National arts initiative The Future Perfect Project has launched a multi-media project titled, How Life Is: Queer Youth Animated, to celebrate Pride Month 2021.
Consisting of 10 short film episodes, they cover the challenges of LGBTQ+ youth, ages 13-22, navigating through life’s challenges such as coming out, blended families, relationships, peer acceptance, homophobia, and more.
The first two episodes were released June 1 on The Future Perfect Project’s YouTube and IGTV. New episodes will be released in pairs throughout the month.
The series was officially announced by Celeste Lecesne, The Future Perfect Project co-founder, Academy Award-winning writer, and co-founder of The Trevor Project.
“The current generation of queer young people has a lot to teach us about what it means to be fully human—if only we will listen,” Lecesne said. “Just as my generation fought so hard for the right to be ourselves as out gays and lesbians, this generation is fighting to be recognized and respected as the people they know themselves to be.”
How Life Is: Queer Youth Animated showcases how Generation Z is changing what it means to be LGBTQ+. They are the first generation to live a life with the answers at their fingertips, and these short films reveal that they are incredibly well informed about the world and important issues such as social justice, politics, and climate crisis.
“We hand them the mic and bring their stories to life with the help of an LGBTQ+ creative team. said Ryan Amador, The Future Perfect Project co-founder, ASCAP Award-winning songwriter, and recording artist. “The result is a two-minute look into their unique lives that everyone can learn from. How Life Is: Queer Youth Animated spreads the word about queer youth and creates a world where they are safe, seen, and celebrated in their homes and communities.”
The Future Perfect Project produces an array of multi-media projects created to amplify the voices of LGBTQ+ youth. In addition to their media projects, the initiative offers free, grant-funded online writing, arts, and performance workshops to LGBTQ+ youth and allies providing them with opportunities to express themselves.
In a recent study, The Trevor Project revealed that more than one in five LGBTQ+ youth in the U.S. identifies as a sexual orientation other than gay, lesbian, or bisexual. It is a whole new world in which LGBTQ+ youth are using terms like “queer, tri-sexual, omnisexual, or pansexual” to describe their identity.
The Future Perfect Project is providing this new next generation of LGBTQ+ and questioning young people with the tools to tell us what they know, what they feel, what they see, and what they see for a future in which every person gets to be perfectly and fully themselves.
Click HERE to learn more about The Future Perfect Project.
