Fish Out Of Water

I saw this film at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and left feeling that every American needs to see this film. I'd go as far as to say this is one of the most important issue-oriented documentaries of the past decade. The brilliance in this movie is its inclusiveness. It's not only informative and healing for the gay community but it is conciliatory and respectful to the faith community. Because the director chose to make cartoons of the hot-button Bible verses, they are easy to understand and digest. Because the cartoons make the film lighthearted, this very heavy topic is not oft-putting. The filmmakers also chose an extremely credible, well-published and esteemed group of theologians and scholars to help put all the Bible verses in context.

For anyone involved in politics, For anyone involved with the youth, For anyone who knows a gay person, for anyone who knows a religious person, for anyone who has struggled with their stance on homosexuality or on faith - this is a MUST SEE movie. I think every church and temple and school in America should include this movie in their curriculum. This movie and it's director have given our community a gift of hope, and easy education in this film.

Lastly, you will leave this movie with a sense of uplifted spirit, hope and joy. Fish out of Water was crafted with love, concern and compassion!

Enjoy and pass it along to those who need it!

I saw this film in Wichita, Kansas during the Tallgrass Film Festival. Sitting between my boyfriend and my best friend, I was brought to tears and had a horrible time trying to stop sobbing long enough to give applause after the ending and even hug one of the producers who was there in the theater.

I spent all but my senior year of highschool attending private, Christian schools and ultra-conservative churches. I was told for the first 17 years of my life that what I WAS was a choice - a sinful, hellbound choice. I of course knew that those words were lies, but at the most vulnerable time of my life, being constantly bullied by adults, teachers, and preachers had a profoundly harmful impact on my life. Thankfully I had just enough positive things in my life to keep me going, and I'm now a strong, proud man that looks back on my past with confusion. How could so many people who allegedly dedicated their lives to being GOOD, be so terribly hateful? Are they just as confused as I am, albeit in an entirely different way?

This film helped answer a lot of my questions. It also reminded me that pastors are simply employees of their congregations, and that pastors will say anything that their church wants to hear. When you've got bad seeds -- hateful bigots -- in a church, that hatred can spread like wildfire, and before you know it the pastor is preaching "sermons" about the sins of homosexuality simply because their sheep are riled up and need some confirmation to help them sleep at night.

That doesn't mean there aren't good pastors -- watch this film and you'll meet a few excellent ones -- but it does mean that most of what happens in church is not god's word. Far from it. And if people would take the time to actually read the frakking Bible they think they're basing their lives on, they'd be in for a whole lot of surprises.

All that said, I'd strongly recommend this film to anyone. In particular, it can be a wonderful tool to show to your family if they are struggling with some of their feelings on queer sexualities. This film should be shown in Sunday school classes, in my opinion. Buy a copy or two, send your thanks to Ky Dickins and her crew, and show it to everyone you know.

This movie examines scriptures which are most often used to condemn homosexuality, and points out the difficulties with any "philosophy" of Christianity that choses to exclude people from the body of Christ due to sexual orientation. It is serious, but not heavy-handed, and can be used as an effective education tool to help people better understand the scriptures and how they relate to Jesus' teachings of love and acceptance.