Mississippi I Am was inspired by Constance McMillen, a lesbian who sued and won a lawsuit to take her girlfriend to the Prom. It tells the story of brave Mississippians who reject the politics of fear and religious intolerance of LGBT people and actively organize to fight for civil rights.
From ABC7.
"My whole life, I knew that I was gay. I knew what it was. I knew I had to hide it. I knew for a fact I would never tell anyone," said Bass.
He eventually told everyone. The boy from Mississippi is now the man behind a documentary about being young and gay in his home state.
"If I can change any person's mind into being OK with someone being gay, I'm happy with that," said Bass.
Bass' journey is just one of those featured in "Mississippi I Am." The documentary is part of this year's Outfest.
"These film festivals lead into bigger things, and that's why we do them. We want as many eyeballs as possible on our work. We think it's such a great message," said Bass.
In the film, Bass attends a same-sex prom with some teenagers trying to change the way people see them.
"We do sometimes forget about how easy it is for a gay person to live in a city like L.A., New York or London. We sometimes forget about the small towns and the people like from my state, Mississippi," said Bass.
"Mississippi I Am" is directed by Katherine Linton.
"Our hope is it gets picked up for distribution, goes to more festivals, airs on television, goes into schools. We hope it goes as far and wide as it possibly can," said Linton.
Linton's favorite scene in the film involves two friends - one gay and one taught not to accept homosexuality.
"One is talking about girlfriend troubles. The other is talking about boyfriend troubles. And they are fishing. A conversation like that, without tension, is so beautiful," Linton said.
