User Reviews

Director's comment.

When you grow up in a rural area, you can stereotype urban living, the same way that people in the city can have pre-conceived thoughts about country life. Being raised on a dairy farm in northern Illinois, and later discovering I was gay, I moved to a large urban area which was a frequent occurrence for gay people 30 years ago. While living in the city, I never felt as though I totally fit in, but yet being gay it seemed like the safest place to be.

Over the years I've lived in both urban and rural settings, and learned that rural gay life is a seldom seen part of gay culture. With that in mind, and based on my own upbringing, I set out on a journey to explore the lives of gay men in rural America with this documentary. In these changing times for gay people, it was surprising to meet such a diverse and interesting group of men. For they most part, they have not been drawn to the typical 'gay ghettos' that have evolved in many large cities. These men have come to the realization that they are gay, but have chosen to not let that totally define who they are.

I feel the film which includes interviews with dairy, hog, and cattle farmers, men raising children, hermits, radical faeires, gay rodeo participants and people attending a most unique Pride celebration in Wyoming, is an enlightening and thought provoking look at the real possibilities of a satisfying gay life outside an urban center. Tom Murray, Writer/Director

This is the first feature-length documentary by Tom Murray. He filmed it in several states and numerous locations, including the Hermitage where I live. My partner, Christian, and I are featured in the movie. It was a wonderful experience to have Tom visit us the summer of 2003. He spent several days filming the farm and interviewing us. We had never had anything like this happen before and we were naturally interested in how the project was going to turn out. During this past winter, Tom sent us several versions of the film and it was fascinating to watch the film change and mature from version to version. He became more focused in what he wanted to say and more adept at saying it. The final cut is very tight, meaning that a great deal, as in any film, was left out, but what this does is to concentrate and focus the film on what it means to be gay and live in the country. In narrowing the focus of the film, Tom has enhanced its essential elements. Christian and I attended a screening of the film at Penn State University as part of its own glbt film festival and were amazed at how the film resonated with viewers, most of whom had no country experience. Tom was able, through his questions and camera work, to pinpoint both the strengths and adversities of being gay and living outside the gay mainstream. He has given a voice to those of us who never really had one. The film will be shown in New York in June as part of NewFest and in Milan, Italy, as part of its glbt film festival.

I just saw this at the NC Gay/Lesbian Film Festival and it is one of my favorites of the Festival. A gentle, non-assumptive piece about gay men in rural settings throughout the US (although none were from down South!). We see that even among this thin slice of demography, there is a tremendous diversity of men all living a simpler life than the media tells us is what defines "gay men". Each story pulls you in and the filmmaker has really allowed us to get to know these fellows in a very nonjudgmental way. From the dairy farmers in Wisconsin, to the Gay Rodeo participants, to a Pride Festival in desolate Wyoming, to more "hermited" types and Fairies, each story is fascinating.

Highly recommended.