alba reyes“They used to take him out of class every day to go to psychotherapy and discuss his sexual orientation, and he never told me.”
#prideforeveryone
Pride for Bogotá
VIEWING PARTY PARTICIPANT“For a moment in time, I could see, I could feel, with such intensity all that love, all that care, all those people.”
In 2016, Google launched #prideforeveryone - an experiential, integrated campaign dedicated to bringing the Pride movement and its idea of inclusivity and acceptance to areas of the world without LBGTQ equality or rights.
In more than 70 countries, it’s a crime to be gay. The primary audience of this campaign would be LGBTQ identifying persons who live in countries with strict anti-LGBTQ laws and or systematic cultural oppression and discrimination.
Lonelyleap’s involvement began soon after Google’s decision to use 360° video as the tool for this global social initiative. The idea was to immerse the viewer, via smartphone and low cost Cardboard, in a VR experience that enabled an individual to march alongside members of the LGBTQ community and their allies.
alba reyes
“It’s a message that we all deserve the same respect, equality and rights.”
Our first task - Capture the celebration. Lonelyleap was on the ground, alongside a VR company, to document the energy and excitement of the New York and São Paulo Pride Parades. São Paulo Pride broke records in 2016 with over two million participants. The VR company went on to film parades in Singapore, Hamburg, Tel Aviv and beyond. All of the parade footage was then crafted into a 360° film, which launched on Google’s website shortly thereafter.
Our second task - Share the experience, share the community. Lonelyleap and Google were simultaneously working to identify compelling stories and individuals to bring the #prideforeveryone experience to for the documentary portion of the campaign.
In Bogotá, Colombia, we filmed with Alba Reyes, a woman whose son had committed suicide after his school’s administration required him to attend daily psychotherapy because an educator discovered him kissing a male student one afternoon. Alba has since decided to make it her life’s mission to spread a message of equality to young people, in part, by working directly with school administrators and educators.
Lonelyleap and Google co-hosted two viewing parties with Alba while in Colombia, enabling a selection of students enrolled in middle school and higher education to experience the 360° film. In an intimate setting, Alba shared her son’s story before the students had the opportunity to view the 360° film. Soon enough, these participants were marching alongside a global community, listening to words of love, support, and courage from citizens around the world.
Moved by the participants’ subsequent reactions, the Ministry of Technology in Colombia has since decided to work with Alba and implement the Google Pride 360° experience into classrooms around the country.
Harry Rosenberg
“To see people publically saying; ‘Here we are. Don’t take us for granted, persecute us’... It’s affirming.”
We also filmed a viewing party in North Carolina with SAGE Raleigh, an organization that offers safe space for LGBTQ youth, educational programs and community events for senior citizens. North Carolina was chosen in response to HB2 passing in state legislature, a bathroom law that significantly limited transgender rights.
VIEWING PARTY PARTICIPANT“We have a lot of older people who, when they walk through the door, cannot believe not only that they're accepted, they're praised.”
When we brought the 360° film to one of SAGE's senior events, we discovered that many of the participants had never been to a pride parade or been exposed to the LGBTQ community outside of this specific organization. Some had spent decades hiding their sexual orientation, fearful of the social and professional repercussions. North Carolina and Colombia were just two of the dozens of viewing parties that Google organized in the effort to spread pride.
Lonelyleap was incredibly grateful to collaborate on such an inspiring campaign, one that showcased film’s capacity to inspire discussion and, more importantly, cause action. Both the viewing party participants and film crew left each event feeling as though we were a part of something larger than our individual experience - an indication, in the most localized sense, that the project succeeded in its effort to cause change, spread the message of inclusivity, and promote social justice through collective experience.
No one should have to endure an environment that limits their personal freedom and happiness.