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In 1992, San Francisco filmmaker and new lesbian mom Debra Chasnoff decided to tackle an issue that no one else would touch with a ten-foot pole. The very idea of talking about homosexuality or gay issues in school was mortifying to many. But Chasnoff wanted to change the prevailing belief that you can’t talk to children about gay people — and to cultivate a thoughtful, tolerant and open-minded new generation in the process.
The result was a groundbreaking documentary, It’s Elementary, which premiered in 1996 and has since screened all over the world, been broadcast on public television and been incorporated into the curriculum of college-level education programs around the country. It has also received all kinds of backlash from conservative groups and an unexpected swell of media coverage debating its potential merits and evils.
Now, more than 15 years later, Chasnoff has revisited the issues and impact of that original film. The result is It’s STILL Elementary, a look back at the making of It’s Elementary (an abridged version will also be screened) and its legacy in the 21st century. Featuring clips from the original film and new interviews with many of the kids — now young adults — and teachers who participated in it, this rousing and reflective documentary reunion shows just how far we’ve come and how far we’ve yet to go.