By Marc Smolowitz, Director / Producer of THE G WORD

Yesterday, we sent out a mid-year update with a fundraising request to our opt-in mailing list asking for help to cover the costs of one of our final shoots featuring our film’s two incredible and brave gifted transgender characters. So far, that e-newsletter has brought in over $900. Thank YOU to everyone who responded so generously and within hours of the e-blast going out. 

In that letter, I highlighted that I have been the direct recipient of homophobic and transphobic attacks from inside the gifted community while making THE G WORD, and how brutal that has been for me as an openly queer person who is also a trans ally. Imagine how painful and upsetting it was for me to open the email this morning that is featured in the below screenshot.

Let me be very clear and direct with our audience. THE G WORD is fundamentally a film about the dynamic intersection of identity and giftedness in the 21st century. With our film, we are navigating both trauma and empowerment as we celebrate the diversity and intersectionality of gifted populations across our great nation. The stories we have chosen to feature in our film reflect our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. And, while we are trying our very best to make a film that is welcoming to everyone, we have ZERO TOLERANCE for hate speech, ignorance and misinformation from our followers. If you are homophobic or transphobic, please stop following this film immediately. Your hate and vitriol are not welcome here.

For those of you in our network who see yourselves as allies of the LGBTQ+ communities, we invite you to stand with THE G WORD by doing your part to challenge homophobia and transphobia wherever and whenever you encounter it. PRIDE month may be over, but the values of PRIDE can inform how we move through the world 365 days per year. 

Finally, if you are so moved, please consider making a donation at whatever level is comfortable for you to help us combat the misinformation and hate that so clearly exists in the gifted communities. We will leverage your funds to complete the story arc in our film that is focused on the beautiful complexity that comes with being gifted, neurodiverse, queer and transgender.

Please feel free to share this post far and wide!

Thank you,

--Marc Smolowitz, Director/Producer

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