An ‘Op-Doc' from The New York Times follows Santiago Gonzalez IV and Austin McKinley, a gay couple at an evangelical college in San Diego who have been dating for eight months, as they navigate graduation week with their families, dealing with and meditating on the issues of race, religion, family, and sexual orientation.
The powerful, 17-minute film was directed by by Jared Callahan and Russell Sheaffer.
Wrote the directors: “We have both seen firsthand how crucial specific identity categories can be for community building, regardless of the community to which you belong. But far too often, we encounter stories that highlight hostility between the Christian and L.G.B.T.Q. communities at an institutional level. In making this film, we wanted to allow space for our worlds to converse in specific, nuanced ways. On an individual level, what does it mean to be gay and Christian? How do those two identities meet in both conflicting and productive ways? We hope that the story of Mr. Gonzalez and Mr. McKinley's relationship can help illuminate the complexity of people living at the intersections of L.G.B.T.Q., immigrant and Christian communities.”
