Frameline's LGBT education program Youth in Motion has announced it will include the documentary Vito in its latest curricula release. Started in 2008, Youth in Motion is designed to provide schools with professionally developed curriculum based around LGBT-specific educational films that can be used in GSA meetings as well as woven into academic courses. Initially only available in California, the program expanded in 2014 and now serves 681 schools nationwide.
Vito is a documentary about the life and work of Vito Russo. Russo was a film scholar who penned the influential book The Celluloid Closet, a history of how LGBT people were portrayed in film. He was also a passionate AIDS activist, a member of ACT UP and one of the original founders of GLAAD.
“Vito Russo participated in every significant milestone in the gay liberation movement, and his story is the story of our community. As an activist, Vito knew that the key to acceptance was visibility and championed sympathetic and realistic depictions of our lives,” said Jeffrey Schwarz, director of the documentary Vito.
Schwarz continued, “Thanks to the Youth in Motion program, a new generation will learn about one of the founding fathers of the LGBT movement, and how Vito Russo helped make it possible for us to live proudly and openly in the world. Vito's message of standing up, speaking out, and living bravely in the face of adversity can inspire us all to continue the battles that he once fought.”
GLAAD President & CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said, "Vito Russo recognized the incredible power that media has in shaping how the world sees the LGBT community. By sharing his story in this impactful film, Frameline will help ensure that Vito continues to inspire viewers for generations to come."
Youth in motion will provide schools with both free DVDs and curriculum guides focused on the life and work of Vito Russo starting in January 2015. They have also announced a new goal to reach 1,000 schools in all 50 states by June of next year.