"For the Bible Tells Me So" opens today

This week I had a chance to check out the new documentary For the Bible Tells Me So, which tells the stories of five Christian families at various stages of reconciling their faith with their having gay children (yes, that's the Gephardts in the poster!) and presents a fascinating discussion about what the Bible really says about homosexuality (from a wealth of resources going all the way up to Archbishop Desmond Tutu).

We'll have a full review of the film and a brand-spanking new interview with director Daniel Karslake up next week. But in the meantime I encourage you to see the film this weekend if it's playing in your area (cities listed after the break). Here's a teaser of our chat with Karslake to hopefully nudge you along...

AfterElton.com: A documentary about the Bible is not exactly the sexiest, most marquee-ready thing...
Daniel Karslake: NO? What do you mean?! (laughs)

AE: But the film is so inspiring and has so much to say ... how would you encourage people to check it out?
DK: I would just say that this is a film that really tries to take the whole conversation to a new level, and to restart the conversation. And it's really a film aimed at this "movable middle" in America that mostly lives in the Red States who are meeting a gay or lesbian person for the first time in their world, either in their church or in their school or their family or their workplace, and they're confused because this gay person they've met, the first one that they've ever known, isn't this dark, after-your-children kind of person that Jerry Falwell always talked about. "He's a nice guy and when I was sick he actually called me to make sure I was okay! Huh!? But, eh ... the Bible condemns them."

I really wanted to make a film for those people in particular and for gay and lesbian people who have those people in their lives, that they could take to the film or give the DVD, so that people can understand that it's not either your faith or your sexuality ... it's not either your faith or your child, or your brother or your sister or your cousin or your nephew. They're not mutually exclusive AT ALL.

You know, I don't really know how to "sexy it up", because ... it is a doc. It is a doc that I think really does profoundly affect a lot of people, miraculously. I hear that a lot and, as a filmmaker, that's like the best thing you can hear. So I guess the sexiest thing is, if you want to be moved and informed and armed to face those on the right, see the movie so that you can emerge stronger and more able to have that discussion.

Cities playing For the Bible Tells Me So as of today:

New York City, NY
Irvine, CA
Springfield, MO
Los Angeles, CA
Palm Springs, CA
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
Berkeley, CA
Minneapolis, MN
Philadelphia, PA
Cambridge, MA
Provincetown, MA
Lake Worth, FL

The film opens in 13 more cities next Friday and is also playing a host of film festivals. Be sure to check out the website for detailed information.