Brave Families (Ep 445- David & Melinda/Ordinary People & Wings of Desire)

The Sewers of Paris

We have two guests this week — filmmakers Melina Maerker and David Miller are the co-creators of a new documentary entitled We Live Here: The Midwest, which follows a variety of brave families enduring challenging circumstances as queer people in conservative parts of the country. Both Melinda and David came to filmmaking out of a desire to tell other peoples’ stories, and create a space where people can feel listened to — inspired, in their early careers, by two very different films.

We’ll have that conversation in a minute. First, a couple quick announcements, starting with a reminder that if you like this podcast, you’ll probably like my weekly newsletter where I share fun stories about the making of iconic movies and TV shows, as well as the fascinating people behind them. You can sign up at MattBaume.com.

Also, I’ve got a video coming your way this Sunday, December 10 about 50s heartthrob Rock Hudson — it’s the story of how America fell in love with a closeted gay man, and what happened when his truth was revealed. That’s at YouTube.com/mattbaume.

And I hope you’ll join me for weekly livestreams over on Twitch every Sunday afternoon. That’s at twitch.tv/mattbaume.

Also! If you haven’t yet, take a look at my new book about the history of queer characters on American sitcoms, Hi Honey, I’m Homo! — available now wherever books are sold, and a very pleasant holiday gift. Go to gaysitcoms.com for details and to get a signed copy.

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