The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Student Support Services Office presented a screening of the award-winning documentary “Bridegroom” followed by a question-and-answer session with the film’s co-director, Shane Bitney Crone, at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Indiana Memorial Union’s Whittenberger Auditorium.
The screening was co-sponsored by the GLBT Alumni Association, Union Board and Residential Programs and Services.
“It both educates and inspires,” said Doug Bauder, the director of the GLBTSSS Office.
The film depicts the emotional journey of Crone and his late boyfriend, Tom Bridegroom, whose relationship was cut short after Tom’s accidental death in 2011, according to the film’s website.
A year after Tom’s death, Crone created a YouTube video about his experience titled “It Could Happen to You,” according to Crone’s website.
The 10-minute video recounts the couple’s story, including the series of injustices Crone faced in the aftermath of Bridegroom’s death.
The video, which received more than 3.4 million views and has been translated into more than 20 different languages, was named among GLAAD’s “Most Inspiring Videos that Helped Push Equality Forward in 2012,” according to the documentary’s website.
Jacob Morehead, an IU senior studying French and tourism, organized the event.
“I think it’s important for students to watch these documentaries because it gives them the opportunity to learn about something that they may not have searched for on their own,” Morehead said.
Bauder said the documentary is effective because it helps students to think creatively about dealing with grief, which he said is something most students experience at some point during their college careers.
“It’s an example of what on person has done,” Bauder said. “I think stories are powerful in our lives, and this is a story of someone close in age to students who did something very creative in response to a horrible situation.”
Furthermore, Bauder said, the film serves as an example of the way in which people can find the power within themselves not only to survive but thrive in the face of adversity.
“It also represents the power of one person,” Bauder said. “Shane, who’s in the movie and directs it, does some pretty noble things as a result of his partner’s death in light of a lot of hatred that he experiences from his partner’s family.”
However, Bauder said the film is more than an emotional roller coaster.
“It’s not just something you watch to have a good cry,” Bauder said. “You watch it to think about how someone overcame the impact of the death of a loved one.”
Morehead said above all the documentary is an example of the universality of love as a human experience.
“I would say that I would want people to understand that it’s simple: people are people,” Morehead said. “People love, people hurt, people aren’t always happy, but when you get to know a person, you get to know what they have to offer, and how they can help you just as much as you can help them.”
