusion in the current media ecosystem. Find out more at https://www.nalip.org/weareinclusion.

In ‘Room to Grow’ Doc, a Latinx Teen Struggles After Coming Out to Religious Parents

The touching stories in the feature documentary Room to Grow evidence the uphill battle LGBTQ youth continue to face even in a post-woke world – one that’s much less accepting than we’d like to think. Co-directed by Jon Garcia, a Latino from South Texas, and Matt Alber, the project was produced by Revry, the first-ever global queer streaming service, and recently premiered at Outfest in Los Angeles.

Among the seven people from across the United States interviewed for the film is Chris, a gay Latino teen from Hillsboro, Oregon who struggles to fit in at his mostly Latino high school, at home with his mom who’s from El Salvador and his dad who’s Mexican, and at his evangelical church – none are fully accepting of his identity.

Since filming wrapped, Chris has come out as trans and now lives her life as Harmony, a fitting name given that she has been part of the Portland-based LGBT choir Bridging Voices for the last three years. “I want to love myself more than anybody could ever hate me,” Harmony told Remezcla about how she has endured and survived rejection from relatives and her community at large.

Read more at: Remezcla.com