National Coming Out Day Exclusive :: Alden Peters Talks Groundbreaking Documentary 'Coming Out'

In his directorial debut, young NYC-based filmmaker Alden Peters documents his own coming out experience, capturing everything on-camera as he plans and boldly captures his disclosures to friends, family, and society. Inspired by social media coming out videos by teens around the world, "Coming Out" places viewers directly inside the raw, intimate moments when Alden reveals his true identity to his family and friends, ranging from the painfully awkward to the hilariously honest.

Crowdsourced videos from LGBTQ youth from around the world complement the depth of Alden's own story, and he also interviews his own family, friends, and leading LGBT figures and experts, including Janet Mock, about the unique challenges of coming out in today's digital era.

In the age of smartphones, Facebook, and over-sharing, "Coming Out" succeeds in making this personal decision both a cultural event and a political celebration, and a poignant transcendence of the genre.

We recently caught up with Alden Peters to talk about the process of coming out on camera.

The subject matter of this documentary is a very personal topic-why did you decide to document your coming out process?

The idea for the film started from watching coming out stories online-little mini videos of people talking to the camera sharing their stories. Eventually, I started looking for a documentary to see what the process of coming of out was like afterward. After you've told everybody-what do you do next? I couldn't really find anything out there that fit what I was looking for, so I had the idea to film my whole coming out process and create the film that I wanted to watch.

Did you have any reservations about making this documentary?

Oh yes, I had a lot of people telling me not to do it and that it wasn't such a great idea because it is such a personal process to be so public with. I also remember really early on someone saying, 'Hey, do you really want the first thing for people to find out about you when they search your name is to find this documentary that says you're gay?' That was definitely a struggle.

The first time we did a test screening of it, I was probably more nervous than I had ever been in my entire life. It was terrifying, sharing something so personal for the first time. There were also a lot of other personal things I didn't share in the film, so it made it more empowering for me to be open about this.

Before you did the big reveal on camera, what did your friends and family think you were filming?

I kind of grew up around cameras-my parents always had a camcorder around. When I was younger I started picking of the camera and filming holidays and vacations. Eventually, I started just making fun little videos around the neighborhood, so having a camera there was not at all foreign for my family and friends.

Throughout the film you come out to friends, family and on social media. Who were you most nervous to tell?

I was definitely the most nervous to tell my dad. For a gay man especially, telling your father is very intimidating. I was so worried about how my dad was going to react-I had no idea. You can see in the film the first thing my siblings ask is, "How did dad react?"

In one scene your mom asks you about a very intimate detail about gay sex. Did you get a lot of that?

Absolutely. Many straight people are fascinated about the sex aspect of being gay. With my mom, you can see I tell her we are not having that conversation. With my friends, they'd ask and I would just sort of tell it like it is. If you're open to talking about it, you can look at it as a way of educating people and to give a better understanding of our community as a whole. At least, that's what I ended up trying to do.

>b>You also have a sit down with Janet Mock. What was that experience like?

The sit down with Janet Mock was incredible. She is a genius. She has like the perfect gift for being able to articulate complex issues and how these issues tie into our personal lives. The conversation lasted about an hour, and it was absolutely wonderful. I wanted so much for her to be in the film and it came about basically from me just emailing her. She was just finishing writing her book at the time, and was very supportive of the project.

A lot of the film deals with gender expression and stereotypes in terms of the negative connotations associated with what "being gay" means. How has your view changed since making the film?

I think it's really easy for people to confuse or interconnect gender expression and sexuality. Separating those two is important because they are two entirely different things. Acting in a "gender inappropriate" way is a lot of times what society considers gay-the way you act or talk or dress. It's about not fitting in to those cultural stereotypes. I think that's what I was most sensitive about before coming out. The way I think about it now is that I don't think about it. Like I don't think now if I'm acting in an effeminate way-it is what it is.

What is your advice for any youth who are having reservations about coming out or are ashamed of saying they are gay?

I think reservations about coming out or being nervous is totally fine-it's a huge deal when we all go through it. Even though we are in a pro-gay marriage country, coming out is still a very personal process. I think it's important to find a core group that will support you like the GSA (Gay Straight Alliance) or that one friend that can be your rock.

"Coming Out" will be released on October 4th on DVD / VOD